Britt's Contest [Round 2 - Tis The Season!]

Fa la la la la....

Okay guys, as you all know, Christmas is next weekend...so I want everyone to write a Christmas poem! If you do not celebrate Christmas, please write on whatever you celebrate this time of year.

You will be docked a point for every time you use:

-Christmas
-Presents
-Santa

2 BP's for rhyming, including holly and jolly.

Please PM me your poem and do not post them until you are eliminated from the contest. Good luck! You have until Friday, December 23rd at 2pm (pacific time.) About 17:00 PnQ time.

LOvely lovely ...i love this, this round is so red and yummy, Christmas features :P

Shoooooooot me.

BP's mean bonus points for those who may not know my lingo :)

Clarification, please: are the BPs for including 'holly' &/or 'jolly' in rhymes, or are you simply giving yuletide examples?

It must include holly and jolly in the poem (with other rhymes) to get the bonus points :)

First poem has come in :)

One question, if we don't write about Christmas, then....

we don't have points deducted?

because, Fitir for example.. doesn't have Santa, nor presents, nor christmas tree..

Nope. Because I don't know what Fitir is lol. I am hoping that people will just write a Christmas themed poem (or whatever holiday they celebrate). Because Christmas poems are generally overridden with Santa, presents and trees, I'm looking for something not so cliche.

You said you can write about any other holiday.
So, if I write a poem not about Christmas, then I won't get points deducted like others if they use Santa, Christmas.. because I don't have to use them.

Ughh.. anyway, I was hoping this challenge would be more challenging :p

No, any holiday you celebrate. If you celebrate Christmas, you write about Christmas, and not make it cliche as most poems are about the holidays. It's an honor system, I'm trusting people. I'm not going to research every single thing celebrated during this time of year and pick out the common words... that would take ages.

It will get more challenging as it goes. This is only round 2, easy there.

I feel like people are trying to make this more difficult than it is and I'm not really sure why :/

Mmm.. okay.
Maybe it's not difficult.. but my expectations in this round were very high..

maybe in the third Round, you'd come up with mega different topics... hope we'd pass through this but, at first. :p

My third round is already figured out, hope it's up to your standards :)

I love this idea! The challenge lies in the restriction you've put on the words we can't use, can't wait to see what people come up with!

The expectations should be on how good the poetry will be not on how hard or restrictive the round should be!

Nothing to whinge about for heavens sake!

I think a Christmas poem is restrictive and challenging enough.....how to avoid being Cliche

I think Christmas is challenging, I struggle to write about anything seasonal and I'd probably pull my hair out trying to come up with idea's that aren't cliche and overused. So goodluck to those participating, I'm sure many will need it. Nice work Britt for adding some Christmas cheer to PnQ.

Oh pfft. You write awesome stuff about seasons all the time! lol.

I was trying to think of different things you could do with Christmas poems, but now all I can think of is that stupid, stupid commercial where they are singing in the mall. I don't even know what the commercial is for (because my brain shuts down whenever it's on) but it's... shopping themed, to the tune of "Deck the Halls." Horrible. Horrible.

I think I know what you're talking about, and it is terrible! So many bad commercials. I hate this time of year and valentines day, all the jewelry commercials. They may as well just say 'Men, if you don't get her jewelry, you fail'. That's what it sounds like they say!

If you want someone home for christmas..
this may inspire some <3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-22bVkB092s&feature=related

I have six poems in... 10 left to go. You have til Friday! :)

7 poems now in... 9 left to go! You have 2 days days and 3 hours :)

23 hours, 45 minutes. :)

Hurry up, guys!

I have 9 poems in so far. Should have 16 by the end ;)

I am extending the deadline until tomorrow at 8pm pacific time. I won't be available to close this when I thought I would.

No excuses now! ;)

Egg salad.

Well now I'm hungry.

Six hours!

13 poems in, 3 left to go. Haven't heard anything from two of them, one said they would have it in tonight. Three hours left!

Round is closed! I will compile all the poems and post shortly :)

Eve's New Moon and the Soul's Dream

The Eve approached quietly
upon a lonely December's
breeze and tonight I sat
with the unwritten words
of a soul too bitter
to live, in a season
made for lovers.

And as I listened to the
distant chime of the bells
marking the stroke of midnight,
candles flickered
as a sense of calmness
arose from the golden hue.
And I knew you were here, again.

I felt you, your energy
pulsing like a heartbeat,
I breathed you, as the sweet
smell of pine lingered
in the air, a remembrance of our
cherished memories on the Eve
of the most magical of nights,
and oh how I still loved you.

Yet I knew that for you
to let me go, I must
leave you go too.
Though my eyes may rest
my heart shall never live,
for I've built my dreams
around you.

And with the new moon
and the unwritten words
that bruised my tongue
I wrote the final lines
of our lives on Earth,
our season of love and
our many festive memories.

I'll see you in Heaven
someday my love, rest well.
I love you

*24 December 2011 Saturday is New Moon*

--------------------------------------------------------

December comes with you.

