Right, so judging shall commence now.
Third Place
MoonFairy with her poem which is named....
Past Regrets, New Resolutions
O'er the years, stupidity reigns
In my foolish heart, like a king.
It has ruled with a gold septre
And an iron fist, and I held in chains.
May I undo my past regrets,
May I reassert me life made new.
Shall I never deal with regrets again,
And rule o'er my own nets.
I, a sailor, captaining my own ship!
Dare I sail on, through the flowing sea,
And survive by my own, non-bewailing.
These by my resolutions, my quips.
Keep your eye out, fellow sailors!
Proceed with care, don't stumble!
Let us not live with regrets.
Live on, free from rue, undivided.
I wish I hadn't done many things,
I'm not too willing to explain...
Just know that I apologize to everyone,
That I've put in pain.
I apologize to those
That I've been rude to.
I know I'm cold and cruel,
But there are some things
I know I shouldn't do.
I've crossed one to many lines,
On purpose or blindly.
And you don't have to accept
This apology, kindly.
Just know that I'm sorry.
And that I'll try,
To be a better person,
Not the bad guy.
I won't give excuses,
But I've had my share of pain.
I don't justify my actions,
I'm just trying to explain.
I didn't know I was so bitter,
Shutting myself away...
It didn't help a thing,
But give the world a cold display.
I've been trying to get better.
Honestly, I have tried.
I can't seem to...
Decide.
If I lower my walls,
I have pain.
If my walls are strong...
I cause pain.
But I'll accept it,
And move on.
I'll deal with it up front,
Instead of being withdrawn.
I'm sorry again,
I've rambled too long...
With my final apology,
I'll be moving along.
I definitely appreciated the metaphors you threw together at the start of the poem, of kings and sailors, which gave a nice touch to it, almost personifying your regrets. But it steadily tailed off towards the end into more or less generic verses. They still convey emotions no doubt, but I would have liked to see more of the splendid descriptive start.
Second Place goes to....
Maverick.
Bliss, Clouds, and Sunshine
I never saw it happening, I never thought it would go down.
Till you came out, and told me all; Destiny.
I should have seen this coming on, given how quickly you joined me.
A quick goodbye, so meaningless; History.
Now I can see you walking out, into the dark and stormy night.
You broke my heart, and crushed my dreams; Tragedy.
Sadness shall reign another day, put all my hopes to frenzied flight.
Where you go now, I could care less; Mystery.
My broken hands reach to the stars, towards flowing time and endless space.
I cast away, and forgot all; Memory.
I can't even remember when, they say I lost my only friend.
I barely live, I lost the will; Hopelessly.
Quirky verse that extends from short words to long sentences. I liked the pattern and the usage of colons in the poem to emphasize certain words. However at certain junctions it lengthened to the point of becoming a little like prose. Yes, poetry comes in many forms, but it might have been a little overdone, the uniqueness. Nevertheless, fantastic job!
Winner
Alexistigerspice
Although her poem has no title, so I was seriously considering dumping her poem in the Naughty Corner and then jabbing it with my quill.
Jokes aside, here's the poem:
I've made many mistakes, cut ties with my past;
I've reached inner peace, but I know it wont last.
I've caused heartbreak while trying to escape my own
I've segregated myself from my mother and home.
Relationships broken beyond repair, falling through my fingers
I tell myself its over, but the pain still lingers.
If I could go back, I would have done differently
I would have tried to hold things together, done it relentlessly.
I can only look forward from here, try to stitch the tears,
But there are some things that are simply broken beyond repair.
I'll cling to straws and do my best to cope,
While doing the only thing I can to survive:
Hope.
Partially free verse in that it lacks meter or rhyme or rhythm, but partially structured in each four line stanza, it wins because of the feeling of genuine feeling in it. And yes, it had really really long lines in it as well, but that doesn't stop the sincerity from peeping through the slightly purplish expression. Which means either you're a good writer, it happened to you, or I'm a plain old docile sentimental fool.
Drivel aside, swell job everyone. Alexis, get your Merit you deserve, everyone, hopefully you'll step up because the Contest has gone into a decline lately!
Theme will be decided later, when a better idea comes to mind.