Weekly Contest Results, 12 March 2018

I have heard it said that Winter is a time for reverie, for hunkering down, for nostalgia for better times. Apparently the judges felt this same feeling, for the winning poems reflect the grasp of Lady Winter from Meena and the yearning for childhood’s mother from Sinner’s gospel and home and hearth from Craig.

Front Page:
Lady Winter by Meena Krish Points: 20
My God; my only religion by Sinners gospel Points: 17
Wish You Here by CJ Maleney Points: 11

Honorably Mentioned:
Cloud of Annalise by Mark Points: 10
I Cannot Exhale What Is Killing Me by Ben Pickard Points: 10
I Want to Suffer by Larry Chamberlin Points: 7
Sun sheet by Rania Points: 7
Time’s Backwards Marathon by Jamie Points: 7
#14 by Nil Points: 4
Anxieties of the Heart [Rictameter] by Née Points: 4
Deep in the heart of a fading smile by Maple Tree Points: 4
Nosey Freaking Neighbors by maynes Points: 4

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lady Winter by Meena Krish Points: 10
This superb, beautifully written piece walks us through the frosty antics of a mischievous ice queen, taking carefree delight in wielding her powers to control the course of nature.
"February is imprisoned within a frigid dungeon"
This is the perfect line to sum up the feeling of being trapped by the winter freeze.

******

Lady Winter by Meena Krish Points: 10
The image of as the title says- ‘lady winter’ set in this piece is truly beautiful. The author ‘sweeps’ her chilly and icy imagination across the page, using wonderful metaphors that just reel from her pen. The stanzas have been written so delicately, and rolled from my tongue with fluidity. In fact I whispered this this piece as I read it!
I really liked the line
“Humming an icy tune, she walks the earth” such a line, that it reminded me of ‘Singing in the rain’ just enjoying her creation, and walking the earth in her honour. The ‘morning triumph’ she feels as her sense of victory. I also observed that the author is female writer, and the connection with her poem makes it so much ‘deeper’ as it truly penned from a lady’s heart and energy; about a ‘lady’
A wonderful, winter-wonderland piece of writing that I so enjoyed reading very much (in front of my log-fire) Very well done.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

My God; my only religion by Sinners gospel Points: 7
A heart rending write from S.G. On reading the poem, the title holds even more meaning. In a disillusioned world, the ONLY truth and therefore the only God and religion is his mother. His mother is referred to in the past tense, but it's not clear why, however, the memories of and longing for his mother are clear and impactful. For most of us, there no safer place in our memories than being wrapped in our mother's embrace. Whilst sad, this poem is also celebratory of beautiful memories. A truly fantastic poem.

******

My God; my only religion by Sinners gospel Points: 10
This is an absolutely beautiful piece filled with fantastic imagery about (what I think) a parent, more so a mother, and the affect their nurturing and love can have on someone's soul. No matter how many times I read this I was left speechless each time.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Wish you here by CJ Maleney Points: 4
I love how Craig’s poem expresses how has almost stumbled upon this discovery of an unexpected emotion that he previously felt immune to. The exploration of this through the poem is very touching and the longing to be home when it's not possible is something everyone can relate to. An emotional journey related through smooth rhyme.

******

Wish You Here by CJ Maleney Points: 7
This piece really touched me deep in the soul and heart because it shows that Craig albeit a strong man has feelings that stir deep within him that he is not afraid to show like some men are. Yes it can be a lonely lonely world without the one you love by your side but having their love anyway makes the loneliness less lonely if that makes any sense. I for one have witnessed long distance relationships first hand (me) and second hand (friends) and you have to work at these kinds of relations to have something long term.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Cloud of Annalise by Mark Points: 10
This was a mesmerizing read. It's conceptual and written with ultimate creativity.
I am really fond of the effort put into each line, although it all sounded effortless, nothing about this poem seemed forced neither jumbled.
I admire the harmony achieved in writing this piece and what an eye-catchy title.
Powerful images, strong structure, and perfect flow. My favorite for this week.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I Cannot Exhale What Is Killing Me by Ben Pickard Points: 10
This piece was among the very few pieces that caught my attention this. It is well-crafted. The word choice and play were smart and in place. Jab/stab and paralyzed/pauper added something magical to the pace. One suggestion is to remove ‘blasted’ because too many adjectives make the lines of this part sound redundant. Other than that, a pretty poem indeed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I Want to Suffer by Larry Chamberlin Points: 7
The title is such a wretched claim. It is very powerful to start a poem with such a claim that raises dozens of question marks for the reader before even start reading; who would want to suffer, ever?
The gloomy condition was already pre-set and all along the poem, there was so much sadness and emotions that overwhelmed me.
I was touched by the poets' emotions so badly because there was so much truth to the words spoken, so much honesty and transparency. No sugar-quoted reality, yet expressed in a poetic creative way.
What a touching poem for this week.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sun sheet by Rania Points: 7
When I read this piece, it gave me a sense of being sat in a ‘grave-yard’ alone, maybe visiting a cherished ‘loved-one’. The silence of such a place, and in particular the season in which the author paints a scene- of ‘autumn leaves rustling’ a feeling of chilly times, penetrating through the authors heart, waiting for the sun to throw its sheet and wrap them up warm, maybe? Or just that feeling of our seasons times of cold, and the return of sunny days are yearned for. I like the breaks in the lines, which gives this poem a delicate tempo, which I must say I really enjoyed reading.
A short piece, but with so much imagery along with the authors emotion penned throughout. Well done.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Time’s Backwards Marathon by Jamie Points: 7
As well as how beautiful and smooth this poem reads, the emotions and messages it conveys are gut-wrenching. Blaming one’s self for a special another’s death and thinking and overdoing the thinking to the extent of not coping with it for a lengthy chunk of time makes everything seems senseless. I believe Jamie’s poetry is so real, so beautiful, it touches unexplored feelings inside. Very well done.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

