Weekly Contest Winners - March 13, 2017!

Hi, everyone! Hope you all have a wonderful start to your week. Proud to announce the winners and the HM's, you are all fantastic poets! Thank you judges for all your encouragement and insight. Congratulations to all!

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WINNERS:

"The Comet And The Phoenix" by: Naughtymouse 10 + 10 + 7 = 27 points
"An Album Of Abuse (English sonnet) by: Ben Pickard 10 + 10 = 20 points
"If I'm Honest" by: Britt 4 + 4 + 4 = 12 points

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COMMENTS:

"The Comet And The Phoenix" by: Naughtymouse

"This poem is fantastic. There are numerous images that are imaginative and new and so full of color and life - “a space-dust wedding dress”, life “drank from an orchid of self-worth”, the “corona of a fading sun”.
And with these images, the language is on-point - each word clearly considered and thought over, before being put to the page. Also, whether done on purpose or not, the final stanza taking the shape of a flower, completing the stanza’s metaphor of being born anew, closes the poem with a nice touch." (10)

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" Out-shining billions
of stars and galaxies
quilting the heavens,"

This stunned and captivated me to the point where I instantly knew this would become one of my favorite pieces on this site. Naughtymouse certainly has a way with words in this piece, I read it multiple times trying to decide what I wanted to write in this comment because I loved it so much that it had to be at least an honorary mention. I loved his personality and the way this piece told a story but also felt like it was speaking directly to each member of the audience. And the overall style of this was spot on! PnQ seems to have gone absolutely crazy for this write, and I don't blame them in the slightest!" (10)

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"What a great descriptive piece of work this is, a technical masterpiece as far as I am concerned. The poem has been clearly writen by a Poet who has some good knowledge of the Heavens, and it was a real pleasure following the path of this Comet that was hurtling through deep space, each line describing perfectly its travel and encompassed in beautiful descriptive wording that was laden with emotion by the Poet.
This poem was a real pleasure to read, ending with such an emotive great line ' from an orchid of self-worth, grown under a dawn of forever...' What a great Line and a great write!" (7)

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"An Album Of Abuse (English sonnet) by: Ben Pickard

"I was simply knocked out by this poem, completely bowled over. The imagery is perfect, along with some clever use of the words that are encountered in every line. Such emotion comes through in every sentence, as this old Album is described, each line spilling out to a grateful reader, making this poem unablee to be put down until every word has been savoured. A brilliant write!" (10)

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"A well constructed poem and for me the best of the poems submitted this week. This form of poetry seems to be one of your strengths and this poem is another fine example. It flows well and conjures strong imagery. If I do have a criticism it’s with the rhyme in a couple of places. “watermarks and stark, and close and growth, but that didn’t distract me too much. Well done." (10)

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"If I'm Honest" by: Britt

"Intrigued by the title, very smart wording. This poem is very powerful and on the contrary, the poet did express that which couldn't be said directly by the character. Sometimes the hardest things we go through are those things never said and never cleared out. Speaking the truth is not as easy as it sounds. And the whole theme/message was put nicely in an elegant structure with little words that reflected a lot of emotions linking words that perfectly suit to be in the same poem: linger, heartache, cruelty, fester, etc.

Beautifully penned." (4)

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"For such a short piece, this left me with a strong sense of strength among the potential of being heartbroken. It's odd, but interesting to read and absolutely captivating. I love how this tells enough of a story to interest us, but it is open enough to allow each and every reader to apply it in their own way to their own experiences and current state of mind. This is an extremely versatile piece with a stunning format that also shares hints as to how the author felt at the time of penning this. And the simplified sense of punctuation also adds to the piece in a way that intrigues me." (4)

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"This poem grabbed my attention from the very start, most poems fizzle out after that but yours stayed strong to the very end. The title is strong as well which adds to the impact of this emotional piece. Much has been conveyed in this short but well-constructed poem. Well done. " (4)

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HM'S:

"Prison of mine" by: Hollow Dreamer 7 + 4 = 11 points
"The Lips" by: Frank = 10 points
"Controlled Burn" by: Aegis = 7 points
"To Melt" by: Ben Pickard = 7 points
"In Too Deep" by: Aries Rising = 7 points
"Black and Blue" by: Nani = 4 points

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COMMENTS:

"Prison of mine" by: Hollow Dreamer

"Although I was not captivated by the title, I got really mesmerized by everything else. There is so much to say about this piece, that I have no idea what should or what can I say in a brief contest comment. The fact that you tackled this topic with so much raw-like words and phrases made it very emotional.

