Weekly Contest Results November 29

Good Morning everyone! What a week it has been! So
many choices and so many great writes which has captured
the hearts of many readers. Congratulations BlueJay,
Mary(who is new to this site) and Larry our front page
winners! Congrats to those who received a HM and a big
thank you to our judges for all their time and effort. Here are the results:

WINNERS:

In the Middle by BlueJay

Lilacs and Lavender by Mary

What does not Kill Us by Larry Chamberlin

In the Middle by BlueJay

What can I say about this write which has already taken
me into a place where its magical in an electronic age.
It holds that vintage feeling of reading, hearing having
pleasure of knowing someone through their works of
poetry where we can dive into the pool of their words and
feel the essence of their heart. A lovely piece beautifully crafted! (10 points)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the Middle by BlueJay

What a strong piece. This is something that every writer
and poet should relate with, if even slightly. I couldn't but
agree or share your own emotions as a reader, as though
I was part of the poem. Everything about it is fresh.
And further, each now and then I stumble upon a
phrase that makes me either smile or raise an eye brow.
Simply beautiful. (7 points)
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In the Middle by BlueJay

I have read many a dedication to another poet and all
of them speak of praise. I particularly liked this section,
"your works transport me to a world" It is true poetry can do this, create escapism. The part that mystified me was the,
electronic voice' this reference to the 'poet', the person who
this dedication is for. Part of me thought it referred to a
telephone call; Skype perhaps, where the signal can digitalise, turning it into electronic sounds. This too would lend itself to, 'you've got this huge grin that takes up my
entire monitor'. Now, I rather think it is purely the digital
element of the poet; a poet who posts works that resonate
and touch a part that others do not. I liked too the,
'Cheshire cat'. Using this well known term, created
fantastic imagery and breathed colors that made me s
mile too, like a...

The fact these works or poetry are posted to tantalise,
only to be 'stripped' away is somehow cruel. Often I see
such poems deleted and I so I can sympathize.

I felt this poem spoke about a topic not often explored;
the feelings about another poet and how their work
affects them, especially when stolen away. A beautiful dedication written in a way that brought a knowing smile
to my feline face. (10 points)
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Lilacs and Lavender by Mary

Within the portrayal of beautiful flowers there is a
heavy sadness which cannot be touched upon; it's a part
where only the writer knows and experiences it and I as
the reader can only feel it. It is like all beautiful things come
to an end and this relationship which the writer speaks
about is waiting to be seen/settled within these beautiful
flowers(if that made sense).

My only suggestion here is perhaps to center this poem
so the lines will set nicely and read out without any
interruptions. A sad yet lovely poem. (7 points)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lilacs and Lavender by Mary

Poems about flowers will always bring superb imagery to
my mind. Just the mention of a lavender makes me think
of summer and bees flying around the delicate purple
buds. Then there is the smell - I can't help but pick a little
if I walk by, immediately rubbing it between my fingers. Lovely! Here we have 3 flowers, all of them wonderful, but
of course there is a difference. lilacs and the lavender
can be found in gardens, and meadows, whereas lilies
come from more exotic areas and so are kept for
special occasions, or for those with a taste for the
finer things. Well, this is what this writer is talking
about; memories of childhood, perhaps a sibling or a
friend when a basic life still brought joy and fulfillment.
Now, all grown up, the lily lover no longer recognizes
their childhood joy with the less exotic, instead choosing
a life as far removed as possible. As the poem states: "although it will be too late, you will find lilacs really
were beautiful after all"

Mary has written a lovely poem, using flowers as a
metaphor for what really matters in life; material possessions over that of the superficial. (7 points)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lilacs and Lavender by Mary

This lady is a newish member of the site and what a
talented addition she is, too. This poem has something
special about it and has layers to be sifted through.
On the surface, this is a personal write that speaks of
the differences between the author and her sister (I
see from the comments) and the regret felt because
they are so different. One (the sister) seems to have
an 'exotic' taste in flowers, certainly, but probably for life
in general while the author is happy to pick less
expensive - but far more meaningful - flowers from
the garden.

Dig a little deeper, though, and Mary's regret should
hammer a substantial lesson into all of us: Do we stop
and appreciate the simple things in life often enough or
are we all, perhaps, a little too materialistic for our
own good?
My only gripe would be - as Hellon points out - the layout
of the poem. If Mary were to center it, it would
probably improve the flow further. Anyway, may she
keep writing poetry like this (7 points)
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What Does Not Kill Us by Larry Chamberlin

What drew me most to this poem was the overwhelming
sense of inspiration I got when I finished reading it. It
seems to be a very poignant piece in regards to the world
in general at the moment: What has happened has
happened and those who have gone have gone. Mourn
their passing and then put faith in those left, who are
still capable of growing, to heal the wounds.
I have to say that I particularly liked the imagery that
this poet creates in the second stanza. Wise words
indeed - we never completely recover in places we
have been hurt, but almost like scar tissue (which is
never quite as strong) we can 'grow around' these spots.

but you can find ways to grow
around spots you cannot heal
like a tree engulfing the knob
of a branch lopped long ago.

^
This is a fantastic simile to highlight the point. (10 points)

HONOROBLE MENTIONS:

The Last Dance by by ddavidd

A wildflower by Everlasting

Bird Tale by Vince Gullaci

Why Only Three by Ben

The Treachery of Lust by Ben

Le vent nous portera by Karla

Wilted Rose by Savannah Hunter

Deserted Thoughts by Mr Darcy 7

Wilted Rose by Savannah Hunter

Reading this poem reminded me of Walt Disney's Beauty
and the Beast. The rose petals in the jar was the time
that was left to make love blossom before it wilted. Yet
in this write the love that blossomed was wilting unable
to save the bond that flourished once before.

