Weekly Contest Results, 27 May 2019

Some things are durable, perhaps timeless. Gabe’s trumpet gathered in a couple of judges to his audience with his thirty years devotion to his craft. Michael (Mr. Darcy) offers his own timeless song embodied in the bones of earth. Michael’s offer to shoot everyone with love carries on the eternal quest for humanity. Brenda’s midnight musing bemoans the loss of the eternal stars, yet her own light is more constant and giving than she allows herself credit.

Front page [a three-way tie for 2nd & 3rd places was broken by a member]
Poem for Gabe (Phillip Flakes) by Larry Chamberlin 10+10=20 points
Gun law (syntuit or senyru) by Michael 4TB+10=14 points
Something Inside So Strong (Octave) by Mr. Darcy 4TB+10=14 points

Honorably Mentioned
Musings at Midnight by Brenda 10 points
May by John Lock 8 points
Gilded Rose by Milly Hayward 7 points
Global Warming (Rondeau) by Everlasting 7 points
Other Forms of Madness By Maple Tree 7 points
Pendle Hill by John Lock 7 points
What does Seventy mean? by Larry Chamberlin 7 points
Blunt Blades (syntuit) by Ben Pickard 4 points
I Undress in the Dark by Daniel 4 points
Son of My Father by Paul Hirst 4 points

[Comments follow}

*****
Poem for Gabe (Phillip Flakes) by Larry Chamberlin (10)
Evidently, there is a man whose name is Phillip Flakes who they call Gabe. He plays the trumpet “it brings a tear to strangers’ eyes;”
He is a man; “Gabe “…sitting at the Courthouse stairs
for thirty years on folding chairs
playing each morning all week long,
present, rain or shine, through the year”?
Gabe’s music, his existence now is a part of the court system at list a more inner one; a sense of just in the heart of accused, charged, convicts, staff and... A street musician who is domesticated into the court building and the costume more than the judges, people and… His existence somehow is synonymous with the court, because “Gabe has kept true to his song” “gives the song of freedom to the incarcerated
brings solace to those in great discomfort.”
After thirty years “blowing tunes to lift away the drear;
in his ageless way, he still goes strong.”
The piece is an emotional encounter of the poet with cold and calculating music less, harsh world, going through the system is a conviction of its own. He tries to find kindness in the cold building, He finds it, he finds music and harmony beneath the pretensions equal scales of the lady justice. The music is a trumpet. Gabe plays it. It is kind. it replaces the missing link of the fair in the system. It feels right. It fills the emotional void in the heart of the poet

~*~*~*
Poem for Gabe (Phillip Flakes) by Larry Chamberlin 10 Points
In a world full of selfishness and greed it is so refreshing and inspiring to hear of someone who selflessly gave of his time to help comfort others. Phillip Flakes was such a man. A touching well rhymed tribute to someone who gave comfort to hundreds (if not thousands) of people over the years and who perhaps might have gone unnoticed to the rest of the World had this poem not been written.
This unsung hero spent most of his life bringing joy through his music to those entering and leaving
the court house knowing instinctively which music would bring a smile. What better gift in times of darkness than that of a smile and what better recognition than in a time enduring poetic tribute such as this

*****
Gun law (syntuit or senyru) by Michael 10
this is probably the first poem I've ever read with that guns being positive! honestly this is a short poem with ideas that would have been made in a longer poem because I'd love to read the longer version if possible it's a great poem!

~*~*~*
Gun Law by Michael
This poem immediately gave me the feeling that I was inside of a Leonid Afremov oil painting. Colorful blasts of curiosity and wonder, never contempt. What makes this piece so clever and so "explosive" is the brevity and quickness of the image - which made me think of the sacredness of life and how devastatingly quick that breath of life can be extinguished. Your poem truly became a painting in my eyes, one of the freedom to choose the outcome and this time, one of love, not violence. Well done.

*****
Something Inside So Strong (Octave) by Mr. Darcy 10 points
Mr. Darcy's poem this week is not a form I was familiar with so I was happy he put a descriptive of how this poem is formed. I really appreciate the parameters he had to work within to write this. The poem itself is quite beautiful. He being the romantic he is writes of his undying love for his beloved. No matter what changes in this world his heart song will always play this melody for her. Just lovely.

