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jezz

3,337 posts

Farmer

Posted September 24, '10 7:02pm UTC

Well! What was originally going to be my own little poetry challenge has turned into a major competition! Please read every word in this opening post very carefully as everything I say must be adhered to. I don't know if you know this, but I am very strict with my rules and regulations...

The general point of this competition

A few of us users have come up with a list of 50 themes which can be found below. The aim of this competition is to write a poem or a piece of short prose for each theme, just for fun! There are no deadlines (as of yet) for the submissions because I don't want the pieces to be hurriedly written, so don't let that put you off participating. Everyone is welcome to participate. There's no pressure to submit all 50 pieces, take your time, have fun!

Please remember to follow the basic rules of the AMW. All work must be your own. No flaming, trolling, spamming, etc. Only provide critique on a user's piece if they have asked for it specifically. Keep general discussion on this thread to a minimum so as to remain at least a little bit on topic.

Submissions

A list of rules that (hopefully) cover everything you need to know about submissions. Read carefully. If you have any questions, contact me on my profile.

*You do not need to submit the pieces in order. You may start with whichever theme you like.

* Once you have written and revised a piece, submit it!

*You may submit more than one piece at a time, although submitting too many at once will seem as though you've rushed them.

*I will keep track of how many submissions each participant has entered on my profile, so take a look once in a while.

*Only short prose pieces are accepted. Nothing too longwinded please. I am going to include a word limit of 1,500 words.

*There is a certain structure to submitting a piece in order to keep the thread nice and tidy:
- Your piece must have the theme name and number as the title in bold. You may also include your own title in brackets next to it.
- You must state which form you have written your piece in, for example, haiku, short prose, sonnet, standard verse, etc.

Here is an example post;

51. Insanity (Two Minds) - Haiku

Come here; don't be scared
I am confined in both minds
Stay away from me

List Of Themes
1. Innocence
2. Entombment
3. A Forgotten Name
4. Rising Tide
5. A Broken Picture
6. Leaves Falling In Autumn
7. Birth
8. Falling Into The Abyss
9. Near-death Experience
10. Beautiful Sunset
11. New School
12. Describing Colour To A Blind Person
13. Home Alone
14. Nightmare
15. Dreams
16. Inner strength
17. Self-Hatred
18. Martyrdom
19. Political Corruption
20. Self-Completion
21. Genius
22. Thanksgiving
23. Halloween
24. Christmas
25. Guilt
26. Daydreams
27. Orange Leaves In Autumn
28. A Shy Person In The Middle Of A Crowd
29. Unrequited love
30. Kraken
31. Memories
32. Revolution
33. The Shining Auroras
34. Poverty
35. A Hero Among Evil
36. An Entity Who Shows Itself
37. The 5th Dimension
38. Berserk Wildlife
39. A Light In The Black
40. Trial And Error
41. A Creation
42. Two-Faced
43. Disillusionment
44. Regular/Ordinary
45. The Mind Of A Villain
46. Someone Who Lives To Watch The World Burn.
47. Old Age
48. Something For The Girls
49. Something For The Boys
50. Go Crazy

And now for the fun part...

I am going to include a few features similar to Strop's 'erks and penalties' idea in the WoM. Some of them are preeeetty difficult, so good luck with that. Once you've completed one, I'll stick your name on my profile.

Here they are:

1) Theme-a-Rama!: Mention 15 separate themes in one piece.

2) Sonnet 130: Write a mock sonnet which relates to love and one other theme.

3) Total Overkill: Use the theme title 6 times in one piece.

4) Like a Freight Train: Be the first to complete the first 10 themes.

5) In The Dank And Dark Recesses Of The Mind...: Be the first to complete themes 8, 14, 17 and 46.

And there'll be more coming your way!

Lets get started!

