Contest Winners- April 22, 2013

Hey guys! So Sorry for the late post, I had an unexpected situation come up today...the arrival of my God daughter :) I was at the hospital for 13 hours.

First off, We still only have 4 judges as you will see here. 2 Clear winners and a site tie breaker between the 10's.

Second off, Thanks so much for my win!! What a nice surprise! :)

Congrats to everyone and so happy to share the front page with my club mate Crystal!

The Heart of Darkness
by Real Meaning - 10

Siberian Orange
by Crimsontide - 7+ 7 = 14

Where the river meets the fog
by Chelsey- 10 + 7 = 17

Crossing Cobblestone Streets [Collab]
By: The Huntress & The Queen (10)

Routine Silence
by Hannah Lizette (10)

Reborn
by Britt (7)

My Conversation With The Mirror [Picture]
by Linda Leavers (4)

Intrepidation
by Exostosis (4)

Leaving
By: Sincuna- 4 + 4 = 8

WINNER COMMENTS:

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Where the river meets the fog
by: Chelsey

I actually don't like poems that fall in the nature genre for several reasons. Some of those include that I believe they are one of the more difficult topics to write about, too often they become cliche and either overloaded with imagery to the point you can actually SEE that the author is trying too hard, or end up with no imagery whatsoever but instead just become a bunch of words that have been thrown together in the hope of pulling it off.

So I was pleasantly surprised when I read this wonderful poem, so surprised in fact that I read it several times and found myself enjoying it more each time that I did. The imagery portrayed throughout this is incredible without being overwhelming and the whole tone of the piece is so romantic and soothing that it leaves me feeling at peace and with a smile on my face.

The fact it left me feeling so calm was magnified because of the closing line and the use of "Prisoned desires" The whole atmosphere originally was so different and relaxed compared to "prisoned" which originally created conflicting emotions.

After rereading I found that the 'prisoned' desires were about to be set loose because of the love and care described throughout. Beautiful work.(7)

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Where the river meets the fog
by Chelsey

I have read this nature/ love piece several times now, and the more I read it, the more I fall in love with it. Chesley has crafted a sureal image in the minds of the reader. Taking them to a spanish moss bed of romance. Each stanza takes me to a fantasy world within nature. In my opinion, nature poetry needs to be filled with visuals, so the reader can escape in peace, and the author created that and so much more. This poem is crafted with true elegance, and creativity.

The visuals of rivers ending in a fog haze simply mezmerises me, and I can't hold back my excitement for this poem, its truly a beautiful read! (10)
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Siberian Orange
by Crimsontide

I like the strength found in this poem as well as the repetition of "I was a daughter crafted in the womb of a fearless tiger." This poem shows that the narrator is saying something like "I am fearless, I have perseverance and determination, just as my mother and I won't give up my territory to anyone, I will defend it no matter what. I'm not a coward, I'll fight till the end. I'm prepare for whatever is coming because I am too a tiger." Well written. (7)
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Siberian Orange by: Crimsontide

The metaphors in here are powerful, that is the very first thought I had when reading through this gem! I wonder myself what it would be like if any of us were not what we are now, if we were from the womb of this tiger that is not only a symbol for courage but almost a model to live by.

The verses here flow so beautifully and read like lyrics, gently, and without any adornations "where the beat of a true heart thundered during my making,"- that one phrase made me smile! What is the real strength of us? Is it in our heartbeats? Our ability to not be afraid to speak and still beat right through our fears?

This line I also fell in love with, "I was prayers and stardust dreams compressed into cells over time,"- I like how the poet thought this out. Indeed, prayers can be fleeting, they can be in the moment wishes, but we need to put foundations behind what we desire. Such a interesting and truthful comparison.

