Winners 7/16/2012 Congrats :]

Well the winners are on the front page, and since I'm home, I found no reason to wait! we have 4 winners this week, since Britt and Mel both worked on Hinding! Applause guys!

A tie was broken as you will notice, soooo
Well done for the H'ms, you all write some greaaaaat poetry.

Congrats guys, thanks for the judges, you were great this week, thanks for the mods, big help as well <3

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Votes:
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In hiding
by Britt and Melpomene 10+7

Mirrors
by The Prince 4+10

Suicide Bridge
by Senryu 10 + 4 (from Tie breaker)

Go figure
by Karla 10

A fairys festival (Alphabet )
by Naughtymouse 10

Winter's Apple
by Xanthe 7

Peaceful Autumn
by Ingrid 7

I lament
by The prince 7

Enamored
by Poet on the Piano 7

With gratitude
by Dixiedaisy 4

Peninsula
Colm 4

Lydia
by Jordan 4

With Gratitude 4
by Dixiedaisy

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Comments:
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Mirrors
by The Prince

This poem is very different. While it isn't unusual for a male to write a piece about himself, it is rare for a male to write about physical self. I thought that this piece was great because of how different it was.

I really enjoyed reading the ending, as well. It is very blunt and sort of leaves the reader on a cliffhanger.

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-I liked this poem simply for it's being simple, easy to digest, and relatable. Isn't it funny how as we go throughout our days, we look at ourselves and see such different things?

"The mirror in my bedroom
enjoys my smile,

whilst the one opposite
the bath makes my wrists
look like they can barely
hold onto my watch."
-When one wakes in the morning or when one hits the bed at night, it's usually a reasonably relaxed atmosphere. You can have that gentle smile, and feel so at ease with yourself. But before you get to that bed, coming in from a long, hard day, you look at yourself in your bathroom mirror, and see a haggard, tired man.

"In the afternoon,
the tiny mirror
above the sink
hates my nose,

stains my teeth
with cigarettes;
my pale, pale
skin with pocks."
-In a public restroom perhaps? You're washing your hands, and see yourself, and can't help but notice all these seemingly huge imperfections of yourself as you go out into the world where other people may see you, and notice how less than grand you are. But no one would notice more than you, we are so critical of ourselves.

"My irises in the king-size
mirror downstairs catch
the sun the best. I could
stare into me for hours.

-Of course, we all have those moments of introspect, where we can find ourselves staring into our own eyes and just get lost in our own thoughts, maybe for a moment, we're actually beautiful to ourselves as opposed to the hideous thing we saw ourselves as in that mirror above the sink.

"The mirror in the kitchen
creases my face."

-Matter of fact. Sudden. Abrupt. A nice solid ending, and of course, the kitchen. A place of work in the household, who's face isn't creased with the displeasure of doing the dishes, or rustling up something to eat?

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In hiding
by Britt and Melpomene

This poem seriously captivated my attention. Comparing the body to a wetland was so intriguing. I didn't want this poem to end because I was so involved with this analogy. You two ladies did such an amazing job with this. You can't tell its a collab because the wording was so well combined and that takes amazing talent to sound like one author.

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These two ladies, created a sad piece that was just beyond elegant... full of sorrow and the wording drew me in from start to finish.

Collaborations are hard to do for many reasons... Mixing two styles into one poem, and these ladies did a beautiful job with this poem.

The depth of the message is very touching and it tossed me into many emotions.. The nature tones and even tearful sounds are within this poem... its just a wonderful piece, Well done Britt and Melpomene

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Suicide Bridge
by Senryu

What separates this poem from the rest that were written this week is the resilience of the metaphor you wrote. The whole poem had a shroud of mystery about it - I could never tell exactly what it was about until the very end. Perhaps someone who is more familiar with the Golden Gate's history would see through your symbolism a bit quicker.

The diction in this little narrative is excellent. At times it feels a bit like prose, but I think that the way you worded it helps to keep it in the3 realm of poetry.

