Weekly Contest Results 1/14/18

Congratulations to Ben Pickard, Mr. Darcy, and Acoustic Odyssey for submitting winning poems this week! Thank you to the 5 wonderful folks who volunteered to judge this term and who are off to a great start. We appreciate you tremendously.
-Jane

WINNING POEMS:
Andrea My Darling by Ben Pickard: 10 + 10 + 7 = 27
Migration Tale (Brent Geese) by Mr. Darcy: 10 + 4 + 4 = 18
For The Love Of Silence by Acoustic Odyssey: 10 + 4 + 4 = 18

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COMMENTS FOR WINNERS:
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Andrea My Darling
by Ben Pickard
10 + 10 + 7 = 27

"Whenever I read this poem I feel like I am singing a beautiful melody. Smooth flow, rhythm, meaningful and above all nice dedication. Those who try to write songs, this one is a great example." (10)

"Lovely piece, complicated understanding, like the author." (10)

"A real treat, romance and humour all rolled into one. If you read this poem without first knowing both the poet and his muse it would stand alone successfully as a beautiful love poem from one who is caught deeply in the grip of love. Knowing that it was written in jest by one poet to another gives a more humorous slant and the combination of both works very well. Ben has managed to portray superbly the type of magnificent romantic love that most ladies secretly long for." (7)

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Migration Tale (Brent Geese)
by Mr. Darcy
10 + 4 + 4 = 18

"This poem grabs the reader from the first two lines. "Seven geese swim seven skies, across the wetlands, marsh and tides". Flawless alliteration and rhyming with vibrant metaphors throughout.
Mr Darcy brings a unique and imaginative pizazz to the scene of birds migrating and makes it instantly more universally appealing." (10)

"Written in a simple but highly effective and very well done aabb rhyme scheme, this is a lovely little poem about the trials and tribulations of migrating birds and their determination to reach their destination (Siberia on this occasion).
As above, this is a rhyming poem that is unforced and pretty well fluent throughout and there aren't enough of those round these parts so it's a pleasure for me to award this joyful little write my four points. I would just point out that the last stanza should read "until they're on the ground below" rather than "there"." (4)

"Great as seen through the hunter's eyes, I also hunted those Geese, who seemed to wear bullet proof vests, very hard to bring them down, Geese 10, Hunter 0." (4)

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For The Love Of Silence
by Acoustic Odyssey
10 + 4 + 4 = 18

"I am a sucker for a sad poem. As bleak as that may sound, it is perhaps no coincidence that some of the greatest songs or poems tend to deal with lost love, depression or both!
Anyway. This grabbed my attention from the moment I read it on the nominations page, because as trite as it may sound, I related to it. What does happen when all the things that you once relied on to get you through the day no longer provide the required antidote? And, in fact, have become the poison themselves? Then, sadly, I suppose you slip into a sort of madness as I could feel myself doing as I slid down the almost free-falling format of this poem." (10)

"I read this poem several times and each time found something new to think about.... A series of increasingly impossible situations escalates and is accentuated at each stanza by the repetition of "What happens then?" discounting all options until at the end the only thing that makes sense is silence." (4)

"Acoustic Odyssey gives a lot of food for thought in this poem. The what happens then moments makes the reader stop and ponder that very question. This could cover many different scenarios, from lost relationships to losing your sanity. I myself use music for all my moods. It can calm me as well as amp me up to a whole new level. Just hearing a certain song will propel me to a certain time or a past relationship, good or bad. The last stanza of asking when only silence begins to make absolute sense. Now that's the deepest of all questions....do we live the rest of our lives in silence, losing out on the music of our lives or do we continue with the music at the risk of losing ourselves?" (4)

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COMMENTS FOR HONORABLE MENTIONS:
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Huffing racism
by Poet on the Piano
10

"MA really writes a hard hitting poem this week. It is a deeply personal piece that speaks of her father and the racism that is very much a part of his life. It speaks of her frustration and sadness that this man, her father can be like this, can speak like this, can make this hateful rhetoric a large part of his life. I appreciate her openness in writing such a personal piece. It is never easy to admit to the yourself your own flesh and blood could be so filled with hatred let alone an entire world. Thank you for sharing this." (10)

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Alcoholism (acrostic)
by Walter
7

"Walter writes about an addiction that affects many people. It is an awful disease that can tear apart a family, cost you a job, your health and if you get caught up in the legal system, a lot of money. His poem gives the reader a perspective of the alcoholic themselves. How they persuade themselves that even if this addiction is destroying them by having another drink fades those doubts and thoughts away." (7)

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Relámpago del Amor
by Larry Chamberlin
7

"I don't in all honesty have a lot to say about this poem other than how beautiful it is in its (seeming) simplicity. It is just so full of love and light that I myself felt positively illuminated by the end of it!

'You electrified me with your spirit long before you lit up my nights'
^
Well, that alone is worth my seven points. Wonderful work, Larry." (7)

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The Slit Of Illumination
by BOB GALLO
7

"This poem is one of the best I read this week. From title to the last stanza, good choice of the words. Fascinating." (7)

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La La land by Milly Hayward
7

"Wonderful poem for kids, nice humor and rhyme." (7)

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Apostasy
by Aegis
4

"I have seen few cooking realities shows in which they asked chefs to make a recipe which should provide all the flavors of the ingredients in just one spoon. Aegis does this all the time. This poem is all the flavors of the poetry served in one spoon." (4)

Congratulations to Acoustic Odyssey, Michael and Ben- Beautiful poems this week!

I just want to say, that the other day, I was having probably one of the worst days here of late.... and Ben swooped in and made me smile, he picked up on my sadness and sparked my day... his poem was a fun, light hearted and magical friendship gift and that is why his poem stands out for me...

It is a fantastic and brilliantly written poem and Ben you rock!!!!

Congratulations to all of the hms and thank you to everyone for all of your dedication to this site!

Andrea, while I thank you for your praise, I must stand up now and make clear that this is not 'light-hearted' or 'fun'. No, it is something altogether more seri...
I'm joking, of course! Thank you for playing along and inspiring me to write something fun instead of my usual kind of dirge!

Thank you judges and congratulations to everyone involved.

Hello Peeps,

It's so nice to be back and to be welcomed with a front page poem. Thank you to the judges who voted and commented for not just me, but all the others - much appreciated.

Congratulations to the other winners and HM's too. Ben, your poem was hilarious and obviously tickled more than just Andrea's fancy!!

Congratulations one and all xx

Hi All :)

Congratulations to all the front page poets, and all HMs awarded.
Thanks to our dedicated judges as always

Much love, M :)x

Congratulations to all the front page winners and HM's! Stellar writes all around. I dont envy the judges- so many amazing poems to choose from. Thank you Mary Anne for hosting and you judges.. you all rock!

Congrats to the front page winners (Andrea shares that recognition!) and to the other HMs.
Thanks for the very nice comment! Thanks, Ben, for nominating it.
Thank you judges for you work and to Jane for hosting.

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!

Thanks to the host, and the judges for taking their time. Special gratitude to Mark and Naaz for their support and also thanks to Michael for nominating this one.

Congratulations to this weeks winners and HMs. Huge tganks to the judges and to Jane for collating and personal thanks to the judge who left the lovely comments for La La land. Milly x

I'm late to say it, but thanks to all of our judges. Thank you especially to one of the judges for the comment and leaving your thoughts. I appreciate it. Congrats to all poets and a big thanks to Jane for hosting.

Congratulations to this weeks winners and HMs. Thanks to Jane for moderating and all the Judges for volunteering their time. Best wishes Milly x