There is this darkness, bitterness, agony and yet power in your words. It's like a poem of flesh and blood. It's very social and meaningful, the poem holds messages and calls on everyone to read it and feel every aspect it tackles.

Left me Speechless. A very unique poem." (7)

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"Though the structure is unorthodox, with some line endings coming mid-verse, the poem itself is an excellent piece.

“webs of melancholic tunes fill the air,
as blood stans and liquor spills cover
the block.” - this line gives you the setting - a neighborhood with sad music playing, but evidence of violence and addiction lining the streets. This image is a strong note to begin the poem with and it leads into the depths of the city where this poem lives.

We get powerful visuals that allow us to see this society through the poet’s eyes - its pitfalls and dangers, and how one can so easily get swept up in this life and lose their true self along the way." (4)

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"The Lips" by: Frank

"Such a fresh piece, this reminded me of different poets and some old poems. I saw a bit of Neruda between the lines, in one sense and another. I found it very original and captivating. The word choice are excellent and well
structured together. I enjoyed the flow and rhyme, they felt very inevitable and not forced at all.

Beautiful imagery throughout the whole piece.

This was my favorite part:

Viscous and vibrant,
the lips,
that brim over the hive of my bed
and warm
the rays,
that burn
while
brighten.

^
Nailed. For real." (10)

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"Controlled Burn" by: Aegis

"7 lines that engender so much more. To me that’s what poetry is all about, 7 lines that create depth and emotion capped off with a descriptive title…. A strong poem, well done." (7)

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"To Melt" by Ben Pickard

'Mountains copiously capped with
veneers of snowy wonderment'

"Ben’s mastery of language is almost unfair. This image, along with the alliteration of the first line, open the poem on a very strong note. The later image of “jaws ajar” swallowing the “meltwater” brings to mind a cave into which a stream flows, or alike a river channeling its way into the vastness of the dark ocean. It, despite the darkness of the image, is quite beautiful especially in its description.
This poem, also, fulfills the idea that a poem doesn’t have to be long to pack a powerful punch. With strong diction, as well as superb description and imagery, this poem certainly holds its weight." (7)

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"In Too Deep" by: Aries Rising

"Not only is this author new to PnQ, but they have rocked the world of our members. This piece really leaves an impression on us that getting through the day is not always the easiest task we'll know in this life, but it's not the worst thing either. The vernacular here is interesting as are the descriptions that this author was drawn to. There are quite a few unique and powerful examples of scene and emotional descriptions here. And even though this piece is a tad bit on the lengthy side, it also kept me engaged enough that I didn't care how long it was." (7)

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"Black and Blue" by: Nani

"What a sad poem, the story within it regretfully, too typical in todays violent world, but relayed perfectly by this Poet and has a great message at the end to anyone in this awful position.
'So pick up your heart that he tossed away and walk out that door.'
Good imagery and rhyming throughout, making a real impact on the reader. An excellent write. " (4)

Thank you so much for the comment.

My heavens, judges. Thank you.

Wow, great week! Congrats everyone! I'm so glad to see that such wonderful pieces won this week!

Thanks, MA for posting and thanks judges.
Great poems, including the HMs. Congrats to Britt & Ben & Ben.

Congats everyone!

Congrats winners and hm's alike and judges for adding such lovely comments, really I am totally humbled from them, this is one piece I am proud of and for one reason or another means alot to me so thank you :)

Pnq rocks \m/

Woops, accidentally deleted a post by craig/Aries Rising while I was trying to comment, sorry about that!

Congrats to all those who won, and picked up a HM! Thank you MaryAnne for hosting, and thank you judges for all your hard work!

Well deserved wins guys! The standard was very impressive! Nice work!

Congrats on the wins!

Massive well done to all the winners and those who received honorable mentions, in the presence of such esteemed company I feel honored and humbled to receive one myself.

Massive thanks to Ren for the nomination and thank you to the judges. I realise it must a slog getting through em all

Regards

Craig

Thank you to the judges for their time and well done to all the others poems who were picked out this week. There truly is some fantastic work being turned out at the moment.

Congratulations to all the front page winners and HM's! Superb writes all around. Judges, you got your work cut out for you. Maryanne, thank you for hosting.