Weekly Contest Results 12.11.17

Hello, hello! Jane here. We had 3 sub judges this week, including moi -- thank you to the 2 regular judges who were able to hold it down, and thank you to the 2 sub judges/mods who were able to step up :) I thoroughly enjoyed reading through the poems this week and had difficulty narrowing down my choices. My guess is the other judges can relate. Nevertheless, there were no tie-breaker poems and three clear winners: Congratulations to Purvi, Michael, and RedShadow on making it to the front page! Amazing writes, all. Cheers to another successful week!!

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WINNERS:
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My Citadel
by Purvi Gadia
10 + 10 = 20

"This poem is intriguing to say the least. The title paints a picture of a militaristic structure, a fortress, which means it will be manned and guarded. The decision to use this title indicates the author wishes to present their ‘citadel’ to the reader. Their version of ‘manning the fortress’ seems to lie in chaos; and I don’t mean that in a bad way. The first stanza embodies chaos, (the imagery of wings sparking seems to attest to it), it’s structured a bit chaotically, verses feel disjointed, and showcases the author’s reluctance to be truthful, or in this case show their ‘citadel’, since the reader is an outsider. The author backtracks offering more and more of a structured glimpse into their ‘citadel’, utilizing heavy imagery paired with an interesting pace." (10)

"The expectation of love never matches the experience of love. This poem glows in its portrayal of the yearning for the empowerment of youth and love; it also provides a tongue-in-cheek pang of regret for the failure of reality to meet her dreams. The vivid images of her magical power evaporate leaving her in the final vestige of the illusion, her flowing lavender robe: the badge of power once held." (10)

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Wispy bones of winter
by Michael
10 + 7 = 17

"This poem suits my mood perfectly as I just came inside from working in the cold. I can feel my own wispy, wintery bones - brrr! Really though, there is nothing better, in my opinion, than a well written nature poem that embodies the present season. Every season brings with it moods and feelings and imagery, and you have done such a beautiful job of conveying a snowy, woodland winter. There is something almost Robert Frost-ish about this poem (Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening), though without his famous rhymes. Every word here is perfectly placed and there are no fillers. Just a stellar poem." (10)

"This is a beautiful poem; it is extremely apparent that the author has taken time to carefully pick which imagery to use and it pays off big. The poem is laden with picturesque imagery, like you would think this was an ekphrasis. It flows extremely well, the writer took the changing of seasons and added a poet’s touch for a truly remarkable piece. Well done!" (7)

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Letters To Miranda
by RedShadow
10 + 4 = 14

"Though the format of this piece is different than what I would have done with a concept like this, I love that it really does feel like a letter and that it is a heartwarming dedication with twinges of sorrow that undoubtedly follow memories and recollection of people from other places and times in your story. The ending made me think of everyone who impacted my life during my early teens so I read this so many times and each time was able to tie it to someone different in a more personal way, which I think is the part about this that really stuck with me this week. I can see so many people being effected by this piece and being able to take a walk to some of their better and worse days from being younger. I also love the lack of capitalization for almost all the personal pronouns because it gives the audience a sense of the author's personality as well as an idea of how they might have felt when this person was still in their life. Everything about this piece is wonderful, and now that I've read it 2 dozen times, I am even starting to like the format!" (10)

"Relatable. That’s what this poem is. The reader can step into the shoes of the poet and open those letters, smile just like the poet and ache for the days that distant friends could transform our lives with a few sheets of paper and an envelope." (4)

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HONORABLE MENTIONS:
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George and the Dragon
by CJ Maleney
7 + 4 = 11

"Craig’s humor is at its best in this ditty of an aging pair of antagonists making do with each other as the only company left who remember each other’s past greatness." (7)

"Looking at it deeply, this piece has a strong message to share with us aside from the fun way it was written. I just appreciate the ingenuity, the rhythm, the theme of this piece. Great write!" (4)

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To Remember
by ddavidd
10

"This is a valuable piece of poetry! It is full of wonderful metaphors with a theme of love expressed in a sweet, passionate and engaging way. Poetic beauty captured very well here!" (10)

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Never one for churches
by Mark
7

"Incredible writing. This is the stuff of greatness in my opinion. Telling a story, inspiring emotion, and relaying rhyme with this level of ease and flow is what makes an excellent poet. What’s more is you have captured hints of a “ye olde English” style without it sounding forced. I loved every bit of this and read it twice in a row." (7)

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Cheat the Night (English Sonnet)
by Ben Pickard
7

"I love how Ben creates amazing and definitely unique sonnets even with the usual metaphors I would read in his other works. The moon and the sun, they are a familiarity in Ben's works and yet he still surprises each time he comes up with yet another sonnet. A very wonderful sonnet with a great message!" (7)

