Contest Winners- December 17, 2012

Hello everyone! Thank you all again for the wonderful encouragement I've been receiving for accepting the hosting position. This is my first week organizing this, so bare with me if anything seems screwy, however I'm hoping all is good :) If the format is different or you see something out of the norm...deal with it, I'm in charge now MWAHAHA! just kidding..all suggestions welcome (by PM please)

Now here we go.... Congrats to this week's winners and to of course, our lovely HM's!!

O'er Summer Skies (Huitain) - 7 + 7 +7 = 21
by Hellon

You, and Nuances Forgotten - 10 +4 =14
by Xanthe

Paradox - 7 + 4 = 11
by Thomas

HM's:

Unhappily Ever After
by Baby Rainbow (10)

Ocean Writer
by Maple Tree (10)

Us
by Tara Kay (10)

The Poet Of Milling [1]
by Timothy (10)

Between Home and I-65
by Hannah Lizette (7)

Kiss
by MyHalozChokinMe (4)

They Sit Alone
by Maple Tree (4 + 4)

WINNER COMMENTS:

O'er Summer Skies (Huitain)
by Hellon

I don't recall seeing this form before, however the author makes it look so easy and effortless that it makes me want to attempt it myself.
I'm always a fan of beautiful imagery and within the opening lines the author has me smiling as I can quite easily see what she is describing in my mind, and it makes for such a pretty visual.

I'm usually not a fan of nature poems as I find that they are one of the more difficult genres to write about, and -if- a poet succeeds in writing them often I find they become cliche and often include overused terms/similes/metaphors etc. However, the author does a simply wonderful job throughout the whole poem, the imagery is spot on, as is the flow and the content of the poem, and I think this was a remarkable poem and lovely attempt at the style used. (7)

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O'er Summer Skies (Huitain)
by Hellon

The author did a wonderful job portraying the magical beauty of nature just before sunset by using strong, accurate and well-placed words. Imagine a multitude of tiny silver stars peering through the dusky pink background. Majestic... in all its glory.

Metaphorically, the mountains here represent the relationship between a mother and her child. She is devoted to her child and prepared to withstand great suffering for their sake.

As for the form; lately, I've seen a few poems that are written in this beautiful poetry form and to be honest, this poem is one of those two that has truly taken the top of my head off. The rhyming words fit in with the rest of the poem and sound natural. This poem's strict meter counts help give the reader predictability when reading this piece. Excellent! (7)

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O'er Summer Skies (Huitain)
by Hellon

Hellon, whenever you write something, I want to applaud you: your poetry is always elegant and unique. You are an asset for this site.
I am not a fan of formed poetry and Huitain poems seem to be so constricting but you nailed it. "O'er Summer Skies" is perfect in so many ways. I must say the flow, the imagery and the rhythm are a magnificent combination here. I read it several times and my mind's eyes were captured by the beauty of your piece, by your immaculate images, by the breathtaking details that only a poet like you could weave. You truly are gifted. Excellent write! (7)

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You, and Nuances Forgotten
by Xanthe

Xanthe, I need to read more of your stuff after this, There is fantastic narrative throughout with some real eye opening attention to minor details. I enjoyed this every moment of this piece.
What grabbed my attention first is the way it is spoken rather than written, not only that it is spoken with an accent, very bold and very difficult to do I should imagine.
The repetition in the last line of stanza 1 is really clever, the question mark works perfectly as if you are confused with the statement itself.
The asides you drop in throughout really help sell your tale, they add to the atmosphere and the desperation of the whole thing, this couples with the sadness you have scattered.
I have resisted the temptation to break it down because I honestly feel if I did I would be doing this masterpiece a dis-service.
I thought it would be useful for a review to point out what I liked most.
Stanza 2, the whole stanza is genius, it almost takes you away from the poem and gives you a little inside into this persons life, references to scars and cuts and the attention to detail I mentioned with your reference to the beer bottles and boxes.
I would also like to point out the use of repetition that works and drives the poem,
'Yet vaguely, quite vaguely'
'feared and feared' final stanza.
'Dangling, dangling?' first stanza.
Well done on an excellent write. (10)

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You, and Nuances Forgotten
by Xanthe

This is another fantastic piece from this author that offers emotional satisfaction to her enormous and devoted audience on here. The repetition in the first stanza seems to indicate that the nuances of the second person are still fresh, "draped over branches", "just dangling, dangling".

