Nor & Mel's Poetic Challenge - FINAL ROUND

Welcome all to the final round!

We began with 17 poets and 4 are now remaining, each battling for the win. As you know this challenge consists of accumulated points therefore who wins is determined on how well you went throughout the entire contest. To the four of you congratulations on making it this far & good luck. We are excited for the final results.

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ROUND 4
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This round is as follows: each of the four participants must PM me ONE prompt that includes Rule(s), restriction(s) or request(s).

EXAMPLES:

Request: Write a Triolet formed poem.
Restrictions: No use of I.
Rules: Must include the words yellow, gold fish, and wings.

Of course these can be mixed, for example write a love poem that doesn't include the word 'love' and it must rhyme.

After I receive the 4 prompts they will be randomly numbered and each participant will have an option of PM-ing me a number [Keep an eye out in this thread, I will inform you all once all Prompts have been sent to me and when it is time to request your number] Once you send your number to me by PM you will receive a reply to your message with your matching prompt. As usual it's first in first served.

You can be as creative as you like with the rules/restrictions/requests however remember you could find yourself with your own, So therefore we suggest you do not make it impossible.

RULES:
Please PM your poems to Nor as she is handling getting the poems to the Judges.

Nor's Profile:
http://www.poems-and-quotes.com/author.html?id=439827

DUE DATE: Friday the 5th of August at 9AM. As usual follow the link to avoid confusion: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=240

Any questions feel free to ask either Nor or I.

Good luck once again.

Thanks, Mel!

I'd like to repeat that it's possible that one of the participants or more might end up with their OWN prompt so don't send one that you yourself can not write.

3 out of 4 Prompts are in. Just waiting on the final one.

You two have the creative-contest award!

Thank you, Larry :)

All 4 Prompts are in. Please PM me your number. Once received I will place RESERVE next to the numbers below.

[1] RESERVED
[2] RESERVED
[3] RESERVED
[4] RESERVED

All spots reserved. Good luck :)

1 Poem is in!

Final round closed!

Poem 1:
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''Prompt: Write a poem about an interesting aspect, or interesting individual in your family.

Restrictions: No set rhyme schemes allowed.

Rules: Must include the words "flounce," "totem" and "stale", and use some words or symbols from their (or your family's) cultural heritage.''

Truth Prevails
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You strung us together with
your soft-spoken voice of feathers
yet now we dress ourselves
in our culture to remember times
gathered 'round the dinner table
nibbling on zeli garnished
with burnt onions,

speaking of how 'the truth prevails'
for it is a totem of our belief -
sewn 'cross liden branches,

for we will always be
from the womb of ancestry
that birthed double tailed lions
with golden crowns of Bohemia,
the red and white checkered eagles of Moravia,
black eagles with crescent breasts,
clover stalks flounced at the edges like Silesia.

Your memory shall never be stale.

--
Zeli - a traditional Czechoslovakian meal made of roast pork with dumplings & sauerkraut

Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia - regions of Czech Republic

_________________

Poem 2:
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''Request: Write a poem about lost love.

Restrictions: Can not directly refer to crying. Cannot use the word "heart."

Rules: May not rhyme.''

Swimming Lessons
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Occasionally,
I take a different route
One that takes me past that little gray house
in the neighborhood we grew up in

To the tiny yard where a green plastic pool
served as summertime entertainment,
and the water hose lay dormant
discarded as a past time.

An age when shrill laughter
from our eight year old frames
echoed across freshly mowed lawns
and crept through kitchen windows
in the hour before supper

A place where an oak tree
doubled as base and held the tire swings
where pinky promises were made
prematurely

A time when childhood was swaddled
in sun dried towels after a bubble bath
and crisp sheets warmed by moonlight
awaited Magellan minded dreams

To those sleepy morning
wrapped in flannel jammies
and smells of maple syrup covered pancakes
wafted through air on ribbons of Autumn

Oh, how I wish I hadn't taken this path today,
to a place where past and present collide
a time before we had to learn
to sink or swim

Lost Love- the comforts of childhood innocence
No use of crying or heart
Does not rhyme

_________________

Poem 3:
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''Request: Write a poem about a constellation from this list -
http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellation_list.html

Restrictions: You cannot mention the constellation in the title or the poem by it's name.

Rules: Poem must be 75 words exactly.''

Hunting the Cosmos
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I arch my eyes to the southern sky,
where stifled behind wind brushed leaves
the galaxy cradles Prometheus' savior
in the dawning of distant scintillant lights.
Flickering between branches,
December's arrow
languishes towards the Scorpion's heart,
a hunt begun before the victim was named.
Oh, if I could graze in Jupiter's favor,
shaded along a damp horizon,
I, too, would hold a quiver of stars
and I'd mark targets
on the cobwebbed corners of space.