The imagery and atmosphere of this piece is inspiring, bold, and filled with liveliness that I don't want to dream of having but really acquire on my own. I loved how the poet ended with that last line! We are shaped from our past, our origins, what our mother was, what our father was, but we are our own, and this 'tiger' we can most certainly become. Never hiding when the poachers come, never retreating to the background. Such a different poem for me to read but with such a voice of the poet's own that enveloped me in the atmosphere. This was my first time reading this poet's poetry, and I must say, I hope she keeps writing! (7)
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The Heart of Darkness by Real Meaning

It took me a while to understand this poem, and even I'm still unsure if what I understood is correctly. However, this gave goosebumps. It took me back to the times when ignorance was at it's highest peak, how people judge base on color of skin. My favorite line "My skin was as dark as the heart of the white man." The simile made ponder on what it meant and then this other line " the man with the rotten bone looking for my ivory cure!" I thought they thought that having dark skin was an illness, but it's not. Then the Ending " To conceal his black bones a little father; a little farther but never farther than how he exposed my bones" that just struck me. And thanks to that I understood the title, it is not the color of skin but the color of the heart( per se) that causes pain to others. Well done. (10)
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HM COMMENTS:

Crossing Cobblestone Streets [Collab]
by: The Huntress & The Queen

This poem has such spirit. I felt the intensity in the beginning stanza, how maybe the day can change for us if we give ourselves the chance to believe in the weatherman- though nothing is guaranteed. That idea of the sun being hot enough to free us from what's stuck on us and our cold-heartedness is really thought-provoking.... that image stays strong with me. I love the whole "feel" you both give of walking into this sunlight and going through a moment where we realize we fall down and it's hard to get back up.

I liked how the character is portrayed as having such human characteristics.... that moment when we're walking out into reality and we just want a break, in this case, "as if waiting for a rain-soaked parasol; that would never come."

The imagery was incredibly clever without just naming descriptions (and fantastic verb choices too!).... the weight of our past can sure drag us down and it is our choice whether to take that "invisible baggage" or leave it behind and never be afraid again.

The fourth stanza came alive with the vividness, and made me think often in certain moments where we are remembering or hold a memory close to us- that is when we see clarity. The small things around us. The odd shapes and angles. We become aware of how it feels to be alive here.... and how time moves us.

That last line just struck my heart and I can learn so much from this piece! The wisdom of "we realize we never really stopped to heal" spoke volumes to me and I will continue to reflect on this... how true is that that we must take time for ourselves to come to terms with our past, forgive others and ourselves, and truly move on?

What a bigger picture type of poem! Where one action, crossing the cobblestone streets, signifies so many measures of life- I admire both of these poets so much and the growth they share in this poem is awe-inspiring, the emotion, message, and thoughts that escalate through this piece that I grasp onto. Thanks for sharing, I had such a pleasure reading! (10)
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Routine Silence
by Hannah Lizette

Words can not describe how much I adore this poem. So simple and yet so impacting, and sadly, so true for so many couples. Too often, we forget why we first fell in love with someone, and we stop fighting for them the way we did when we wanted them but didn't yet have them.

And that of course, leads to us slowly drifting apart although at the time that is hardly ever recognised or noticed.
Really liked the opening two verses, it gives a clear picture of this couple that were once so in sync and so close emotionally, only now they no longer know each other.

It's sad that routine usually ends up becoming normal, and worse, expected. If only people would fight more to keep love alive there would be so many more successful relationships, and most likely a much lower divorce rate.

I really liked the ending. Mentioning how these lovers are now sleeping under separate covers (beds?) really shows just how bad things have become, and the ending question whilst somewhat melancholic I believe it also shows hope. Because by wondering if this is fixable...it shows that this person wishes it IS fixable, if they didn't care they wouldn't be asking this.

So much emotion in this short poem and I found it to be incredibly intense and an elegantly written piece. Well done. (10)
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Reborn
by Britt

I adore small poetry, if it makes the reader grab several images in the mind, and this piece does that and much more.

I understand why this is in misc. because the author has packed this delightful piece with life, nature and a hint of sadness.
The title itself is inspirational, to be Reborn: Using the word "yellow" makes me thik of hopeful light, the word usage is filled with flavor, and I could taste the hint of nature tones.

