Winners, Monday September 11, 2012

Well congrats everybody! It's the first week for this team of judges, hopefully they will get used to the process and all. Thanks for everything so far.

These are the results I sorted out after receiving the votes and comments from 3 judges; so before you freak out while reading the votes and comments I've got compared to the front page results, I have been trying to understand something for a while, which why I did not post this thread until now, but what's not making much sense for me is that I haven't received any vote or comment for Darren and Xanthe.

One judge did not vote at all, as they were away when they were approved as a judge, but now will be up for this on daily basis. However, I am waiting for a reply from the 5th judge who I believe holds the key for my questions. Still waiting to see their votes...so be patient, and don't freak out :P Ill keep you guys updated, but didn't want to make you guys wait, so just enjoy reading the comments we have so far.

VOTES:
______

Feeding the angels of darkness 10
by Karla

Storms of the heart and mind
by Naughtymouse 10

A Forgotten Letter
by Senyru 10

Soulboat 7
by Thomas

Empty Envelope [ottava Rima]
by Melpomene 7

Overlooked
by Lebanese Phoenix 7

Mistaken
by Yaki 4

Once Upon a Time in a Legend Castle 4
by Infinite Catastrophe aka Alisha

Searchers -
Tara Kay 4

_________
Comments:
__________

Feeding the angles of darkness
By karla

I would like to congratulate our dear poetess Karla, for yet again pining what I believe is
her best poem to date, what is very special about this in particular is the fine descriptive images that she provided to her readers, from the specification of the willingness of the prey to be tormented , all the way to explaining the nature of how Sade whom I believe is another name for the "Devil" enjoys Torturing
any living soul, To Karla I would say a word of honesty, I have yet to see anyone with the expertise needed
to conjure a poem relating how pain can be this congenial the way you do.

Overall, this is a one of a kind poem that left me hungry for a sequel to say at the least,
and very well deserving of a win.

*****************************

Storms of the heart and minds
by Naughtymouse

If I've melted at a love poem, it wasnt the way this poem made me melt. With that being said, I have never melted at a love poem the way I did with this one. Your opening stanza was just brilliant. I loved incorporating Dreams and Nightmares in the same stanza, very cool comparison and totally sucked me in. Your second stanza, my heart ripped in two. Ive never seen a stanza speak so much desperation, so much heart ache. I literally felt the pain of being lonely in here and my eyes were instantly filled with tears. Stating "one cup, one chair, half a heart" was the most crushing thing Ive ever read. Honestly, the imagery was so raw, so real, I just broke down reading this. Talk about imagery, that leads me to the next amazing line in your poem "you forever slip between my hands as mist on a spiders web" , this is an AWESOME methaphor, what in the world is that? Phenominal is what it is. My heart smiled as I was reading the rest, good use of words to describe storm being calmed when you found your love. I liked that you continued with your metaphor from the beginning. Naughtymouse, this site has had some once "awesome" poems in the past, but when I reread them , they are so cliche, so simple. When I read you work, they are mind blowing. So deep and sweet that it reminds me of Nicolas Sparks, which is an author all girls know about, because he write amazing romance novels. Just know, when I read poems like these, I'd pay for them. When you'd pay for poetry, that means the author is overly talented. Amazing job.

*****************************

A Forgotten Letter
by Senyru

I love the technical merit. I love the voice and the structure. The story was well conveyed as was the emotion. Granted the piece was relativley lengthy it was worth the full read. The tone, the reality to it was simply amazing. This poem had the ability to really draw the audience in. There are descriptions that are so well penned it is unbelievable. The words were a stunning choice. I especially like how it began with a quote and it provoked thought in a way.

******************************

Empty Envelope [ottava Rima]
by Melpomene

Oh my, the descriptions in this piece were completely stunning and it was so vivid, I loved the fact I could see the entirety of the piece. The creativity desplayed and helped add a certain element to the piece that made it quite unlike most sad poems. The form was executed quite nicely, though somehow the flow was not damaged even in the slightest. Talent is far from a problem here, because everything was penned almost perfectly. I see no need for change or edit.