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I Can't (for Andrea)
by Brenda
7

"So this piece has incredible imagery and the way Brenda trails off at the end of her stanzas reminds us just how difficult it really is to fathom some of the terrible things that happen to seemingly wonderful people. My heart aches reading all these pieces for Maple Tree and her family, but this one is probably one of the ones that screams the most clearly just how painful and nearly impossible it is to accurately write anything of comfort or value to the people we love and want to support the most; however, this piece also has a lot of beautiful technique from the word choice to the flow and the stunning power behind every single word of every line. I am totally blown away with the honesty in this as well as the way all the snippets of style and technique fit together so masterfully." (7)

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Parching Behind Windows
by ddavidd
4

"Wow, so much imagery in this poem! Where do I begin? I love these lines/pieces of prose especially: 1) I was as lonely as poetry in the putrefaction of slaughterhouses; 2) worms, whirling in all directions; 3) I was lonely like tenderness and love in the muddles of a who-rehouse (an interesting, deliberate use of word play); and 4) behind the window of people’s convictions. Thought-provoking phrasing throughout. I enjoyed this piece thoroughly, thank you for sharing with us. It seems as though we have been given a glimpse into the soul of the poet himself." (4)

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United in Difference
by Justen Smith
4

"The amount of thought and detail in this piece is great and the way it was able to resonate with so many of the people I shared it with as well as those here on PnQ was great. I feel like there's a lot of effort put into this as well as an odd but beneficial mix of skills. This write definitely made me see a few things in a very different light while also just reminding me how important it is to stay aware both as an artist and as an average human - because you never know when something you catch a glimpse of might be enough to help someone else through a tough time. I'm very glad this came across the nominations page this week!" (4)

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just love
by em

"This is a little capsule of love that resonates a lot with me; it’s depiction of love is so wholesome, attainable, real and not an overtly romanticized one. It’s simple and sweet and for those reasons alone it really struck a chord with me." (4)

Often I will work backwards when I write a poem and although this is not a poem but a massive thank you I shall continue in this vein.

Firstly, I wrote this poem for a giggle (although there are undertones within). I do this every now and then just for fun, also in the hope that it may raise a smile and perhaps brighten someones day, even if only a tiny bit.

That Michael thought it worthy of nomination I found confusing, yet I am so so grateful. Dude thank you so much.

To receive an honorable mention is pretty special.

For the judges that voted wow! Simply wow! You nailed me. I've been here long enough to recognise word and flow patterns within written language.

Always analysing!

This week I have absolutely no clue or inclination as to your identity. I never know for sure and! anyway and I don't want to know, well! not until your time as judge passes. At this point I can thank you personally.

Moderators and judges. You know we all appreciate what you do and this site would not work without you.
Sending a big ole man hug to you all.

Lastly and what perhaps should have been first well done to our winners. What you guys created was inspiring to the core.

For all you guys that received H'Ms and simply all those nominated you have my total respect.

OK I've rambled on enough.

Peace out

Craig

Congrats Purvi, Red Shadow and Michael for your lovely poems this week! Congrats to our lovely HMs as well. It is really a pleasure reading the judges comments and it is evident they are really doing a great job for the site. Thank you judges and thank you to our mods too, and to Jane, who hosted this week.

Amazing week of poetry!

Hi All :)

Firstly congratulations to all front pagers and HMs. Great hosting as always to start the thread. Thank you to the judges for voting my poem to add there too. The comments received mean so much, and so inspiring to read them. This poem meant a lot to me :)

Thank you to the judges for their valuable time, taken every week to sift through wonderful pieces of work, not an easy job at all, so all praise to you all :)

Thank you to Craig (CJ Maleney) for nominating my winning piece, much appreciation :)

When times are busy, and cant always be on PnQ so much gets missed, but what I have read are wonderful pieces of work. Well done to all poets here :)

Much love
Michael :)x

Thank you judges for your votes and comments, ( mine included) Thanks to Liz, Naaz and Mark for nominating me. Thanks to Jane for the hosting.
So much love to go around

Congratulations to all winners and HM's. I surely don't envy the judges for the having to make the hard choices. Thank you for such lovely comments on my poem and of course my HM. I truly appreciate your kind words and you really felt what I was trying to convey with this write. Dagmar, thank you for nominating this. Jane, thank you for being the super moderator that you are!

Really really well done to all winners and HM recipients this week ... it's all fabulous and very well deserved. Thanks to the judges and mods for making such difficult choices, for keeping the whole thing going and for your time ... it's really appreciated! :-) x
=^.^=

Jane thanks for hosting
Judges thanks for voting/commenting

Well done to winners and HMs.

I am humbled to have received an HM so thank you

Thank you so much Jane for hosting!

Congrats to the Winners and HM's!

Thank you judges for your time and effort !