~*~*~*
Something Inside So Strong by Mr. Darcy
There is a comfort in your words, in knowing how nature continues, how gulls will always soar and waves will always crash, yet even if the earth itself has doubts or starts to decay... your song and voice will always be present. Nothing can shatter the foundation or spoil the roots. I loved the soft tones in this and how it could be inspired by a voice in nature or the voice of a love giving assurance, giving steadfastness.

*****
Musings at midnight. By Brenda.
This piece of writing was such a joy to read this week.
The writer takes me on a journey of their deepest feelings where, as I see it how we can take life for granted at times. However how they feel they have contributed in some way, where there is an amount of what they have put into life (How I read this).
The writer uses language like ‘Ying and Yang’ which displays two opposites but come together for balance, and that’s exactly how the writer paints their picture here.
A piece flowing with wonderful imagery, talking of the sky and how the stars give beauty in the darkness, and that the city lights are a sort of blot. How they describe them as being a ‘star’ in the ‘inky sky’. A need to want to guide the beats way possible.
Where the end tells of how they hoped they have made a contribution in this world, before finally fading.
A truly lovely and well written piece, that holds such a personal feeling for the writer, and a joy to read. Well done (10)

*****
May by John Lock 4 points
John's visuals on this piece are just lovely. He really brought the month of May to life. So many teasers of what spring gives us and how fickle it can be. The smells of fresh grass and flowers starting to bloom, the sun in our face. Such earthly delights! Truly a gift to read.

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May by John Lock (4)
‘May’ is so beautiful. It is a bridge between spring and summer; the most awesome month of the year and Jon brought it beauty out of the gift box of his poetry again. It is like a pretty girl looks at herself in the pond when her beauty multiplied.
Writing a nature poem is difficult and risky because the subject is so narrow and the context is limited. There are not so many ways that we could express our admiration in poetical history. But a poet is to find the most unique ways to describe her unique ways of describing them.
John calls May “coquettish child” using the word coquettish makes the piece very cosy and relatable. The month that peeps “through the skirts of April”
He describes the paint that ‘May’ leaves upon the canvas of reasons so magically: “Primrose mornings, distant, fading
Sighs of falling daffodils
Tulip's lips form pouting kisses
To the old and knowing sun.” You feel the wet kisses of the tulips” in your mouth.
And again, how delightful is to see the way the poet sees the world, not through the screens of cyberspaces, but by paying attention to nature instead. And by being rewarded like this: “…Avenues shed their blossom bonnets
Petal rain on gentle winds”
And of course, in the end, the poet must stamp his angle on this: “And what of we
Your nursery playthings
Laughing as you twist our senses
Confusing time with thoughts of summer this."

*****
Gilded Rose by Milly Hayward (7)
The imageries in this poem are phenomenal. The structure of almost every sentence is almost ethereal: “a princess
with the skin of purest milk… Head of dusky twilight,
Curls that lock the stars,
Little gemstones in her crown,
Like tiny ingot bars,…”
I might be wrong but the comparison between the gold and amber in the last stanza reminds me of the contrast between trivialities and the essentials.
I could interpret this stanza in different ways but for me, the most suitable one is that the poet is warning us that gold (Gilded objects) represent the impermanent part of the life whereas amber represents some kinds of permanency: “Gilded roses come to wilt
When all is said and told.”
The “told” apart of this is so profound, (if I am right) for the temporal things tend to finish their story, and when their says are told, they wilt away, because they serve no purpose any more, but the orange blossoms speak out every spring, again and again forever.

*****
Global Warming (Rondeau) by Everlasting 7 points
Everlasting writes of our destruction of this earth. Instead of dreaming sweet dreams her nights are filled with nightmarish visions. Putting this into a Rondeau form shows how maybe we should have reacted sooner to this instead of "free forming" our way through life as if Mother Earth was just going to fix herself. Beautifully written, I hope it's not too late.

*****
Other forms of madness. By Maple tree. Points: 7
I come across many poems where the writer expresses themselves with their personal account of ‘depression’. To put into words how one feels about their battles with depression holds a depth beyond imagination.
To say I enjoyed reading this, really doesn’t fit, so to speak. However the deepness of beauty of how a writer can display their emotions is quite unique, and here the writer shows me this.
The author takes me on their journey of depression, and pens such an image, by using descriptive words in lines and verse that holds an impact to the reader. I like the way the writer uses ‘metaphors’ for their feelings, but then talks about should they use ‘metaphors’ to dress their feelings, so it sort of reads in a more ‘fluffy way’ is the term I would use. This really stood out for me.
But the damning truth the author shows is the ‘loneliness’ that one suffers. A piece that resonates on many levels for me, and no doubt others. This truly is a beautiful piece of writing that also flowed with such tenderness, albeit full of sorrow.
Thank you for sharing.

