Weekly Winners - 7/4

Here are the winners & HM's for this week! Special thank you to the members who comment, read, nominate and vote on these poems, and the judges for tirelessly going through each and every poem nominated to choose their top 3. Congrats to all those posted in here today! :)

Risen
by Britt

''This poem is gorgeous and one of the better poems I've personally seen this poet write over time. The bit of mythology with the reference to the Phoenix in this piece was lovely. I loved how she carried it throughout the whole poem rather than just quickly mentioning it. The image of it nestling on twigs, awakened ashes, the renewal of love, the colors mentioned. All of these fit perfectly to the symbolism of the Phoenix. 'Risen' is a perfect title. Flow was also quite simple and helped the poem flow with ease. Very elegant" (7)

"One thing I've noticed is that this poet has grown so much in the field of writing. The usage of alliteration completed this piece flawlessly and the vocabulary here is more precise and holds deeper meaning. The execution of every line seems to coordinate with the next without any disturbance and is going with the flow. I loved the happy tone of the voice in this piece, it conveys love and acceptance." (7)

"What a beautiful poem. I wondered why it was in Misc., as I thought it could be a Love poem. The poem speaks elegantly to the reader. There are hidden passions and admiration for the subject.

These are the thoughts I gathered from each stanza

1.) You find comfort in some previous act of betrayal upon the subject, therefore you would not have found each other.
2.) A new love is born, like the Phoenix.
3.) Dealing with the past, you have come to adjust to each others like and dislikes, trusting in each other and paving the roads of the future.
4.) A relief of things of the past brought you to where you are today. Overwhelmed in a new love, a true one, where two hearts and minds are combined, to forever flourish.

The poem exuded love from beginning to end in this readers mind. I hope you don't mind the analogy of events as this is what it said to me. " (7)

"What I liked about this piece was how the poet used the Phoenix as symbolism of passion and love, you reinforced this idea throughout the entire poem by connecting the phoenix to its elements, such as 'flame' 'rebirth' 'ashes' 'reds and golds.' One could look at this piece and see it as a love poem, or a poem purely about the phoenix though you managed to connect the two together with symbolism and a lovely metaphor. Great work with the subtle use of alliteration throughout, I also liked how you incorporated the readers senses, not only with sight but with scent by using cinnamon and clove. I know this was written for a challenge and everything was incorporated nicely into the poem. This was very mystical while still having the elements of a love poem. " (10)

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Stealing Trees
by Slighte

"There were so many different things that really captured me about this poem. The personification was wonderful to begin with; though this metaphor has been used before, the writer(s) used it in such a interesting way. In a way, I felt like certain parts held such a deep meaning whereas others were quite simple and straight forward. I thought there was a great balance of this though, which kept me on my toes. 'Three hundred and eighty for her oxygen' was one of those images of which I felt had multiple meanings. Without specifying, it opens the poem up for different interpretations, which I loved. I felt like the writer may be talking about the days in a year or literally circulating 380 degrees. Very thought provoking poem Well done." (10)

"The title fits the poem very well. Given a title such as this, I don't think I would be able to come up with something unique and creative piece as this. The little twist in the fourth stanza works particularly well. I also loved the attention grabbing first lines. Well done on this very imaginative piece of writing " (4)

"Very surprised to see a new face though older, not in age, member among the nominations. This poem was phenomenal because you wouldnâ??t know until the end that it was a collaboration between two people. The lines are effortlessly written as one. A hauntingly beautiful write. As well this poem could have also been placed in the sad category. I am just in awe of the talent from two poets being able to write such an amazing piece. Thank you for the pleasurable and delightful read. " (4)

"A breath of fresh air, who are you? Totally unique, whimsical, bold and effortless. There is something artfully careless about it that is so attractive. And I don't even understand the meaning behind the last two stanzas, but the great thing is that it doesn't really matter because the quality stands alone in its beauty and intrigue. It usually pains me to see writers write cryptically, trying to be overly (overtly) abstract. But this writer does not go to any great lengths, yet delivers something out of the ordinary. This a hallmark of talent. " (10)

"I liked the dream like essence of this piece and what I thought was clever about this poem was that the writers allowed for the audience to picture a dream like place and yet still connected the reader to reality by mentioning 'study notes' 'pencil cases' 'criminal' and so on. I felt as though one writer wrote the first two stanzas and then the second wrote the last two as the flow changed a little. I liked the subtle rhyme within the first two stanzas however it seemed to become lost within the last two, or at the very least it was less evident. I enjoyed the this poem was different, particularly liked the idea of an avocado tree as avocado's symbolize love lust and beauty so it made me wonder why it is 'she' wants to be a tree. An intriguing poem. " (4)

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Her Constellations
by Melpomene

"Week after Week, poem after poem, you amaze me. This time, no different as you take on the task of writing about someone else with such elegance. You weave pieces of yourself and her into this beautiful testament of friendship. Lines may have deeper meanings, but are no less cohesive to the readers to gather the full effect of the ties in this friendship. The opening and closing lines are perfect." (10)

