Weekly Contest Results 6-22-15

Still waiting on comments/votes from one judge, but here are the results! Sliding into the win is Fortune-teller by Meme with two votes, and we've got two other winners this week who lucked out in the tie-break! That is, unless our 5th judge voted for you, which is likely :) Congratulations to Mahal Ko Kuya Ko and Hannah Elizabeth. Close, but no cigar -- better luck next time, Kakera and Beautiful Soul! ;)
Please take a minute to congratulate our winners and honorable mentions. Thanks, as always, to our trusty judges for their trusty work.

-Jane

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****WINNERS****

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Fortune-teller
by Meme
11 pts

"Oh this poem melted me... it's dreamy within sadness all mixed into one poem..

the hope and longing to find out ones destiny is a yearning in all of us at some point in our lives and Meme has captivated the readers this week!" (7)

"This poem makes me think how we lean on others to help us find our way but then some people can't find our way in life we have to make it happen ourselves. Beautiful." (4)

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My Clavicle Still Bleeds
by Mahal Ko Kuya Ko

"Absolutely enticing write that goes on to detail the author's feelings of loneliness, desolation and bereavement. This piece struck a chord with me, and I found this poem to resonate long after I read it - it perfectly describes suffering and yearning. A beautiful piece." (10)
10 pts

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Universe.
by Hannah Elizabeth
10 pts

"This poet created something that I've never seen before, it was not only creative, it was gorgeous from the beginning line to the last one, the metaphors took me in extreme happiness it was just a great read." (10)

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****HONORABLE MENTIONS****

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Tempted Fate Loses Every Time
by Beautiful Soul

"Now this poem or this message should
be sent out to those who think they can
control fate, control themselves even
under the influence of alcohol.

Blood
looks good on your shade of green;

jealousy does not.

^^This line is very well used the combination of color with emotion. It
also looks like someone wants to prove something to another therefore jealousy comes into play pushing them to do something which is wrong.

Curves don't make
apologies for drinking, they make
obituaries.

^^I like this, so true and so easy to loose control when combined with speed.
I like how the writer linked curve to death rather then telling don't do it or
go slow.

Death is wanted for stealing
hearts on this side of town, and yours was
stolen when alcohol won against courage.

^^A very good ending to this poem. It sends out a clear message across to the
readers. Death is not going to see who or what it just takes and the hearts of loved
ones are the ones who pay with their tears. A well penned piece!" (10)

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The Burden of Breathing
by Kakera

"Kakera took breathing to whole other octave and level this week, WOW!

I was mind blasted this week by the sheer beauty of darkness in her words.

The wording and format make this piece and her message holds strong within the entire poem.

Just breathtaking!!" (10)

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No Replacement
by Baby Rainbow

"I found this piece to be both subtle and loud as the author delves into bereavement - it's beautifully simple yet paints a very gloomy picture with tinges of hope. The loss of a life is felt by others in varying magnitudes, and often time's people get crushed under that loss, that they cannot be there for others. This poem takes the aspect of that fact, and delicately adds in the fact that some people need to be by themselves to grieve, and that they are their own person as well. Beautiful." (7)

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Unavoidable Rain (Diatelle)
by Meena Krish

"Wonderfully written especially considering the constraints of a diatelle poem - it is blunt and evokes sorrow in its purest form. Great write." (4)

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Painted Lady, Do Not Cry
by Ben Pickard

"Wonderful storyline never really seen this written before, as not very much people like writing about this certain topic, but he certainly put a beautiful story in a poem." (7)

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Beyond Reason
by Vince Gullaci

"Vince Gullaci says it all and very creatively I would like to add... this short piece is fun and wonderful... the wording pops out for the readers...

When a person reaches the peak of anger or frustration.. whatever emotion.. it has a climax... and Vince captured that moment within this poem... very nice!!" (4)

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Inside the Lamps
by Gadfy

"I find this write interesting for the images
it portrays. The writer's voice reaches out as if having a conversation with
the reader.

having no way to escape
from each other's ecstasy
and torment of burning,
always acting as if we were trapped
as much as if we were free from one another?

