Weekly Winners 11/28

Here are our last votes and comments from our Sep-Nov judges. Stay tuned for a freshly brewed mix from next week's new "chosen few!"

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"Life Passes By," by Lu

"Quite a sad piece about something that is inevitable: growing up and the loss of innocence. When we are children we want to be adults, and sometimes when we are adults we want to be children, and this is captured well here. I liked the ending, especially the image of the barbie doll wrapped with leaves. The image implies so much: Perhaps the family were poor and couldnt afford accessories for the doll, perhaps accessories were not needed years ago, or perhaps children had to be more resourceful and were more in touch with nature? It was a very unique and specific image. The theme of friendship is hinted at in the end too. Alas, how we all wish sometimes that friendships could be healed easily without fuss, like they were when we were children. This is quite a general poem that covers many subthemes and aspects of childhood, and the reader can relate to it very well. It is not all about childhood: adult life is seen in the poem too and is described as turbulant and painful with some strong word choices. Throughout the poem there is a sense that the poet is wishing for the impossible, from the dream-like imagary in the beginning - but ultimately she knows time can never be reversed, even if longing for it to be so is part of the human condition. Good, thought-provoking and relevant write, well done." (10)

"This poem truly brought me back to my childhood. So many pieces said here were so true to how it really is growing up and I just thought that was amazing. Lu has such a deep spirit and it shows throughout her poetry. Every piece is beautiful and this is no exception." (10)

"Very emotional, one that I and many will and have related to. I love your emotional side, and how you made this wise blend along with an emotional one. I am touched, and your title was very catchy. I also loved the wishes in your piece...
Great piece." (4)

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"Body," by Lebanese Phoenix

(10) Without comment

"The most beautiful part about this poem, is its message, then comes your way of putting your thoughts into words, it was very enjoyable, reflects a lot about you as a person and as a man. A well deserving piece. Hats off." (7)

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"Felled," by The Prince

"The word choice was very classy, deep and meaningful. Not only the coherence of your structure was noticeable but also the poetic originality made a huge impact. Always unique! Well done." (10)

"A lot is said in this quite intimate scene, and interesting descriptions and language is used throughout. What drew me into this piece the most was perhaps the ambiguity of the characters. I couldnt quite put a definitive age bracket on the character beside the poet; at first some references seemed to indicate she is a toddler or child sleeping next to a parent, e.g. the torquise cotton, 'fragile,' having smaller hands, etc. But 'amaretto kisses' seems to dispell that theory. In the end I settled that the two characters were of a similar age in a relationship, which seems the most obvious conclusion. But there is something innocent or fragile about her: The poet seems stronger than her, and is protecting her. I wondered, from what? Or is he just showing his love for her, showing their togetherness? The ending, where he holds back a sneeze, says so much; that he didnt want to wake her up. Such a simple but indirect reference gives an insight into their relationship, and it is nicely done. Im not sure about the use of 'stubbornly,' as it didnt seem to roll off the tongue as well as the rest of the poem. Overall though, interesting piece generally well put together, the only thing against it being perhaps the fact that it almost made me want to find out more or find more meanings but the content wasnt quite there for me to do so. Still a good write and deserving of the front page this week" (4)

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Lots of Honourable Mentions this week. They include:

"Vulnerability," by Courageous Dreamer

"Some great vivid imagary is on show in this poem, especially in the first stanza. The poet locate herself amongst the raspberry tree and grasses, as if she herself is part of nature. But the poem goes deeper than that: It is personal and the presence of somebody else in the form of 'you' soon emerges. Though the theme is a common one, I think it the poem is well written with good imagary overall, and the ending packed a bit of a punch. It is kind of dropped in quite suddenly to have an impact. The reader sympathises with the poet, despite the fact that it is not an 'emotional' poem, per say. If the poem would have went on longer, it would have gotten cliche, so I think it was just the right length. Overall I think it is a good acomplished job, especially in making a cliche topic interesting. Well done." (7)

"I like everything about this poem. The intermixing of nature with the inner state of the poetess got me going. The wording used along the thick descriptions is amazing. The state of 'vulnerability' was definitely reflected 101%. I have nothing much to talk about, maybe because it's perfect by every aspect, and I don't want to ruin the beautiful scenery she has created. Hats-off! :)" (4)

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"The space surrounding my heart," by Karla

