THE ULTIMATE BATTLE OF POETS: ROUND 3

Okay everyone - here are the wild card poems. There were only three submitted, but it is what it is! Results will be posted when I get them!

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Poem # 1

Whatever doesn't kill you

They questioned my sanity

for I feared not
the rage
of the seven seas
nor the falling of
a thousand meteors,
should either chew on
the hem of my dress
or on my heart

I questioned
their sanity

for they always hid
behind curtains and in
key holes,
sheltering
their precious feet
from the wetness of the ocean
and fearing the strike
of a star

We never really understood each other

for where I pondered weather to wear
the sun; a bracelet around my wrist,
or a comb in my hair

they bathed in sunscreen
and wore

sunglasses.

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Poem #2

Whatever Doesn't Kill You...

She is calm and quiet,
filled with softly beating hearts,
drifting peacefully
in slow billowing skirts.
She sits still as centuries gone by
without rippling beneath
gleaming golden starlight,
though the wind brushes against her
deep blue skin,
sleek as midnight satin.
Then the hour stretches further,
the wind whisks faster,
and creatures stir their slippery fins.
I gaze out across her waking body,
my hand tight upon the mast,
thrilling in her fleeting gentleness,
knowing with the ages of experience
that as the wind swirls about,
and as the moon pulls in his lonesome arms,
she will quickly rise to meet him.
The ship rises with her and falls again,
breathing as she breathes,
inhaling longer and longer
so that her panting creates
waves that splash against my dwelling.
The men begin to rise too, yawning and
humming contentedly, ready always
to greet our ravenous fair maiden
in her building fits of passion, for
we know how rewarding it is to have
ridden its unstoppable force
unto its end.
She is a sailor's lover and wife;
mistress and companion -
we would love her to whatever end,
as long as it is by her own delight.
Given a home upon her mighty vessel,
channeled between fury and rest,
we believe another day of living
is another day we are blessed.
In our tiny hearts, we understand
she could wipe us away instantly
with hardly a thought.
And so we must believe
if she does not kill us,
she must surely revel in our being alive.
She must surely love us back
in some small way.

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Poem #3

Whatever Doesn't Kill You ...

Earth bound in steady stream, a thousand storms peak and beam
Some may trickle others dash, others merely but a flash
Vision treasures taunt and woo, yet his heart belongs to ocean's blue

At the dockyard he waves good-bye, offers prayers upon the sky
If I should battle freezing gales, may tomorrow's sun greet my sails
If tremendous waves swoon and swallow, may gentle swells also follow

If tonight I cast my last net, I do so with no regret
My heart and soul rides the wave, the sea - my home, shall be my grave
For whatever doesn't kill you today, eventually will another day

"for where I pondered weather to wear"

Did you mean whether?

Three poems?! That's a let down. I would have expected five hundred or so poems turned in. After all anyone could have entered. Anyway Great job to the poets who did turn in their poems. :]

RESULTS RESULTS RESULTS!

I'm not going to waste any time, poem #1, excellent job you will be joining the 3 finalists in the final round! The fourth & final round will be posted in a few minutes!

30 points (10+10+10):
Poem #1

"Of all the Wild Card poems, I found this to be the clearest and strongest. Its set-up reminds me of the saying "whatever floats your boat"; obviously connected with the given title and quote. The most remarkable thing about this poem is its parallelism. There's apparent repetition, but also a less recognisable kind of repetition. Notice the seven seas, the meteors (part 1) and the ocean, the strike of a star (part 2). I wonder whether there's a relation between the plurals vs singulars. It seems to me that the writer is trying to juxtapose something huge to something small; emphasizing the silliness of those who questioned the persona's sanity.
Nitpicking: I didn't really understand the lines "should either ... my heart", I'm not even sure WHO's chewing and I'm not able to track down the significance.
Nevertheless, a most profound write, with a most lovely ironic ending."

"This is the poem that is easiest to relate to of the three - it pulls the picture and quote prompt right away, and feels as though it's supposed to be there. It had a certain quality of uniqueness that stuck out, and played well on the title - multiple facets of potential death. I love how different and odd this poem is - something you definitely didn't expect from the three prompts."

"This was my top pick. I enjoyed this slightly whimsical piece and although it didn't explore the depths of Van Gogh's quote as poem 2 it still had enough in it to convey some of his intent. It flows well making it easy to read with a lovely twist at the end, I pondered the use of weather but thought it worked really well, wether intentional or not.. :P, Well done"

18 points (7+7+4):
Poem # 2

"Personification is the essence of this piece and imagery moves with the waves of the oceans, taking its time to breathe. I can see the enthusiasm of the writer as they wrote it. Perhaps too enthusiastic, letting the
imagery "hyperventilate" and running into too many details. After a while, I began to wonder when the poem would end. There's nothing wrote with large poems, as long as they keep the reader interested. But here, I could almost predict what would happen after each line. It's not as tightened as Poem # 1. However, there are a few sparks in here that are inevitable to elude. One of them being the sense that the ocean and humans move together, topped off by subtle repetition."

"The structure of this poem is a little hard on the eyes, from first glance it made me not want to read. However, when reading, it had a great message of vulnerability and insecurity. The writer held a strong image of the quote prompt, and a very, very subtle image of the picture prompt, which I think could have been brought forth more and fit well. The images were strong in the poem and truly was an interesting read, almost as though you're listening to an old Navy vet talking of his tales at sea. Beautiful!"

"The longest poem by far which explored Van Gogh's quote more than the other two. I read this poem many times and I can almost feel this poet exploring the imagery but it didn't quite touch me as it should. Still a very good read, well done"

15 points (4+4+7):
Poem #3

"The writer has rhythm fine-tuned, but their rhyme messes things up. It's become monotonous and I think the title is too heavy to conclude such indifference. As a reader, I felt trapped in an emotionless painting. Of course, the poems has its dramas, but they're not original. I liked the wisdom of the ending line, though."

"This poem was strong and catchy, and it's hard to mark this low. The only reason this wasn't 2nd place is due to the ending, I feel it was lost in the rhymes and didn't end nearly as strong as it began. The first two stanzas held strong rhymes that didn't seem forced and a great flow, but just didn't quite hit the mark."

"I really enjoyed this concise internal rhyming poem and the story it conveys, this poet has a great understanding of rhyme and meter."