Weekly Winners 7/11!

We had a huge amount of talent nominated this week, making our judges choices not so easy. I had a few judges tell me this was one of the harder weeks to choose from.. so nice job PnQers! Congrats to all the winners and HM's this week, and a thank you to the judges and nominators/commenters/voters who put time into this weekly thing!

Musing on Muses
by Narphangu

'The alliteration in the title and in this poem definitely drew me in, and the rest of the poem did not disappoint. I really felt like the
title also spoke for the poem alone, almost as if you didn't have to read the poem to know what the reader was going to express. I loved
the metaphor of the writer's muse being like that of them being the sailor of their own ship. The idea was executed perfectly through
phrases and word choice that were very relevant. The poem felt very natural, and not forced. 'Frail and fraying' was another great bit of alliteration. Definitely a hint of sadness in her words, but beautiful at the same time. Nicely done.' (4 pts)

"This was clever, I enjoyed the overall metaphor but also the many ones that were incorporated within. Often people speak of how their muse disappears but not their attempts to try and get her back. I enjoyed your use of imagery, it was as though you were painting a story within my mind and while when reading you see and hear the images from an adult perspective, it was almost a comic-book scene within my mind, especially with the use of 'phantoms' and strangely enough I pictured this as a pop art set of images. This poem was pleasing to my imagination and I enjoyed the structure of the poem. It was to the point and a piece I could read many times and still get much enjoyment." (4)

"I disagree that this poem was bitter. What a fantastic read, ironically written because you feel you have lost your muse. I believe your muse is alive and kicking and it must have been false sense of loss. Beautiful and breathtaking poem. Kudos to getting the muse in line." (7)

"The metaphor was used brilliantly here. There was so much said and looking deeper than the surface itself proves this writer has a mature style and manner." (4)

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Illusions
by Yaki Love

'This poem caught my eye again this week. This poet continues to express herself in such a simple manner yet does it so beautifully. I adore her heart, for she never gives up in what she believes in. I also adore the fact that she holds the maturity to decipher illusions from reality, though once again will stay true to her heart every time though she knows her dreams are not real, they seem real to her, for they are what she believes in. The quote - 'The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.' feels so fitting to this poem. 'Ill forever remain an
illusionist of my soul' is brilliant & a wonderful ending. Well done ' (7 pts)

" 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.

-To elaborate on what I said last week, I think it is the concept that intrigues me most, the writer spoke of illusions and yet I found this to be more of a poem based on growing up and taking the next steps to becoming an adult. We often place ourselves amongst illusions and in this time we miss out on what is happening around us, I felt like the writer was acknowledging this and reinforced the idea of innocence throughout her metaphors. The stars were to me a reminder of the nursery rhyme 'twinkle, twinkle little star' and the idea of the child in the womb again reinforced the idea of an innocent nature. A lovely piece that I believe is worthy of the front page. " (7)

"Oh my what a powerful and in depth poem you have created, spilling your innermost thoughts on a page for us to read. It is indeed a sad poem but none the less beautiful in all of its creation. Very profound thoughts that seem to tell me there is a coming of age within the poetess herself. Along with maturity comes wisdom and you have nailed it. Awesome. " (4)

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Britt at 6:00 PM
by sibyllene

'I loved how the writer here not only wrote of a hobby of Britt's (cooking) to put the poem on much more personal level, but focused on that alone, while possibly mentioning Britt's love of hunting indirectly [dead blood pooling, curdling, and meat bubbling off the bone.] The imagery and word choice both added so much to the poem. I felt like I could taste what was being cooked, with each ingredient added. Some of the phrases were absolutely lovely. For example, the simile 'quiet as a radish' fit perfectly as it was relevant to cooking. The poem also had a very nonchalant feeling to it. Several phrases reflected this - 'sun whistles through the window' - she gazes like a sunflower - 'she signs into the steam, hums a song' are beautiful. The mix of similes throughout the poem as well as the little bits of alliteration here and there [savory spices] was quite effective. Absolutely adored this entire piece. Very nicely done ' (10 pts)

"This poets writing style always intrigues me, I adore how she can take every day objects and turn them into something extremely beautiful. I liked the simplicity of wording that was adorned with action words, 'Hums' 'licked' 'whisks' these really added to the description of the poem. I couldn't help but smile at the use of onomatopoeia with the 'plop' and 'plip' it's not too often such technique is incorporated into a poem anymore and I could hear the noise as though Britt was standing there dropping her vegetable into a pot. The subtle alliteration was also great, I found that the 's' sound was evident throughout basically all of the poem and it was clver to keep such sound going as it helped with the overall flow. This was a beautiful tribute to a lovely person and you portrayed her really well. Those who know Britt know of her passion in the kitchen and I feel you couldn't find a better way to depict her. " (10)

"I adored the vivid descriptions of cooking. Attention to detail was the key in making this poem a winner in my book. The use of onomatopoeia and metaphoric analogies of the sunflower used to describe Britt were my favorite parts. It was definitely a perfect description of what most of us perceive Britt would be doing at 6:00 p.m. Awesome write, Awesome read " (10)

"A muted and wonderful poem, painting and reflection. Nothing happens and it is beautiful. "quiet as a radish" alone did it for me, yet there are also gems "gazes like a sunflower, unseeing" and the lovely "drop, plop, plip". These deliciously unique turns of phrase aren't displayed with any pomp or ceremony- they are as natural and simple as the rest of it. They all say it all. " (7)

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HM'S:

What Happened in Gloucester
by Narphangu

"Ah, I love these kinds of poems- so descriptive, using ordinary language to describe ordinary things- yet making it extraordinary. This poet is clearly a talented wordsmith. She can generally make any word evocative. She can extract the poetry from normality, vibrantly. The only thing I suggest is erasing "We're as varied as the lights we watch, and" as this line is telling rather than showing. The rest of the poem shows (and tells) it all craftily enough to render that line unnecessary. " (10)

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The Waiting Room
by Thomas

"I love the moody tone of this poem, through the flashing series of direct images the writer takes me through. " (4)

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1825 Days Later
by Melpomene

"As always this writer brings something fresh and serious and intriguing. Such a piece has me wanting more from this poet, as she brings something new to the PnQ table with her metaphors. The third stanza in this poem said it all for me." (10)

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Thirty-One Days
by coot

"This poem sums up a majority of feelings I've felt, heard about and read. The emotional impact is what held me here, and had my emotions on a rollercoaster for this poor child." (7)

YES INDEED had some of the most amazing poems written this weeek, and I was out of votes ! I had like 10 to nominate, but I am very happy with the choices made.. Well done guys and congrats for both winners and HM's...you mastered your poetry :D

Thanks judges for the win, and especially the HM (suggestion heeded, poem edited).
Congrats Yaki, Sibtastic, and to Thomas, Mel and Coot.
And thanks Britt. :)

Congrats to the winners :)

Congratulations to the poets and thanks to the judges

Oh man, I wasn't even paying attention to the contest this week! Haha, thanks for the votes, people. I'm glad I could help highlight a lovely member of the site!

Congrats Winners & HM's !

Congratulations to everyone!

Congratssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss great poems!!! :):)

Congrats winners!

Congrats to all!

Congrats to our three winners, excellent work :)

Also to the HM's & thank you for the vote on my poem.

Congratulations winners!

Congratulations to all the winners :)

Congrates to all :)

Congrats winners & HMs

Can't believe I forgot to post in this! :P Anyway, congratulations to the three winning poems. They were amazing and thanks for the HM's as well! We appreciate all the hard work you judges put into doing this. Also thanks to those who nominate these poems as well. :]