I often wondered why the twelfth
month of the year,does nothing
but compose waves on the
horizon of my eyes-

those melancholic lights
dangling from the peek of windows,
tend to remind me of the way
my soul used to shine when surrounded by your presence..

you always come with December,
your smell charmed my senses
far more than the tree,
and my lips still shiver at the thought of your absence.

December is sinking
on my skin like the sun,
on those days
you can't wait see
end..

and although you've probably forgotten me by now,
although I'm nothing but the shadow of a lonely fallen leaf,
there is still a chance I might swallow my pride..

still a chance I might call you
on the twenty-fifth.

I might,
I'm not sure yet..

-----------------------------------------------------------

The festivity arrivals.

A jolly festivity
with a snowy soul
buys its ticket with a crispy
incentive to prepare to
aboard its train
at December station.

It entices her friends,
the spirits of the north pole
to join her on her arrival
to celebrate the birth of
Jesus Christ.

The elves on everyone's home gets to work
to be ready to greet her when she comes.

Now everyone gets adorn
not even the tables are left alone
for they are now wearing their garments
as long as their heights,
with colorful figurines
and plates to give it some life.

The entrances and openings of each house
look plain, but as the train transcends
it leaves lights to cover the door's
and the window's frames,
in an artistic way.

In each house a green object
at the corner of the living room lies,
with tiny houses, shoo shoo trains,
boxes on the floor wrapped all around,
an angel at the top, holy decorations,
and with lights going on and off.

And when the festivity finally arrives
to announce the birth of Jesus Christ
The spirit from the north pole
bring more boxes to the ground.
The elves takes their break.
The green object with holly leaves
takes his shift and prepares to give his shows
as the children participate in his
gallery of boxes and his runaway of wrappers
spreading the joy, and purpose of this holidays.

-----------------------------------------------------------

You call it Christmas, we call it Yule

You call it Christmas, we call it Yule.
Join us and celebrate the rebirth of light.
Hold my calloused hands. Today love shall rule
as the red candles illuminate the night.

The Goddess is sitting at her spinning wheel,
weaving life and fate, giving birth to the sun.
She guides me peacefully and her love I do feel
for she promised me hope, joy and her son.

Yule and Christmas sprang from the same seed.
Both remind us of the beauty of renewal and rebirth
as a thousand mysteries this pagan heart does feed,
when it adores the pregnant womb of Mother Earth.

Focus not on office parties, on Santa bringing presents.
Don't ignore the true meaning hidden in your celebration.
The magic is always for those who cross the events
and kneel down to listen to a different revelation.

So listen to the first one: the symbols of Yule are ivy and jolly.
Those evergreen plants I have always shared gladly with you.
Maybe I can exchange my lovely rosemary for your holly
and some day we can sit together to celebrate the morning dew.

You call it Christmas, we call it Yule. Can you see the star?
I honour it every day with perfect love and perfect trust.
Neither Jesus Christ nor The Great Goddess is far.
They are particles of beauty, they are the stardust.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Winter Cheer

By the fire my heart burns bright,
hold me till I'm warm
on this winter night,
and as the snow falls
in the town down below,
children will wait all snug
in their beds,
for a visit from a jolly man
who is dressed all in red,
he'll leave gifts all around the
tinsel bore tree,
ready to be opened with
twinkling eyes that see.
And wherever you may be at this time
of year
dabble yourselves in festive cheer.
Yet by the fire that still burns bright,
I hope you'll hold me until I am warm
on this winter night.

---------------------------------------------------------

Potpourri

She always was a delectable blend of sugar
and spice
with that wicked twinkle in her eyes
and the way her lips curved in a modest
smirk
baffling all who chose to intertwine
with her journey

with nice etched on porcelain skin
and naughty weaved into lush locks

she left an essence of
frolic
tattoed on lovers
anticipation

----------------------------------------------------------

Hallelujah

He opens his mouth with joy
to the world and lets the notes
rise in sync with holly melodies
of a jolly day.

Decking the halls, silencing the night
rocking the bells, O the light
is brighter than anyone
could ever tell.

I see the snowflakes in his eyes
and hear the hums of a siren
surging through his throat,

and for a minute of thought,
I can no longer tell if the savior
is my son, there, dressed red in green,
upon the choir benches singing
Hallelujah...

-----------------------------------------------------------

Yuletide Gauntlet

Leaves crunch underneath the snow,
announce my approach, she turns,
wry smile, she holds mistletoe -
melts my humbug heart concerns.

Let the family stew indoors
discontent, say she's my folly;
radiant angel quells their wars
insults fade to bristled holly.

Through trees that reveal a way
wandering woods that welcome;
like magi in the wilds we stray,
if it's cold, we don't feel numb.

Ere they came our world was jolly,
joy disrupted by their strife;
words to hurt her in a volley,
taking heat as my new wife.

A pond ripples, left unfrozen
centered in a moonlit clearing;
holding on to who we've chosen
caring arms are most endearing.

They do not know you yet my dear
'tis the season, persevere!
Their resentment will subside,
gentle, challenged, beautiful bride.

-----------------------------------------------------------

All is Bright

Shivering, I go
with a red ribbon in
my hair, bright against
the warbly shroud of snow.