Well! What was originally going to be my own little poetry challenge has turned into a major competition! Please read every word in this opening post very carefully as everything I say must be adhered to. I don't know if you know this, but I am very strict with my rules and regulations... :)\r\n\r\n[b]The general point of this competition[/b]\r\n\r\nA few of us users have come up with a list of 50 themes which can be found below. The aim of this competition is to write a poem or a piece of short prose for each theme, just for fun! There are no deadlines (as of yet) for the submissions because I don't want the pieces to be hurriedly written, so don't let that put you off participating. Everyone is welcome to participate. There's no pressure to submit all 50 pieces, take your time, have fun!\r\n\r\nPlease remember to follow the basic rules of the AMW. All work must be your own. No flaming, trolling, spamming, etc. Only provide critique on a user's piece if they have asked for it specifically. Keep general discussion on this thread to a minimum so as to remain at least a little bit on topic.\r\n\r\n[b]Submissions[/b]\r\n\r\nA list of rules that (hopefully) cover everything you need to know about submissions. Read carefully. If you have any questions, contact me on my profile.\r\n\r\n*You do not need to submit the pieces in order. You may start with whichever theme you like.\r\n\r\n* Once you have written and revised a piece, submit it!\r\n\r\n*You may submit more than one piece at a time, although submitting too many at once will seem as though you've rushed them.\r\n\r\n*I will keep track of how many submissions each participant has entered on my profile, so take a look once in a while.\r\n\r\n*Only short prose pieces are accepted. Nothing too longwinded please. I am going to include a word limit of 1,500 words.\r\n\r\n*There is a certain structure to submitting a piece in order to keep the thread nice and tidy:\r\n     - Your piece must have the theme name and number as the title in bold. You may also include your own title in brackets next to it.\r\n     - You must state which form you have written your piece in, for example, haiku, short prose, sonnet, standard verse, etc.\r\n\r\nHere is an example post;\r\n\r\n[b]51. Insanity (Two Minds)[/b] - [i]Haiku[/i]\r\n\r\nCome here; don't be scared\r\nI am confined in both minds\r\nStay away from me\r\n\r\n\r\n[b]List Of Themes[/b]\r\n1.  Innocence\r\n2.  Entombment\r\n3.  A Forgotten Name\r\n4.  Rising Tide\r\n5.  A Broken Picture\r\n6.  Leaves Falling In Autumn\r\n7.  Birth\r\n8.  Falling Into The Abyss\r\n9.  Near-death Experience\r\n10. Beautiful Sunset\r\n11. New School\r\n12. Describing Colour To A Blind Person\r\n13. Home Alone\r\n14. Nightmare\r\n15. Dreams\r\n16. Inner strength\r\n17. Self-Hatred\r\n18. Martyrdom\r\n19. Political Corruption\r\n20. Self-Completion\r\n21. Genius\r\n22. Thanksgiving\r\n23. Halloween\r\n24. Christmas\r\n25. Guilt\r\n26. Daydreams\r\n27. Orange Leaves In Autumn\r\n28. A Shy Person In The Middle Of A Crowd\r\n29. Unrequited love\r\n30. Kraken\r\n31. Memories\r\n32. Revolution\r\n33. The Shining Auroras\r\n34. Poverty\r\n35. A Hero Among Evil\r\n36. An Entity Who Shows Itself\r\n37. The 5th Dimension\r\n38. Berserk Wildlife\r\n39. A Light In The Black\r\n40. Trial And Error\r\n41. A Creation\r\n42. Two-Faced\r\n43. Disillusionment\r\n44. Regular/Ordinary\r\n45. The Mind Of A Villain\r\n46. Someone Who Lives To Watch The World Burn.\r\n47. Old Age\r\n48. Something For The Girls\r\n49. Something For The Boys\r\n50. Go Crazy\r\n\r\n[b]And now for the fun part...[/b]\r\n\r\nI am going to include a few features similar to Strop's 'perks and penalties' idea in the WoM. Some of them are preeeetty difficult, so good luck with that. Once you've completed one, I'll stick your name on my profile.\r\n\r\nHere they are:\r\n\r\n1) [b]Theme-a-Rama!:[/b] Mention 15 separate themes in one piece.\r\n\r\n2) [b]Sonnet 130:[/b] Write a mock sonnet which relates to love and one other theme.\r\n\r\n3) [b]Total Overkill:[/b] Use the theme title 6 times in one piece.\r\n\r\n4) [b]Like a Freight Train:[/b] Be the first to complete the first 10 themes.\r\n\r\n5) [b]In The Dank And Dark Recesses Of The Mind...:[/b] Be the first to complete themes 8, 14, 17 and 46.\r\n\r\nAnd there'll be more coming your way! \r\n\r\nLets get started!