"The ease you feel when reading Karla's poem is immense. I'm in awe to what she can combine in her pieces: the true meaning of love, gigantic maturity and exquisite wisdom. Her style is so smooth, yet it can drag you forcefully to the setting or mood she's able to create. Something in her creativity always pulls me as you can always feel a sense of sincerity, sensibility and maybe nostalgia in every write. And this read in specific is more than awesome. Pulling off, quoting her lover, she sets this atmosphere of heart cleanliness and tongue wisdom which 'Sufis' reflect. 'The space surrounding /her/ heart' contains connections to the body and mind, and this space is personified by him, the lover. What I like, too, is the detailed description of her movement and facial expressions in the second stanza: 'gazed quietly' - 'drinking his words' - 'quench thirst' - 'hiding' - 'afraid' ... Those descriptions reflect her confusion because the lover puzzled her when he quoted the Sufis, and in a way or another, she already knew the fact without knowing it existed on the tongue of someone. 'Unity of my Being' - I like how it looks like a name of a republic, kind of reminds me of a song named 'My Heart's Republic', interesting. And in the end, you can feel the slight pressure created at first being dissipated, so comforting... I love this. Moving, yet soul-easing, too." (10)

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"I'm Done," by Fat Giraffe

"Just reading the title out loud can prepare you to be fully attached to this poem's content, like in Avatar, when the tail is connected to any other alike plug, I don't know if this makes sense, but it did to me - I felt really attached to this, and even, I thought that every line calls my name and fully wired to me, in a way or another. He's DONE, it goes simply like this, snap your finger only: I'm DONE - done with being 'mediocre', maybe just working and saying 'this is enough for me', not asking, questioning or demanding (no, this ain't enough), and that image can really provoke you. It's revolution by itself, and revolutions these days became a trend. I can feel the concealed 'political' messages this patriotic poet is sending through the vibes of each idea, and it's great that he kept them concealed. With a tone as empowering and bold words as emphasizing, the writer pulled my strings into the poem. It's inspirational and moving by all means! And what I like the most is the spirit of this young when he said: WE LAUGH AT THE FACE OF MISFORTUNES! lol, that really made me chuckle. And then he said it's a reflection of his inner state. My, oh my, that really hit home for me. I definitely like this image. He rises, no matter how down he was put! And when I reached the end, I pictured that he's under rubble, not literally, and he pushes it off, then he rises... That was really amazing. Brilliance!" (7)

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"Yakari," by Yaki

"This is one of the most raw, vulnerable and open poems I have read in a long time. It's almost more so like a diary entry but written in a poetic format, and really makes you think about yourself, who you are, what you do, the compromises and sacrifices you make etc. This is a beautifully crafted poem with such depth and strength." (7)

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"Seasons of December," by Lioness

(7) without comment

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"Inevitable," by Lu

"This poem had a strange prompt, but Lu was able to take it to places I didn't originally think of. I thought this was a thorough and thought out poem with a lot of heart and soul into it, as most of her poetry is." (4)

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"Illiterate Bilingual," by Ms Sunshine says Hakuna Matata

(4) Without comment

Congratulations winners and HM,s =-).
and thanks for the HM.

Congrats winners & thank you judges for the HM.

Would have liked to have read the judge's thoughts of the winning poem with the missing comment. Curious to see their thoughts on the poem they voted for. Other than that well done to all.

Congratulations to all.

Is the update to the front page late or is this another glitch

EDIT Must be late, seems to be changing now

That's what I thought as well, it seemed to be an hour late or so?

^ Yes, me too, CD :)

But I'm sure the judge has a really pressurizing, frustrating situation :S

Now I can say, I HAVE WOOONNN :p lol
I must leave this talent behind. I've just got what I yearned for.

Thanks judges, and best of luck, the next batch of judges.

Congrats everybody.

It usually is later now I think from our time change. They're up now.

Congrats winners and HMs!

Awesome winners this week, really well deserved!!

Congrats to all the winners and HM's!

Well done to Abed, I love his piece!

Thank you and congrats to Abed and Danny
and all the HMs

Congratulations all!!!

A well deserved win!!!

Congrats to the HM's too!

It was awesome to be nominated!

x

Congratulationssss for the winners, amazing poems, well deserved ! Congratulations for the H'Ms too!
Was funny to read my name with " Akona Matata " LOL or embarrassing but okay! thanks for whoever who voted :D

Congratulations winners. Well deserved.

Congrats all!

Congratulations to the winners and HMs.

Thanks & a Final tip of the hat to this panel of judges. We appreciate your work and dedication.

Hope also to see you judge down the road when you've had time to rest.

Congratulations to the winners!

Also a big clap for the HM's & well done judges I hope you enjoyed your last week :)

Congrats, winners & HM's.

Yeah, the site tends to tip over to the next weekly winners in the middle of the morning. I wanted to put it up before work, though, otherwise it wouldn't have gotten done til about 3. You all just got a sneak peek, I guess!