Contest Winners - June 26, 2017

Hello, everyone! Hope you all have enjoyed this month as we finish up June. A HUGE thank you to the judges for this term, especially with their dedication, time and hard work. And a big congrats to all the winners! Some fabulous poems this week.

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WINNERS:

“Beware the Maiden's ample charms” by: Ben Pickard 10 + 10 = 20 points

“Not a Damsel” by: Britt 10 + 7 = 17 points

“Pain” by: gopi nath 4 + 4 + 4 = 12 points

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COMMENTS:

“Beware the Maiden's ample charms” by: Ben Pickard

“As is so common with Ben’s poetry, the rhyming - both perfect and slant rhyme - is of the utmost quality and we also get to see his creative mid-line and end-line usage of different punctuation. The third line of the opening stanza with its dual-usage of exclamation points is a strong example of his manipulation of structure for bettering the pace of the poem.

The poem presents quite a story - the narrator, or “knight”, entranced by the beauty of a maiden, and the maiden’s warning for the knight not to fall for women such as her. She expresses that he is not more, nor less, than any of the other men she has been with, and that he would be best to “stay away from girls like me.”

Ben truly masters a more traditional style, in language and form, with this piece and paints a wonderfully intriguing and quality write. Well done!” (10)

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“This poem made me smile, liking the humour and imagery within it and it's unusual story line!
Held my attention all the way through. Well done Ben!” (10)

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“Not a Damsel” by: Britt

“Currently I am going through a point in life where I need a little more strength than I have on my own, and I feel like that is one of the great factors that drew me to this piece this week. I've read it a great number of times throughout the week and each time I feel a little better about both my situation and I am a little more in awe of the poet than I was the time before. Aside from my personal connection to this piece, it is beautifully penned with a great sense of balance between story and imagery and it also has an overwhelming sense of voice that completely envelops me every time I read it. The way that this piece is structured should also be noted here, because the two separate stanzas that contain the body of the piece are incredible and they show the contrast between who the poet once was and who they feel they are becoming now in a seamless but powerful manner. Every little detail of this piece is incredible.” (10)

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“The opening of this poem portrays a voice that is slowly starting to bloom, to venture and getting that confidence to let the other person know that she is independent and becoming strong. I also have a feeling that though this person used to be her hero there comes a time in each of our lives that we want to shed that fear and be given the chance to be on our feet. Here the author writes rather says just that. The ending shows her determination and her decision not to be a damsel but rather be her own heroine to face the future. An independent write which sends out a message to all females to find their courage! You go girl!” (7)

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“Pain” by: gopi nath

“A piece that drew me back for multiple reads over the course of the week, this poem does very well in its ability to tie the ending back to the opening stanza.

“My head is quite heavy,
it’s pointing straight down.

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It reads, “Sad”,
and it’s pointing straight down.”

There is certainly an air of sadness throughout the poem, as so vividly described by the rusty sign at the end of the piece- a town literally named “Sad” truly rings of despair.

The author does well to write of their personal pain, both within their self and in how their surroundings affect them. A sad poem, but well-written with careful rhyming and a smooth pace and flow. Excellent work!” (4)

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“Pain comes in various shades and images and this one is well penned with well chosen rhymes and short sentences which brings out images without any struggle. Its natural…the pain the sadness and the heaviness all rolled up as the author walks the street… a well written piece.

Just one minor thing:
“My sidewalk is covered, with sorrow an dirt.”