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***Sadly one poet didn't submit their poem.

Thank you for posting, Nor. :)

Can't wait for the results!

This is so much fun!
I can't wait till I see the winner :)

Thank you, both, Nor and Mel xD

***Sorry for the one day delay. My fault since I wasn't on for two days. Here are the reviews, Thanks to everyone who helped in this. You guys are awesome!

1) Truth Prevails

''This poem had some neat lines and images, however there were some that I personally think harmed the poem. Like in ''your soft-spoken voice of feathers'' the use of ''feathers'' made me as a reader stop in confusion (which isn't in favor of the piece considering it's just the second line). At times, I thought perhaps the usage of such could be describing something personal or culture-related that I am clueless about or have a hard time imagining but I couldn't be sure. I thought ''speaking of how 'the truth prevails' '' was a bit not that creative, too. Also, the poem in my opinion could have done without ''with golden crowns of Bohemia, the red and white checkered eagles of Moravia'' I thought it would read better had it been ''for we will always be from the womb of ancestry that birthed double tailed lions, black eagles with crescent breasts..(continuing on with the images)''. Still, on the brighter side, I found this to be a warm write of sorts and I could actually see a family gathering around the table with the head of the family (perhaps?) talking in kindness and wisdom. I could sense pride, imagine interesting discussions that must be taking place and of course, delicious food.'' -The Princess

''Definitely a good read, I really like how the writer included all the aspects needed to make this poem, it shows the amount of skill and imagination the writer possess. Definitely impressed.
Epic :-) '' -RSJ

''I really like this poem, though the others I read showed better creativity
But the writer here reached my soul! And I was fond of how the SERIOUSLY
YUK words that they were OBLIGED to use, were used in a very very smooth
Way, and by that I mean the writer was smart and didn't have 2 force it!
I like this one! Great work..'' -Ms Sunshine

''Omg what a gorgeous piece,so full of history and nostalgia..this poem almost sounds as if someone was telling a story,like taking back pieces of the past and praising them..this poem must have been quiet a challenge to write,i bet..the wording was excellent and creativity here is at its highest...no cheesy line,no over-complex metaphors yet no simple ones either this is the kind of poem you could read time over time again..and just like it more and more...brilliant!''

''Liden = Laden? This was possibly one of the most interesting prompts and I also believe it would of been most difficult. I found the symbolism throughout this extremely interesting, I did some research as I don't know too much about Czechoslovakia apart from what I had learned in Modern history during the war. I found some of the more traditional related history to be quite intriguing. When you reference feathers I felt as though you were speaking of ancestors, those of generations before you, parents, grand parents, anyone who had touched your heart on such a level. While researching I came across that of traditional dress in Czechoslovakia and I'm not sure if this was your intention or not but it mentions feathers in mens caps indicating whether or not he is married. I liked the reference to food, I know it's a such a strong thing in any European country seeing as my family is that of European origin themselves and I adored the mouth-watering reference to burnt onions. Nice symbolism with the double tailed lines, golden crowns, clover stems and eagles, a nice way to incorporate more tradition of your origin. You mention the 3 religions being "Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia" however I am curious if you're any of them seeing as you don't live in this country or what religion it is that your ancestors are/were? The only thing I felt with this piece was it wasn't as personal and as natural as I felt it could be, I do understand you were adhering to the rules and it couldn't of been the most easiest task, however I didn't feel like you made the connect of you, yes you referenced yourself but it wasn't a bond if you know what I mean, that connection wasn't as strong. I did enjoy the symbolism, research and the personal touches in the beginning, I just would of liked you to have incorporated more of this throughout.'' -Melpomene

''The poem has a really nice flaw in it, it shows alot of warmth and honesty in its lines. The required words were used in the correct places. Well written.'' -gIrL

"In my opinion, this was well-written to some extent, but I felt some lines weren't well-done as the others, like in the last line, the insertion of the word "stale" sounded forced, and so that it didn't flow nicely." -The Poetess

''I got the feeling reading this that the author may have rushed it a little, maybe to get it in for a deadline. While it was a decent piece, I didn't find it terribly interesting or original.

''your soft-spoken voice of feathers''
^^
This line seems a little awkward and as it is at the beginning of the poem, it threw me off a little. Presumably the feather is referenced because it is soft, but you have already said ''soft spoken voice'' so the implication of the feather reference is void and doesn't add anything in my opinion.

