Forums → Art, Music, and Writing → Periodic Poetry Contest - Theme: Touch of Truth (Page 390, due Jan. 28)
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First, I will post the overall rules, and then I will post the specifics about this week.
Original rules, as stated by Ubertuna:
It must fit the week's theme.
It must be submitted by the deadline.
It cannot have inappropriate language in it.
It cannot be stolen (if you plagiarize, we will find you).
Also:
The poem must be created for this contest
A user cannot win two weeks in a row (though everyone is welcome to submit every week!)
Only one submission per user will be accepted
As we all know, the winner will recieve a merit, and their poem will be featured on the _Poetry_ page.
OK, on to this week's topic...Again, we are having a style instead of a theme. Also, this week we are having TWO WEEKS to do it, instead of the usual one. Why? Because this will be an EPIC poem. Or, rather, a parody of an epic poem. Generally, epic poetry is very long, and tells the serious story of a heroic figure. Well, this week, the epic figure is YOU! Write a long poem (I'll leave the definition of 'long' up to you, but give it a good go) about the heroic story of you! It can be silly, serious, whatever... just have fun with it. You have two weeks, so have a great time!
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The Lost Colony
Fifteen hundred eighty four,
Explorers from England's shore;
Scouts sent by Walter Raleigh,
Found protection from the sea.
With Amadas and Barlowe,
Came Wanchese and Manteo.
Virgin Queen, Elizabeth,
Sent Lane who caused a death.
Travelers from distant lands,
Came to tame these pristine sands.
Fifteen hundred eighty six,
Fifteen men to hold and fix.
At Lane's fort they were murdered.
Sir Raleigh's goal, undeterred;
Hired, the following year,
Fernandes, a privateer.
John White, the first governor;
With a pregnant Eleanor,
Virginia was born and he,
Her Grandfather would soon flee.
Abandoned, without a care;
Colonists, with baby Dare,
Chesapeake Bay was their quest;
Now trapped, the unwanted guest.
Fifteen hundred eighty seven,
Did most of them go to heaven?
Fifty miles, said White, far inland,
Were they caught by the Indian?
To Croatoan they fled;
As many hurricanes sped?
Pembrokes are Anglo-Saxon;
Spoke English, says MacMillan.
In sixteen hundred seven,
Smith asked hostile Powhatan,
What befell the colony?
Brass mortar,iron, trophy;
As proof of their destiny.
He did murder most, said he.
I offer another way,
No one has found them today.
Fort is gone without a trace;
Scientists can't find the place.
August is the mean season;
Hurricanes could be reason,
Barrier islands are flat;
Full moon tides crest quickly that,
Remove all memory of,
Everyone we know and love.
Oceans play no favorites;
You or marine specialists.
All could have been swept to sea?
Or drown in a swamp, quickly?
To travel so far from home,
Only to be all alone.
Wilderness fraught with danger,
Here, you become the stranger.
For complete desolation;
As with assimilation,
No proof, except gray eyes here,
Some last same names, over there.
Resurfaced
Here be the depths that we have crawled
To wake on this broken shore.
Where blood has run and men have cried
Forgotten hopes, dashed dreams and more.
Blasted iron sky, that once was iron blue
When we sang beneath the waves.
When dreams were far and we were young
And drowned men spoke of haunted graves.
Where rhythm beats a lost on lonely hearts
And the days are nothing new to us
So that we are tempted to crawl onto blasted shore
So that these metal workings be wonderous.
Ah sweet and bitter taint that was once us.
Once where things we above us, when we were new.
When we hid beneath the sea, the cold hearted mistress
That stole our souls and made us pay our due.
Oh, but we be wiser now. For the years have passed us.
And this forsaken land shall we haunt
And give those who hold life dear something to dread.
Something to make there lives seem to be a taunt.
Where in the ramblings of our minds,
Of our hearts and souls that be forfeit.
We will ponder no more our underwater prison
Of that place we shall forget.
We pray you heed these dakr words well
We pray that you know our cause
For we will walk on this dead shore forever now
And should you see us, your life shall pause.
woa.... i never expected to win...
but good job everyone else =D!
Was a great job from you, SirNoobalot. Good first time judging, wolf, but next time get something more substantive out so that we can really get a grasp for your poetic insight.
