Weekly Contest Results 10/17/16

Well done, winners. Lovely pieces, honorable mentions. Good work, judges. Thanks to the judge who took notice of my poem and left a very thoughtful, kind comment.

Best,
Jane

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WINNERS:
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Sunset Soliton
by ether
Total: 24

"I've been reading this through several times and I find such depth in such brevity. I had to read this aloud and several words stand out, like the emphasis on "whitest", "cosmos". I feel like often nature poems are overdone - meaning too many descriptions and not enough natural atmosphere. I feel nothing forced here. There is a calm beauty about this piece and with those last words, a promise of a new beginning. You didn't need fancy words or a line of adjectives. You gave me that purpose in a few stanzas, that there is hope for a new day as you wait to rise." (10)

"The imagery and scene setting in this piece is very well put together. There's a soft sense of voice and the emotional pull is almost buried under such simple language that it allows anyone in the audience to take this any way they want to. It is a calm piece that tells of transformation in a way and that really stands out because it was so well done in this write. Though the style here is interesting and a little bit distracting it adds to the piece in a lovely way. Great poem." (7)

"A very beautiful nature piece, very creative and peaceful.

The twist at the end, taking everything to a more personal level after the beautiful descriptive script made a very nice impact.

I loved the word choice and flow over all. However, the last stanza appealed best to me. Well done." (7)

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Her Grace And The Orb
by Ben Pickard
Total: 14

"I can't stop reading this wonderful poetic tale of graceful
mist moving through the countryside, dancing and swaying in
the breeze

'The wind would move her 'bout the fields,
And grains of corn would cling;
But with the breeze, she danced and swayed,
And made the blackbirds sing.'

For me an outstanding piece that has superb metre and rhyme and which demonstrates imagination and exceptional levels of poetic skill. It brings to paper the soul of everything that I love about great poetry and I honestly believe that it could comfortably and deservedly take its
place along side the published poets of our time. Well done on an exceptional poem." (10)

"Mystical nature at its true, breathtaking finest! This was elegant and a joy to read! well done Ben!"
(4)

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Bruised Stasis
by Larry Chamberlin
Total: 10

"I know this might not be one of the most complicated poems this week, in the sense of poetry..However this for me was the most powerful. I was compelled by the title and its relation with the piece.

These 3 lines touched me, I believe every child in us has been abused at some point in some way, and this is something many will relate to.

A very successful syntuit.

Thank you for sharing." (10)

"Anther excellent syntuit with a strong message. I love these short sharp messages that say so much in such a small packet. In particular when they raise difficult subjects as in this case child abuse. Poetry that makes the reader think deeply is always important especially when about subjects that people don't generally want to think about. Well done Larry for bringing this subject into poetic form." (no vote)

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HONORABLE MENTIONS:
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The Poet
by Sagedream

"This little gem dazzled PnQ this week!
It was a joy to read and filled with such thought provoking imagery, I was amazed!

Its dark and eerie, and yet captured the true mystery of a poet, writing.. the thoughts and emotions can be felt.. this was wonderful!" (10)

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Inner Space
by Silvershoes

"Reading this poem my heart broke, it shattered for the author and it cracked for the loss of imagination and potential in our world. I truly enjoy the voice in this poem and how a piece so simple was able to hold such sway over me. There are so many commendable skills and techniques within this piece that to say I was captivated, entranced, or even just amazed could not possibly do the author justice. The imagery in this one was subtle, but it worked well because the emotions were so overpowering. Silvershoes definitely has a way with her storytelling that brings the scene to life before the end of the first line. Everything about this write is incredible." (10)

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Maladies of Magnitude
by Dean Kuch

"Dean has taken PnQ by storm with his talent!

This poem is filled with elaborate old English wording and the imagery has left me speechless... I truly cant say anything else, but fabulous!" (7)

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Cloud of Love
by Mr Darcy

"Fluffy clouds full of love starts off with a lovely fuzzy warm feeling that quickly crashes into a visual horror story with gory graphic images that dramatically change the tone and leads the reader on an emotional rollercoaster ride An exiting, somewhat gory read." (7)

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Monsters in my Bedroom
by Scott Cole

"A refreshing and delightfully quirky piece that really captures the imagined childhood fears of Monsters in the bedroom.

