Weekly Winners - September 19th, 2016

Hey all you lovely folks, it's Mark here. The three wonderful poets gracing the front page are: Larry with his poem "Descent to Nowhen", Jane with her poem "How to calm the sea" and "Sky" by Jessica. Three unique poems that stem from sorrow, it's amazing how these poems all manifest from one emotion and turn out so different and amazing. Thank you to all your judges for all your hard work <3. So without further ado, here's the tally + comments.

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Winners:
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"Descent to Nowhen" by Larry Chamberlin (4 pts + 10 pts + 10 pts)
"How to calm the sea" by Silvershoes (7 pts + 7 pts + 4pts)
"Sky (Acrostic + Haiku)" by Jessica (10 pts + 7pts)

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HMs:
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"Despair" by Hellon (4 pts + 7pts)
"Go Boldly: A Villanelle" by Dean Kuch (10 pts)
"Deeds in Skin" by Rania Moallem (10 pts)
"Cellar Door" by Ben Pickard (7 pts)
"You are my Academic" by Golden anGel Rhapsodist (4 pts)
"Psychosis Scribblings" by Maple Tree (4 pts)

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Comments:
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"Descent to Nowhen" by Larry Chamberlin
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I really wish that I had more points to hand out because there is so much talent being nominated and that more people could then get the recognition that they deserve but this isn't possible so I am now brought to my next choice. This is a beautiful soulful poem with superb visuals that really pull at the tear strings. With such lines as "the bed that calls to me carries emptiness" and then the visuals of "ghosts from pasts that were never really there is so bitter sweet. The final warning of the looking in the mirror since things may appear closer to reality than they are. For me a charming haunting and emotional piece of brilliance (4pts)

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Such a sad poem. I cannot get over the closing line here. The poem is so rich and so deep.

I got lost when to read between the lines and when-not, as each stanza held some just fabulous expressions. Haunting and touching. The sadness expressed, the longing and yearning just made my heart real-heavy.

A splendid poem, but above all, a very creative one. (10 pts)

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Oh my what a perfect portrayal of how sadness clutches the mind.

"Two in the morning
drinking decaf again;
hating that king-size
torture slab of cotton
and memory foam
that gives no comfort."

^^^^ This stanza packs a powerful punch. Insomnia only further enhanced by the beds description. "King-size" "torture slab of cotton" and "memory foam that gives no comfort" makes readers understand that is not a place for rest let alone nightmares because the poet can't force sleep even with decaf. I felt like there could have been a play on the memory foam other than just no comfort, perhaps a play on the "memory" aspect of it bringing no comfort from past memories only making the present situation unbearable.

"Warning, things may appear
closer to reality than they were."

^^^^^ With this line you managed to get a pull phrase in there. One may forget the title but will remember the poem by this line. It speaks volumes about life, reality and heartbreak. (10 pts)

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"How to calm the sea" by Silvershoes
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The imagery in this piece is overwhelming, but so is the idea of drowning, so I enjoy how the piece began with such urgency. The feelings here jump off of the page without having to be expressed word for word, which is a nice touch, especially when presented in such a unique style as this piece. Everything about this heartrending piece hit the nail on the head this week. (7 pts)
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I don't believe I have ever cried reading a poem, before now. This one hit me hard. I am sure it can be taken several ways, though my perception is a mother/daughter bond and how the mother tries to quell the heartbreak of not knowing what to say or do. Only using two words knowing that it's not even the words but the embrace she will remember. How incredibly soulful and heartbreaking. (7 pts)
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Whenever Jane writes of the sea or ocean I know it's going to be highlighted. She has such a powerful connection to the powerful aura of water and this was beautiful...

to bring comfort and or need comfort... just an elegant poem!! (4 pts)

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"Sky (Acrostic + Haiku)" by Jessica
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For being haiku, this piece carries more than a few meanings within it's amazing imagery. I love that the formatting looks like a cloud as well, which is a cool touch considering it's meant to be about the sky - at least on the surface. The imagery here is extremely vivid and the use of voice is amazingly well incorporated. Lovely write. (10 pts)

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These two forms, blended, just make envy the poet, despite relying on very simple images, but poetry is not powerful when it's not natural and humble.

I loved the image and really loved the hope I was able to touch behind it.

Sun and healing, the sky and past heartbreaks. Simply a magnificent combo.

I love this piece so much. Thank you for sharing. (7 pts)

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"Despair" by Hellon
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What an opening stanza! Hellon, you really know how to project mood with words. Simply put title that unequivocally projects the outcome of the sorrowful poem in descriptive stanzas. Readers know the despair you speak of and feel it to the core. Though the faces we see as we are drowning in sorrows lake are different we are brought together with empathetic knowing. (4 pts)
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The beginning stanza is one of the most powerful and creative starts to a poem that I have read in quite some time.

Snow - pregnant sky... love it!

