Weekly Contest Winners 14/10/2013

5 judges this week! One of our judges was away but we had a sub on board. We also had a tie between 'Thunderstorm (acrostics)' by Meena Krish and 'Unanderra' by Melpomene. The site broke the tie. Congratulations to everyone this week and a big thank you to our judges. A personal thanks to the judges for the wonderful comments on my two poems.

-Mel

~Winners~

Home by Prophecies in Kodak (10) + (7) + (4) + (4) = 25
Sleepless by Melpomene (10) + (10) + (7) = 27
Thunderstorm (acrostics) by Meena Krish (7) + (7) = 14

~HM's~
Unanderra by Melpomene (4) + (10) = 14
The Bridge of Us by ddavidd (4)
Fire Within the Rain by Daylight Lucidity (4)
Music For the Night by Thomas (10)
Silence by Darren (7)

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Home by Prophecies in Kodak (7)

I wasn't familiar with this poet even though they've been on here a while, so I checked them out. In comments prior it talked about the reason he uses lowercase i's, as it's expression of himself in a way (is how I gathered it), and I thought that was really interesting. Not placing the importance on himself but rather the message, the emotion, the images. This part of the poem: like this is me cracked open for the 76th time. "you use your words like stitches, an extra blanket in January, 'something to keep me calm while driving through rain.' really had me. I love the phrasing, so rattled and seemingly tossed together but it flows together so well. I love the images throughout the whole poem and the emotion is so strong. Really a beautiful poem! I hope to see more from this writer.

Home by: Prophecies in Kodak (10)

There's something about this poem that left me speechless at the end, so bear with me if I have to organize my thoughts. I don't believe I've read your poetry before, but the tone here is one of anguish and confinement. There's such a "tired" feel in the beginning as you go home alone, tired of being with people and having to meet their expectations. One of my favorite parts was when you wrote about how your empty hands make it look like something worth grabbing... so many parts of this piece made me think how exposed you are. To people, to hurt, to life.

I enjoyed reading this so much, it literally took my breath away at certain times. The structure was also so natural, you didn't keep uniform stanzas all the time and had certain lines stand out. I like how near the ending half of the poem, you speak of this person. That's where you feel the need/pull to say something before the separation happened. Lovely part about the ribs and I like the refreshing specifics you give. Trust me, I would comment on each and every line if I could but I don't feel this is a poem that can necessarily be broken down. It was captivating, personal, and well-expressed in those unique verses.

Home by Prophecies In Kodak (4)

Many years ago, I was an avid reader of this poet until one day he started to post less and less frequently. You can imagination my surprise then when I saw his name appear on the nominations list.

Surprise, followed with excitement and curiosity. I couldn't wait to read this new poem! And, I wasn't disappointed in the least.

It's so easy to feel the sadness in these words yet simultaneously fall in love with them because of how beautifully and elegantly they are written. The imagery throughout is lovely, I find it to be very vivid and striking, easily able to pain pictures inside the reader's head.

I'm both surprised and disappointed that this poem hasn't garnered much attention and hope that by bringing it to attention it will gain the recognition that it deserves.

"ibecome a series" <--Should have a space, along with capitalisation of the "I" throughout.

Home by Prophecies in Kodak (4)

What I liked most about this poem was how natural it was. For me I felt as though the writer wasn't conformed to any sort of style of writing and because of this the flow was smooth and the thought process was very clear. I know many people might have a problem with some of the grammar in this piece, especially due to the lack of capitalizing of the 'I' but in this case I felt it added to the natural feel of the poem. It didn't make me enjoy the piece any less, hence my decision to vote for it. I love the creativity evident in this piece of writing, 'fever bone', 'words like stitches' all things I haven't come across in writing. My favorite part was the last stanza, it's was full of nostalgia and longing, something the reader was able to emphasize with.

Sleepless by Melpomene (10)

What I love about Mel's poetry is her way with words, imagery, scent. It's like not only can you visualise what she describes it but you can also feel it, hear it, almost taste it even, and this was no exception.

Mel, I have watched your poetry grow over the years and with each day that passes you become better and better at your craft. This is one of those poems that leaves the reader wanting to say so many things about it and yet it's incredibly difficult to find the exact words that will do this justice.

The thing that captured my attention the most here wasn't the imagery or content, but the hidden meanings, the metaphors, the abrupt sudden closing.

Because what I am finding interesting to see as I see this author grow with her work, is how over time she has become more open, less evasive and less likely to write in metaphors alone, known only to her.

It's almost like watching her become softer and more vulnerable and it has been such a beautiful transformation that has really allowed her to step away from her comfort zone and expand within her writing.

As always, exquisite work from Mel. (10)

Sleepless by Melpomene (7)

I think the rosary as the beginning image is very meaningful and moving. It almost makes me think of how your love is like a sacrifice to each other, that you are reverent toward each other like the beads. I like how you mentioned you live in the city but you have a side of sea; it gave me this rich feeling that you both have traveled together and take bits and pieces of those places in your hearts with you. There's also maybe a hint of curiosity in this poem? I feel as if this love is new because you are still understanding one another. The part about the cyclone is such a strong image. To me, it signifies that this other person who perhaps influenced you at one point in life cannot see why you are with this new person. So you would therefore show your power, your independence. Yet the ending makes me wonder if the person you are with now is just saying you are dreaming that which is illusory. You dream of this new and strange love, but cannot be near. Such a provoking piece! Elegantly worded as well.