******************************

Overlooked
by Lebanese Phoenix

Lp, the way your brain works fascinates me more than your poetry sometimes. Where do you come up with such quotes?? Such metaphors? Just mind boggling. Really? Crayons? Im just overwhelmed when I read this. What an opening creative stanza!! Personification is so amazing, and I loved that these crayons were described as people. Im very envious of a mind like yours that can take something so simple thatd us adults would overlook, and use it in this way. This story was so sad, so relatable to many. I just loved the begging in this piece, the tone it created. Excellent write.

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Soulboat
by Thomas

although short, this poem was very well thought of, and while many people might find it not creditable of a vote. I was spellbound by its deep meaning, first, the indication of a soul boat served a huge purpose for setting the tone throughout the entire verse, and then there is there is the correlation of raindrops and Tears, where ones tears are bound to stop, and the raindrops are eternal, but what honestly stuck me the most is within the last lines, The Way the writer decided to end this beautiful piece, knowing that inside of his soul, and a lot to be shared, That unfortunately have to remain untold, forever stuck between his mind and soul, and by not specifying the reason that lead to the poet's dismay he managed to get us, the readers thinking and wondering of endless possibilities.
Such a fine Job.

******************************

Once Upon a Time in a Legend Castle
by Infinite Catastrophe aka Alisha

First of all, I would like to thank you for such a beautiful story, as your reader, you've kept me entertained throughout the whole passage, did a very good job describing the events that
ended up taking the prince in this journey full of suspense and uncertainties, And then, you created an atmosphere of absolute trepidation when you introduced the snapping twigs and crackling branches,
on to the part where the prince fought the odds and still fell victim to a vindictive ambush.
To sum it up, I could easily imagine this being narrated to a group of public, or even seen as a movie,
You've managed to keep your readers interested and that's not easy to do when you're writing a long poem,
Worthy of a win? Perhaps.

****************************

Searchers -
by Tara Kay

These descriptions are extraordinary. These questions made me ponder things in a similar way and really interested me. Words were schetched so elequently yet somehow it still seems simple. Perhaps the only thing I would suggest to work on would be the flow, but even still the piece is magnificent as is. Perhaps it is simply a matter of who I am, though I must say that the way that the author's voice shines here is absolutely wonderful. The piece seems to be personalized explaining the thoughts of one, however if you think about it through your eyes as you read it, you are able to see you can relate. That's a skill most poets or authors in general don't quite grasp so easily. Yet that very skill was mastered here.

****************************

Mistaken
by Yaki

Yaki, I know these were 6 lines, short words, but it was such a powerful statement. Such an amazing quote. I loved the use of "wrap" in relation to a poem, because people get wrapped up in poetry emotionally, which is obviously relatable to every poet on this site. Then to later state, that you cant physically wrap your arms around them, like this poem. It made me sad. It reminded me of a person who has passed away. I just fell in love with this poem/quote, I thought it deserved some serious recognition. Well done. You too, are a poet who has a mind that makes me envious, because the metaphors you come up with are just stunning.

Ms Sunshine

Note: Just to make sure I will not be misunderstood, I did not say I am certain that the 5th judge did vote, as I haven't heard anything from them since the last reply they sent regarding technical stuff related to the contest, but I am only assuming that they have voted since I cannot find any other explanation. Thank You !

I'm so confused about who to congratulate lol

It is Sept 10

congrats winners whoever they are!

Nana i thought you were using only 3 judges, not five.

Edit:

Lol why don't you congratulate everyone with a vote and a comment :P as well as for those who went to the front page, for being brought up to spot lights!

XD all is worthy of praise..

---
lmao I always have issues with dates, it's already Tuesday the 11nth here :P, and I typed MONDAY before I get confused with my timezone, alas ...I wrote 11!

---

As for the judges, I am not the one with the final decision regarding this, however, it was not officially set, I have mentioned before, that as long as we have 3 judges present, we won't need any SUB, yet if the number of judges who are absent for an X week drops under "3" we will need a sub. That's all.

5 is still the number of the official judges voting/commenting.

I can't believe how utterly confusing this is week after week, and how many times we never know how winners get to the front page.. the judges picked seem to always slack off/not send in their votes or comments, and I don't get why or how this is consistently happening. It's no wonder so many people have stopped caring or volunteering.

Well then......CONGRATS TO EVERYOONNNNEEEEEEEE :) I love reading the nominated poems list and seeing who won what!

