David Jung

Since this year’s 2024 Valentine’s Day writing contest was filled with countless of amazing submissions, it was hard to pick the ones that exhibited and showcased what Valentine’s Day was about. Here are the two runner up entries (in no particular order) that made the Bulldog Times’ staff smile.

Your Valentine’s Day runner-ups:

“A Mixtape of Our Love” by Falon Avelenda (12)

Her elegant glare caught me by surprise. It was more glamorous than a string of pearls and it blinded the stars. Though when we met, I swore I’d never speak of love if it doesn’t exist, even if the god’s smite me with thousands of years of torture. It was a treacherous night alone in the back of a faerie soirée, she glided away from me but no matter how far away I will always love you. I love her features brighter than the moonlight making tide’s change; I’m still waiting to reunite and it’s only a matter of time. I love you like the stars above, I’ll love you til I die and only then will I throw my arms around your neck. And so, I’m shouting to the wind in hopes of it reaching you someday to rejoice with you.

Tomorrow I will continue to love you as much as love is red like the rose on your coffin door. At the end of the day I didn’t care if you were sick, I didn’t care if you were contagious or not because I’d kiss you even when you’re dead. So, I will love you until I finally die. Though the river’s tide is a rough path, that won’t sway me as I part my way towards your plane. I’d run to the edge where you catch me like an angel from imagination. The nail in the coffin is my yearning since pleasure is nothing without the pain. But until then I will be waiting for her again.

I just hope that if the universe switched our lives around you’d do the same for me as I do for you because happy endings are just stories that haven’t ended yet, right?

“The deep allusions the author used when comparing love to everyday things was extremely meaningful. Also, the author’s mentioning of loving someone through death made the story really genuine and heartwarming. Compared to the other stories where the authors talked about love in more of the present, this author talked about love throughout one’s entire life, future included, which I really appreciated.” ~ Jiaying Hou, Assistant News Editor

“I could feel the powerful emotion evoked through this story 5, and it really made me think about and realize the amount of strength that true love can hold. The flow of the story was also great, and the wording/description used was really impactful.” ~ Kaylani Hsu, Assistant Sports Editor

“Morning Mist” by Ronnie Aure (12)

You, a morning mist undesired
By those who yearn for vivid skies,
A pale awe yet to be admired
Through these listless, ignorant eyes.
Still I stand like the shards of grass;
Frozen by breath that fails to pass.

Where the dew seeps into the soil,
Holding remnants of that same haze
Before the sunlight claims its spoil.
Thus, I am stripped of this dear gaze,
But my enamored roots remain
Of which heaven fails to obtain.

“It is so sweet when you can look at somebody and see something in them that nobody else sees. To feel enticed and invited by a person is one of the most beautiful feelings that the human heart could produce. This poem captures that feeling in a way that perfectly conveys what it is like to be tantalized and mystified by this person whom you yearn for nothing more than to be with.” ~ Kaitlyn Luu, Staff Writer

“The rhyme scheme is incorporated well and adds quality to the underlying message of the poem. The dichotomy between the person who the narrator is in awe of and the narrator themselves creates an artistic take on a common experience.” ~ Abby Le, Staff Writer

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Congratulations to these two runner-ups and their amazing submissions! You can check out the winners to the contest here. Continue checking the Open Canvas tab for any upcoming competitions!