*****
Pendle Hill by John Lock Points: 7
A reflective poem that takes the reader back to the writers memories of childhood Summers spent running bare foot through the woods and meadows with friends around Pendle Hill. Sharing stolen apples and drinking lemonade whilst sitting in the shade of the birch tree and later in the evening swapping pirate stories around the flames of the campfire. Well rhymed with fresh flowing images and the final four lines reveal of the blossoming of first love.

*****
What does Seventy mean? by Larry Chamberlin 7
who doesn't want to live to see the age 80? this poem was so nice to read it's a very beautiful telling of your life. quite wonderful and an inspirational read

*****
Blunt Blades (syntuit) by Ben Pickard 4
I never laughed so hard! I know it's you know not supposed to be funny or maybe it was but that's not the point the point is that sometimes we go and do crazy things that are really funny and we should enjoy our craziness cause life is too short

*****
I undress in the dark. By Daniel.
From the moment I read the title, I felt this piece of writing would hold something very personal to its author.
So upon reading, the first few lines I could feel a sense of great sadness. Reading on to reveal by the author, their poem was about hardship with eating habits.
The author brought their anguish to paper, and describe their emotions that come with such an issue. Although a gentle tempo, and a soft flow, the content was penned with such an image of personal hardship as strong use of words displayed the daily grind of self-loathing, along with the heaviness of one person's battle with food (in this case).
I am sure this difficult picture presses buttons with many of us, in all different lights. Addiction has many, many forms, but only we know the true personal suffering. Thank you for sharing this piece with us, and I wish you all the very best with your journey. (4)

*****
Son of My Father By Paul Hirst Points: 4
This is a unique, creative and touching tribute to a father who has passed. With the writer being reminded of his father as he sees his father's features reflected back at him in the mirror through his own. Imagine the bitter sweet pain of loss and the daily reminder of seeing your loved ones face being reflected back at you. In some ways strangely comforting to know that you will always carry that bit of your father around in you but in others a constant reminder of your loss.

Thanks to the judges for their comments on Gabe and on Seventy. Thanks to Luce & Ben for nominating them.
Congrats to Michael & Michael & to my fellow HMs.

Thanks to Larry for hosting and congratulations on your win and HM.
I have to say the judges had their work cut out, as there were so many quality poems up for nominations. I'm just glad my regular 'donations' to Janis are paying off. ;0)
Well done to Michael on his phallic poem, I hope he doesn't shoot his love over Larry and I whilst we share the front page.
As for the endless scroll of HM, well done, many of you, too, deserve Michael's champagne spray!

Congrats all!

To the judge who commented on my poem, the truth is, I started doing some borders with a pair of scissors, continued on to the main lawn for about twenty minutes and only then realised how strangely I was behaving! It was an amusing moment...only tinged with a little sadness! Thank you.

Well done to everyone this week.

Hi All :)

Thank you Larry for hosting.
Congratulations to all front page news this week, including all HMs awarded.

Thank you to the judges for their time, and also to the judges for their lovely comments on my poem, much appreciated :)

Much love, M :)

Congratulations to all the front page winners and HM's! Thank you Dagmar for nominating my poem this week and for the wonderful comments left by the judge and HM! I greatly appreciate it. Larry thank you for hosting and congrats on your wins, well done Sir. Judges, thank you as always...

Very neat, congrats to all poets and their poems highlighted this week! Thanks to our judges and to Larry, for hosting.

Judge

“Putting this into a Rondeau form shows how maybe we should have reacted sooner to this instead of "free forming" our way through life as if Mother Earth was just going to fix herself”

I give you ten points for that comment.thank you

Congrats everyone

Congrats to all the Winners and HM's!
Thank you for hosting Larry and thank you judges
as always!

thank you!!

Congratulations to everyone <3

I’m happy to see so much diversity this week!!!
Congratulations everyone :)

Well done everyone and mucho respecto to all the judges and mods who make it possible.