Edit: Britt, it may be really not wise of me to voice my honest opinion, but since I started hosting this, I have had in my mind a list of dedicated judges who really know that what they are doing needs time and commitment.

yes :

1) people have lives, I know
2) They should be thanked however, I know!
3) It's a voluntary job, I know!

but, I am really not with changing the judging team every 3 months, 6 months was so much better, yes I know we all talked about this. But when I find 3 judges (at least) who are getting everything right and on time, and are reliable for that much of time, then why not keep them longer ? If it's better for the sake of the contest.

However, you guys have to understand it's not always the judges, a couple of times it was site glitches, like last week, things went well on the front page but behind the scenes it was like a nightmare, Andrea/maple tree voted for two poems, where the vote went some place else, Larry tried to fix the issue, but it got worse when one of his votes, also went somewhere else. Then it got fixed, hence one of the mods and I had to cast votes for those who should have the highest scores, so that we have the right poems on the front page.

It's not always the judges, but sometimes, it is, "which is normal". Especially at the start, let's hope nothing else happens with the coming weeks :)

On a side note, I don't recall the Mods having issues with the number of volunteers ? unless I'm mistaken...perhaps I am.

Well accidents happen, let's just give credit to those who received credit, and be thankful we have people running this thing as it is. ..this site could be boring with no weekly contest, but instead its fun and alive. :)

Thanks to those who bust their butts each week.

^
I agree :)

I am confused .com .....but what the hell lol!!

Congratulations everyone and thankyou judges for that HM it is awesome :-))

And thankyou Nana you are epic as always i wish we could give you a prize for taking the time to do this each week!! :-) x

I am confused.com lmao I freaking love it!

Congrats everyone!Congrats Raven's Heaven!

Congratulations everyone!! The winners, HM's and all those who helped vote too....amazing poems, so many breath of fresh air moments here! :]

Congratulations for the amazing poetry ya'll

Congrats, yo!

One judge voted on Friday & failed to send comments. Three judges did things by the book.

The fifth judge apparently did not check PMs to learn about being accepted.

The right poems made the front page, which will show up when the comments come in.

Congrats everyone!

.com?

Oh my God! Chelsey hahaha. I think he was supposed to press the space bar. LoL.

Makes sense , thank you Larry

And LOOOLLLL! Pressing the space bar turns it into .com??

I thought he made up a new name for the site lol!!

.com button is next to the space key on most phones. :)

I hope next week will be less confusing.

Congrats Xanthe, Karla, and Darren. Lovely pieces!

And thanks for the judge XD

Lmao....noooo 'he' meant confused.com :-p

I'm so eager to reading them all!! :) Congratulations awesome poets!

This is super weird. I wasn't wrong when I said the weekly is going out of control.

Congratulations, nevertheless.

Well done to the winners, catching up I came across some really nice poems.

But can I just say, there seems to always be something amiss or mistakes with the contest lately. I'm sorry but how hard can it be to send your comments and votes when you judge, should somebody be a judge if they haven't checked their pm's in weeks to see if they are one or not? How many judges are there, 3 or 5? I'm confused.

Also and on a side note, I thought poems with swear words couldn't grace the front page, I thought I came across that rule somewhere?

There are 5 judges, Colm.
However, 3 voted this week, that's all.

And well, truth hurts : mistakes happen, it's not that bad. :]

Yes mistakes can happen but there seems to be no move towards trying to prevent them, to be honest there never used to be this much confusion before, even if it never has been (and never will be) a perfect system. What chance is there if one of the judges doesn't even know they are a judge?

Maybe there was always confusion Colm we just didn't know about it since the judges did not post comments and we the audience never got to see the numbers. I agree...

So if 3 judges voted and 1 did not vote at all because that judge did not know they were appointed then we are awaiting the #4 judge who voted but left no comments right?

His/Her votes could and will effect the contest as a whole...

I want to see how that judge voted.

Thanks everyone, still not sure if I actually won or not but hey!

what a great collection of poems this week,

I don't envy the judges having to make this decision.

I don't know who the judges are, clearly no one does, but maybe they are new to the site? Or knew nothing of how the voting and commenting worked and messed up?

As for past yet recent mistakes, Nana has said they were always running around trying to find last minute subs (who may or may not have known what they were doing) and also dealing wtih site issues.

I feel those who complain about the issues need to volunteer their time every once in a while then to sub or be a judge since you know what you're doing and it'd benefit the site...if you can't do that, what's the use of complaining?

