Weekly Contest Results, 10 December 2018

Goodbye!
How many ways it may be expressed! Jamie to the past iterations of his own self in preparation for a better one; MaryAnne to one who should not expect a welcome; Ben to a lost love while drowning sorrow. The judges have perhaps looked to the new year in awarding the auld lang synes of this year’s goodbyes. The site broke a tie among five poems with 10 points each.

Front page:
Cocoon by Jamie 4+7= 11 points
Putrefy by Poet on the Piano 4+7=11 points
Quiet Friends by Ben Pickard 10 points

Honorable mentions:
Dreamcatcher by Ya-----Na 10 points
Images II by Hellon 10 points
Natural Progression (syntuit) by Larry Chamberlin 10 points
Victim Projects by Abed 10 points
Sparks by nameless 4+4=8 points
A splintered Intermezzo by Ben Pickard 7 points
makeshift by nameless 7 points
My childhood an elegy by Darren 7 points
For a secret by the prince 4 points

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Cocoon by Jamie 4 points
A personal and touching piece. The Cocoon title instantly drew me into a lonely mode. And then the poem took us on this short and yet meaningful journey of developing and growing the hard way. I liked the metaphor used and the tone.

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Cocoon by Jamie 7 points.
Jamie has hit a purple patch recently with his writing, also he has seemed to have a more positive edge in his musings. This poem is cleverly written and has a lovely ending. I love the statement in the middle. A poem that most of us can relate to and worthy of my 7 points

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Putrefy by Poet on the Piano 7 points
Whenever I open a poem from her, I know I’m about to be taken on a journey. This was no different. There is a lot of anger in these words, and the language choice is expertly consonant heavy, and evocative. Each stanza has its own place, and contribute equally to the build up of contained fury and frustration, that leads to a untypical but vulnerable conclusion.

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Putrefy by Poet on the Piano 4 points
Poet on the Piano has done it again with their poem, “Putrefy.”, bringing you into a darkly metaphorical place of neglectful love and its inability to ever sate a need for happiness. The ending is what tied the piece together for me, giving the reader a visualization of someone who is fully willing to suffocate their partner so that they, instead, might grow and flourish. This poem highlights a common and toxic type of relationship that is sometimes so hard to escape; especially when you love the person who’s killing you.

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Quiet Friends by Ben Pickard 10 points
This write is a perfectly traditional piece of poetry. It feels like it’s a play, and at the end of this play you find out the stark reality of attempting to use friendship as a healing mechanism, in conjunction with a bunch of bottles in the hands of an alcoholic, while mourning the death of their marriage. The flow in “Quiet Friends” was impeccable, stringing uniquely chosen words and hard rhymes to make a Shakespearean theatre in the reader's mind, with a fitting twist that makes you ponder if his friends were just bottles of liquor all along. Well done.

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Dreamcatcher by Ya-----Na 10 points
When, I am rejected by the Sun to live under the spell of the stars; a shadow of blissfulness which doesn't go far. Love those lines, very talented write.

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Images II by Hellon 10 points
I was hankering for something a little different tonight while judging. This had it in spades. I loved images I, however I never got round to commenting. I'm happy I can do so with images II.
It grabbed my attention with line one. The confidence to open a poem with just a single word, one that is usually among a cluster of words kept me interested. Then you read through the whole thing and agree with the question, Who is? So you read again, smile and nod. This is pretty deep. Worth my 10 points.

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Natural Progression (syntuit) by Larry Chamberlin 10 points
A beautiful, realistic and surprising syntuit. The least thing I expected for death to love was this, in the poem I mean. However, what not to be hungry for, but what keeps you existing. Intriguing.

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Victim Projects by Abed 10 points
A narrative poem that is guilty of telling, not showing at times, but despite that, is incredibly powerful towards the end. The speech within the poem is a nice touch, and it takes a lot of skill to write a poem as effectively as this without being reliant on adjectives, and imagery. I have read this poem many times, and every time I get the overriding feeling of dreariness and loneliness. A powerful poem.

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Sparks by nameless 4 points
I like the blending of the metaphors with nature, a passionate write!

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Sparks by Nameless 4 points
This is a vivid poem that’s easy on the eyes, and full of rich, imagery. It toys with cliche at times, but the writer’s skill prevents this. The narrative of the poem is straightforward, and centered upon one theme, which allows the writer to have more control of the imagery.

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A splintered Intermezzo by Ben Pickard 7 points
Shakespearean style for sure, lovely write, great use of metaphors!

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makeshift by nameless 7 points
Powerful poem. There is so much imagery that I have images painted in my head. I enjoyed the no-punctuation space, although at some points I felt they were needed. However, at other times it was cool for me.

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My childhood an elegy by Darren 7 points
Darren utilizes a plethora of writing mechanisms in his poem about childhood dreams and adult realizations, and every bit works. From the alliteration to the metaphors and sagely advice, this poem reinforces a lesson that we all learn too late in life. No doubt this could be a poem I would read in English class in High School, and its message would be lost upon young me. Older, though, older it’s not the same. As much as it hurts to be reminded of this, Darren’s ability to relate to his reader is a priceless gem these days.

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For a secret by the prince 4 points
I was torn between this and one other by the prince and two by Ben Pickard for my third vote. In the end I chose this piece because of stanza 2. Sounds daft but after reading all 4 pieces this is the section of poetry that stuck in my mind. Loved it. A clever write, chopped back to only the words that mattered. I did feel that the pace quickened at the end. Maybe the lack of punctuation in the final two stanzas compared to stanzas three and four. (Maybe it was written like this.) Worthy of an HM at least 4 points.

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Thanks to the judge for the comment on Natural Progression. Thanks to Em for nominating it.

Congrats all, well done judges.
Thanks to the judge who commented on my effort, thank you Jamie for the nomination.

Sir Larry , thanks for hosting this week.

Congratulations to everyone.

Moderators, judges, poets, thanks to all of you for making it possible.

For creating another wonderful week and reminding us how beautiful life could be.

Love you all!

Enjoy!

Thank you Jamie for the nomination, and the judge for your comment. I guess I cannot run away from narrative, even though I always try. Congrats for the winners and fellow HMs.

Happy for the winners and HMs
Grateful to the judges for showering so much love on all of us.
Thanks to our hardworking Moderators and to all the beautiful members for their time to read, comment and obviously nomination.
Much love for pnq family..

S

Congratulations guys; some wonderful poems this week. Thank you judges and Michael for nominating me. :)

Thank you to Larry for hosting and to the judges for taking the time to read and give thoughts on my poem. I must admit when I first was writing that piece, I was too angry to sound coherent. But it helped to sort it into words. Thanks for all you do, judges.

Congrats to all you lovely poets :)

Thank you and congratulations to all.

Congratulations to all the front page winners and HM's! Stellar writing all around. Larry thank you for hosting and always you judges....you guys...awesome!

Hi All :)

Congratulations to all the front page winners this week, including HMs

To all the judges that give their time for this competition to happen.

Much love
M:)