Results of hands down the best contest

I LOVED every single entry. All written with depth, emotions, grief... and TALENT. I love being surrounded by you, creative lot.

Anyway. Sadly, I should announce one winner (you're all winners though), based on the votes I got.

I gave my vote to Stem. Spent some time thinking after I had read that poem.
Also I gave a vote to Badlands. Can I do that? Yes, I started this contest.

One vote for Journal.
Two votes for Badlands.
One vote for Depression.
FIVE votes for Stem.

So. CONGRATULATIONS, DANNY! Good luck getting two comments from me before next month hahah. Nah, really, I'll leave my comment on your poem, and critique on another poem of yours. As soon as possible. Promise.

Thank you to:

- Luce for writing such a creative sad poem about depression. (Poem number one)
- Larry for illustrating how Alzheimer can be devastating for the patient and their loved ones (Poem number two)
- Star for her beautiful and heartbreaking entry about trauma (Poem number three)
- MarryAnne for her perfect metaphor and her ever neat choice of words (Poem number five)
- There is no poem number four. I skipped number four altogether...
- Danny for being a magician with words (Poem number six)
- Thomas for being SO good at using everyday objects and turning them into thought-provoking poems (Poem number seven)

Comments from members:
- Larry Chamberlin on Poem number six (Stem): Unlike a few of the other poems, this one gives me a clear mental heath issue as its subject: eating disorders. It touches on bulimia but I think the implication is really about anorexia.

The snake is bloated, torpid, feels fat, while an outsider sees her as supple and slender, despite the swelling about the ingested morsel (which is perfectly normal for a snake). Yet the emotional despondency that goes with the erroneous body image is vividly projected.

- Ya----Na on Poem number one (Depression): Been there. Felt it.

- Danny on Poem number three (Journal): My vote is for Journal as its flow, slant rhyme and cadence are almost flawless. I found the simplicity and lyricism complimented the subject matter, and the final line was crushing. There was something childlike and naïve about it, as a persona is discovering pain for the first time.

- Star on Poem number six (Stem):
What I got from this poem hits me hard, which is eating disorders. It’s a very common thing, and people live with it without realizing it’s a disorder. It’s life altering, and have negative effect on daily life. Though it can’t be cured it still can be controlled. It has a beautiful metaphor, whether it meant this or anything else.

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Thank you all for your poetry! Good day!

Thanks for the contest. Congratulations Daniel.

'I'll leave my comment on your poem, and critique on another poem of yours. As soon as possible. Promise.'

I look forward to reading these comments in 2021 ;)

Nah, really, it was a great contest with some wonderfully written poems. I think this community brings out the best in each other, especially in contests like these. :) Thanks for the thoughtful comments, and for hosting, Noura. :)

I had no idea Stem was written by Daniel, I am so thrilled it won!!!!
Congratulations Daniel ^_^

It was a fun contest, thank you for hosting Noura!!!

Stem was such a masterpiece of poetical observation, I truly enjoyed.

I was between stem and badlands but badlands intrigued me so much. However, now that I read stem again as weirdly as it may sound, there was a poem called Ouroboros (or something like that) that just came to mind. I was reminded of it. Sadly, I can’t find it in the site. I think Daniel wrote it a long time ago.

Noura, you're a gem! Thank you for hosting this contests and for raising awareness. I connected with each poem, especially "Stem" and "depression as my morning routine".

You all are beautiful people.

Great contest, Noura.
Congrats, Daniel, excellent poem.