The twigs
send forth in the twilight
barbs of glowing glass,
minuscule, like acorns
softly lit.

Swift as a hare
white with winter, I dart
my mitten in, hold it
tight against your supple
glove, pressing love
into your fingertips.

When we kiss
nimbly and silently
it's nothing more
or less than a pair of
gifts that drift
gently
like snowflakes
out into
the cold.

-----------------------------------------------------------

An Old Woman's Christmas

There's a procession of ice crunch beneath my snow boots,
scuffling along a beaten path by the cottage where I grew up.

Carols are humming from a few blocks over,
and the laughter of small children filled with holiday glee,
but they cannot fill my heart tonight.

...Nor can the silver lights that glisten on cozy houses
like magicked frost.
...Nor the bewitched pine trees beaming through curtained windows.
...Nor even the icicles hanging by threads off thatched roof gutters.

Pools form on the ground reflecting the moon's whiteness against a golden gray sky,
but it's the reflection in one murky puddle that catches my eye.

Resting close beneath my snow shoes is the face of a small girl, shimmering like a dream,
trapped inside the face of an old woman.

As if to read the poem written upon my wrinkled heart,
a hooded beggar in the street resigns herself
to the slow beauty of Ave Maria.

She is an angel - my singing angel - on this lonely, lovely night.

*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQVz6vuNq7s

---------------------------------------------------------

maesse

He sat hunched
the world lay heavy upon his shoulders this year.
"Tis the season to be jolly"
left a sour taste in his mouth,
a bitter bitter pill he could not swallow,
one he refused to swallow.
a time to rejoice be dammed.

about a vivid scene of death, destruction
grisly carnage,
every horror humanly imaginable,
broken cracked masonry
lay listless, white
broken miserable bodies
smashed into a thousand pieces

yet partly of his making
a job was a job after all,
what choice did he have?
he was almighty, god-fearing
his commander had told him so.
war could do that,
make the unrighteous
righteous

But war could change a man too
change all he believes.
he lifted his head
to watch his buddy
reach down, pickup a trembling child.
a child clothed in blood
still clenching gold and red tinsel
in tiny, perfectly formed hands,
hands identical to his.
he held her close to his breast
protecting.
what could change a man so?
innocence?

what did maesse mean to me?
not a godforsaken thing!
yet this child still held a belief
amongst all this death, despair.
a belief in tomorrow,
a belief in life,
she had nothing else.

the human spirit was stronger,
stronger than any $2 match box toy

----------------------------------------------------------

Rudolph the Orphan Reindeer

Silver bells, silver bells atop the white tower
like a dancing silhouette, swinging to and fro
serenading yet another lonesome pleaser
whose life now consists mainly of watching snow.

He had sailed across the sky a few times before
from roof to roof down the chimney holes,
he would often slide landing on the kitchen floor
while Mom and Dad were at the opposite poles.

A true hero, many would look up to and admire
it was until one night, when his fate came to light
while filling stockings hanging by the fire
he burnt his nose crusty and bright.

That's the story behind the other reindeers' spurn
for it's the time of year he would gladly fly
across the full moon, all over the stars that burn
brightly like a fallen fragment of the Northern sky.

Dancing candy canes and singing angels are required
bring forth that goblet and wine, and let every man be jolly
for Rudolph the Orphan Reindeer has been rehired
by a fat man--who's clad in red with a wreath of holly.

----------------------------------------------------------

On departure

---- We never part or return to places, we part with and return to lives.----

We left thinking someday we'd return as always
to fir trees, evergreens and boughs of holly.
Yet we returned to wonder,
since when has Noelle started
walking on her own and white hair's
invaded dad's chin and temples?
we've missed a lot of beginnings.

--

A mystery how these old corners
still find the strength to tug,
with the innocence of children,
at your sleeves as you turn
to hung your coat. Cheerfully
greeting you with a mixture of voices,
scents and faces of all that once lived here.

Back then a cubby-faced snowman
was part of my most adventurous dreams
and I'd cover him from the cold,
give him button eyes and carrot nose,
never once caring about his
distorted features,
never once seeing
his missing limbs.

''For all the days we missed
and should have shared''
We'd toast at every gathering
yet years apart never seem to lessen
when lives grow polluted
with facts and not desires
should-haves never change a thing

None hear places wail at the time of departure,
as those who places have witnessed their wails.
None see people fall apart as those who caught their fall,
their first step, their falter.

I would like to say before these poems must be dissected in the spirit of competition, that all the poets captured the warmth of this season celebrated in a cool season of the northern hemisphere. These are beautiful poems

I agree, Mike! I think they all did a great job writing about Christmas in different and interesting ways! Beautiful pieces here indeed.

Beautiful writes!

Absolutely!

[Yaki - your avatar! ROFLMAO

is that one of Santa's giraffes?]

That's a Giraffe sticking its tongue out to the Camera in a Zoo in Texas!,I happen to think it is absolutley adorable <3!

Lovely writes. Merry Christmas Eve if you live in my timezone :) Otherwise, Merry Christmas?

Merry Christmas to all!
The poems are awesome.

How long until the results?
Merry christmas!!!