Sleepless by Melpomene (10)

"This poem just kills me. The craft in which Melpomene writes is absolutely remarkable. I love how she uses very real pieces of her world and ties it into her poetry. This poem is very vulnerable, very open, very full of life. I love how she states that they're from here, but not from here. In following her poetry, she has been very big on geography within her writing, ancestry etc. So this made a lot of sense to me - you belong because you're there, but you could belong somewhere else, too.. however you choose to belong here. If that makes sense. I also really like how she states she hasn't found his symbolism yet. Poetry is full of symbolism and she's found a way to incorporate him here anyway, just in a more vulnerable state. Makes me wonder if her shields are down, so theres no true need to mask? This is truly a beauty.

Thunderstorm (acrostics) by Meena Krish (7)

I think in all my time of judging, be it for another poet's contest, my own, the weekly contest or within my clubs over the years, I don't think I have ever come across a nature piece that managed to strike me quite like this poem did. The imagery is so...alive! I can picture everything the author describes, and I was fond that the author also chose not only to write about one of the more difficult genres to truly capture, but she also turned it into a form, thereby making it even more challenging than usual.

Thunderstorm (acrostics) by Meena Krish (7)

Comment: Amazing poem! Nature is beautiful and scenic yet shows its anger and grief with great disasters. And natural calamities can stand no greed of mankind. A very good display of Nature's violence. (7)

HM'S

The Bridge of Us by: ddavidd (4)

I like the whole concept of the "bridge of us", it's expressive and conveys a lot about the true strength love can have. I notice a lot of structure in this piece, from starting out and showing the reader what has changed. This became a memorable piece to me because of those images such as the insects eating away at the pages and the wind no longer helping you along the journey. Beautifully written. I don't really have any big suggestions but I did see that you used "of the" quite often, especially near the end. Not saying that should not be done, it's just something that caught my eye, and at times seemed like a mouthful.

Fire Within the Rain by Daylight Lucidity (4)

Comment: Indeed a heart-breaking write. The poem is utterly descriptive in terms of emotions and has a sense of serenity in the dark sadness.

Music For the Night by Thomas (10)

I was instantly intrigued by this poem. The opening was soft yet the use of the word carnival created vivid imagery, one of delight, laughter, happiness... an instant direction for the reader to follow. It began in this way but the imagery quickly changed which led me to believe this poem was more about reminiscence than current thought. What I enjoyed most about this poem however, was the juxtaposition of images and ideas. The masterpiece or an abandoned gallery, the colors from the bright scenes of a playground etc that were later contrasted against the word organ or an untuned violin. The swinging from bone to bone was a wonderful and creative thought I really enjoyed. Overall this one really spoke to me and I think it was something all those who have experienced absence (which is everyone) can relate to.

Silence by Darren (7)

I thought the overall layout and technique of this poem was clever.
The subtle rhyme was important to the flow. It was smooth and constant throughout. For me the exploration of silence was intriguing, I like how this writers mind thinks. The use of onomatopoeia further helped to enhance the idea that silence can never be found even though we constantly speak of it. I think what really got to me most about this poem was that I could relate and I felt empathy for the writer and wanted in some way to help them. A cleverly written poem that deserves to be on the front page!

Unanderra by Melpomene (10)

Comment: A metaphoric poem. As per my view, the author is trying to convey about her hometown Unanderra which has grown over the years and she speaks about how the town was in the past and how it changed or lost its beauty, the simplicity over time. I am thrilled by the beauty in her words, the description and the use of great metaphors to describe the place. Learning about places interests me and to read about this place made me feel its beauty and the unspoken sadness just by words. An inspiration! (10)

Unanderra by Melpomene (4)

A stripped down poem from Melpomene, not riddled with symbolism. The eco friendly poem here, she grieves the loss of the nature feel in her hometown. I love how she finishes the poem that she will celebrate.. the optimist. She's quite the artist recreating her hometown, making it what she wants it to be. I see so many images here, it's really incredible. Melpomene has a way with all of her pieces of poetry that brings out such vivid images, and that's what makes each and every poem for me.

Congrats to all!! :)

Congrats to all and winners and hm's. Thank you judges and Mel xx

Beautiful Poetry, Congratulations to all of you :-)

Wonderful work this week.....Congrats winners & HM's!

Congrats Winners & HMs:)

Thank you Mel for the post and judges as well for their efforts and beautiful comments:))

Congrats for all the wins and HM's, and thanks to all the judges, good job all. xx

Congrats all round

thanks for the HM
much appreciated

Congrats to the winners and HM's and thank you judges :)

Thanks

Congratulations. Does that make 3 flaw-free weeks? Weeeeeee!

Thanks to judges & Mel.

Great selections; congrats to the winners & HMs.