"There is a sisterly fondness here that has been brought out by some effective imagery and personality. A poem to be cherished by the one to whom it was dedicated. I have to say, though, that the Egyptian references were a little too...unnecessary? Cliche? Hieroglyphics, Nile...yikes. But I understand that the differences in geography and culture form an integral part of this friendship, and these references did highlight that pretty well (as well as give clues for Britt's contest ). " (4)

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HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Illusions
by Yaki

"I'm speechless. All the words of this piece were so easy to connect to as it's something I believe everyone goes through in life. It's a phase of growing up. Realizing reality as you mature and break out of that shell of naiveness -to only discover that maybe reality isn't necessarily what you wish to believe in either like your illusions because it only causes pain when you realize your dreams are no longer true. I adored how this poet stays true to her heart and doesn't give up dreaming for anyone or anything. I was quite surprised by the ending that she decides to stay a dreamer because she feels the most solace in her dreams. A very beautiful poem, I loved it" (4)

"This poem was mature and as always I adored the tone the writer incorporates into her poems, as always she speaks in such a soft manner that is still power and able to draw the reader in. This poem speaks of maturity and it is indeed mature, the concept was interesting and I liked how the writer made this poem seem as though they were just scribbled thoughts and yet they were quite poetic. It was emotive and allowed the reader to connect to the words through such raw emotion and while many will find that the poem over-uses 'I' to me it had an impact and as I said above it gave that feeling of a pen being scrawled across a page in endless thought. A lovely read. " (7)

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Love Is The Verb That Caught Fire
by Karla

"I could not let this poem pass by without some appreciation and sympathy. It is overblown, it is rapturous, it is another poem about love by another poet who loves to love. There are some beauties here that are spot on, especially given the immensity and popularity of the subject. Ah, the poet's muse, the poet's curse, the poet's glory. Here's to it." (7)

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1825 Days Later
by Melpomene

"1825 days later, this has to be one of the most interesting titles I've read in a while. From the poem I could tell, it's like 5 years of waiting from something to happen. Its elegant and originative vocabulary, uneven yet unique structure, and proper executions of every stanza are the keys to this splendid piece." (10)

**Thank you to the judges for my win :)

CONgratulations for AALLLL of you, Winners and H.M's...amazing poetry, seriously best poets over here..
Well done, and well deserved! very satisfied with the poems being nominated!

Congratulations to all.

Congratulations!!

Congrats winners and HM

Congratulations to the winners & HMs. Thanks to the judges

Congrats winners and HM's

Congrats all!

Congratulations all! :)

Congrats winners! Well deserved.

''Hieroglyphics, Nile...yikes.''

Obviously never been to Egypt and never seen either one of them. Oh well. First time I've heard such, that's for sure.

Congrats to the winners and HM and thanks to Britt, the nominators and the judges.

Slighte, welcome to my favourites.

And lol, Nor. I guess it's like when people affectionately project a picture of me in Australia, surrounded by kangaroos and gum trees and desert sand in my hair. My country and its famous icons have very little to do with my friendships with people, although the aura of it must certainly be present in the mind. Mel typified you being in Eygpt, and in a sense, that was inevitable, especially if it's something defining in your relationship. And it was beautifully portrayed, actually. But I did enjoy the more personal touches better.

Congrats Slighte & Britt, awesome poems!

Also congrats to the HM's.

Thank you all & I am appreciative of all opinion and thank you very much for the comments, judges :)

The reason for use of such were because of my fondness of history and mythology, I have always adored Egypt and when I met Nor many years ago she became like a history book to me about Egypt, I have never physically visited the place and wish to, but her stories, photographs and such add more of a personal touch to me than reading it from a text book, however like Abby I am more fond of the personal touches better myself.

Thank you once again all. Appreciate it.

I understand where you're coming from, Abby and I should probably lighten up. Mel said it all really but it's not because of me or the poem that I've reacted.

It's just I'm a bit no fun when it comes to my country, it seems. I would've much preferred a ''Nor..yikes.'' if that makes any sense. But hey, it's ok.

Oh Nor, I knew where your reaction came from. I know your connection with your homeland and how strongly you feel for it and just how beautiful it is to you, hence another reason you and it are linked together in the poem, it's something that makes you, you.

The Nile and hieroglyphs are far too beautiful to be seen as anything other than that but I try see it from the judges perspective and I feel that the cliche part was in regards to my linking you and them together, rather than the Nile or hieroglyphs being cliche themselves.

I've loved it however, Mel, you've brought in there everything we love. Especially you know what. *winkwink*

Sorry for ruining the thread!

I'm am glad you did and of course, wouldn't be a poem without it *winks*

& yes sorry Winners and HM's for disturbing the thread.. Congrats again!

Congrats to the winners and HM's!

Congrats allll

Congratulations winners and HM's, well deserved!

Congrats winners and HMs !

Congratulations :] Well deserved poems! :] Thank you judges for all the hard work and also for those HM's. :] Thank you members for voting and also Britt for putting this up nice and early! :]

Great poems this week, guys! Both the winners and the HMs... all very lovely.
Congrats!

Oh wow. Thank you so much for the win ^^

Congrats to Britt and Melpomene and the HMs, which are all beautiful poems. And thanks judges for the comments, i am flattered by your responses.

(Tor/Her Majesty also thanks you for the win)

Congratulations guys, great poems! :)