UPDATE: The poems are now properly credited to their respective poets.
The poll has now closed and the winner is announced here.
Thank you to everyone who participated as a contestant or voter.
Hi all,
Below are the contest entries—in no particular order—for the Win-a-Book-From-William's-Collection Poetry Contest.
Jenna is going to enable me an expanded poll (that only sounds dirty) which i will add as soon as possible.
For now, you are free to read the entries at your leisure. You're also welcome to discuss them to your heart's content in this thread, but be aware that any preference expressed there will not constitute a vote.
You must be sure to cast your vote using the poll function, once it's available.
The poll will remain active until next Sunday night (January 22, 2006) at 10 PM CST. At that point, we'll have a winner and I will identify the authors of all the poems.
That winner will then have the option of receiving a mystery book from my poetry library, and we'll all rejoice at what a ripping good time this all was.
So there you go, read on and enjoy. I know I did.
(And please read them all before you vote; it's the right thing to do)
NOTE TO POETS: If you see anything you want edited (spacing, typos etc), please PM me and I'll take care of it.
So, off we go:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Entry #1
My Mother's Laughter
By Cassie88
My mother's laughter -
A new birth,
A ninth child.
Her savior of sanity,
It rumbled and ran like rapids -
Primary colors decorating the rooms
With crystal curtains and trampoline floors -
Wonderful and deep,
Like the ocean, rolling -
Crazy and bumpy,
Like a carnival ride
She never wanted to end.
Ominous, sometimes,
Like rain clouds in the afternoon -
Or gripping, in the black of night,
Like a calloused hand
Clinging to the side of a mountain.
My mother's laughter -
A good witch cackle -
Her moments of fearlessness.
The weight of it
Kicked back her head,
Surprised her mouth,
And kidnapped her eyes.
The joy in it -
Echoed through the woods of my childhood.
The love in it -
Breathing,
Reverberating -
A mountain of my own.
Entry #2
Darkness
By D.J.
Night, a predator;
it searches for a hostage -
Sunlight its victim.
Entry #3
comings and goings
By kdnxdr
the success of the moment
is the failure of tomorrow
borrowed to build anew,
generations of life and death,
laying the siege mound
to build and conquer,
to be conquered and built
a tower
going
dig through the layers
in retrospect,
retrace the path of bones
discover
your apathy for success
lay your treasures
down
leave a print, a mark for others
a fleck
to show your time,
a buried memorial
is all you get,
epitath in slime.
Entry #4
forcing love
By Eveningsdawn
i once read that
making someone
fall in love with you
was as simple as
writing their name
three times
on a piece
of blank paper
and placing it in your shoe.
i take pen and paper,
sit down,
and do not write his name.
nor do i wish to.
i am rather surprised
at myself.
Entry #5
Deliverance
By oneovu
From her prison, she wept
When at last they came home
Under his proud arm
The trophies, the ribbons!
How torturous the affection
Her siblings shown
For she was born neglected
A twistippled mess, 'twas said
Nobody’s, nobody’s prize
Suitably, the title worn
In damp rancid room, her tomb
Scarcely bigger than she
The sun rose, then the stars
The sun rose and it fell and it fell
And rose fell again
‘Til a shiny new Tuesday
When on sweet voice supposed
Today is your day
Oh, the strange joy!
Brimmed in his gentle embrace
Brothers, sisters afoot
Chattering, noisily
Squawking so loudly, so loud!
Her pulse it did rush
But, over the din
Father wretchedly crowed out by
The old weathered stump
Ever cheerful, it dawned
And, she fixed on the clouds
awaiting the axe to --
Entry #6
When Mourning Dawns
By Penelope
All day your name has been against my mind
and hurt me like the too frail loveliness
of pear blooms in the rain.
All night my voice undefined
has swung from star to star
to call you back.
Tomorrow I will know that you can't come
and after that I won't know anything
but small hard shells against my bare feet
and sand upon my lips at dawn.
Entry #7
Guillotine
By Paint
Dark winged brow, coy returned glance
Fluttered lashes proclaim avid illusion.
Misconceived preference for violence
A guillotine drops in silence.
Mask of ochre rage crescendos
Crashing to suffused vortex.
Equilibrium, rational sober dawn
Peace, contingent on forgiveness.
Entry #8
Untitled
By paprikapink
To articulate.
It's lots tougher when one is
not articulish.
Entry #9
The Bird Lady
By rhymegirl
Another Monday morning and the traffic
hisses on the highway. She comes out
onto her rickety porch to feed
the birds waiting
with their little mouths open.