202 Replies

offline

jezz

3,337 posts

Farmer

Posted September 25, '10 10:28pm UTC

slayguy, number 5 wasn't an overkill because you only mentioned the theme 5 times. The title obviously doesn't count. Plus, it seems like you rushed most of them; shame on you!

I've got an incredible surprise for you guys once this thread nears its end around Christmas time

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BlackSkullDragon

161 posts

Peasant

Posted September 26, '10 12:23am UTC

1.Innocence -Sonnet

So innocent was the love you gave me,
As pure as a flower under the sun,
As innocent as the first love can be,
I still knew that sadly I had to run.

My logical self said remain quiet,
Or the king will slice your head with one blow.
But my heart wanted to make one last bet,
And love won the battle using his bow.

I disregarded all of the warnings,
And,by midnight,to the castle I went,
High in the sky the full moon was shining,
When the soldiers took me into their tent.

My death broke the last true innocent mind,
Cursing the future of the whole mankind.

Does this count as the "Sonnet 130" thing?

offline

Hypermnestra

26,390 posts

Nomad

Posted September 26, '10 4:34pm UTC

16. Inner strength
Just for kicks, I'm going to see how many themes I can put in here and make it seem like they belong xP.

I live forever in poverty
A martyr to political corruption
My innocence has entombed me
My nightmare follows, destruction

I'm now disillusioned
A light in the dark, hero among evil
I will lead the revolution
My inner strength stems from self-completion

No one will believe my words
They say that I'm two-faced
They say I live to watch the world burn
They cause my guilt and self-hatred

I'll put it simply; genius sucks
I have just one wish, one dream
I want to be a forgettable name
I want to be ordinary me

I remember the orange leaves falling in autumn
But the picture is broken and shattered
The beautiful sunset, wiped from my memory
And now it doesn't matter

Now I sit and daydream
As the rising tides approach
From my birth on to my death
I've tried to show them the way
It's like describing color to someone blind
They just can't grasp what I say

I'm home alone, thinking of my past
Of Christmases, Halloweens, my first new school
As old age wipes it clean fast
I've had some near-death experiences
But I have escaped from them all
And yet now I don't want "near-death"
For I am ready to fall

I fall into the abyss of senility
And soon I've forgotten what I was
Like a shy person in a crowd
All I can think to say is "huh"?

I send my unrequited love to you
But my death approaches like a kraken
I just want you to know what I'm going through
So you can understand what's happened

I was an entity that showed itself
I was very misunderstood
It seemed I lived in the fifth dimension
I should not have been so curious
Perhaps should have just stayed dumb
But now I am a genius
And now I'm simply numb

A creation from the mind of a villain
Who lives to see the world burn
Is not always such a bad thing
Or so, I hope and yearn

For that is who I am
An outcast, villain, genius all
The shining aurora in something dull
But for now, my mind is null
Trial and error? Not for me
I have never been wrong in eternity
A little something for the girls
And something for the boys...
Just go batshit crazy, like berserk wildlife
And live, live your life
As long as you can
And don't end up a sad old man
Like me

Hah, that was pretty good amirite!? I gotta catch em all, and I did! I mean, it could've been a lot better but for 50 themes all in one poem, not bad at all.

