ForumsArt, Music, and WritingLegend's Poetry Contest: Round 6 "Secrets"

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SirLegendary
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SirLegendary
16,583 posts
Duke

http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/ag107/Jose_Luis_Esguerra/PoetryContest2_zpsu4ilusdw.jpg?t=1471619051

Rules

1. Make sure your work is 100% original. Please don't copy someone else's work.
2. You may write any kind of poem!
3. Stick to the round's current theme.
4. No offensive/lewd material. Let's keep things family friendly.
5. You may submit as many poems as you like.
6. Each round will last a month.
7. Everyone's work will be judged at the end of each round.
8. The runner up shall receive a merit.
9. The winner shall receive a merit and the right to choose the next round's theme.

Reminders

1. Title your poem
2. Write down as many lines as you like, depending on the style of your poem

The Current Theme

Round 6's theme will be "Secrets".
Ends Feb 24, 2017.

Winners

Round 1 "A Day In The Life": Doombreed
Round 2 "War": coleslaw35
Round 3 "Memory": wolf1991
Round 4 "Consequences of Honesty": BlueEyedBlondie
Round 5 "Forgiveness": Last4Skull
Round 6 "Secrets": ...

  • 146 Replies
SirLegendary
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SirLegendary
16,583 posts
Duke

It is now finally the end of the second round. Thank you for all those who have participated. I will now start judging the entries. Thanks everyone!

SirLegendary
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SirLegendary
16,583 posts
Duke

Everyone's entries were so amazing. I had a hard time choosing. In fact, the more I reread some poems, the more I grew to appreciate them. Thank you so much to everyone who participated. Because of the amount of entries in this round, I will be choosing two runners ups and a single winner. Congratulations to those who have won.

Every day faced with decisions,
How hard can it be?
These poems and their revisions,
Which is the winning entry?

I've been told it was this,
I've been told it was that,
I read them and clench my fist
While I ponder as I sat.

These poems are very deserving,
of more than just a merit,
My emotions I am reserving
For the winner's reward inherit,

Which will I pick?
So many to choose from,
And I cannot be too strict,
So I have become stumped

Alas, I have found the one,
I have been researching and now I am done.

Runner Ups:

@poppington

The Emotional War

Wars arent always fought by legions of men,
But sometimes by the demons within.
The mind can be a curious place,
Bringing joy or even great disgrace.
The emotions are sometimes a powerful foe,
Capable of beating you very low.
Anger, Sorrow, Guilt
These demons can destroy all that you've built.
The battle against these is long;
For the adversary is quite strong.
But if you hold on to everything dear,
And never give in to the feeling of fear,
You might, just might, be able to destroy,
These evil demons' little ploy.
In the end if you do not fail,
You will be able to lift the veil.
Now seeing the light, you now have hope,
That no longer you will go down that slippery slope.
When wars go on inside your head,
the demons will now lose to you instead.

You have showed how different wars can be, and how some wars are fought internally. Yes the mind is always under constant stress, and most people have to deal with their own demons. It seems like you've taken the word "war", and instead of literally describing it, you've turned it into something more creative. Props to you for displaying war in such a unique way.

@KatPryde

Not Quiet on the Western Front

Brazen sun looks down.
Mud and gore slurry beneath.
Pitted no-mans land.

Weary silence breaks.
Pray to God your shelter holds.
Bunker down: survive.

Opposing guns roar.
Whistling, thudding, booming stun.
Tsunamis of earth.

'Ware the poison clouds.
Blackened lungs no longer breathe.
Faces, bloated blue.

This bombardment ends.
Pile up those dead and injured.
Prepare for the next.

I loved the use of Haikus in this one. Simple, yet telling a story of how soldiers have to survive a round of bombings. You're poem described a scenario in detail while maintaining it's own unique structure of haikus put together. You painted a picture in my mind of how war can be. A single image described in detail. Good job!

The Overall Winner:

@coleslaw35

Blood of Oil, Tears of Bullets, Hearts of Ice

War.
The greatest folly of mankind,
And the most potent of all, I find.
On oil and steel these countries dine,
So that they may push to the Volga or Rhine.

Nationalism takes hold, the people sing,
Awaiting orders from their "righteous" king.
To nations bordered and afar,
Guns, bullets, and death they bring.

War carried out, casualties mount up
As more men equip their bullpups.
Death and destruction
They pour into their cups.

Victory and defeat, both in sight.
Neither country fully right.
But each combatant continues on
In order to finish their horrid fight.

Over the hills and plains men walk,
Their eyes, focused, like hawks.
Professors of combat, their guns chalk.
To the enemy's capital for a lecture they flock.

Men, young and old,
For their country they are bold.
To kill and conquer they are told.
And so their hearts grow arctic cold.

Victory achieved
Or so they believed
For there was no winning
When families grieved

Maimed, yet no crutch
All that is gained,
Well, not much.

