Yes, tough. I'm still working my way through them all, in between other things.
"Cavemen" by shedpog329
"PAR-TAY" by astroannie
"Luminous" by Nellie
"Flood" by James 剣 斧 血
"An Ember of Truth" by Darkkin
"Spark of Love" by PrinzeCharming
"Sailor from the Iron" by inkwellness
"Bang!" by ned
"Almost Done" by Gumby
"Fireball" by rcallaci
"Home Cooking" by Chester's Daughter
"The Maiden Lay Dreaming" by Cran
"Sacrifice" by Phil Istine
"Walking Home" by jenthepen
"From the Embers of Hell" by PiP
Yes, tough. I'm still working my way through them all, in between other things.
"I don't know ... I'm making it up as I go ..." - Dr I Jones
Nature abhors perfection - cats abhor a vacuum!
"Faith can move mountains - she's a big girl!" (unknown/graffiti)
If I act like I own the place, it's because I did.
I could have used another couple of votes for this one; certainly enough deserving efforts in this challenge, although this is the first challenge I've spend any time on in years. Congrats to everyone who participated, and to Lisa and all the poetry challenge organisers for keeping this challenge going and inspiring the number and quality of entries.
I do feel somewhat for Ned compromising his effort with that late edit, especially as it appears to have been so well received by others.
I could have easily voted for five that I felt most deserving; having to cull those to three has left me with recurring second thoughts.
This is what I found:January Challenge: "Fiery Glow":
"I don't know ... I'm making it up as I go ..." - Dr I Jones
Nature abhors perfection - cats abhor a vacuum!
"Faith can move mountains - she's a big girl!" (unknown/graffiti)
If I act like I own the place, it's because I did.
Cran
Thanks for the critique and devoting the time and effort to give all the poems a once over.
I love fracturing fairy-tales and wish upon a star poems. -My poem was feeling lonely and neglected and highly appreciates that someone understood what it was attempting to do. I couldn't explain my piece any better-
warmest
bob
Nature weeps, the devil sings
at mans greed and pride
and what it brings
Just lots of useless
little things
Bob beat me to it, lol. Thank you, Admiral, for taking so much of your precious time to go "old school" challenge style. It's been too long a time since one of these threads were used for their intended purpose. I'm hoping to be able to mirror your fine example once real life lets me be. Your observations are spot on, but I wouldn't expect anything less.
Many thanks again for bringing the challenge back to its roots. Hugs.
Indeed, thank you Cran for running your eye over the poems. You didn't quite get my intended meaning on the last part, but that's probably the way I wrote it. The "suicide" was by the Sun God (I capitalised 'His' in the hope of clarifying that). The young man stopped believing in his God so I portrayed it as a suicide by the God - I just thought it would be an unusual take on it.
It has been a long time, certainly too long on my part. I'm sorry that others haven't stepped up in that interval to show the entrants what can only otherwise be guessed; that each piece has been read as if judged.
That was the ritual option I mentioned; the more likely interpretation. Poetry still retains some ambiguity in title capping personalities, especially in the first word of the line. The connection between god and man seemed to be there. Especially in rejection, for rejection is power taken, the claim to equivalence if not equality. Therefore, each is the other. Or, did you not intend that?
"I don't know ... I'm making it up as I go ..." - Dr I Jones
Nature abhors perfection - cats abhor a vacuum!
"Faith can move mountains - she's a big girl!" (unknown/graffiti)
If I act like I own the place, it's because I did.
My aim with the poem was much simpler than that. I took an aspect of the first thirty five years of my own life and transplanted it into another time and setting with a different God even. This isn't the arena to re-hash the difficulties of my early life, but writing that poem was quite liberating.
Wow, Cran. I never knew people did that (or I would have done it). I guess I'm too new or that it's too old school.
I'd give you reputation if it would let me -- not for the commentary on my piece, but for the whole ... enchilada.
Dream big, fight hard, live proud!
I hear that.
As Lisa noted, it goes back to the roots of the challenge, and a rejuvenation or two since. The original poetry challenge came out of the LM; well, the poets were kicked out of the LM which was wanting to focus on prose fiction.
When I joined WF, the first go at a poetry challenge had died. Rob and some other members started up another which the admin of the day eventually got behind. There were attempts at judged challenges, but a lot of disagreement over how that should be done. That led to a falling out between some members and staffers of the day, and yours truly getting a reputation for making trouble. There was some suspicion that I had (or should have) been a lawyer. Even though judging gave way to polling, I still added my comments for each poem with my voting post.
That did seem to encourage others to add their reasons for their voting selections, and the entrants were getting some feedback on their efforts in the challenge, even though all were encouraged to post their poems for individual critique after the challenge if they had not already posted them before the challenge began.
I washed my hands of the whole argument and poetry challenge management, and spent time elsewhere on the forum until real life stepped in and I was out of contact for nearly a year.
When I came back, Rob had taken over the forum, and the poetry challenge was ticking along with Lisa at the helm and polling decided as the way to handle the assessment phase of the challenge.
Most of my time was taken up with some of Rob's other projects - especially Motley Press - so I wasn't able to put back into the poetry challenge and barely managed to stay on top of the board mod stuff for the brief time I was a poetry board mod (much to Olly's dismay; he thought I should stay a mentor, but he didn't know about the secret plan of taking over from Rob in late 2012).
Lisa was also going through bouts of real life, so the poetry challenge was managed by others at different times, and the patterns set by the regulars dictated each cycle. They did try the anonymous entry version, which squashed the rumours that popularity alone was determining who won the polls. And, of course, it did give rise to the most notorious sock puppetry, which led us to make some changes and to keeping a close eye on the polls as they happen.
"I don't know ... I'm making it up as I go ..." - Dr I Jones
Nature abhors perfection - cats abhor a vacuum!
"Faith can move mountains - she's a big girl!" (unknown/graffiti)
If I act like I own the place, it's because I did.
The sad part is that my life was just dumped on and I probably won't have time for the next few months to even enter the challenges. But I will remember and when I have time, I will take it.
Dream big, fight hard, live proud!
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