As the second stanza began, the second person does not clearly understand the state he is in. It makes me think that this person does self-harm and other things. From here, the indication of a certain death sprouted in my mind. Perhaps, this person is dead already and that this poem is about the haunting memories from a past lover, which are both confirmed as the poem progresses. Rather sad ending, but the memories obviously live on hauntingly and unforgettably. (4)

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Paradox
by Thomas

You are a very clever and witty poet, that is what you are my friend.
Line two grabbed my attention, is there such a thing? Do the two not oppose each other?
But it works, to me it makes perfect sense.
Somewhere between God and man is such an arrogant line, this person sees themselves better than the average Joe,
I laughed at the thought of trying to find peace in city, great point!!
Everything about this piece is very clever, the images you paint, the rambling pace, the clashing of words that shouldn't really work together but do.
You could delve right into this and come up with so many variations on what we think this poem is about.
Very, very good write. Well done. (7)

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Paradox
by Thomas

I read this pieces several times, over and over... each time, I take the same feelings, but I sink deeper and deeper into this piece. Thomas has penned a heartfelt piece on the battles within his own mind, feeling lost and alone. The title helped me to set the tone for this piece..

I really admire the word usage within this piece and just felt mesmerized by each stanza.. I had to highlight this piece, well done Thomas (4)
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HM COMMENTS:

Unhappily Ever After
by Baby Rainbow

This poem, was such a magical, and elegant take on the "Happily Ever After" tale.. However with a twist. Baby Rainbow, turned it around through the eyes of a child, in a broken home. The message of the love of a family being torn apart by divorce is tragic, but how she laced it into the metaphor of the fairytale "gone wrong" was so touching, that I ended up reading this piece several times. Truly an emotional piece, full of heart and soul.. Beautiful and heartfelt!!!!!!!!! (10)

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Ocean Writer
by Maple Tree

This poem mesmerized me and I simply fell in love with it. The title is unforgettable and the images made my jaw drop. The second stanza is so beautiful and I caught myself immersed in your darkness/light metaphor, thinking about the power of love in our lives. Everybody wants to be connected "far beyond rational" like two complementary forces. Every woman dreams about a Yin-Yang love. After all, duality is a permanent condition in life to form a whole: one can't exist without the other: female and male, water and fire, darkness and light, earth and air, etc. It is also fantastic that the nature of Yin Yang flows and changes all the time. When one aspect increases, the other decreases. Balance can be only achieved if things are not static: "inhale, exhale".
And what to say about the last stanza? ...It hypnotized me my dear! It is delicate, beautiful, perfect.

!all I know is, he moves me,
the ocean writer I ache to
cross, in sea of emotion,

I'll drown until the ink runs dry...."

"the ocean writer I ache to cross, in sea of emotion" is one of the best lines I have ever read in my whole life and I want to bow to you because you made my heart skip a beat. I was speechless before such a poetic gem. Those lines will always linger in my soul. All I hope is that your ink never "runs dry" because poets like you have this strange power of making us drown in a "sea of emotion". Excellent piece! (10)

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Us
by: Tara Kay

It's not often I find myself immediately captivated and yet the authors opening line here has me instantly hooked.

So many times in a love poem we hear about a broken heart, how it can not be fixed or how it's shattered etc and yet this author manages to plant those visuals so uniquely into my mind with that one opening line. It's something I haven't heard/read before and something that I found myself incredibly fond of.

The following lines only add to the emotion and power behind the authors words/ feelings and leave the reader free to feel what the author is feeling, and yet it is all done in such an original way that one cannot help falling in love with the poem even more as they read on.

"without a key to release them"

Quite easily my favourite line, as it is again so original. When a love ends, most people want to forget it happened, when one is present, they want to relieve the happier memories. Yet here the author again adds their own special touch to the poem by stating it is forever locked away, regardless of the circumstances.

I found I very much liked the closing lines, too often people regret so many things, be that love, a lost relationship or something completely different and it's nice to see someone state that no, they do not regret it, even if they do have to 'stitch up' their heart once more.

Overall, I found this poem well written and moving, and one I enjoyed immensely. (10)

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The Poet Of Milling [1]
by Timothy

I've never heard of Mr. Philip Larkin before until I did some research and I think that he couldn't be described in any more effective way than what the author has just penned here.

Having been accused of misogyny, the author did a wonderful job portraying his character and helping us understand how his mind works. The theme of the poem is well-expressed, supported by powerful imagery and clever phrases.

On a stool, or a armchair, frightened by fact that
[On a stool, or "an" armchair, frightened by the fact that]

every human isn't worth the skin they sit in
^ I find this line fascinatingly complex, evocative, and memorable.

I like the paradox or seeming contradiction in this line "It's hard to tell" as it effectively creates an unforgettably conclusion at the end of the poem. Cleverly written! (10)

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Between Home and I-65
by Hannah Lizette

Hannah, this piece touched me in so many ways.. To start, the message describes a tragic event on I-65, such as a car accident... the fear can be felt throughout this piece and it's so elegantly written, I automatically felt peace and comfort.