[b]16. Inner strength[/b]\r\nJust for kicks, I'm going to see how many themes I can put in here and make it seem like they belong xP.\r\n\r\nI live forever in poverty\r\nA martyr to political corruption\r\nMy innocence has entombed me\r\nMy nightmare follows, destruction\r\n\r\nI'm now disillusioned\r\nA light in the dark, hero among evil\r\nI will lead the revolution\r\nMy inner strength stems from self-completion\r\n\r\nNo one will believe my words\r\nThey say that I'm two-faced\r\nThey say I live to watch the world burn\r\nThey cause my guilt and self-hatred\r\n\r\nI'll put it simply; genius sucks\r\nI have just one wish, one dream\r\nI want to be a forgettable name\r\nI want to be ordinary me\r\n\r\nI remember the orange leaves falling in autumn\r\nBut the picture is broken and shattered\r\nThe beautiful sunset, wiped from my memory\r\nAnd now it doesn't matter\r\n\r\nNow I sit and daydream\r\nAs the rising tides approach\r\nFrom my birth on to my death\r\nI've tried to show them the way\r\nIt's like describing color to someone blind\r\nThey just can't grasp what I say\r\n\r\nI'm home alone, thinking of my past\r\nOf Christmases, Halloweens, my first new school\r\nAs old age wipes it clean fast\r\nI've had some near-death experiences\r\nBut I have escaped from them all\r\nAnd yet now I don't want "near-death"\r\nFor I am ready to fall\r\n\r\nI fall into the abyss of senility\r\nAnd soon I've forgotten what I was\r\nLike a shy person in a crowd\r\nAll I can think to say is "huh"?\r\n\r\nI send my unrequited love to you\r\nBut my death approaches like a kraken\r\nI just want you to know what I'm going through\r\nSo you can understand what's happened\r\n\r\nI was an entity that showed itself\r\nI was very misunderstood\r\nIt seemed I lived in the fifth dimension\r\nI should not have been so curious\r\nPerhaps should have just stayed dumb\r\nBut now I am a genius\r\nAnd now I'm simply numb\r\n\r\nA creation from the mind of a villain\r\nWho lives to see the world burn\r\nIs not always such a bad thing\r\nOr so, I hope and yearn\r\n\r\nFor that is who I am\r\nAn outcast, villain, genius all\r\nThe shining aurora in something dull\r\nBut for now, my mind is null\r\nTrial and error? Not for me\r\nI have never been wrong in eternity\r\nA little something for the girls\r\nAnd something for the boys...\r\nJust go batshit crazy, like berserk wildlife\r\nAnd live, live your life\r\nAs long as you can\r\nAnd don't end up a sad old man\r\nLike me\r\n\r\nHah, that was pretty good amirite!? I gotta catch em all, and I did! I mean, it could've been a lot better but for 50 themes all in one poem, not bad at all.

offline

Gantic

11,892 posts

King

Posted September 26, '10 6:08pm UTC

What happens if you write a mock sonnet that relates to two other themes?

Either
49. Something For The Boys
48. Something For The Girls
or several of the others.

You cannot pause to step the romance dance,
The twosome waltz that hopefuls label Love.
You crave the rhythmic jive that loses pants,
But not the one embodied by the dove.
Your hearts do not exist for feeling love;
They palpitate to send blood through your veins!

Beauty is not without the turtle dove;
It is within its grace that rivals cranes!
The pairing dance is more than just your gains,
It is entwined within your own romance.
For without love there are no remains,
Nor any source that causes one to dance.

To love and dance are one and twain the same
To She who hopes and He who plays the game.

There is a ridiculous version of this 'sonnet' involving internal rhyming and assonance that make it sound more like a song than a 'oem', but pants dance, glance askance, prance stance, chance romance, France trance, and Lance advance are just too silly to post, especially since the last one is a double entendre in context.

What happens if you write a mock sonnet that relates to two other themes?\r\n\r\nEither\r\n[b]49. Something For The Boys\r\n48. Something For The Girls[/b]\r\nor several of the others.\r\n\r\n\r\nYou cannot pause to step the romance dance,\r\n   The twosome waltz that hopefuls label Love.\r\nYou crave the rhythmic jive that loses pants,\r\n   But not the one embodied by the dove.\r\nYour hearts do not exist for feeling love;\r\n   They palpitate to send blood through your veins!\r\n\r\nBeauty is not without the turtle dove;\r\n   It is within its grace that rivals cranes!\r\nThe pairing dance is more than just your gains,\r\n   It is entwined within your own romance.\r\nFor without love there are no remains,\r\n   Nor any source that causes one to dance.\r\n\r\nTo love and dance are one and twain the same\r\n   To She who hopes and He who plays the game.\r\n\r\nThere is a ridiculous version of this 'sonnet' involving internal rhyming and assonance that make it sound more like a song than a 'poem', but pants dance, glance askance, prance stance, chance romance, France trance, and Lance advance are just too silly to post, especially since the last one is a double entendre in context.