#14 by Nil Points: 4
I admit there were poems this week that perhaps had better metaphors, however, this poem stuck in my head as I went, through and thoroughly, into every nominated poem this week.
It really touched my heart. Emotions, however, were not just the reason that drove me to choose it, but rather the authenticity of this poem and the real world.
The poet addressed a very common issue which I believe many parents have gone through. It's so beautiful to see how far a parent thinks of their child as they feel heartbroken thinking of how this harsh life will influence and treat their cherished ones.
A beautiful poem

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Anxieties of the Heart [Rictameter] by Née Points: 4
This piece resonates so very much with me and though this is a sad, painful and emotional write I can see that there is hope that this will not be your life forever especially as when you're down the only way is up, up, up. I do like the way that when reading this you quicken up your words in parts and slow them in others just like you'd breath rapidly then slowly with an anxiety attack so I think that's pretty cool and just my opinion

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Deep in the heart of a fading smile by Maple Tree Points: 4
The author caught my attention from the beginning of their piece, with their first stanza. I sensed a dark story was to follow, and it sure did! As I read on I could feel torment and anguish as their story unfolded; sharing their sadness. The aromas are penned well here with meaning ‘coffee’ and ‘smoke’ smelling moody and dark. Which is really the thread all the way through this well written piece. Then taking me to ‘darker thoughts’ as they wrote
“she can see the cliff ahead” with a line-break which is followed by
she knows what awaits her below” very powerful!
This really hit a note in my heart, and no doubt written from deep within the authors heart. I applaud the author for sharing, a difficult and saddened piece which has been penned so well!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Nosey Freaking Neighbors by maynes Points: 4
Sarcasm at its best. My only problem here is the awkward punctuation and capitalization of several words in each stanza. Other than that, what is tackled here is super smart and neat. Beneath society’s glimmering facade, the human soul rots in lies as we set rules and expectations to senseless things, whilst forgetting and even demolishing the meaning. Beautiful.

*********************************************************************
Congratulations to the winners and the Honorably Mentioned. Thanks to the judges and thanks to the one judge for the nice comment and to Em (vegemite) for nominating it.
[JK Em (marmite) .. ;8-) ]

I admire this diversity <3 what an awesome job! Thanks Larry for posting so early, and Judge, I'm grateful for your sweet comment on my humble piece. Thank you a bunch.

Congrats to the worthy winners, HM recipients and nominees too. A great week! Thanks to Larry for hosting and to the mods and judges for their time :-) x
=^.^=

Hi all :)

Congratulations to all the poets who graced the front page this week, excellent pieces! and all the HMs awarded

thank you to all the judges for their time, and to choose the worthy poems.
And to all poets which nominated my poems, much appreciated

Much love
Michael :)x

Thank you for the hm

Congratulations to all the front page winners and HM's! A lot of diverse writes and so many talented writers showcased. Well done all! Larry thank you for hosting and as always judges for your time.

Congratulations everyone, front page and HM's, and even to those who were nominated.

Thanks to all the members who have nominated such diverse poems. The only thing I missed in the nomination list was the senyru, an alarming trend, wrote by Ben Pickard. I was confused between Rania's poem 'sun-sheet' and BP's senyru I mentioned above and in that confusion I forgot to nominate both the poems.

Thanks to our wonderful judges and hugs to the caring mods for everything they have given us.

Keep on showering your love on us like this forever.

Love you all!

Well done, all and thanks to the judge for their comment/suggestion on my poem.
naaz - don't worry, I'm just grateful you deemed it worthy for nomination at all.

Take care

Well done to all our winners, H.M's and all those nominated.

Massive thanks to Larry for hosting and our judges for the effort they put in also

Dips my head in respect voyage judges who wrote such lovely things about my poem

Finally thank you to Mel for nominating me in the first instance

Regards all

Craig

Congratulations to Sinners gospel and Craig and to all who received
a HM! Thank you judges for the comments on my write and thank you
nazz for the nomination.

Thank you judges for your time and thank you for hosting Larry..

Thank you so much judges for highlighting my poem this week, for giving your valuable time to read and comment on our work and our moderators deserves praise too for all their efforts. It's an honor to share front page with Ms Meena and Cj along with all the honorable mentions. I want to thank all the pnq friends for all their love and support and motivating me to write better. Naaz thanks again for the nomination.