Weekly Contest Results 7/10/17

Another successful week. One clear winner was determined by a last minute subjudge, otherwise we would've had 5 instead of 4 tiebreaker poems. Thank you, judges, for putting in the time to read all of the nominated poems this week, picking your favorites, and writing thoughtful comments. The weekly contest is a privilege, not a right, and it is made possible by you guys -- our dedicated, generous volunteers. Congratulations to the winners and honorable mentions this week! Thank you for keeping poetry alive!

FRONT PAGE WINNERS:

when everyone's asleep by chandelier (17)
Murderous Hand by Milly Hayward (10)
Cutting ties by deeplydisturbed (10)

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

A Week in the Life by Mark Rawlins (10)
i wish i didn't know you by pmmurphy (10)
L'appel du vide by Aegis (7)
Paper Cranes by fenix flight (7)
Like Her by nani (7)
The Piper Must Be Paid (English sonnet - edit) by Ben Pickard (7)
Home by Jamie (4)
Can Your Kat Or Dawg Talk? by Ken (4)
I Wish by Matt Carroll (4)
Forever alone by Tony (4)
I hate hospitals anyway by Em (4)

COMMENTS:

When everyone's asleep
by chandelier

"Fascinating reverie that provided a realistic mirror to my own and probably most everyone's quiet nights - at least when we choose to be awake. I liked the flight into fantasy about feeling each cell’s activity. Bears a similarity to the breathing exercises I was taught to practice at night." (10)

"I badly wanted to hit the favorite button on this unfortunately I must refrain.
Being a judge on here it not easy, there are so many precious things that capture ones heart and mind. So I'll avoid that button for now and revisit it at a later date.
The thing about sleep is "we need it: we can't survive without it and yet many many members of the community have very little.
It's not healthy, but sometimes it is a catalyst for works of genius and art.
This poem I consider to be one of such.
Well done." (7)

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Murderous Hand
by Milly Hayward

"Milly always has a beautiful way with words even in such a dark piece like this and there's always a simplicity but very wonderful thing about her work that I personally think is unique and gripping from start to finish. The rhyming is far from forced which makes for a fantastic write as I am partial to a rhyming piece especially when it's so well written like this. And I feel this subject matter shouldn't be taboo anymore as it happens all too often." (10)

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Cutting ties
by deeplydisturbed

"I have to be honest, this was not an easy read. In truth it made me rather upset, and yet I could not leave it alone. Some would argue over the length of the poem but I feel it was necessary to convey the full story. Because it is a story in its own right. This is such a powerful poem it is impossible not to like it and it's impossible not to sit there when reading and think oh my god! The construction of the poem is fantastic although I suspect emotion took over in certain places and I feel that this makes it all the more special and personal. It is raw and it is most definitely cutting. If the words of another can stir an emotion then it's truly poetry. For this reason, 10." (10)

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A Week in the Life
by Mark Rawlins

"This poem is a refreshing take on life’s daily struggles. I think most of us are really struggling to get on each and every day and yet each of us has this spirit of fun inside us and we end up laughing about them instead of being so stressed about them.
The structure is just right, short lines, short stanzas, clever rhymes, very upbeat rhythm, easy to read and relate with. I found this a very creative and fun expression. I think it displayed hugely how a poet can be really creative with any subject matter.
A very fantastic job!" (10)

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i wish i didn't know you
by pmmurphy

"I'm not quite sure what I can even say about this poem, as nothing will do it justice. Reading this aloud in the tone I am pulling makes it dramatic and breathy, over the top and beautiful. She is your drug, something you crave and want and sometimes talk yourself into needing. I love the way you said her code executes in numbers of six... that whole stanza had it. The whole poem, the images flashing in my mind - this poem is really brilliant." (10)

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L'appel du vide
by Aegis

"I freaking love this. I love that it can be taken so many different ways, but I see such hope here. The way I read this is this person, the vanilla and cedarwood, they are your fond memories, they're the goodness you hold in your life - and the talk of cancerous memories and being driven to extinction, I see this as a rebirth. You're grasping onto the good and choking out all the bad. Love love love this!" (7)

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Paper Cranes
by fenix flight