>.< I apologize for the rushed job I spent so long deciding I ran out of time to justfiy everything. If I get the chance to judge again I will make sure I have ample time and give a full justification for each placing. Once again I'm sorry.
Here's my submission, it's the most spontaneous and visceral poem and wrote and...it does not rhyme. This is my first non rhyming submission, I hope it won't be the last ^^.
Seeing how I'm not english, the spontaneity resulted in a poem with not much impressive vocabulary or syntax. I guess I'm cut to be an English minimalist ^^.
Here goes...
You are all alone in the crowd;
Unhindered by the bureaucrat's rhythm
However hard you desire not to go
Your thoughts are on the treadmill of you feet
For you dance that step in a sluggish fashion
A day like any other, but not less special;
You did not dream of never waking up
So upon that marvelous night of emptiness
You build the base of a succesful journey
Men at work, drink your coffe, drink it
And as the metro follows its course
You ponder why you were rewarded
With a night of dreamless sleep
Just enough thinking to make you dense;
Which is very few, almost naught in fact
All the thoughts they made you miss
That station so important
So you wonder where you'll end up;
Surely in a coffin if not at work
But a little change might not hurt
As the metro stop, free from all its people
You descend as the last of them robots
Wind yourself up and climb the stairs
To a sunny beach nearing water
Is it worth living the same day over, you wonder
You take off your brown and shiny shoes
To feel the life between your toes
The churning warmth of the earth
Melts into refreshing cold
As you march into the sea, never to come back
What will the boss say?
What will your colleagues think?
You don't care as your nose fills up
And all becomes terribly white
Surprisingly blank...
You slowly open your eyes, in an hospital bed
Your muscles weak from months of sleep
The woman sighting vacantly near
Let go a scream of surprise
And start to cry as she rush towards you
Doctors flow in the colorless room promplty
To witness the miracle
And as you're clueless, you think;
''That first breath tasted like
I just passed a few minutes underwater...''
Fallen: That poem of yours just reminded me of The Awakening by Kate Chopin. I hate that book, but it just reminded me of the final scene.
Fallen: That poem of yours just reminded me of The Awakening by Kate Chopin. I hate that book, but it just reminded me of the final scene
Doesn't ring a bell sorry.
I sure hope you don't hate my poem even though.
No, I liked your poem. Just reminded me of that book, is all (it's a piece of classic American literature).
No, I liked your poem. Just reminded me of that book, is all (it's a piece of classic American literature).
Ah well, aside from Poe and Bukoski I'm not well versed in American litterature.
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to coerce you into saying you liked it; it wasn't my intention. I'm not even sure if it can be qualified as legitimate poetry; even though I know about traditionnal poetry I'm not well aware of the rules and ethics pertaining to unrhymed poems ^^.
And you're quite the reference for poetry on Ag, so of course I'd be intimidated if you didn't like it *wink*
I'm not well aware of the rules and ethics pertaining to unrhymed poems
There is none. Only matters if it's good or not.
Fallen, very good poem. But:
Seeing how I'm not english, the spontaneity resulted in a poem with not much impressive vocabulary or syntax. I guess I'm cut to be an English minimalist ^^.
Fallen, you remind me of Cenny with your doubt of self. You've got better English than 80% of Americans, honestly.
srsly, it's making me depressed ;-;
Fallen, you remind me of Cenny with your doubt of self. You've got better English than 80% of Americans, honestly.
srsly, it's making me depressed ;-;
Ah well; it's just that I'm often impressed by the vocabulary and the average quality of the poets here. I try my best but sometimes reading posts from Parsat or Gantic for example makes me realize I don't know that much about the use of that second tongue of mine.
Anyhow, I'm sorry to make you depressed; I just wanted to point out that I couldn't come up with great words as easily and as fastly as the common folks around, especially while being spontaneous ^^.
Wow. I failed. Big suprise.
and Wajor, thanks for sayin that lol
well gol dang I don't have anything to enter with how busy it has been. It sucks that I'm not a total regualar on AG anymore just cuzza stinkin school. :/ Maybe next semester I can get back on more.
There is none. Only matters if it's good or not.
If there's none, how are you to decide whether or not it's good?
Thread is locked!