What's more, though, is how great the ending turned out to be. All of the talk about the father, about pride and glory, and there was no talk of the mother. I reached the end and BAM there she is! The tiny little reference to the mother character was so unexpected but well placed that it made the perfect ending for this intriguing piece.

I'd like to delve more into the father/son metaphor, but I honestly feel that I would start ruining your work.

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Tie Breaker's Comment : thanks :) :

"The thing that first struck me about this poem was its language. There were times where it was less recognizable as a poem... in fact it seemed like something that should be out of a novel. In a novel, however, the language might have been too poetic! So I think this straddled an interesting line as far as language and accessibility, and the thing it ended up sounding the most similar to was epic poetry. This poem had a grandness, resonance, and mythical nature that would fit it well with some famous ancient texts. This "epic" tone also allowed the writer to narrate a story without it becoming unwieldy.

The overlying metaphor behind the poem took me a while to mull over and puzzle through. I don't want to give too much away or over-analyze, but it makes for a fun poem to figure out. Well done."

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Go figure
by Karla

Now I want to know what it is! You did a great job of drawing in the reader and hooking them right off the bat. Each person can draw something different from this piece. I had the image of a person being captured by love and being overcome by this emotion without knowing what it is...but then again people usually know it is love when they feel it. The ending was just brilliant. It helped the poem linger with me longer after I was done reading it. This one is a sure winner. (10)

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A fairys festival (Alphabet )
by Naughtymouse

This poem is a mystical delight! I was captivated by its beautiful word display, tossing me into a fantasy land of very pretty word usage!

The author of this poem has crafted a very creative and unique poem.

ABC poems are difficult to write in my opinion, trying to make them flow is something I have found very time consuming, so when I first read this poem my mouth dropped.

The author has tossed many mystical creatures within this piece and to me it dazzles! I can't talk enough about this piece... simply fabulous! Well Done naughtymouse

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Winter's Apple
by Xanthe

The descriptions you used here were great! I like how you tied in the seasons. At first, I read this piece as it was a person and not through the point of view of the apple. That is what makes this poem so great, the versatility in how it is interpreted.

"No one wanted me, thus I was left
alone for another Spring. Others
were favoured, others were brighter,
others were... everything I was not. "
^So much pain here...I think a lot of people can relate to this feeling of being second best to someone else. You expressed that flawlessly here. I loved this piece!

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Peninsula
by Colm

Such imagery! Well done! I honestly couldn't pick out a favorite line because it was all so wonderful. You painted each scene so flawlessly and took me on this wonderful journey.

"To where the crayon coloured cloth flew"
Alliteration! Love it! I loved how it sounded when I read it out loud.

Great job on this piece!

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Peaceful Autumn
by Ingrid

This poem gave me so many mixed feelings. It is a very sad poem, although at times it has an air of triumph - triumph that mightn't necessarily be wanted by the narrator, but rather it is accepted simply because of fate.

For such a short poem, you did well to fit in a wide array of emotion. Fear, disgust, anger, pity, acceptance. There are probably more, too, and I just missed them.

I think that this poem does a near perfect job of embodying what it is to be human. Since we are all so quick to see a situation as 'bad/good/etc' (with one label), we don't always realize that there are many different sides to one situation.

Such a strong piece with a surprising amount of emotion. Well done!

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Enamored by Poet on the Piano

-This was in the miscellaneous section, but I definitely think it has a place in love :) I love the descriptiveness given in the first stanza, "soft sea green suit" just has a soft flow to it that keeps the flow of the poem easy and light.

"makes silent love
to a zephyr,
on a mildly warm
July gathering."
-This part here was one of my favorite in the entire poem. I could see it so clearly in my mind: a man in his (soft sea green suit) letting the cool breeze curl around him on a warm day. Here you also give us a setting, but without being very specific. Leaves some to the imagination.

"Everything about him
expels faith,
believing his wife
is traveling the afternoon
to be wordlessly
by his side."

-He's waiting, patiently, believing this woman he's in love with will appear soon, he knows she's out there. This stanza gives the feeling of love so powerfully.

