Weekly Contest Results Monday January 18th

Good Morning Everyone,
Let me first thank the judges for their continuous time and effort to
make this weekly contest possible. Congratulations to the front page
Winners: Daniel, Ben Pickard and Jemia de Blondeville; and those
who received HM: Mr. Darcy, Keira Pickard and Poet on the Piano.

Well done everyone!

WINNERS:

Semblance by Daniel (10 points )

To Drain the Snow of Blood by Ben Pickard (10 points)

THE TABLE (an acrostic poem) by Jemia de Blondeville (7 points)

COMMENTS://

Semblance by Daniel (10 points )

This world wide pandemic has impacted great sorrow and yet beautiful
poetry. This poem had me in tears, the elegant and touching way to describe
the mask, loss of a loved one and the events that took place at the United States
Capitol. This entire poem was simply expressed "Beyond Powerful"!
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To Drain the Snow of Blood by Ben Pickard (10 points)

Have you ever noticed that some poems read with ease? But have
you ever wondered why? Well, come closer, I will let you into a secret –
it’s pure alchemy! Ben, has used this liberally, sprinkling it over each
unstressed and stressed syllable. Once a buttery smoothness is achieved
the reader can enjoy the poem like a cat with its head in a bowlful of cream.
The poem is all together more serious in nature, it depicts the horror of
war; its loss, its sacrifice and the lasting, torturous effects, but perhaps,
ultimately, its ability to remove our what we hold dear, our freedom. Now
that’s worth remembering and this poem achieves that so very well.
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THE TABLE (an acrostic poem) by Jemia de Blondeville (7 points)

This acrostic of a tree turned into a table left me breathless!
Death of nature, just elegantly expressed, so beautiful and
sorrowful.

HM:

(6) by Mr. Darcy (4 points)

A Night Scene (etheree) by Keira Pickard (4 Points)

stranded on a highway. by Poet on the Piano (7 Points)

COMMENTS://

(6) by Mr. Darcy (4 points)

I truly love the title of this poem being just simply a period
because the message is powerfully stated, stay at home, period.
Death of loved ones, gutted sadness-
Another beautiful poem brought on by the world pandemic,
just powerful!
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A Night Scene (etheree) by Keira Pickard (4 Points)

The ‘Etheree’ form can help a writer understand/recognise syllables,
although, I’m sure this is not the case here! Using strict forms like this allows
a template to channel a creative mind. Considering this is a first attempt, I
must say, this writer shows promise. The starter word 'trees' immediately set
an image. Pleasingly, the 2nd word, 'whispers' and 3rd line 'their lament' elevated
this nature poem. Suggesting these trees are expressing, passionate sorrow is a
good one. This certainly raised my interest! We often think of trees as being wise,
their longevity and unconditional presence must play a part in this. The poem
continues and the emotional imagery steps up: Owls crying and wind howling -
I can hear the distress and even see the images. The poem then settles, as if
dwelling on this would be too painful? I enjoyed the alliteration of 'silver streams'
and stars, and I appreciated the internal rhyme of night and (bright)ly. This
attention to sounds shows a poet at work. Moving on, the expression of cloud
movement in the vastness of the nights sky was pleasing. If this poet included the
words, ‘charcoal’ and ‘grey’ to depict a polluted sky then I am pleased. As this
would also serve as affective bookends with the crying and howling.
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stranded on a highway by Poet on the Piano (7 Points)

I like the metaphoric imagery and although the meaning, apart from
wanting to remain still, alludes me, I do appreciate the overall feeling of
an opposing force buffering up against a need to be static. This is a fine
example of show don’t tell and worth highlighting this week.

Thank you to Meena, for hosting, and to our judges! Also, thank you for the HM and comments. Congrats to all!

Thank you to the judges, Meena and for the HM! Congratulations, everyone!

Thank you so much to the judge who gave such an insightful comment on my poem. Thank you to the judges more generally and congratulations to all highlighted/nominated this week.

Stay safe

Thanks, Meena for hosting and thanks to our judges. Big applause to our winners and fellow HM's they are fabulous poems, if I do say so myself!

Congrats everyone!!! Thank you judges and Meena for your time :)

Thank you, Meena, and to the judge for your very thoughtful comment. Well done to everyone for managing to write great poetry in such a challenging time.

Congratulations to all the front page winners and HM's! Excellent as always! Meena, thank you for hosting and our judges for doing the voodoo that you do, we appreciate you!