Weekly Contest Winners - April 11, 2022!

Happy Monday! This week, we still have only one judge, and I want to thank them for their time. If you're interested in volunteering to judge for the weekly contest, please pm the mod account. Thanks to all who have judged in the past :) Now, to the comments. Milly is a welcome sight to see back here, with her emotional "Child of War", a rhyming, heartbreaking piece on war from a child's perspective. Next, another submission to the site after a few years, Tanya Southey captivates with "The Invitation". To me, it speaks to our vulnerabilities, the pull of wanting to give up, yet wanting to feel our own mortality and keep fighting to survive. To appreciate how fragile it all can be. And last but never least, Everlasting's poem, inspired by National Poetry Writing Month, delves into how we rely on our senses, and leaves the reader with the weight of how much we may underestimate them at times.

Congrats to all! Hope everyone is doing well and has a great start to their week.

~ Elliott

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COMMENTS:

"Child of War" by Milly Hayward

"Firstly this poem holds a fluency of rhyme, that keeps a beat right the way through. A reflection of how they see it, from what goes on in our day and past of course. Again we read the atrocities of war. The poet takes us through a saddened story from the perspective of a child. A tale of any war that a family has to endure, along with the fear of loss and the trauma this causes, as expressed in the final line of the poem. Such despair and pain has been written, and will continue while we continue to destroy each other. A well written piece, even though it carries great sadness." (10)

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"The Invitation" by Tanya Southey

"A wonderful journey of how I read this to be – holding your breath in order to experience the beauty of depth within the sea. The image of being completely with yourself and alone rowing out in the evening and taking a plunge deep into the lake. I held my breath all the way through this (which was enough!), so I think I will skip the invitation, only to read. : ) A poem that holds a picturesque delve into an experience of diving and all that goes with it." (7)

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"NaPoWriMo Day 3" by Everlasting

"I enjoyed the simplicity of this poem showing just how ones senses can be affected by a number of factors. The poet starts with ‘My senses can some times betray me’ which is quite a harsh way to express this, like the poet feels their sense have left them. This causes a confused reaction, of what do they feel about being betrayed, a strong declaration. I found this an interesting read, and maybe more to their short story. However coming back to them is how important senses are when needed to make a decision. A poem that expresses how vital all our senses are." (4)

Thankyou so much Elliot for hosting this weeks competition and to the judge for judging and leaving such lovely comments. Thankyou for my win it was a lovely surprise and Congratulations Tanya and Everlasting on your wins too. Milly xx

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Hey, thank you for the comment.

“My senses can some times betray me’ which is quite a harsh way to express this, like the poet feels their sense have left them. This causes a confused reaction, of what do they feel about being betrayed, a strong declaration. “

^ well, betrayal can hurt. But at least to me, betrayal doesn’t necessarily means that someone leaves us. Sometimes, betrayal doesn’t mean that someone does not love us. What I am trying to say is that sometimes betrayal doesn’t necessarily means a bad thing, though it can feel that way.

Let’s say for instance, I’m not sure if it has ever happen to anyone, but pretend you are in a room and suddenly you hear a sound coming from one corner. When you look at that corner, there’s nothing there but you hear the sound clearly coming from that one corner. Fine. You begin to walk. You try to approach where the sound is coming from. As you get closer to that corner, the sound is no longer there. There’s obviously nothing visible there. Once you are standing in that one corner, you realize the sound is actually coming from somewhere else and you can hear it clearly yet you can not see it still. So, you continue walking and moving and searching until bingo! You find it outside of the room. You hear it. You see it. You touch it. And it’s there.

So, were my ears betraying me? I trusted my ears and I know my ears heard the sound coming from that one corner. But my eyes said, nope. There’s nothing there. I did not trust my eyes fully. In a sense, I could may be say I betrayed my eyes by not believing them that there was nothing because I trusted my ears entirely. So when I arrived to that one corner, there’s the hurt. I trusted my ears and my ears betrayed me. I believe my ears would guide me to the true position where the sound was coming from but it betrayed me. Where as my eyes were telling me the truth and I chose not to believe them. However, thinking slowly about it, my ears really didn’t betrayed me, but I could feel that way because I trusted it fully and my expectations were high. My ears were certain the sound was coming from that one corner but It was just an illusion created perhaps by the emptiness of the room or the way objects in the room where position so that it made the sound from outside the room to bounce from here to there and perhaps the spot where I was standing just created the perfect synchronicity? (Not sure what to call it) so that I would hear that sound emanating from that one corner.

There’s a saying that goes something like… trust no one, not even your shadow

But with this, I feel that it doesn’t mean you should not trust. I take it more as a warning sign that is saying be careful.

I understand that if I feel betrayed it’s not necessarily a bad thing. It can hurt. But next time, be careful. Don’t expect too much and don’t put your trust in just one thing (for a lack of a better word).

Thank you once again for the comment

Edit: so technically speaking I had high expectations and too much trust in my senses. Sadly, our senses can easily be tricked. And if we trust just one of our senses to a full extent, we too can easily be tricked.