Weekly Contest Results, 15 January 2018

Carrying on for the sake of survival and sanity: Carrying on in a new life alone as described by Thomas; ddavidd’s observation as to men and women on fire carrying on of a different kind; Elizabeth’s soul-searching acceptance of her dark side and determination to carry on despite it.
The site broke a four way tie for second - Ben’s duo each received 10 points; in fact only one poem of all the nominations received votes from more than one judge!

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Front Page:
Comfort in Modern Times by Thomas Points: 17
Make Love In Fire by ddavidd Points: 10
Villain by Elizabeth Points: 10

Honorably mentioned:
A Dragon's Love (English sonnet) by Ben Pickard Points: 10
Diary Of A Serial Killer (part II) by Ben Pickard Points: 10
Answers by Skullyna Points: 7
My beautiful inspiration by Michael Points: 7
My canvas knows best by Dagmar Wilson Points: 7
The Last Sunset I will ever See (Rd) by Milo Points: 7
Blank verse by Stephanie Points: 4
Friendship by Scott Cole Points: 4
Frozen Factals by Lyical Madness Points: 4
Past times by Michael Points: 4
Words by Scott Cole Points: 4

Comments
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Comfort in Modern Times by Thomas Points: 7
(1) Free verse is something that is difficult to pull off correctly because there is a thin line between what is free verse and what is prose and not everyone gets it right. Thomas has in my opinion got it spot on. It contains excellent imagery and descriptions that bring to life a lovely message. A gentle theme of normality runs through this piece which flows well from beginning to end. It compares the hustle and bustle of modern life with the different daily routine's of eat, sleep and work further emphasizing the normal humdrum of life and there is a clear contrast between that and what is going on in his mind since she left. He thinks back to the last thing that they discussed before she - laundry sheets and wonders how does anyone know what sweet dreams smell of. Yet those same laundry sheets bring comfort to him every day. I felt that this piece sent a lovely message that no matter what
happens to you life will go on each day just as it always and no matter what happens comfort can be still found in the smallest of things.

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Comfort in Modern Times by Thomas Points: 10
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(2) This piece sucked me in with every new line I devoured. I could relate wholeheartedly, and I think so can so many people who venture through our lovely home here will agree - for that I definitely feel this is worth the e-news letter of winners. And even if it does not make it that far, it was most certainly worth the nomination. The artistry in this piece was incredible, there was a phenomenal balance between personality and connection with the audience. There was a phenomenal vocabulary to this and the mundane nature to it really made this all the more inviting - and heartbreaking in the end as well. Though this does fall in line with prose as well as poetry, it also has a fantastic flow that was effortless to follow as well as a captivating style/form.

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A Dragon's Love (English sonnet) by Ben Pickard Points: 10
Wow! Ben did a really great job with this lovely sonnet! I am in awe of his use of the dragon's characteristics to portray the strength and vulnerability of love. As always, a seamlessly structured sonnet. Great work!

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Diary Of A Serial Killer (part II) by Ben Pickard Points: 10
This is an excellent follow on from part 1 in the journey in the mind of a serial killer. Well rhymed and smooth flow. Even if you haven't read part one, part two stands equally well in its own right as an independent poem and had me gripped from the beginning. With smooth detailed imagery that takes you on a journey in the mind of the killer. It also adds interest with the reveal that despite all of this slaughter the killer believes that taking life gives life. It is deliciously macabre and an excellent read for anyone who enjoys a good horror fix. I am left definitely wanting to read more.

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Make Love In Fire by ddavidd Points: 10
Making love has been painted by words here in a very very interesting way! The tempo, the feelings of passion and the way its spent by two individuals has been crafted with such grace as well as excitement. Liked the use of words and the images it brings to mind

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Villain by Elizabeth Points: 10
Probably the least writing for a comment but all I can say is this piece enthralled me and left an imprint on my mind so was thinking about it for days and have a read it a numerous amount of times to say I was speechless is an understatement.