^^The image of two moths drawn
inside the lamp and stuck with each other
fluttering around trying to find a way out! At the same time I can see two souls
caught in the web of life, trying to make
life work or die trying. The line "torment of burning" to me relates to all the
negativity and obstacles which these two souls encounter.

our togetherness was the only way to mend our souls,
to appease our bruises,
to break free,
to fly,

^^This stanza is really nice for the two
find out that together they can mend, heal and even work together to find a way to live, to be free. A nice read
yet it holds a story of how life should be approached by partners." (7)

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She Grins
by Maple Tree

"Mystery and the yearning to know
more about this woman intrigues me as
a reader. I like the way how the writer
describes this ethereal beauty without
giving away too much. Certain lines in
the poem, captures my attention and
makes me want to seek out more. There
is always a smile and a magical tree
to Maple's write...liked it!" (4)

Thanks Jane & judges for your work this week! Congrats to all winners & HMs!

Congrats all

Awesome week. Interesting pieces this week.

How do the judges decide which of the winners actually win in cases like this? Four people tied for 2 win spots, meaning two of us became honorable mentions rather than winners. So I was just wondering how you guys decide which is which when that happens.

Anyway, congratulationns everyone.

Mods don't decide on ties. There is an algorithm (supposedly) that the site has programmed into it that breaks ties.

I have heard that the factors are visits, comments and votes. I've never seen Janis asked this question and I have no verification if these factors are correct or not or even whether there are factors. For all we know it could be random.

Some years ago we discussed this policy in a thread and the overall member input was that they preferred the site breaking ties over the mods. We're open to further discussion.

I've heard that it is based on how many nominations the poem has at the time, I am unsure though

Honestly, when it breaks down to a tie like this, it's hard not to feel a little bitter when it's completely random like that. I would prefer if the site made all winners... well, winners. It happens often enough that it's highly regrettable that the site isn't flexible enough to support all winners actually winning. The ideal would be for the site to be able to be able to handle ties and give front-page spots to all the actual winners, as well as the Win-tag to the poems. Losing out on both despite winning the contest leaves a bad taste in the mouth considering that a win has very real and tangible effects on how much readers and comments a poem gets.

And this thing happens often enough that the broken system should be fixed. I'm not trying to be a sore loser here, but I can remember just off the top of my mind at least 4 times when I've "won" but lost out on the privileges due to the other person(s) in the tie getting them instead, and I've only been a member of this site since early last year. So obviously this is a problem in my opinion.

But hey, maybe that's just me.

We all agree it's a problem and would like to fix it, most reasonably by having all of the winners actually win! Like you said.

We can't do that until the site administrator returns and receives our request. He's been absent again for some time and we haven't been able to get ahold of him.

Congrats all of you guys, and especially my baby doll Hannah!! Congrats to HMs and all winners.

Thank you to the judges and host :)

But isn't there some way for you moderators to do anything at all? One idea, if possible, would in the case of a tie like this have the winners share and split their time on the front page. Or at the very least add a win tag to the poems themselves. Isn't there anything that is within your powers to put some form of a band-aid on the situation without the site administrator?

Just a thought, I don't really know how much power over this you guys have.

Yeah, before I was a moderator, I figured mods had a lot more power than they do...

Nope, we can't control who's on the front page or for how long, and we can't give out win tags. That's all embedded in the site somehow by Janis, our admin. Our powers are limited to: Access to the mod forum, suspending/un-suspending members, IP banning, looking up IP's and computer ID's, granting/declining praises, granting/declining articles, deleting and locking threads, deleting poems, editing or deleting posts, granting judge powers, sending mass PM's, reviewing complained upon PM chains, promoting other mods... Probably a few other little things I'm not thinking of off the top of my head.

Consider each poem of yours a real winning gem in your eyes, and you would never feel such bitterness again ~winks

Congratulations for all.

Kakera, I feel your pain, having missed out on more than one win by a tie breaker by the site. Unfortunately we can't do anything about it.

Until a judge produced his/her late comments, Jane was upset because she thought her last win was by a tie (hating to win that way) - it was not, she was a clear winner, but you get the picture. When a mod wins by a tie, it seems wrong, even though nothing was done to cause it.

James, I too have heard nominations affect the outcome, but have not seen the true results come out that way.

My cynical nature still has me believing it is random.

Yes, some great pieces - well done

Congrats, everybody! Thank you, judges, and Jane, for posting.