'There's faces in my window
and dim shadows on my wall
there's noises in my bedroom
that cause my heart to stall'

Obviously a lot of thought has gone into this and I loved the rhyming, metre and imagery." (4)

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Tears in my Cookie dough
by Milly Hayward

"This piece is very interestingly put together. The rhymes feel a little unnatural at times, but personally it feels like that adds to the writing's unique pull. The style is common, but even that seems to make this all the more interesting. The author's voice shines here and the lacking punctuation really does add a feel like chunks of chocolate or nuts in the cookie dough - so that was a cool touch." (4)

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What breaks your heart, manila?
by Mahal

"I found myself asking the same question in my mind, "what does it take to break someone's heart?" I think your power in this as the "spectator" is shown when you let Manila (and the readers) think about the sorrows: the Philippines and the wars and what causes a person's soul to embrace evil instead of good? The simplicity of the final stanza brings back memories, of a time where you can share the joys of life over a cup of coffee. Where you can cry together over the sorrows, knowing you both feel and will be together. Quite thought-provoking." (7)

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The Poets Behind The Poems
by Scott Cole

"The title is very catchy and attractive, however I suggest you drop the colon.

An extremely sweet poem, with a very appealing melody. The use of nickames was creative, some I wasn't much aware of, but then realized what all this is about.

I loved the effort exerted on this, and think the writer made a great job pulling this together without it reflecting a forced or jammed tone.

Well done." (4)

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Muerte
by Beautiful chaos

"I understand all too well that desperate need to "numb" something or someone out of our lives. I think we can do it in so many ways, with alcohol or self-harm or other destructive behaviors. An escape from reality, from the heaviness of what we feel. The way you worded the second stanza made me think of the times we want to become something else, enter another universe or perhaps rise to the heavens where we can be settled and in peace... that actually reminded me of the times when suicide enters the mind of someone and they feel it is the only way to end the pain. I know how deeply those thoughts can take over and I only hope that a peace can be found while living, so one doesn't feel they have to go through with death, that they can find a sanctuary while living.

Thinking of you!" (4)

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Bobble Hat Anyone?
by Mr Darcy

"For me this is a short sharp piece that means so much more than just the words. For most of us having a nice head of hair is part of our identity so losing your hair through cancer or illness is
one of those visual things that make your condition more noticeable and reinforces the changes that cancer is causing to your identity. People who shave their heads to raise money for the Macmillan charity really help make a difference to cancer research so a poem that raises awareness deserves at least an honourable mention." (no vote)

Thank you judges as always.

Well done on to the winners definitely front page worthy :)
Also, congratulations to the HMs.

I would like to say well done on raising awareness to my fellow baldy Mr Darcy.

Congratulations

Thanks for the comments and I'm happy for the win. Jane, thank you for hosting and I've mixed feelings for the tie-breaker.

Congrats to Ben & ether and the HMs. Thank you judges, for being so dedicated these past several months - only two weeks left!

Cracking up at your new avatar, Larr.

Well done to all winners and HM's this week. Also, a big thanks to the judges, their dedication, votes and wonderful comments are, as ever, appreciated and enjoyed. And of course, thanks to Jane, for setting up this week's platform.

I would like to thank in particular the judge who gave a 'HM' to my poem 'Bobble hat, anyone'
Some of you may remember a poem of mine called, 'Every breath you take'? This was about a lovely lady who was fighting her particular cancer. Unfortunately, just six weeks after diagnosis, she lost that fight. In two years the elderly peoples home where I work has raised nearly £1000 for Macmillan cancer research. So I applaud the awareness of this charity and so many similar campaigns.

Thank you.

^
Jane, I'm laughing with you. Larry, how do you even get a picture like that? My son would love to have one with his Snorlax.

Congratulations to all the highlighted poems this week. I genuinely believe that the quality of poetry being turned out weekly has taken a sharp rise in the last few months; there's some incredible stuff being written.

Thank you, again, to the judges for their time and comments.

Ben

Well done guys awesome poems this week!!!

Pokemon Go allows you to choose a pokemon as your "buddy"

Rowdy is my granddog - he & I really do a lot of walking together so it is natural to rename Dragonair

I just spliced my own head onto the Avatar

Congrats, everybody! Thank you judges and Jane for your hard work :)

Congratulations to the Winners and HM's!!! (:

Thank you for the love and congratulations to everyone! Feeling very fortunate to be surrounded by such beautiful art.