The ending is makes me thing of strength, to over come the obstacles in life, and in the end making me feel a sense of peace, truly a delightful poem. (7)
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My Conversation With The Mirror [Picture]
by Linda Leavers

This is so emotional and uplifting and a story close to my heart. Whilst I wasn't too fond of the rhyme scheme as I did find that most of the rhyming fell in the cliche category (die, bye, mind, find etc) I absolutely loved the message behind this poem.

It takes someone who is incredibly strong emotionally and mentally to overcome something like this, and I only hope that others who are going through this or just beginning to start on this heart breaking journey can read this and realise not only are they not alone, but also that there is help out there, that people do care and that they don't have to suffer in silence.

While I believe this poem could be improved in literacy terms, I do think this is truly moving and inspiring, and well done to the author for fighting and claiming back her life. (4)

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Intrepidation
by Exostosis

This poem manages to move me every time I read it.
I have to admit the wording is a bit hard to understand but with the use of a dictionary, I think I came close to it. Though, even without understanding the words, the emotion within this poem comes to the surface and the ending it's thought provoking.

My favorite stanza is the third one, the word "lavanya" sounds poetical. It's my favorite because it makes me think that the narrator realize that that beauty is in his soul. The whole poem has made think this piece is told to someone, but at times, I got the feeling that it's thoughts/memories. The use of Praxinoscope film, reminds me of memories that are perhaps being reminisced for it's beauty, and the second stanza makes me see one of the images in the film. Towards the end, I was left with the thought that this paraxinoscope is the mind of the narrator. Well done. (4)
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Leaving
by Sincuna

This was an elegantly, crafted sad piece that makes me teary.

If I go to read a sad poem, I want to be able to take something with me, to be touched in some way, and the author did just that for me. I like the format, and simplicity, hinting elegance within each stanza.

This piece gives me two angles to go on... The first is loss of a loved one in sense, and it touches on a sense of grieving, and yet the more I read this it makes me feel of loving someone who does not return the love, and the author makes the reader feel like this is a final goodbye in a poem. Now this is a poem that deserves to be highlighted. Truly beautiful! (4)
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Leaving
by: Sincuna

The simplicity in this poem, the simple touch of raw emotions just the way they are, is tear-jerking. The genuine tone of the poet "You care enought not to know my soul. I care too much to never let you go" makes my heart ache and shows me this character doesn't just say he loves, he truly does. Because I believe when a person lets love into their heart and lets themselves give it back to another, it is intertwined within each thought, each glance. This line, "the clouds spell your name, every room now smells of rain." is such a reminder of how remembrance of someone never leaves, there is always a trace, always a taste of sadness.

The beauty and truth of the last three lines made this whole poem all the more cherished. I have never thought about poems as extending sadness, but they can. Words can continue a person's spirit in a way, and poetry dedicated to this one person who you knew would be a goodbye to you and who you have never touched, but this poetry remains...

Wow, what a soft, gentle poem with such tangible moments of pain and knowing. The true beauty of this poem does not leave the reader at the end. Wonderful work. (4)

Congrats to the winners! Wonderful poems!

Thanks so much for my HM! :)

Congrats Chelsey on the win & god-daughter! And congrats to the other winners & HM's, amazing work!!!

Absolutely, Chelsey.
You need to buy a Power Ball Ticket - this is your lucky day!

Congrats to the winners & HMs.

Thanks, judges.
We should have the 5th Judge back by the weekend

Congrats, everyone and thank you for the lovely comments!!

Congrats Chels :)

Congrats to the winners & HM's. Thank you judges for my HM<3

Congratulations to all the winners and Hm's- :-)

Thanks guys. I really appreciate

Congratulations to all of you! Winners and HM's and especially to Chelsey with the birth of your god-daughter.

That too

Thank you guys! Shes beautiful :)