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Answers by Skullyna Points: 7
I love the imagery in this piece, and the amount of creativity it took to arrive at these images, such as the "footprints in the -authors- hair", which was beautiful enough to pull me in effortlessly and clue me into the fact that I'd be reading this many times throughout the week. Every time I read through this I am in even more awe of the author's voice and ease at including such beautiful lines like the intro. I definitely felt the musicality in this, and was carried away in that, each time it had a different tune, but each one was stunning nonetheless. While I feel the word choice could have been just a little more powerful, everything else about this was completely well done, very well penned.

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My beautiful inspiration by Michael Points: 7
I think this is a very personal piece although I believe one can relate with it. What I really love about this write is, it is so poetically expressed making use of great metaphors. I also love the writer's rich vocabulary and the way he structured the lines, emphasizing hope and fear. And the way it ended was really good. It is a great example of achieving natural flow in free verse. Fantastic job!

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My canvas knows best by Dagmar Wilson Points: 7
This piece is extremely poetic which I've come to expect from Dagmar. It is a relatably sad yet extremely insightful piece which says to me "I am an artist and my art is me."

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The Last Sunset I will ever See (Rd) by Milo Points: 7
Reading this stirred something within me it’s a moving write of a silent voice that is slowly starting to fade, slowly starting to loose the sense of reality…each verse was so descriptive its like sitting and hearing the writer say all this and that voice is so loud and clear and at the same time weighed with a sadness…a touching write.

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Blank verse by Stephanie Points: 4
Though this is short and effortlessly penned it exhibits pure beauty and an incredible sense of emotional description. This piece is full of feeling and extremely captivating connections between this person and whoever they are writing about while also connecting the person and their stream of current (as of writing) consciousness. The personality is incredible and really sets this effortless write apart from other similar ones.

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Friendship by Scott Cole Points: 4
I can't really say much about this piece apart from a poetic portrayal of friendship which we could all take something from, relate to or both.

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Frozen Factals by Lyical Madness Points: 4
A breathtaking rhyming piece that wonderfully captures the scenic beauty of nature. Every stanza is a beauty to behold and evokes a beautiful serene feeling. The word choice and rhythm are simple and beautiful. Great work.

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Past times by Michael Points: 4
This piece might be small in stature but is beautiful and compelling in content and design. The metaphors and comparisons are wonderful. Tears being likened to falling petals, goodbyes being likened to leaves and the use of trees as a metaphor for passing of time. That by the time trees are budding then so will be time enough for the tears to have dried and the old slate will be clean. I also loved the creative way that Michael formed the lines into the shape of a tree.

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Words by Scott Cole Points: 4
So always taste your remarks
Before you spit them out,
Because once they're delivered
They forever linger about.

^^Very true and very correct. Words are something
we cannot take back even if we want it. Instead it’s the
regret that we forever keep when unwanted words leave
our lips. A well written poem with good use of words.

All comments have been added. Congrats to ddavidd, Elizabeth & Thomas and thanks to the judges.

Congratulations to the winners (front and HM's) and thanks to mods, judges, and all the other people who have contributed by giving their best this week.

Having two poems lose the tiebreak leaves me somewhat disgruntled, I have to be honest, but there again, I lost to two outstanding poems which makes it better...a little, anyway lol.

Thanks to the judges for their continued hard work and interesting comments and well done to all those highlighted and nominated this week.

Ben

Congratulations to all the front page winners and HM's! So many to choose from, so many different types of writes. That is what is so awesome about this site, the diversity and styles all coming together to celebrate the same thing-poetry. Thank you judges for once again making the hard choices, and Larry for hosting.

Hi All :)

Congratulations to the fine winners this week and HMs.

thank you to all the wonderful judges for their precious time, and for the lovely comments on my HMs

thank you to Dagmar and Mark for my nominations

much love
Michael :)x

Congrats to all! A huge thank you to our judges and to Larry for posting.

Congrats Winners and HM's!
Thank you judges and Larry for hosting :)

Thank you so much for your kind words judges. Thanks to pnq site members for their warmth and support. Brenda thank you for the nomination.

Thank you so much Judges for the time and effort. Thank for my comment. Thank to Larry for hosting. Also thanks to Mark and Liz for nominating me,