Widows and children, pained
Mothers and fathers, tear stained
War, but a bane.

On history a smudge is placed
Of which wishes to be erased
A time of bayonets affixed
An era of hostilities to never be fixed

Eventually forgotten, the memory is erased
Until one day an old minefield faced
War's fetid aftertaste.

I've chosen this poem as the winner because it was grand, it was epic, and it told the story of war really well. There was no favorite part, but instead just a poem that shocked me into reflecting how hard war could be for people and country. There was also a nice rhyming pattern and rhythm to the poem, while at the same time displaying your wide vocabulary. I can see the effort you put into this poem. Great job!

---

A round of applause to the winners. I've been reading the poems from the moment they were posted, which gave me more than enough time to appreciate every single entry. The hard part was choosing which ones would win. Thank you everyone to who participated and a job well done.

@coleslaw35 please now select round 3's theme. Thank you!

coleslaw35
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coleslaw35
288 posts
Nomad

Great! Thank you so much! There were so many great poems, I'm surprised mine was chosen.

As for the theme... Gosh, a hard thing to conjure.

How about Memory? I can see quite a few ways this can be put into prose.

SirLegendary
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SirLegendary
16,583 posts
Duke

Great the next round starts now and ends on October 25th!

The chosen theme is Memory!

popington
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popington
119 posts
Chamberlain

I am honored to be one of the 2 runners up!
thank you!
and a big congrats to @KatPryde and @coleslaw35 !!!
.
now i know that if i try hard enough, i have what it takes for the future rounds
Onwards towards Round 3!
.
Oooh! "Memory"...
this should be fun!

Last4Skull
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Last4Skull
2,265 posts
King

Congratz to @KatPryde, @popington and @coleslaw35. Memory uh ? Maybe I will try another one later.

nichodemus
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nichodemus
14,981 posts
Grand Duke

Merits have been given hopefully! Let me know if the winners have not been given their prizes.

popington
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popington
119 posts
Chamberlain

i have 2 merits, and i have no clue where either one came from... O.o
did i get 1 for being a runner-up?

SirLegendary
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SirLegendary
16,583 posts
Duke

@popington Check your email, you'll be able to see where they came from and for what reason.

Doombreed
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Doombreed
7,022 posts
Templar

the thing is, merit notifications are off by default I think @popington . Perhaps @nichodemus can help on this one? I know he helped me when I asked.

popington
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popington
119 posts
Chamberlain

i checked my profile settings. receiving an email for merits was turned off.
though a have another idea.
i won the spring picto-hunt a few months ago (came in second i think because i answered after the first person) would i get a merit for that?
if i got one for the spring picto-hunt and if i got one for the runner up in the poetry, then that would probably be why i have 2 merits.
do you guys think that is why?

nichodemus
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nichodemus
14,981 posts
Grand Duke

I gave you the other one for being helpful on KoT I think. @popington

popington
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popington
119 posts
Chamberlain

oh, okay. thanks Nicho
.
I'm being very helpful over at Viking Age. *wink* *wink*
i am the main developer for the wiki and help a lot of people there.
lol
.
okay, enough about merits, i need to start working on my next poem... lol

coleslaw35
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coleslaw35
288 posts
Nomad

A Time Past

The elderly man sits in his armchair
His past laid before him, bare.
At each moment he stares.

Once again he lives
what he has already lived
His full attention he gives.

He is once more alive
despite his near demise
As he sifts through his mental archive.

He arrives at the present
With only a few seconds

His loved ones fill his thoughts
As he ties the final knots

'Twas a good life, indeed
'Tis time, now, to recede.
But his memories shall live on
For they have been freed.

popington
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popington
119 posts
Chamberlain

Life's Great Maze

When I look back upon my earlier days,
I can see the path I took through Life's Great Maze.
My path involved many twists and turns,
Meanwhile, many lessons I did learn.
I found who I was, what was truly "me"
The things I desired, the person I wanted to be.
Using this knowledge, I set up a plan
To do everything I wanted in this lifespan.

But then the maze shifted, the walls moved.
My plan now outdated, needed to be improved.
So I sat and I thought.
I learned what was important and what was not.
I focused more on what I needed,
Leaving my foolish wants unheeded.
Eventually a new plan came to fruition,
So I made the move, started my new mission.

This new plan worked much better,
I am no longer the social debtor.
I found true happiness and many friends,
And with all enemies I made amends.
With my older age, I became more wise.
I was able to see the world through different eyes.
I realize now it is love, not hate,
That shows you the way, that opens the gate.

Time went on, and now I am old.
My life has been lived, my story told.
I now look back on all that I've done
And review my memories one by one:
From the time I was young, with my childish folly,
To the time I'm in now, quite melancholy.
As I breath my last, I see through the haze,
The end of Life's Great Maze.

_____________________________________
Does this count as a "Memory" poem?
it seems that when i try to interpret
the category in a creative way, i almost
go completely off topic. lol

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