Weekly Results 10 August 2020

It is small wonder that the judges this week focused on poets’ reactions to the horrendous issues facing the world. Rania’s first hand account of the Beirut explosion, Hellon’s plea to absentee family of an abandoned elder and MA’s diatribe against racial targeting. The world seems to be getting worse even though not one of them focuses on the pandemic. [I will update after receiving the missing comments.]

Front Page Winners
Beirut; Choked on Pieces by Rania Moallem (points : 10)
The Forgotten by Hellon (points : 10)
P stands for Murder by Poet on the Piano (points : 7)

Honorably Mentioned
The Tyranny of Enoughs by Daniel (points : 7)
Ram by nourayasmine (points : 4)
War Lessons by nourayasmine (points : 4)

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Comments

Beirut; Choked on Pieces by Rania Moallem (points : 10)
Awaiting Comment
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The Forgotten by Hellon (points : 10)
"Brilliant use of repetition in this poem... The simple act of wiping one's drool away stirs feelings of both empathy towards the persona and sadness for Maisie. Hellon effectively set a scene of bleak, repetitious days. Emmerdale Farm and drooling seems to be a constant occurrence in Maisie's life... Paired together it creates heart-rending imagery that the reader keeps facing over and over. The line "open up your heart, not your wallet..." is accurately placed go wrap it all together evocatively. It would make a good ending, but somehow the mention of Maisie stirs more emotion into the mix as it makes the poem feel more personal. Perhaps the line "not your dollars" can be omitted since it's already implied in the wallet line... Just my two cents for a bit of a more dramatic ending, but the poem is already sublime in itself."
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The Tryanny of Enoughs by Daniel (points : 7)
"Another poem that's poetically observing the every day dullness of life and introspection. I love it when apparently unemotional objects gain meaning throughout a poem. To me, all of these described "disarrays" perfectly mimic the persona's state of mind.. Which I find most interesting in this piece because all of the thoughts (Am I not kind enough, etc) at first seem so unrelated to the described objects... Slightly confusing the reader and making them curious to read on. But in the end the thoughts and disarrays were symbolically related which wrapped it all together. "
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P stands for Murder by Poet on the Piano (points : 7)
Awaiting Comment
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War Lessons by nourayasmine (points : 4)
" War can often be something we feel desensitized towards.. Either due to overexposure or because we cannot afford to be emotionally invested. Noura's tone starts off as static, almost scientific... Just objectively describing the human body. Gradually there's more emotions in the tone as the imagery turns more grueling. From quite implicitly talking about death through the mention of ashes.. To a more explicit, horrifying image of a head rolling or limbs shattering. The gradient from numbness to sadness was cleverly executed in this poem. "It takes a lifetime for a mind to forget watching these scenes." really brings out the person and hurt behind this poem.. Only to revert back to a an objective description of humans as "entities".. Perhaps a defense mechanism to guard herself from more hurt. Clever psychological dynamics going on in this poem."
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Ram by nourayasmine (points : 4)
Awaiting Comment
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Thank you to the judge who left their lovely comment...very much appreciated. Also thank you so much Liz for your nomination. Very humbled to be sharing the front page with Nanna & MA, congrats to you both. Did the site break the tie between MA & Danny's poems? Also, after two days of posting this Larry...do you have the comments from the second judge yet?

Yes, Hellon, the site broke the tie for third place

No. Unfortunately the judge has not sent them.

Thank you, judge. And Hellon, I'm humbled to share the page with you and dear Rania <3

Congratulations to all the front page winners and HM's! Beautiful writing all around! Thank you to our judges for your time and dedication. Larry, thank you for hosting.