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jezz

3,337 posts

Farmer

Posted September 26, '10 6:44pm UTC

What happens if you write a mock sonnet that relates to two other themes?

Then uh.. you.. uh.. win a cookie?

*gives cookie*

especially since the last one is a double entendre in context.

Ohh dear... O.o

Out of interest, have any of you read Sonnet 130?

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Gantic

11,892 posts

King

Posted September 26, '10 7:07pm UTC

Out of interest, have any of you read Sonnet 130?

Yes, it is one of the few I can partially recite. That and "Let me not to the marriage of true minds / admit impediments. Love is not love / which alters as it alterations finds / or bends with the remover to remove. / O no! It is an ever fix'ed mark / something something something." and "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day / though are more lovely and more temperate / Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May / and summer's lease has all too short a date / something something something." But what exactly are you looking for? There are a few direct parodies and references to that poem throughout this forum, but is it a direct parody just the words itself (such as the one Ricador once posted) or the essence of the poem which may be construed as a parody of love poems that exaggerate the beauty of a woman to deific standards that is sought?

offline

jezz

3,337 posts

Farmer

Posted September 26, '10 7:19pm UTC

The second one. A parody of exaggerated love poems which also ties into one other theme. For example, innocence & love or unrequited love & love go well together.

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Cenere

13,658 posts

Jester

Posted September 26, '10 9:34pm UTC

Envy of the poets. (I am a bit tired, an managed to catch myself before I wrote poetrist, but I guess I will share it anyway)
Good works, all of it, better than I could do, if that meant anything.

Anyway, another super rushed, barely proofread short story, again with WARNING(:suicide attempt, mention of drugs, booze and possibly violence, murders and other fun stuff 13-year-olds see in games)

#17 Self Hatred - Short Story

So many times he had been standing there in front of them, waiting for their judgement, their tasks for him, their painful words to fall so that he could move on. So many times he did something wrong, proved them right in their concerns and impression of him. Why... It couldn't be that hard to do it right for ones, turn the tide of this... This disaster he assumed was to be his life till one of those tasks killed him. Their impossible goals, and his all forgotten ability to listen, to do as ordered, to listen to advice. To receive help. To ask for it. The pain so fully burning his soul, emerging into the physical realm and burning through his chest. Those punishments were all deserved, were they not? He did fail them, he did cause all the chaos he should bring to order. He did kill a man, a woman, a child... Too many to count, and if he hadn't stopped remembering them, he would never get to sleep. But they had ordered it, it was their responsibility, not his, it wasn't his... Was it? Some religions said you should not kill a creation of their god. He had met those gods, and they were not worth believing in, they were not worth the trust and respect their believers gave them. They were as bad as anyone, his masters that ordered destruction of those who opposed them, but why was it him who did not sleep in the night, who felt this pain that could not even be drowned in booze or drugs, that even the real physical sting of a knife, a shard of glass, against the skin could dull.
At these moment he wanted to die, but not even death wanted him any more.

Envy of the poets. (I am a bit tired, an managed to catch myself before I wrote poetrist, but I guess I will share it anyway)\r\nGood works, all of it, better than I could do, if that meant anything. \r\n\r\nAnyway, another super rushed, barely proofread short story, again with WARNING(:suicide attempt, mention of drugs, booze and possibly violence, murders and other fun stuff 13-year-olds see in games)\r\n\r\n[b]#17 Self Hatred[/b] - [i]Short Story[/i]\r\n\r\nSo many times he had been standing there in front of them, waiting for their judgement, their tasks for him, their painful words to fall so that he could move on. So many times he did something wrong, proved them right in their concerns and impression of him. Why... It couldn't be that hard to do it right for ones, turn the tide of this... This disaster he assumed was to be his life till one of those tasks killed him. Their impossible goals, and his all forgotten ability to listen, to do as ordered, to listen to advice. To receive help. To ask for it. The pain so fully burning his soul, emerging into the physical realm and burning through his chest. Those punishments were all deserved, were they not? He did fail them, he did cause all the chaos he should bring to order. He did kill a man, a woman, a child... Too many to count, and if he hadn't stopped remembering them, he would never get to sleep. But they had ordered it, it was their responsibility, not his, it wasn't his... Was it? Some religions said you should not kill a creation of their god. He had met those gods, and they were not worth believing in, they were not worth the trust and respect their believers gave them. They were as bad as anyone, his masters that ordered destruction of those who opposed them, but why was it him  who did not sleep in the night, who felt this pain that could not even be drowned in booze or drugs, that even the real physical sting of a knife, a shard of glass, against the skin could dull. \r\nAt these moment he wanted to die, but not even death wanted him any more.