Within the lines one can see the heartache and the
desperate attempts been made to save love and the
regret and sadness the writer experiences due to the
death of love/rose. It makes a nice story and I liked
the images which touched me through out this read.
(4 points)
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Wilted Rose by Savannah Hunter

I appreciate the strong usage of imagery, it made this poem quite memorable after reading. The depiction of the loss of a love is common, but the author still managed to add a breath of fresh air into it, although the idea of a 'wilted rose' is a bit overused in literature, the author made it work, by making it a central symbolism in this poem. (4 points)
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The Last Dance by Ddavidd

To be honest I wasn't fully caught up by the title,
and thought this was another typical poem.
However I was being cynical.

This is one deep creative piece. I am in love with it from
the very first verse to the very last word. I am touched
and mesmerized by the word choice. Found it very deep
and personal yet very wide and rich with imagination. This
is nailed. Deserves to be read by many people. (10 points)
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Le vent nous portera by Karla

This is not a poem, it's an artwork. The description is
so vivid and painful. I can feel pain and I can feel
sadness.

The hate here reflected just pain and more pain. I
saw suffering and gloominess rather than hard feelings.

I was wowed by this part:

you know you killed me first.
Oblivion was the song.
i killed you just a song after:
LE VENT NOUS PORTERA.

^
And the wind carried us away,
to infinite routes....

I actually am at loss with words and cannot find the
right terms to express how impressed and how much I
loved and liked this piece.

A front page, no joke. Well done. (4 points)
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"Why only three" by Ben Pickard

The flow of this poem is what resonated the most; there's
a certain intricacy about it, as if the author was
hypersensitive to every word chosen. This in addition
to the strong narrative, rich imagery immediately
distinguished itself. The flow was a bit choppy in
some places, but I appreciate that; to me, it indicates
a sense of freedom which is mirrored in the poem's
content (the author writing about not going with the norm
of being upset of three spent wishes, but rather content).
I appreciate the subtle reference to Poe's The Raven ('forever more' + 'blackbird'). I consider this a
masterpiece. (10 points)
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Deserted Thoughts by Mr. Darcy

I like that this piece is multi-faceted; although initially
read as a humorous poem, there is a general truth to it.
I interpreted that truth to be a willingness to adapt
keeps you from stagnating. I found myself coming back
to read this multiple times, wondering exactly what Mr. Darcy intended. Intriguing at the minimum. (7 points)

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Bird Tale by Vince Gullaci

The imagery of the swooping 'magpie' is instantly captivating. A bird tends to swoop only when after something. A magpie as we know like shiny things,
like jewels. Then we have another image, that of a
waddling 'toddler'. Here the baby is walking, I can
almost hear him cooing, babbling as his arms flail
around trying to keep upright. This walking is tricky
you know! Now enters are third player, the 'blackbird'.
Here we see in a short breath-taking instant the 'black
and white' blackbird, chest the magpie away from the
two sparkling, jewel like eyes of the toddler. The
magpie, flies away, undoubtedly to steal another day,
but this time (we hope) an inanimate object. The
toddler continues towards the interesting sleeping cat;
and the blackbird, the unsung hero, returns to his perch
and sings of beauty, like no other can.

In such a short piece this writer has told a wonderful story.
I am impressed. (4 points)
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A wildflower by Everlasting

The imagery in this poem is fantastic and Everlasting
swaps her usual free verse style for an abab abab
rhyme pattern which is a lot harder to achieve than
some may think, especially in terms of keeping the
content tight and meaningful.

Wouldn't it be nice if we all had 'solid colors to display'?
There's almost a feeling of desperation when reading
this poem and it's left unresolved, which I like. Were
the solid colors ever achieved? Was redemption ever
found? Who knows? Intriguing write. (4 points)

Sweet! Hats off to Meena, all these beautiful poets, and the judges!

Wonderful poetry this week. Congratulations to the winners and hms and thank you to the judge for their insightful comment on my piece.

Thank you judges and congrats winners.

Oh and to the judge who commented on my poem, hehe I'm glad you noticed the rhymes. Also I think there might have been a typo in the rhyme scheme as it was abba abba. Indeed, that was tougher to write.

Oh p.s. did you noticed? It was also written in iambic pentameter. Thank you for the Hm.

I think a thank you is in order, for taking time to read, to nominate and to judge. Also some gratitude to those who operate the weeklies.
I likewise appreciate the judge's compliments, such as: "Found it very deep and personal yet very wide and rich with imagination."
That encourages me to write.

A big congratulations to all winners and HMs

Thanks judges, wonderful poetry and comments

Congratulations all!

Thank you all. A wonderful week of poetry. I really am enjoying the new and welcomed back faces.

Thanks for the win & thanks to the judge for the comment; also thanks to Ben Pickard & Darklight for nominating it.
You judges are on top of things,congrats to the other winners and the HMs. Thanks, Min for hosting.

Mr Darcy :) :)

Thank you judges for the beautiful comments, and congrats to everyone else mentioned here!

LE VENT NOUS PORTERA.was an HM last week and this week. i find that quite interesting because i see no great magic in my poem but thanks again dear judge.

Thank you Judges for the wonderful comments and congratulations to everyone. I must apologize for not posting sooner as I am new to this site and was not aware of this posting in this section. I am somewhat embarrassed of this but thanks to Ben Pickard for letting me know that this was here. Thanks again and congratulations to everyone listed.