I liked the detail at the end of the first stanza, especially ''burnt onions''. It implies that they weren't perfect, things went wrong, but still the family are together and I think it says a lot in a few short words.

I'm not sure about the use of shortened words, for example ''round and 'cross.'' Round might be okay, but 'cross doesn't seem to sound quite right. I don't really see why the writer couldn't have just used around or across here. They make the voice in the poem seem a little inconsistent, as if sounds like the writer is trying to hard, and this takes away from it's authenticity a little bit.

I like the use of place-names, it gives a sense of belonging to a locality that is linked with the idea of family. There is a sense that the writer has grown up in these places, has had adventures, has made friends, and were themselves part of the landscape. I do not know if there is special significance in the eagles and colours, I get the feeling there is but unfortunately (through no fault of the poet) I cant fully appreciate them.

I'm not sure if the title is very effective, ''truth prevails'' is a little cliche and not very interesting. The second and third stanzas are a little bit disconnected and although they deal with a similar theme, there seems to be a distance between the idea of ''truth'' and sense of home/memory. Maybe if the author was revising this poem at some stage that could possibly be looked into.

I thought the writer integrated the required words into the poem quite well, (totem etc.) I think it was quite a challenging challenge, one that the author completed quite well especially given the time restraints, but perhaps some revision could be used to improve areas in the future. Possibly in a similar challenge in future, the poet could think about using a less obvious image than for example the family dinner, experiment with detail and implication to describe the idea of family in a truly original way.'' -Colm

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2) Swimming Lessons

''I love love love this. The feelings, emotions and the creativity in the simplest lines and phrases. The beginning with ''Occasionally,'' pulled me in (in curiosity). Later, I thought it really smart of the author for it left a different feeling than starting with ''I take a different route''. It gave the poem a slower speed, almost a lingering one. If I were to pick on something I didn't feel or like much it would be the use of ''pinky'' in ''where pinky promises were made''. The last two lines were fantastic. Certainly a lot of us can relate easily to this piece but not pen it more effectively.'' -The Princess

''While the title appealed to me and the poem was perfectly strewn with nostalgia, fondness, and homage to a childhood that remains only as a memory, I had difficulty feeling the "lost love" aspect of it. The bits that do strike me as somewhat reminiscent of a childhood love that has subsided were not as powerful as I would have liked. They seemed a bit forced to keep the poem on track with the prompt. I don't want to get carried away with all that though - I want to emphasize more than anything that this is an extremely well-written piece, penned by a talented writer with a gift for painting images in a way that is vibrant, but nevertheless real and relatable. Props.'' -Silvershoes

''Wow!!! This has got to be one of my favorite poems through out the whole contest, I don't believe the writer could have done a better job provided both these restrictions, The last Santanza is what hit home for me, I think almost everyone can relate to it and again the writer could have not portrayed it in any better way. Excellent job, and a full mark.'' -RSJ

''I must be honest, right? To the write of this piece, are you mad? What's wrong with you!
What have you done here? My god, I read your poem like a 100 thousand million zillion time
And every time I read I was touched even deeper! This must be one of my most best heartfelt
Creative piece! Usually poems of lost relationships and sadness, are written with a very
Simple language, but even your simplicity here had this amazing creativeeee freaking heartfelt
Tone. OMG the title and the relation with your personal references just left me of so speechless!
I am nominating this, and I beg you send me a PM when you submit it! Please whoever you are, even if I hate you..ok? Thanks!
Good luck!'' -Ms Sunshine

'' This poem left me in suchh awe... so much sincerity and tenderness here the poem it self was so soft and lovely..the kind of thing that makes your eyes watery and makes you go...'aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwww :( ' i adored this piece..it almost felt as if they were squishing my heart...the beauty of this is how many people you'll find relating to this..how touchy it is...besides the fact that the phrases were written in such tone that makes you wish it would never end...i can not wait to see who the writer of this beauty is and to give it the most deserving nomination ever.''

''I liked how you ran with this prompt, when someone tells you to write a poem of lost love you usually would automatically write a romantic loss of love not something as you did here, a clever move in my opinion. What I got most joy out of with this piece was the fact that no matter what age you are you can still relate to this. You used images and objects that are symbolic in any childhood, the plastic pool, the hose, tire swings, it got me thinking how even over generations some things can still remain the same in the essence of childhood. I adored how you incorporated some words that were quite sweet and innocent including "pinky promises" and "Jammies" they added that special touch to the poem and allowed the reader to feel as though they too were traveling back to their past. This poem had an emotional impact for me, the transition between child and adult within the last stanza with quite abrupt but it really worked well, it was as though you spent so much joy in your childhood only to have it whisked away in an instant and brought the idea of how time moves too quickly. "Ribbons of Autumn" This was such a beautiful line in my opinion, it stuck with me and I'm not sure exactly why, just something about it caught my attention. Overall I think this piece had the best emotional impact out of the three presented, a lovely read.'' -Melpomene.

