What was your first win on PnQ?

What was your first win on PnQ or your first poem you were really proud of?
Post it, or just add the link here and tell us a little bit about it.

https://www.poems-and-quotes.com/poems/1094256
^
My first win: Eye spy
This was a poem based on an image. The image was a randomly selected one. When I saw the frogman through the corals I knew instantly it was a killer shark 'eye spying' him. I wanted to lead the reader step by step, right into the jaws, so to speak.
I'd been a member for a while by that point. It was at a time when the site was really active and I kept mainly to my club. I had no thoughts of winning as that happened to real poet's. Suffice to say, I was over the moon. :)

This thread will be very interesting, it’s a great idea!!

I can see why your poem won !!
I have a question, do you think your style of writing changed since then?

So my first win here is also the poem I’m most proud of I have a link for a repost:
https://www.poems-and-quotes.com/poems/1272663

I was transitioning to something different in my life, and I wrote this I had no idea it would get the attention it got. I got comments from member who never did before. I clearly remember I was studying for a midterm when I found out it won, it was very overwhelming!!

"do you think your style of writing changed since then?"
^
I wrote that poem 12 years ago. I cringe at much of my older work. To me, that tells me I've learnt a thing or two. I'm sure I have a style now, mainly developed by copying others, then picking and choosing the elements that suit me.
I remember enjoying writing 'eye spy' but now, if I were to rewrite it, it would be different.
My question to you: could you improve your poem?

My first poem on P and Q was back in 2005, when only the moderaters chose the winning poems (before judging and nominations) and it was a nature poem, I have it in my files somewhere here at the house... My first win on this account I have now is

Acid Ghost
by Maple Tree
Dec 29, 2011

Acidic revelations
dance upon crystals
capturing a frozen memory
let me taste it softly, silently
so the ghosts in my head
will not die of hunger....

I love writing small poems from time to time and this one is a favorite of mine.

Lol I agree with you I also cringe when I read my older writes, especially my english wasn’t that good!!

I think my style changed a lot, so yeah I think I can improve it. As I you suggested I may try writing an improved pt 2!

Oooooh I remember this!!!!!!

I like your early poem. Small poems can pack a punch.
That's interesting. Moderators choosing the winning poems. Were there still 3 winners each week?

Yes there were 3 winners, no hms. Just each week the Moderaters would choose a poem they felt should be highlighted, no comments just the poem would be on the front page.

Such a neat thread! I think my style definitely changed. I joined PnQ when I was a teen and wrote very cliche love poems, a lot of telling instead of showing. Later, I experimented with more formed poetry, then went through a phase of using a thesaurus far too often that made my poems clunky. I'd say it wasn't until the last 5 years or so that I really connected with my voice and emotions, and started writing more personally, almost no fiction.

My first win from July 23, 2008:
Awaiting Midnight~Tanka

The crescent moon hides,
Black shadows slyly creep up,
Twilight is nearing.
What a silent atmosphere,
As the earth quietly sleeps.

My first win was also back when the mods chose the winners. It was on my old account so I can't remember which one it was but I do recall it was a haiku and I was very chuffed to see it on the front page. The site was much more active then and the mods seemed like gods to me so to have my poem highlighted by one of them was like winning the lottery.....I was quite naive back then lol!

BTW

Great post Michael.

I like your Tanka - from your 'formed days'. :)
Ah yes, the trusty Thesaurus. I remember thinking I need wonderful words, until I realised they made my voice sound foreign.
My first attempts of writing poetry were in cards to lovers, and looking back, were also cliché.

A haiku, I should have known. :)
Are any of the original moderators still active on here?

Jane is the longest running mod that I can think of who is current but I'm not sure if she was on board when the mods chose the winners.

The mods that I remember from back then were...

Bob Shank, Illuminati (now Koane) . Kevin Murray (now just Kevin) Ann-Marie, Sherry Lyn and some other guy with fuzzy hair called Arkol or something weird like that.

Thanks Hellon, that's interesting. I like the sound of Arkol! Sounds like a Bob Ross fan:)
Has the site had more that the one recent makeover?

I've probably got that name wrong haha!!

After the mods chose the winners it was decided to let some members choose the winning poems The mods chose those members back then...there was no nominating judges like we have now.. There was a 'room' set up for the judges to 'confer' together and these judges came on board for six months so...if they didn't like you (not your poems) you were well and truly snookered for that period. Someone found out how to hack into this 'room' and exposed just how corrupt that system had become. That's how we have ended up with what we have today.

Hellon, I think you are referring to the moderator Shawn?

My first ( and only! ) win was ' Oh, Crackers '. I have no idea how to share the link, so I've just written the name!

Hi Andrea,

Yes, the name Shawn rings a bell. I remembered later on that the name was Arkel Soul or something. Maybe that was Shawn's sign in name?

Also remembered the name Dankz or something like that. He was Janis' assistant but I don't remember him participating on the main boards. Do you remember I freaked everyone out when Dankz decided to retire and I posted an April fool's joke saying Janis had asked me to replace him? Apparently his (Janis') inbox was full of complaints LOL!!! I received a pm from Janis which led me to believe the guy had no sense of humour whatsoever :)

Yes Hellon, It was Shawn and his sign in name was Aken Soul
Danz was his assistant and yes I remember when you posted that
I thought it was funny :-)

Yeah....apparently Janis' inbox was chockers with complaints LOL...I mean, seriously he wouldn't have had a clue who I even was if people stopped to think about it.

Of course the site was very different back then and the thought of suspension if you crossed the line (that was the line that kept changing depending on which mod was signed in) was what kept a lot of people interested I think :)

Also, some members may remember the 'sin bin' (I think that's what it was called?) People who were considered to be out of order but not outrageously so where suspended for three days and spent that time in the bin to cool their heals. After that time they generally apologized and moved on the the next 'event'. Happy memories haha!!!

