Weekly Contest Winners - July 31st, 2017

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Winners
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Lovely way to die by Maher (30 points)
The year in which the yellow fishes drowned by Sai (17 points)
The Silence of Our Lives by Larry Chamberlin (11 points)

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HMs:
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Only you by Micheal (10 points)
Honesty isn’t something I know by Micheal and Em (7 points)
Growth (senryu) by Larry Chamberlin (7 points)
Posture by Em (7 points)
You watch me drowning by Lyical Madness (4 points)
Murphy’s Law by Maher (4 points)
July 25th; Our Anniverary by Maple Tree (4 points)
Congratulations on the Soulmate by BlueJay (4 points)

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Comments
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Lovely way to die by Maher points
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Maher doesn't write as often as other people but when he does his writing is full of emotions and this rawness that I think many of us can be pulled in by. His rhyming is always superb and his stories always well laid out. I believe this to be a powerful write and one that I will have to read over and over to get the true meaning instead of the interpretation I make. (10 points)
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I'm really struggling with how to comment on this piece but I shall try to give it the true credit it deserves. I will fail.

It is is singularly and completely unlike anything I have ever read. To say it is captivating seems like a speak of dust in the Sahara.

Every single thing, every word just locks itself to the next and it is beautiful beyond question.

Tinged with love, sorrow and regret at times.

I feel, I feel, I feel.

Well done (10)
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The personification and subtle rhyme all throughout the poem, in a literary sense, was perfection to me as a reader. I've read this poem through about 15 times now, and my heart breaks a little bit more each time. I could feel my own heart sinking, hearing this sad but beautiful tune, and this entire piece just feels haunted by memories. What a beautifully written piece of work. (10)

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The year in which the yellow fishes drowned by Sai
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The power someone can have over us, with their words, with their heart, with their actions, is an all consuming thing sometimes, and I felt like this piece pulled those feelings right from my heart. I love the flow of this poem, it was original and pulled me in with every word. Awesome job! (7)

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It’s absolutely amazing how this poem just oozes imagery; you cannot help but be entranced by each verse in this poem, but above all else there’s a certain beauty that the poet managed to stitch together in each stanza. (10 points)
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"The Silence of Our Lives" By Larry Chamberlain
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This poem By Larry is what I classify as a "lift and drop".

The beginning lifts the readers spirits and makes us think of that time when we first met. Nostalgia kicks straight in at this point.

Then comes the drop. Relationships end and sometimes it's not in a good way, in fact they rarely end in a good way. The slam of a door can often be the last sound that you will hear that person make.

But the end is not in sight. We all get a "lift, drop, Lift"

It's not often we read things like this. A happy ending is one that will always make me smile and grow a little tear.

Well written and chronologically thought out . (7)
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The format is creatively unique. Although it looked like an enumeration of phrases, I am completely in awe with how the writer was able to weave silence in his love story. Silence can indeed mean many things. There was a lot to take from this piece, lessons in love and marriage. It’s great to learn from someone who has been there, done that. Very well-written. (4 pts.)
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Only You by Michael
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This is just so mesmerizing; actually, it’s perfect for me. It started with an ellipsis which I find appropriate to start this very sweet poem. I love the rich word choice. I love how every line is written so delicately and I feel so much passion flowing line after line. Oh, what beauty is love when so creatively and splendidly expressed in a way such as this. So many beautiful pauses all throughout, which I find very effective, as this has literally took my breath away. A really great work! (10 pts.)

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Honesty isn't something I know (collaboration poem competition)
By Micheal and Em
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When I first read this for the collaboration contest, I was absolutely floored. Em & Micheal did a
fanastic job writing this. I cannot honestly tell who wrote which part because it’s so seamless. They managed to pack in a lot of emotions in there and top it off with a unique introspective outlook on it, it’s one of my favourites from the contest. (7 points)
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Growth (senryu) by Larry Chamberlain
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Larry seems to be the 'godfather' of the site and by goodness does he live upto his name. He tries many forms and I personally think this is my favourite form by Larry because even though there's only 3 lines and 17 syllables he uses it to the best of his ability, this I must say raised a smile of which I needed and I believe many of us would have smiled when reading this. (7)

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Posture by Em
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A strong piece which struck me deep. Very strong emotions speak of heavy circumstances which I may not fully understand, but only leave me wanting to share much love to the writer. I love the format and how posture was used to describe the situations the writer is in. A sad but clever write. (7 pts.)
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You watch me drowning by lyical madness
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This is one of those writes that resonates with many of us where someone we love watches us drowning (I feel in misery) and either adds to the misery or just doesn't care if that makes sense. It's just so very powerful. (4 points)
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Murphy's Law by Maher
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Tenderhearted, beautifully sad, and powerfully invoking images - these three things sum up a beautiful piece of poetry, and I am in awe. The imagery here is spectacular, and I so appreciate when a poet can draw me in the way this one did. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. (4)

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"July 25th; our anniversary" By Maple Tree
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This is a beautiful little poem and the reader can almost feel the adoration you have for your husband.

It also made me smile as from the readers writers words, you can still tell that they pick up on the little things.
As we settle into our relationships and time passes we can often miss that smile and twinkle.

A lovely write that I'm sure gave many a reader a big smile

Well done (4)
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Congratulations on the Soulmate by BlueJay
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It’s a short write, but oh my, it’s filled with so many emotions. It’s a bittersweet poem, but Maddy focuses more on the ‘sweet’ aspect by being truly happy for them which isn’t something easy to do. It truly is equal parts heartbreaking and humbling. (4 points)

Wow, a big congratulations to all the front-page winners and HMs as well! The first in four weeks that it appears our judges are in sync. :-) Truly beautiful pieces we have this week. Thank you judges, mods and to our host, Mark.

Congratulations to all the Winners and HM's!

Thank you judges for all you do and thank you for hosting Mark!

Well done all some cracking pieces as ever

Hi all :0

Big congratulations to the winners including HMs
Thank you to the judges time, which cant be easy sifting through this lot :)
and finally a HM personally and one for Em an myself for our collaboration.

Thank you it means a lot
Much love

Michael :)

I'm happy to share the front page with these two very deep yet enigmatic works. In fact I am humbled.
Congrats to the HMs and thanks judges for your work. Especially thanks for the comments, and to Ben and Jaime for nominating my poems.

Congratulations to all these amazing writers. Never fails to get blown away from the talent on this site. Thank you Mark for hosting and judges for your in depth comments.

I am truly honoured. Thank you to everyone who submitted poems and shared them with us all, whether nominated or not. It takes courage to put your work out there and effort to write it up. Thank you hiraeth/judges for the amazing comments. They in all honesty are far above me and I don't deserve such good words. Thank you also for the HM on Murphy's Law. These are sister poems and I'm honoured they were mentioned together. And of course, thank you Mr Pickard for nominating my work. That poem came from the heart during a very hard time and knowing that it's words will reach more people now and hopefully touch their senses in some way, is something I never expected. Thank you for giving me something good in a time that wasn't, my friend :)

May nothing but goodness find you all every minute, forever.
- Maher

Thanks mark for posting judges for hosting and also to everyone who confides their work to this site none of it could happen without you.

Congratulations to the winners and HMs also thank you for the collaboration HM and my other I'm truly honored

Well done, all. I must say, all the poems highlighted are excellent but I was particularly pleased to see Larry win with his marvellously creative piece.