''This could have been anyone's childhood but the author very cleverly pulled me in and instantly it was mine. I'm sure many who read this will feel the same. Nostalgia at it's best in my opinion and, I loved the irony of the last stanza, it just summed everything up for me. The only thing I would question this author on is, although all stanzas start with a capital letter, some do not finish with a period and, because I felt these particular stanzas were indeed a follow on from the previous, they should not have been capitalized. Just a minor thing I noticed, I haven't read the other poems but, I admire the fact that this author kept their cool and didn't aim for anything major in the final round. This is a possible winner in my opinion.''

"I LOVE this piece, though the rules and requirements were so hard! this is creative, indeed, and I so love everything about it, the creative wording and the smooth flow, good job" -The Poetess

''An interesting and worthwhile challenge, I think the poet did well in addressing it. I think it was a good idea for the poet to stay well clear of the type of poem we have all read before about lost love. I think the opening statement itself reflects this; ''occasionally I take a different route,'' it doubled as having a meaning about the act of writing itself. I enjoyed this and thought it was clever word-use. Describing a swimming pool, gardens, etc was interesting.

There are a few places where the wording sounds a little awkward. For example; ''from our eight year old frames echoed across'' I don't think this makes sense having ''frames'' and ''echoed'' alongside each other.

''awaited Magellan minded dreams'' A good line, and nice reference to Magellan. Perhaps this would sound better though ''awaiting Magellan dreams.''

''Morning'' Typo, should be mornings.

''Prematurely'' I perhaps would leave this word out; it gives away a little too much to the reader. If that stanza ended with ''pinky promises made'' the reader would wonder if they were kept, and you could create a link in the final stanza to imply that they were not kept.

Perhaps the poem lagged a little in the middle; but not majorly. I liked the sense of nostalgia the ending brings that ties it all together. It brings the reader away from the images and back to the theme/idea of the poem. The structure of the poem mirrors the poets thoughts; first the vivid memories and then moving onto the sense of loss and disappointment now that they are gone. Overall a good effort.'' -Colm

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3)Hunting the Cosmos

''This was perhaps the hardest poem to write on this round due to the word restriction, still the poet did a very good job of it, an awesome one actually. The whole poem was creative and took quite an interesting approach. I was especially fond of ''December's arrow languishes towards the Scorpion's heart'' and the last stanza. I wish the author would expand the poem before posting it in their profile, I'd love to read more of this.'' -The Princess

''I'm in love with the title, I know for a fact it is nowhere near easy to perfect these kind of writes, but this here is astonishing, I couldn't have done any better, ;)
The image I've got from this poem shows me how deep and vast the imagination and the skill of the writer.'' -RSJ

''I want to congratulate you, cause the rules you had to stick to are stinky! I almost Ewed
And couldn't help but sympathize with you, but I think your talent helped you a lot, cause
You didn't force a single word over here, actually it had some complications but it got better after
Several reads and to be fair I did enjoy it a lot and thought that you did very well!
Loved the title again!'' -Ms Sunshine

''First I must say kudos to the poet who gave that prompt, it wasn't so difficult that it messed your competition up, and it was creative, not the usual. Secondly the poet made me want more. I'm curious to know the specifics and story behind the constellation chosen as I don't know much about it. I feel the word count didn't restrict the author, and they wrote in a simple yet beautiful way. This is an amazing write, on my opinion.'' -Britt

''Instantly I was reminded of Sagittarius, being one myself I was intrigued to see what you had written. I wasn't surprised when I realized this was one that was symbolic of yourself and the sign you fall under, a nice way to run with the prompt you were given. Couldn't help but smile at your incorporation of 'Prometheus' it seems we've had a lot of mythology within this challenge and it's been a pleasure for me to read. I also noticed you used Jupiter, of course this left me pondering whether or not you were speaking of the Planet or the Roman God. I ended up interpreting it as a metaphor for both as Jupiter (The God) as he was indeed the God of the sky and equivalent to Zeus from Greek mythology so it works well with the imagery and concept presented. I did however find it intriguing that if I was right in the idea of Jupiter, you ended up using both Roman AND Greek mythology, not too often will you find them incorporated together unless it's speaking of the 'equivalents.' You wrote 'Decembers arrow' which was lovely but at the same time it is also November's arrow and therefore I wasn't sure how fitting it was as the sign crosses over two months, beautiful context however and as mentioned I can tell this poem was of personal reference to you as a December baby so I do understand why you used it. I loved that you included the myth of Sagittarius as well, it was nicely blended within. I adored the creative essence of the poem and found the imagery presented to be strong and stunning.'' -Melpomene.