Hmm I’ve been scratching my head while trying to remember what that first win was. I deleted my first account in pnq. I made it back in 2011. Sadly, I don’t remember. But I think it was a poem that many weren’t happy with.

I’ll keep on thinking. By the way, great thread.

"Jane is the longest running mod that I can think of who is current but I'm not sure if she was on board when the mods chose the winners."

^ Only when I first joined the team. One of my first "orders of business" as a mod was to push for members to be included in site decisions and have equal weight in those decisions, and for mods to then carry out those decisions made by the majority. This meant letting members decide how the weekly contest would be conducted. At one point before I became a mod, Bob was handpicking the site winners. He was arguably the leader of the mods, if not in name, in action, and whatever he wanted was enforced. Some of the mods were becoming sick of his dictatorship. It was established that majority ruled on the mod squad, despite this not always happening, and the majority of the mods decided to shake things up and bring me onto the squad. It was a risky decision. At the time, I represented the rebels of the site, though I had begun trying to be a voice of reason between the mods and the rebels. Bob threatened to quit the squad if I joined. He was a man of his word and quit as soon as I came on board.
To be fair to Bob (who thought I was the antichrist), upon promotion to the squad, I felt like a spy whose responsibility was to uncover corruption. I was not loyal to the mod team except for those who also were sick of Bob's tyranny and wanted change, like Britt. I shared several mod threads with my club to unveil how bad it was behind the scenes. Back then, there was a loophole to hack into clubs. Someone hacked into our club and saw that I had shared mod threads, shared this with the entire site, and it was chaos. Somehow I managed to cling to moderator status (I still don't know how), and I realized that I needed to make change within the mod team rather than merely expose the corruption that existed, so I changed my strategy, hence the "order of business" mentioned above.

I forget exactly how we ended up with the judging system we have now, but it was certainly through open discussion with members and we tested out different ideas along the way. Following that same vision of including members, the system is not set in stone and suggestions for changes are welcome.

Hellon: Those were very different times before I was a mod. I had my fair share of suspensions and time outs! Bob hated me. It was exciting fighting against tyrannical rule hahaha. I have fond memories too. I also have friendships that were forged in fire - banding together like rebels made our bonds unbreakable.

Edit: I edited the above about ten times to add more info, so please read the most recent version :)
Edit x2: The above is how I believe everything occurred, but I realize that memories are biased, and I'm sure not everyone remembers it the way I remember it.

I was a moderator before you sweet Jane and I want to say, I only was for a few months because I did not care for the (corruption). Im all about the poetry so thats what I love.

The judging that we have now began as a group discussion because it needed to be more fair and open... and honest.

Andrea, there were mods who were truly great throughout the years, and although I don't remember you as a mod, I know you as a person and I have no doubt you were a fantastic mod.

Here's my first win on this account, but this is not my first account.

Real Cowboys
by silvershoes Jun 20, 2008
category : Miscellaneous / Misc. poems

We venture 'yond the badlands
Seeping hooves in somber sands
Rigid backs and dirtied hands
Roping cattle with no brands

Wind howls deep into the night
Critters creep and spiders bite
The moon blinks as fading light
Drifts below our razor sight

Vultures prowl the salted sky
Desert nomads drift by and by
Still as stone--we sleep; we die
Watching always with one eye

With the rising sun we saddle
Donning dusty brims and chattel
Leather whines and spurs brattle
Sitting on our mounts astraddle

A dozen whips crack at once
Hurling rocks and riding stunts
Down into the canyon fronts
Hare runs free and dingo hunts

Bandits, thieves and wicked ploys
Loaded guns when time deploys
Bullets blaze but still we poise
It's another day for real cowboys

https://www.poems-and-quotes.com/poems/1278222

One thing I've observed on here is that it goes quiet at times. Personally i love reading the poetry people post and for me it's an inspirational thing to witness. However i have also noticed that a lot of the same people read and nominate the same people over and over again. Perhaps it is just because that is who this site has now the ones who hold it up so to speak.

I looked it up for you, here it is:

"Skyscraper"

From afar, your glorious gleam
is admired by the petite edifices
that day by day strive to outgrow
their own restrictions.

You are the center,
the role model
the idol.

you are the attention getter
the popular, the brightest.

You are a dream,
an illusion, a fantasy.

But little do they know
that within your structure
lies a framework of steel
to resist the negative vibes
from those who wish
your demise.

that within your heart
lies a big conundrum
of feelings that elevate or halt
according to what other people want,

or that your life
often times
lacks a personal space,
the one
many others have.

Little do they know
that just like them
every piece that makes up
your existence was
cautiously calculated
to create your good foundation.

Or that even though
you are surrounded by many,
still you can feel alone
because you are
within a city
where there aren't
many of your own.

Or that you feel tall
not exactly for your height
but because you are surrounded
by those who have lent you
their support.

And that those sparkling windows
the ones they see
every morning and every night
are your way of giving thanks
to everyone who has helped you out
into becoming the glorious monument
that you are today.

But little do they know
that they should also
give thanks and simply smile
because they can also
feel tall if they want.

Thank you! This piece brings back memories. I felt like I was writing it all over again as I was reading it. Odd. But satisfying feeling.

... But just out if curiosity, How do you know it was that one? I thought those poems got deleted once I deleted the account.

is anything on the internet ever really truly deleted?

^you have a good point there

http://web.archive.org/

i used to poke around p&q, most poems aren't available there, but ones that won the contest will be archived there for sure! i just went and vistited a random 2012 archive, went on the previous contest winners and that poem was the first one of yours to win!

but yeah, it's best to assume once you post on the internet, it never gets deleted.