Another Wednesday morning and the wind
whistles through the trees. She wraps
her ragged shawl tight around
her shoulders and sighs
at hungry birds
chattering on her lawn.
Another Friday morning and brittle branches
snap from heavy snow. She pulls
her blankets up beneath her wrinkled chin
and hears abandoned birds
crying out in lifeless trees.
Entry #10
The World Today
By DenimSoul
See innocent lives destroyed.
Old & young. Dead & alive.
Hear the children’s anguished cries.
Boys & girls. Rich & poor.
Feel the tension in the air.
Love & hate. _____ & _____.
Smell of death in the streets.
Guns & knives. Day & night.
Tears streaming down a face.
Yours, mine & theirs. Here, there & everywhere.
Entry #11
My Unbidden Companions
By sarah s
Like a worm swimming in tequila
bloated, bored, desperate
Emotions surface, unbidden
guilt, shame, self-loathing
A current running through a live wire
steady, constant, humming
Short circuiting my contentment
Frying my brain
I sweep them under
the rug of complacency
Mop the blood from my conscience
beg for forgiveness
Still, unbidden they come
slamming into my happiness
Forcing love out the door
Sucking the joy from my days.
Be gone, Demons!
Suffer the child inside no more.
Entry #12
Waterfall
By mkcbunny
River rapids, lemming drops
Suicidal waves in siren song
Call all to dance behind them
In service of their god.
Glistening temptress spinning lies
To wayward mortals mesmerized
By power and chaotic grace
Is it love, divine embrace
You seek, poor human sacrifice
Cast o’er the mist
One moment, LIFE!
Weightless
‘fore gravity with heartless clutch
Drags thee to your icy death
Below, where churning waters foam
Like Lazarus they live again.
Fantastic dreamer, rainbow crasher
Fall and be reborn.
Entry #13
Dog Haiku
By Haggis
When I twist just so
I can lick stuff you can't reach
Bet you wish you could
Entry 14
Slow is Winter
By Saritams8
winter melts as ice crinkles
sun reflects against the lake
calm and quiet is all you hear
slow is the thaw of winter
a call from a duck resonates
echoes across my valley walls
ice like glass falls through water
slow is the thaw of winter
cold is the lake against my feet
warm is the air around me
a rush through branches and weeds
slow is the thaw of winter
a flowers head in the soil
life emerging from cold
spring warms but still
slow is the thaw of winter.
The poll has now closed and the winner is announced here.
Thank you to everyone who participated as a contestant or voter.
Hi all,
Below are the contest entries—in no particular order—for the Win-a-Book-From-William's-Collection Poetry Contest.
Jenna is going to enable me an expanded poll (that only sounds dirty) which i will add as soon as possible.
For now, you are free to read the entries at your leisure. You're also welcome to discuss them to your heart's content in this thread, but be aware that any preference expressed there will not constitute a vote.
You must be sure to cast your vote using the poll function, once it's available.
The poll will remain active until next Sunday night (January 22, 2006) at 10 PM CST. At that point, we'll have a winner and I will identify the authors of all the poems.
That winner will then have the option of receiving a mystery book from my poetry library, and we'll all rejoice at what a ripping good time this all was.
So there you go, read on and enjoy. I know I did.
(And please read them all before you vote; it's the right thing to do)
NOTE TO POETS: If you see anything you want edited (spacing, typos etc), please PM me and I'll take care of it.
So, off we go:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Entry #1
My Mother's Laughter
By Cassie88
My mother's laughter -
A new birth,
A ninth child.
Her savior of sanity,
It rumbled and ran like rapids -
Primary colors decorating the rooms
With crystal curtains and trampoline floors -
Wonderful and deep,
Like the ocean, rolling -
Crazy and bumpy,
Like a carnival ride
She never wanted to end.
Ominous, sometimes,
Like rain clouds in the afternoon -
Or gripping, in the black of night,
Like a calloused hand
Clinging to the side of a mountain.
My mother's laughter -
A good witch cackle -
Her moments of fearlessness.
The weight of it
Kicked back her head,
Surprised her mouth,
And kidnapped her eyes.
The joy in it -
Echoed through the woods of my childhood.
The love in it -
Breathing,
Reverberating -
A mountain of my own.
Entry #2
Darkness
By D.J.
Night, a predator;
it searches for a hostage -
Sunlight its victim.
Entry #3
comings and goings
By kdnxdr
the success of the moment
is the failure of tomorrow
borrowed to build anew,
generations of life and death,
laying the siege mound
to build and conquer,
to be conquered and built
a tower
going
dig through the layers
in retrospect,
retrace the path of bones
discover
your apathy for success
lay your treasures
down
leave a print, a mark for others
a fleck
to show your time,
a buried memorial
is all you get,
epitath in slime.