To have the presence of your mother there for you, the loving spirit, just left me speechless and tearful. The love of a mother is always present, and a true, comforting guardian angel. What a beautiful and creative, heartfelt piece this is... Very precious piece! (7)
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Kiss
by MyHalozChokinMe

I adore this! I also wanted to know who made the rule of closing our eyes when kissing because it is really sexy to kiss someone, looking into each other's eyes. We immediately feel a strong connection as you wrote. It is something I can't possibly explain. We tend to think that only those who close their eyes, surrender themselves to a kiss but who can guarantee that? Pleasure is so subjective. Sometimes our eyes are wide open but deep inside we are melting and emotions are flowing. I was reading your poem and thinking about the reasons which led him to keep his eyes open. Maybe he wanted to see if you were totally immersed in the act so he was contemplating you. It must have been a surprise when you opened your eyes and found out his eyes were open too. Only those who truly love us can mirror our souls. Love is an amazing feeling: we feel whole because the other reflects us beautifully. In fact, I think when we are in love, a kiss is more than friction and action. We want to taste the other's soul and touch him/her beyond rational.
"
Burned to the core by blue,
rocked to the edge by you..."

I once was "burned to the core by blue" and you are right: those blue eyes "rocked me to the edge" forever. Your poem read my heart, my lady. Thanks for sharing such a beauty with us. Well done! (4)

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They Sit Alone
by Maple Tree

This truly moved me. I had to read twice to grasp a better understanding of the poet's words, but once I had done, I was beyond awed at how the author conveyed such a simplistic message in such an emotional way.

"How can one person
make a difference
when everyone else
becomes selfish,"

To me, this is what stands out the most, it made me think on those people in need, the homeless people, the people with no one to turn to, the people whom truly believe they have to look out for themselves because no one else will. It made me think 'Well, sure, one person can step in, give some change, talk to someone depressed etc, but how will it really help in the long run when only one person is showing an interest and nobody else gives a damn?' It really was a thought provoking stanza, for me at least.

The author manages to capture the downside of life within this poem and yet manages to do so, so elegantly by posing thought provoking questions to the reader, by making the reader rethink their whole attitude and thoughts to others less fortunate than themselves in general, and all the while the author manages to do this without preaching, without criticising, without blaming...which I find inspiring in a way,...she manages to make you think without feeling bad about yourself in the process. I know this poem has certainly made me think on how I will react next time I see someone clearly in need. (4)

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They sit alone
by Maple tree.

This poem could have been written for all of us, I think it is one of the most relate-able poems I have read in the years I have been on here. 'Delusional idea' is really cutting, so self mocking. Yet you proceed with this thought even though you know deep down it won't affect change.
We then move onto to a message about society, you have stepped back and made a fantastic observation, I have looked for meanings, 'rat-race' comes to mind with the thought that families tend to work and play hard without giving time to their loved ones, I can imagine a Dad who works all hours then goes out boozing while his wife and kids sit at home.
Not sure if this is what you were referring to but the beauty of a good poem is that we can take something away from it.
This is certainly a good poem. (4)

Firstly...Way to go Chelsey! That was quick, You are on fire!!

Congrats to all the winners and HM's, and thanks for mine and the lovely comment. :)

Thanks Judges!

xxx

Thats how I do it baby :)

bahaha ok ok, I was just really excited and ready to goooo!

Congratulations to the winners and Hm's.
And thanks chelsey this was quick

Congrats to the winners!
And thanks so much for my HM! :)

Great poems, worthy winners.

Nice work, Chelsey

Thanks to the judges!

Good job everyone!

Congratulations winners and HM's and go Chelsey! :]

Lol thanks guys :)

Congraaatss ppl.

gooooo Chelseyyyyy. awesome sweety :) seee you are jusstt great

Thanks for the win...very surprised by it! Congratulations to Xthanthe and Thomas and all the HMs...some beautiful poetry this week.

Thanks to the judges for your wonderful comments...very much appreciated. Finally, thanks and congrats to Chels for hosting your first weekly thread...great job girl...you rock!

Congratulations winners and Hm's :-)

and I want to thank the judges for my Hm's and comments... It touches me to read them... I just have to get emotional here for a minute... when I write, I have no idea how it will affect others, and when I see these comments, it just makes me teary... so.. just thank you again... Its an emotional week.. and so I'm gonna just let the judges know how much I'm deeply affected by their comments...

Chelsey... You did a lovely job for your first week, and I'm gonna hug you!!

Lol you guys are cute!

I'm warm and fuzzy now from all the l-o-v-e! :)

*hugs and high fives*

Hey, Chels, you did well, beautiful. Congratulations winners and HMs.