I think you meant “sorrow and dirt”…other then that I liked this. Keep penning and welcome to the site!” (4)

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“I liked this sad poem. It had good imagery throughout, with a compelling story line within it.
Good work!” (4)

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HM’S

“Imprisoned” by: Maple Tree = 10 points

“The Evening News” by: Thomas = 7 points

“Don't blame me for your faults” by: Em = 7 points

“Existence” by: Lvi = 7 points

“Old Friends Meet for the First Time” by: Tony = 4 points

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COMMENTS:

“Imprisoned” by: Maple Tree

“This will completely break any mother’s heart and from one mother to another I can understand and wish there was more that can be done to ease the pain. To be able to write this heart wrenching agony is not easy yet the author has done it revealing her vulnerability, her emptiness the heavy sadness of seeing and sharing in the smiles of other mothers who talk about their children while she screams for her child who is lost to addiction. No words, no comfort and no amount of points given can replace or give this mother’s heart comfort.” (10)

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“The Evening News” by: Thomas

“I've been looking at this poem all day trying to figure out what comment I wanted to leave in order to validate it's nomination. There are so many things to be said about a piece that can so effortlessly shatter the hearts of the community here while still maintaining a raw beauty of any sort. And every aspect of this piece was so incredibly thought out that I saw this entire scene, I felt for the character/author, and I even shed a tear as I came to the end. It was amazing to see how the author incorporated so many medical terms in new or unusual ways, yet each one worked so well. The contrast between the doctor and all these other possible personalities was unique and a lot of fun to read about.” (7)

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“Don’t blame me for your faults” by: Em

“A sad poem, but no doubt, a story that many unfortunately could relate to, an Alcoholic Father who leaves his family behind. A good write Em.” (7)

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“Existence” by: Lvi

“The first stanza of this piece has a bit of a jilted pacing, with each line growing longer than the last, but Lvi does well to intersperse internal rhyme while maintaining an ABAB end-scheme, to alleviate the dragging and build the quality of the writing. The language, as well, is well-chosen, and strengthens the piece throughout.

With the mid-poem break, we depart the rhyming of the first two stanzas for a pair of shorter, unrhymed stanzas which appears to describe one’s passing, whilst the earlier stanzas discuss existing- or how one lives their life and the impact they have in their time. This could be misinterpretation on my part, but this is the meaning I grasped from the piece, and believe the author has done quite well to analyze the two aspects. The ending is also extremely strong -

“when you will burn,
you’ll shine like the meteor
illuminating the darkness.”

Such as the meteor, this is truly a brilliant piece.” (7)

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“Old Friends Meet for the First Time” by: Tony

“Personally I love this piece because I feel like it describes an aspect of living in an age with so much technology and how so many of us meet know and love these people around us, only we don't know the exact timber of their voices or the full color of their stories. And I know that I've dabbled in this idea myself or knowing someone without ever really "meeting" them, so I love seeing that it can successfully be penned and explained. But even more than that, and specifically to this piece, it was incredible that a piece so lengthy and lingering on the edge of boring in the format department was able to entice me so much. That really shows that Tony has found a great sense of voice and word choice, which are so very invaluable to poets - especially when the piece is a little long winded or maybe not the most creative in other aspects. Great write and I'm so happy to have come across this this week.” (4)

Congratulations to the winners and HMs. Thank you for the nomination and the judge for the wonderful comment on my poem.

Congratulations to our winners and our HMs...good job guys!! And many thanks to our judges and mods as always!

Congratulations to all the winners and to the HMs, Thanks for posting the results, MA

Thank you judges for the four months of judging you gave us. Without you this contest would not work. You are free to identify yourselves if you wish. In fact, as some judges have done, you may post your "judging comments" on the relevant poems and even identify them as such.

Congrats to all the winners and HMs!! Thank you judges!

Congratulations to everyone and a sincere thank you from me to the judges for their time and hard work over the past four months.

Congratulations to all the Winners and HM's!

Thank you judges for your valuable time during this term and
thank you MA for hosting!

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to the judges and HMs. The standard of poetry was excellent as always. Well done everyone!

Congratulations to all the front page winners and HM's! Judges, thank you for your thoughtful and hard work these past months. MA, thank you for hosting.

Congratulations everyone, and thank you to everyone who puts their time and passion into the contest and for the site.

Thank you Meena <3

I am overwhelmed. Thank you for the sweet comments and love.

Congratulations to the winners and HMs!! Great stuff nominated this week!!