"he walks and holds
gently
the keys of her heart...

like understanding
how to touch a piano,
and create loving
keepsakes,"

-I was unsure of my analysis of the second stanza, and the stanza's that follow reinforce that lack of sureness. I still feel that I read it properly, not someone who is already with this person they love, but feels that they will soon meet the person they're meant to love. I loved the use of "keys of her heart", an oldie but a goodie. This ending was sweet, he knows how to touch her heart, and gently, to make the music of love, like the sweet melodies of a piano
"while living life
blind
to all else."
-It's true what they say, love makes us blind. Great poem, It really reaches out and touches you, but in a different kind of way, it's light. And hopeful.

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I lament
by The Prince

This poem was so different to me. It was a vent, a total rant, which usually is so crappy and not poetic at all, but I loved that this was so beautifully worded and it stayed a rant. It was all your jumbled up thoughts laid out beautifully to a woman who seems to almost drive you crazy. In love with the metaphors. That's what won me over

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With gratitude
by Dixiedaisy

This poem cracked a smile on my face when I first read it. Interesting topic, so heartfelt, so truthful, that all I heard was the sound of many ladies saying "amen". What made this poem stand out was the fact that you could have took this topic and made it funny, when in fact, natural things happening to our body isn't funny at all, its beautiful. Its life. Well expressed.

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Lydia
by Jordan

-This poem, as was one of last week's nominated poems by this poet, has a great sense of people's indifference towards one another. This was a simple poem. And I feel that "Lydia" is a bit jaded, with the line's "she looked away/she only looked/away" she seems unwilling to try and reconcile her distaste for people. There is no setting, however, and it makes one wonder where she is. Is she on trial or something? This was a good poem about society, perhaps give it a better setting or let us know more about the character.

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With Gratitude
by Dixiedaisy

This rhyming piece really made me smile. The author of this piece has captivated us with her strong and secure comfort within her own vanity... It was a delightful piece and a joy to read... the flow was very pretty....

"With waistline that's not shallow
nor my personality
there's gratitude for how
the way things appear on me"

This stanza is so powerful.... She talks about the strengths of inner and outer strength here... adore this stanza!

This piece deserves to be highlighted ....very inspirational piece.. well done Dixiedaisy

Congrats everyone. About my poem Dear Judge...you want to know huh but...go figure lol lol lol It's a secret but I saw it and whenever I close my eyes, I can see it again.It is the memory of my heart. I am glad with my HM.Thanks again!

Congratsssssssssss. BEST WEEK EVER.

Thanks for the hm! Congrats to all.

Jordan

Thank you judges so much! Of course I give all the credit to Mel lol
Thanks everyone involved as always! Congrats other winners :)

Congratulations Winners & HMs. Thanks judges & Nana.

Congrats to all.
x

Congratulations!!!! Thank you judges for the HM, the comment was really helpful.

Great work :)

Congratulations everyone they are some awwwwwwsome writes :-) and thankyou for the kind words one my own piece .
Judges you did a epic job as always and naaaaaaanaaaaa you rock \m/

I rock, and you Naughtytize :P <3 well written :]

Congratulations all!!! Winners and HM's!!!

Awesome writes!

x
Nana you lovely woman, you!

Hahaha I swear I wait for your post LOL you make me smile

Congratsss!!

GO MARKKKK!

Congrats

Congrats!

Congratulations to the other winners, and thank you to the judges! It means a lot :)

Congrats to all who were granted a place in the spotlights this week.

Thank you judge, who did such a fine job analysing my poem. It was very helpful indeed:)

I love the winning poems this week. Well done.

Thanks everyone, & congratulations to Danny, Senryu & the HM's.

Congratulations to the winners and HM's, I really like the choice! :)

Thanks Nana and judges :)

It's great if the sign appears beside Mel's version, too! I thought this was fixed or something..

Congrats, Winners and HM's.

Thanks judges and Nana.

Congratulations!! =J