Mistakes happen. Maybe they keep happening because people are still learning or there has been miscommunication.

I just don't get the big deal, the site contest is so fun, id rather have it, with a few mistakes, then not have it all.

I was a former judge and from my experience it was straight-forward to send the votes and comments in a PM. It seems to have become a lot more complicated since.

I'm still confused about the whole 3 or 5 judges thing, maybe a few of the judges aren't clear themselves. Are all 5 judges supposed to vote, or just 3? To be honest, if people can't send one basic pm, then should they be judging? In fairness, it's part if the job. I applaud anyone who does judge but why accept if you can't/won't do it properly. Two of the winners this week have no votes that can be seen, it seems strange that nobody seems to know what is going on. It obviously can happen on occasion but it seems to be happening too often.

'the site contest is so fun, id rather have it, with a few mistakes, then not have it all.'

^
This is true, but the way I look at it, I'd rather have it with fewer mistakes.' Obviously some things can't be helped with regard to how the site is coded or whatever, but simple basic mistakes seem to be too common, the contest is one of the main things PnQ has going for it, to me it seems to be losing some of it's credibility.

I'll make this short.

The day the judge was informed, they did not log in, it was a very bad coincidence, but really it can happen with anyone, missing a phone call or a visitor at the last minute.

We have 5 judges, before, when a judge had urgent stuff coming up, we used to find a SUB, but then it was agreed that 3 judges will be fine, the mods will not get subs as long as we have a minimum of 3 judges voting/commenting. It doesn't mean that we have 3 judges, no we have 5, I am just clarifying that no subs will be appointed as long as 3 or more judges are present.

Clearer ?
I hope...

And yes, Connie, waiting for the judge who presumably have voted to reply.

Sorry for the inconveniences, though it's no one's direct fault, but let's hope things won't go wrong in the future, the 1st week is always confusing, for the new judges.

I remember when I was first chosen to be a judge, Jane forgot to give me those 'powers' then did quickly .. so probably, mods forgot?

:P It's my guess.

* Edited: Ah, I guess I understood, Nana:P

Lol no it has nothing to do with the Mods, really.
It's nothing that bad, if you can only be patient till the judge sends a reply :P

It's one of the two:

1)Site glitch; or
2)the judge did vote and will confirm that soon.

Just little of patience....

Does it mean that all 5 judges could vote one week, and just 3 another week? Maybe judges might think it's ok to not vote this week because there are another 4 judges to do it and we only need 3?

I thought the new judges had been in place for the last few weeks, that's why I was wondering why they hadn't logged in and were still a judge.

Mistakes happen, yeah...
And as said, we should wait for the judge, probably something urgent happened! We don't know...

Yes. PnQ without the contest would lose its magic!

Colm, this is the 1st week for these judges! The 3 months are over for the past team, now we have a new set of judges!

And no, I am just explaining for you guys, regarding 3 vs 5, they were instructed that they aught to commit to this on weekly basis, each one of them. They all know it's not fine to just disappear! I did not say it was fine, all that I said, IN CASE something very urgent and unexpected happened, no subs will be subbed lol not as long as the rest of the judges are PRESENT.

phew* :P

Going off topic a bit but if Janis was still around, wouldn't it be great if we could revamp the contest or make a second/new one? lol

I always thought a monthly one would be good, if it could be managed. Each member could submit 1 previously-unposted poem a month where it would appear in the judges page as anonymous poem #1, poem #2, etc. Ideally the judges would be non-members of the site or without access to the site to help keep anonymity. Maybe wishful thinking

My time to eat crow. I mistakenly thought a judge made deliberate choices & failed to send comments. Apparently that was not the case.

I want to thank the person who has stepped up and volunteered to take over that spot. It is a former judge who is reliable.

I won't say much more except it was not anyone who complained about the contest. These did not volunteer to help put it to rights.

I wouldn't volunteer unless I knew I had the time (over the 3 months) to do it. Volunteering when not able to give the commitment would only add to the problem, not solve it.

Hope its all sorted now anyway

Larry - I'm sure if we had asked for extra volunteers, we would have gotten some. (Right? Guys? Raise your hands!) Lucky for us, someone volunteered before we even needed to ask. Some people might not have the time to commit to judging, but still have questions and concerns to raise.