Blizzards can bring on despair- heavy thoughts and burdens..

and the ending ties it up nicely, the face of a loved one... melting all darkness... just beautiful!! (7 pts)

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"Go Boldly: A Villanelle" by Dean Kuch
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As I have said before when so many talented poets are nominated it is always very difficult to allocate the few points that I have and even more so several poets have had more than one poem nominated. The Midnight Hour and Devils Doll were also by Dean were nominated but for me "Go Boldly" was so much more than the sum of its parts. (Judging poetry isn't just about the creative visuals and emotion of the poem it is also about literary skills and technical execution etc.). In this case Dean has produced a wonderfully executed Villanelle. (A Villanelle is a complex very structured poem and not easy to achieve). I believe that Dean has shown exceptional skills in producing one that flows so easily with such a beautiful and inspiring life message, great rhyming, creative and visual imagery and theme. (10 pts)

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"Deeds in Skin" by Rania Moallem
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This poem is mouthwatering with powerful words, explosive!

To begin to break down this poem is something I don't think needs to be done. It's metaphorically brilliant! The only thing I am going to touch on is that to look at a person, can make you feel death perhaps... the sins and deeds of others...

Just a spectacular poem! (10 pts)

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"Cellar Door" by Ben Pickard
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Again always very difficult to choose when there are so many excellent poems in the nominations. This week saw four of Bens poems nominated. A Wife's blight and I'll sing you a sonnet and The Haze the Maze (now deleted) and of course Cellar Door. I chose "Cellar Door" because it is fresh and unique and it challenges our perceptions, which is always inspiring to me. At its base level the poem demonstrates beautifully that words are so much more than cliches. Ben takes just two words and takes us on a different path than what we would normally expect and in doing so reminds us that our inbuilt beliefs and perceptions are meant to be challenged.
The words "Cellar Door " instantly conjures images of dark, dingy or some other equally dark descriptive simply because that's how most people perceive cellars and cellar doors but there are as seen by this poem, other ways to perceive words in a way that is not conventional. We need to break away from commonly perceived beliefs that are connected to specific words and that by changing our beliefs around how we use words the creative output becomes much more original and in this case a most ingenious write. Well done Ben (7 pts)

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"You are my Academic" by Golden anGel Rhapsodist
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This is an interesting twist on the idea of relating love to education, I don't know why that's so popular but I've seen it quite a bit since joining here. The breaking up of the piece into subject matters is interesting and reminds me of setting up a shared binder in school for all your subjects - so that was a cool use of style. The voice comes out clearly and the authors admiration for this person is powerful. The word choice is interesting and works well here because each section includes vernacular devoted to each specific subject as well as the perspective of the author towards each of these themes. This was a breath of fresh air and very well put together. (4 pts)

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"Psychosis Scribblings" by Maple Tree
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DARK. SAD. POETIC. Sorry for the uppercase, but that's how I was reading this piece all along its lines.

The title is so creepy in a good way. I suggest you take the S down, Scribbling sounds more legit after an adjective. In all cases, that was so catchy for me personally.

The poem is so vivid and so well expressed that I was able to see graphics and visualize without any effort exerted by my personal skills.

Hats off for this write. (4 pts)
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*Note: The judge was torn between two poems for their 4 vote, and decided to cast it on another poem, but were moved enough to write an honourary comment for this lovely poem.

"A short crisp and dynamic poem that immediately captures the reader's imagination. "My thoughts become acid upon a window pane, deep from the depths of my soul" is so powerfully morbid, vivid and emotionally visual that it lingers in the mind. A truly powerful write."

I have to say, I am particularly pleased this week as I felt each of these three fully deserved the front page. Also a little smug, as I nominated two and would have nominated the other but ran out of votes, lol.
Well done to the other hms and to the judges for their wonderful comments.

Ben

Lovely, lovely, poems on the front page!!! Congratulations!

Congratulations to all poems highlighted and thank you judge for my hm...

A special thank you for the judge who chose to comment on my poem just because. That was really nice and a joy to see, that made my day!!

3 fantastically written poems on the front page definitely deserving to be winners and there for the week also, so different in styles but fabulous.

Well done to all the winners and to all HMs too.

Thank judges as always and mark for posting.

Well done all!

Thank you heaps for the votes and comments! Thanks for posting the results, Mark. I'm happy to have my poem up on the front page for a week with such awesome poems by Larry and Jessica. Woohoo!

Thank you so much for nominating my poems and for the votes. ..congrats to all the winners. ..I'm grateful for having a spot on the honourable mention..this is my first time...thanks to all

Thanks to the judges for these comments. It seems to me that half of my better poems are about Rosaura and the vast majority write themselves at 2 in the morning.

Congrats to Jane and Jessica. I am in awe of your poems. Also to the HMs. Thank you judges for your hard work and thanks, Mark, for posting.

Thank you Mark and Judges.

For that comment, I'm overwhelmed, really really appreciated!

Front page poems and these HM's are priceless! Well done being so creative P&Q'ers.