offline

goumas13

4,752 posts

Grand Duke

Posted September 27, '10 12:25pm UTC

10. Beautiful Sunset

Clashing colors
Violent red
Innocent pink
Joyful orange
Romantic rose
Wise yellow
Passionate purple
Honorable blue

So colorful and subtle
Yet sole fading beauty

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nichodemus

14,987 posts

Grand Duke

Posted September 27, '10 2:10pm UTC

Scratch that

Theme 29
Tick tock goes the computer clock,
One minute, sixty seconds to countdown,
It's midnight, I'm in for a shock,
It's your birthday where are the clowns.

Get the fire extinguisher fast dear,
You set this fragile world ablaze,
When I was sleeping on memories here.
A dish you cooked with honey and blasÃ©.

Set off on six thousand nautical miles,
Thousands of other fish you said,
Throw me back, even my Chesire smile,
But it's not everyday you catch a mermaid.

My poor head spins with the opium fumes,
Oh God pity the drunken naive youth,
As he tenderly cares for a rose once in bloom,
Though it wilts, he denies the awful truth.

And break, just break the rusting chains,
Before he can shed another ignored tear,
Before he can murmur a hushed name,
And stare back at nothing in the mirror.

offline

nichodemus

14,987 posts

Grand Duke

Posted September 27, '10 2:39pm UTC

Theme 3

Whisper the name that you once acknowledged,
The one who now lies fast asleep,
Hidden by more than deep snow and foliage,
Whose dreams end at a needle's tip.

Time erodes all but itself;
It frustrates and pushes to the edge,
Rocking back and forth by himself,
Murmuring a long forgotten pledge.

A word which escaped your attention,
When it flitted faintly like a dying star,
Struggling to invoke a sensation,
But falls flat and painfully far.

Have you forgotten it that fast?
As a wall stood when it was not before,
When you kicked everything into the past,
Shutting your ears to everything implored.

offline

Cenere

13,658 posts

Jester

Posted September 27, '10 8:35pm UTC

I am going to pretend I didn't use more time drawing this, than writing the text > >

(Also warning, there be nudity and stuff... And fluff. Beware of the fluff!)
#8 Falling Into The Abyss - Short story/mixed media

I foresee Jess scolding me for not actually writing a story > >;

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StepOnABaby

583 posts

Nomad

Posted September 27, '10 8:44pm UTC

You honestly call an angel's butt nudity?

Have you never seen ancient Greek art?

offline

Graham

8,052 posts

Nomad

Posted September 27, '10 8:50pm UTC

Have you never seen ancient Greek art?

Penii are not nudity?

You honestly call an angel's butt nudity?

Don't forget the side-boobage. ;3

offline

jezz

3,337 posts

Farmer

Posted September 27, '10 8:51pm UTC

Cen!! >=(

Nyeh.. I liked it. I like all of your drawings, even the 'sketchy' ones. One thing I noticed though, is that you spelt curiosity wrong :3

Wait.. I don't think I get it.. So they fell/jumped into the abyss without thinking of the consequences, they passed through a metaphorical barrier of fire, signifying.. what? To me, it signifies the realisation that the initially thrill-seeking plunge they took has turned sinister - the charred wings signify helplessness - and they're now doomed to fall into.. a metaphorical messy end at the bottom of the pit.. .
Unless you have .. someone there .. to stop you..
I don't think I quite grasped the deeper meaning.

Poor wings..

Umm.. Hi Fabian... :/

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