"Very clear and delightful imagery of the origami process, in particular the breathing into the work, just as nearly every mythos has the god breathing life into his/her creatures. Putting herself into the simile was not unexpected, but it was done well." (7)

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Like Her
by nani

"Nani always writes so openly and uniquely that I always feel like it's me in the limelight and whether it's literal or not it's always relatable to many of us and I reckon we have always wanted or wanted to be something we just couldn't be because we thought that it'd make us a better person when in fact we should look inside ourselves and find that we too are perfect to someone and we should never forget that." (7)

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The Piper Must Be Paid (English sonnet - edit)
by Ben Pickard

"Sonnets in my opinion are one of the hardest poetic forms as they do not only follow a certain rhyme scheme but each line is metered. Thus, the poet faces the challenges of choosing appropriate words, creating rhymes, framing every line in iambic pentameters and above all, ensuring thematic organization.
This sonnet is just commendable starting from its brilliant title, well, Ben does magic in coining titles!
What stood out for me was its superb thematic organization. Each line is rich and clear, each stood out individually and taken collectively, wow, this piece is amazingly seamless! A really great write." (7)

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Home
by Jamie

"What a heartbreaking and beautiful poem. Used to be a lover, until you weren't, and you see it sifting through your fingers. Such a short poem with so much impact and beauty." (4)

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Can Your Kat Or Dawg Talk?
by Ken

"It's been a week of really heavy reading, so many tales of heartache and woe. As writers this is a thing we do and it is accepted.
And then this (excuse the poor grammar by starting a sentence with and)
And then this beautiful, nonchalant, indulgent poem.
It was a beautiful break from the norm which gained a massive smile from me and on a darker day it was very very uplifting.
Thank you for the beautiful imagery and the smiles.
Well done." (4)

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I Wish
by Matt Carroll

"I think there is nothing more poetic than writing a simply heart- touching message to a loved one. This is a simple expression of selfless love and affection, yet in all its simplicity, I cannot help but admire the rawness of the heart that wrote this poem. The rhymes are definitely great, natural and sensible. The third stanza melted my heart completely, and made me believe in true love once more!" (4)

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Forever alone
by Tony

"Tony's work always seems to mirror my emotions which grips me and I seem to be nodding along with his work more often than not this is no exception. It's well written and rhymed which I believe makes for a fantastic piece and I feel when a poem resonates so badly with me where it's rawness and emotion reaches out to me as with many others it shows that even if this poet isn't going through this right now that he has been there and knows exactly how it feels to need understanding." (4)

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I hate hospitals anyway
by Em

"I felt this poem stood out from the rest. The standing, observing, enervating decision to enter, all rang true and deeply moved me. I note there were two nominated poems regarding this subject written by Em. This one was vaguer and yet more profound for it." (4)

If the first two weeks of judging are anything to go by, the judges cannot agree on a thing, lol. That does, however, make for multiple poems highlighted and an altogether more interesting competition, in my opinion.
Many thanks for your precious time, congratulations to the winners and fellow hms and all the very best,

Ben

Congrats

This is the judgeship term of diversity ;8-)
Nice reads this week and well done judges for marking your choices as individually as each of you.
Congrats to the front page winners and to the HMs.
Thanks, Jane for hosting.

Whoa that was a lot of reading. I read fast but even for me this was a marathon. Joking obviously. It was in truth a pleasure.

OK guys so chuffed for ya all, big group hug sent out. I've loved the things you have shared.

To all involved in the amin side, fair play to you. This must have been a bugger to sort out.

Oh my, our judges do seem to be so diverse...and if Britt noticed it was a first last week to have only two poems with more than 10 points...then it's more weird to have only one! The list is long and Craig is right it seemed a marathon reading the comments here!

Congratulations to all our winners and our HMs! A fully-loaded week again I must say. I love it that many poems were highlighted and I do appreciate our judges for their time. Also, thanks to our Mods and to Jane for hosting!

Congrats to all winners and HMs! Y'all rock!

Hey I swear I wrote something here but it seems to have disappeared (obviously I didnt post it as I'd thought)

Anyway, I'm looking how diverse this term of judges seem to be because it seems quite a few people get recognition which is cool because the poetry recently has been much more fantastic and too diverse than it usually is.

Thanks for hosting and posting and judges thanks for your time. Well done to front page winners and all HMs