"This was the hardest one! I cannot believe how the writer could write such a perfect piece! this is in my book the winner, and I believe that it will win! :) I love everything about it, starting from the title, till the very last line, good job." -The Poetess

''My knowledge is not extensive on astrology to say the least so one or two references or meanings may have escaped me, but overall I could still see it was a well written piece. What I liked most, was how the poet put themselves in the poem by saying ''if I could'' I gives a tone of longing, to be worthwhile in the world or even help shape it. It also helps make the poem a journey, from initial observation to a realisation of a want or desire. The tree between the poet and the sky is almost like a divider, separating them from the vast wonder of space. There is the sense that the branches are there to remind the poet that he/she is part of Earth, and can only wonder at the beyond but never go there. The poet by using ''if,'' then transcends space and begins to dream. The poet my just have been changed a little by the journey.

I think the descriptions in general are vivid and interesting. Particularly the image of a galactic archer firing stars into existence into the ''webbed'' corners of space is original and informative on different levels. The wording also encourages the reader to think, almost to stargaze themselves.

There are undertones of a theme of creation and origin throughout. There is a sense that the galaxy has its own life, of which virth and death are a part of, and these constellations are real characters. The poet in the end takes on a God-like figure, while the line ''a hunt begun before the victim was named'' somehow made me think of abortion.

Some quite minor aspects could be looked at again. For example, the use of ''Id'' in the second last line is questionable; I think it is more of a hinderance than an addition. Also, the following line could be re-examined to perhaps be slightly reworded ''a hunt begun before the victim was named.'' All in all though, an interesting, original and thought-provoking piece.'' -Colm

''Though only 75 words were given, I felt like there were quite a few hints throughout the poem. While there were also other bits that made one think of other constellations, 'I arch my eyes' and 'I'd mark targets' made one think of Sagittarius who is 'The Archer'. I felt as though I was looking up at the night sky studying this constellations' beauty & meaning with you. Given the restrictions and such I'd say you pulled this off quite well. Well done.'' -Courageous Dreamer

''This poem was quite a serene yet powerful write. I especially liked the dreaminess of the ending, and the humanness that lies in the mythology being portrayed. My main criticism here would be that the poem didn't breathe much. I understand that the poet was trying make every word as descriptive as possible to squeeze out every drop within the word count restriction, but this ended up with a poem that felt like condensed soup- something where water needed to be added. I feel there would have been more impact and beauty if the sentiment of the poem stayed the same, but the words were allowed to unfurl and stretch out a bit- to shine among their simpler peers, instead of becoming swamped by others of similar command.'' -abracadabra

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***Winners will be posted in a few minutes.

We'd like to thank all of those who continued to support the contest by reviewing poems for us, the participation was amazing and we it really added something special for those who entered poems. Nor & I will also be posting our comments to members accounts, we encourage all who reviewed poems to do the same (once the poems are posted of course) as the reviews were extremely helpful in our opinion.

I'd also like to thank Nor for without her persistence and gathering of the reviews this part of our contest wouldn't of came to life and I think it was my favorite part! You did an amazing job.

Awesome job poets, still lovin on number 3!

Just adding the Prompts so you all can see who gave which prompt and who wrote what prompt.

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Prompt 1 (Dixiedaisy)

Request: poem about a tomato restrictions: 75 words or less rules:must be written in first person.

***Poem wasn't submitted.

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Prompt 2 (Sibyllene)

Request: Write a poem about lost love.
Restrictions: Can not directly refer to crying. Cannot use the word "heart."
Rules: May not rhyme.

***Poem written by Dixiedaisy.

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Prompt 3 (Courageous Dreamer)

Request: Write a poem about a constellation from this list -
http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellation_list.html
Restrictions: You cannot mention the constellation in the title or the poem by it's name.
Rules: Poem must be 75 words exactly.

***Poem written by Narphangu

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Prompt 4 (Narphangu)

Prompt: Write a poem about an interesting aspect, or interesting individual in your family.
Restrictions: No set rhyme schemes allowed.
Rules: Must include the words "flounce," "totem" and "stale", and use some words or symbols from their (or your family's) cultural heritage.

***Poem written by Courageous Dreamer

Daisy..you have no idea what your poem did to me! I got addicted LOL
Congrats and Well deserved, amazing poetry!

Congrats for everyone else, I thought that all those who were left to the end held a very promising talent!