Entry #4
forcing love
By Eveningsdawn
i once read that
making someone
fall in love with you
was as simple as
writing their name
three times
on a piece
of blank paper
and placing it in your shoe.
i take pen and paper,
sit down,
and do not write his name.
nor do i wish to.
i am rather surprised
at myself.
Entry #5
Deliverance
By oneovu
From her prison, she wept
When at last they came home
Under his proud arm
The trophies, the ribbons!
How torturous the affection
Her siblings shown
For she was born neglected
A twistippled mess, 'twas said
Nobody’s, nobody’s prize
Suitably, the title worn
In damp rancid room, her tomb
Scarcely bigger than she
The sun rose, then the stars
The sun rose and it fell and it fell
And rose fell again
‘Til a shiny new Tuesday
When on sweet voice supposed
Today is your day
Oh, the strange joy!
Brimmed in his gentle embrace
Brothers, sisters afoot
Chattering, noisily
Squawking so loudly, so loud!
Her pulse it did rush
But, over the din
Father wretchedly crowed out by
The old weathered stump
Ever cheerful, it dawned
And, she fixed on the clouds
awaiting the axe to --
Entry #6
When Mourning Dawns
By Penelope
All day your name has been against my mind
and hurt me like the too frail loveliness
of pear blooms in the rain.
All night my voice undefined
has swung from star to star
to call you back.
Tomorrow I will know that you can't come
and after that I won't know anything
but small hard shells against my bare feet
and sand upon my lips at dawn.
Entry #7
Guillotine
By Paint
Dark winged brow, coy returned glance
Fluttered lashes proclaim avid illusion.
Misconceived preference for violence
A guillotine drops in silence.
Mask of ochre rage crescendos
Crashing to suffused vortex.
Equilibrium, rational sober dawn
Peace, contingent on forgiveness.
Entry #8
Untitled
By paprikapink
To articulate.
It's lots tougher when one is
not articulish.
Entry #9
The Bird Lady
By rhymegirl
Another Monday morning and the traffic
hisses on the highway. She comes out
onto her rickety porch to feed
the birds waiting
with their little mouths open.
Another Wednesday morning and the wind
whistles through the trees. She wraps
her ragged shawl tight around
her shoulders and sighs
at hungry birds
chattering on her lawn.
Another Friday morning and brittle branches
snap from heavy snow. She pulls
her blankets up beneath her wrinkled chin
and hears abandoned birds
crying out in lifeless trees.
Entry #10
The World Today
By DenimSoul
See innocent lives destroyed.
Old & young. Dead & alive.
Hear the children’s anguished cries.
Boys & girls. Rich & poor.
Feel the tension in the air.
Love & hate. _____ & _____.
Smell of death in the streets.
Guns & knives. Day & night.
Tears streaming down a face.
Yours, mine & theirs. Here, there & everywhere.
Entry #11
My Unbidden Companions
By sarah s
Like a worm swimming in tequila
bloated, bored, desperate
Emotions surface, unbidden
guilt, shame, self-loathing
A current running through a live wire
steady, constant, humming
Short circuiting my contentment
Frying my brain
I sweep them under
the rug of complacency
Mop the blood from my conscience
beg for forgiveness
Still, unbidden they come
slamming into my happiness
Forcing love out the door
Sucking the joy from my days.
Be gone, Demons!
Suffer the child inside no more.
Entry #12
Waterfall
By mkcbunny
River rapids, lemming drops
Suicidal waves in siren song
Call all to dance behind them
In service of their god.
Glistening temptress spinning lies
To wayward mortals mesmerized
By power and chaotic grace
Is it love, divine embrace
You seek, poor human sacrifice
Cast o’er the mist
One moment, LIFE!
Weightless
‘fore gravity with heartless clutch
Drags thee to your icy death
Below, where churning waters foam
Like Lazarus they live again.
Fantastic dreamer, rainbow crasher
Fall and be reborn.
Entry #13
Dog Haiku
By Haggis
When I twist just so
I can lick stuff you can't reach
Bet you wish you could
Entry 14
Slow is Winter
By Saritams8
winter melts as ice crinkles
sun reflects against the lake
calm and quiet is all you hear
slow is the thaw of winter
a call from a duck resonates
echoes across my valley walls
ice like glass falls through water
slow is the thaw of winter
cold is the lake against my feet
warm is the air around me
a rush through branches and weeds
slow is the thaw of winter
a flowers head in the soil
life emerging from cold
spring warms but still
slow is the thaw of winter.
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