photo credit: neon_trotsky http://www.flickr.com/photos/15419557@N00/954290090/
Petra
by John William Burgon (1845)
It seems no work of Man's creative hand,
By labor wrought as wavering fancy planned;
But from the rock as if by magic grown,
Eternal, silent, beautiful, alone!
Not virgin-white like that old Doric shrine,
Where erst Athena held her rites divine;
Not saintly-grey, like many a minster fane,
That crowns the hill and consecrates the plain;
But rose-red as if the blush of dawn,
That first beheld them were not yet withdrawn;
The hues of youth upon a brow of woe,
Which Man deemed old two thousand years ago.
Match me such marvel save in Eastern clime,
A rose-red city half as old as time.
(The last two lines of this poem are widely quoted, but the full sonnet is surprisingly hard to find, according to internet sources.)
Petra did not receive a single vote in the original New7World Wonders contest and yet it was voted into the New7 in July. Here's your chance to do Petra proud and possibly be included in our World Wonders anthology alongside such AP Greats as ArtfullyMe, belly, Mairi bheag, DyeBieFyre, sullivanthepoet, Epistomolus and azure85! Hoodoolover will be the photo editor.
Enter more than once if you'd like; just be sure to credit any photo or illustration. Thank you.
Petra
by John William Burgon (1845)
It seems no work of Man's creative hand,
By labor wrought as wavering fancy planned;
But from the rock as if by magic grown,
Eternal, silent, beautiful, alone!
Not virgin-white like that old Doric shrine,
Where erst Athena held her rites divine;
Not saintly-grey, like many a minster fane,
That crowns the hill and consecrates the plain;
But rose-red as if the blush of dawn,
That first beheld them were not yet withdrawn;
The hues of youth upon a brow of woe,
Which Man deemed old two thousand years ago.
Match me such marvel save in Eastern clime,
A rose-red city half as old as time.
(The last two lines of this poem are widely quoted, but the full sonnet is surprisingly hard to find, according to internet sources.)
Petra did not receive a single vote in the original New7World Wonders contest and yet it was voted into the New7 in July. Here's your chance to do Petra proud and possibly be included in our World Wonders anthology alongside such AP Greats as ArtfullyMe, belly, Mairi bheag, DyeBieFyre, sullivanthepoet, Epistomolus and azure85! Hoodoolover will be the photo editor.
Enter more than once if you'd like; just be sure to credit any photo or illustration. Thank you.
Contest is Over
- Contest was judged on August 28, 2007
- Rewards: Gold: 300, Silver: 200, Bronze: 100
- Final notes: Thank you all and please don't remove your poems from the contest until I have had a chance to assess what I have room for as the collection shapes up. I was struck by many details that appeared in these poems and had the idea to feature (with your permission, of course) a short snippet as a caption for each full page color photo in the collection.
Don't forget to write for Le Jardin, which I have extended: http://allpoetry.com/contest/2366360
Here is my own offering; hope you enjoy reading it as well as the other poems in here and in the past four world wonder contests as we advance towards the goal of the completing the anthology.
Petra's Daughters of God
Uzza, the mighty, strong one!
Fertility for all!
Allat, the consort goddess
of Allah, hear our call!
Most ancient of these idols
we come to venerate
and sacrifice before you,
Manat, that we may rate
your blessings and your favor!
We make this pilgrimage
and shave our heads, the braver
to stand before this ledge
where you are carved together
-Manat, Uzza, Allat-
this trinity of females
most sacred of Khazraj.
© Marcy Jarvis, written 8/19/07
note: Petra features many carvings of this female trinity
Contest Winners
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• Commented on by judge. [remove]
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How I despair of parenthood –
the dreaded package tour• Commented on by judge. [remove]
Gold trophy winner
Silver trophy winner
Bronze trophy winner
Entries [15]
1 - 15 of 15
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by Shenton 28 lines, 3 comments, on Aug 11 7:35 PM 2007• Commented on by judge. Prewrite
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is what you will find
here,• Commented on by judge. -
Between the rocks hidden on holy ground
The hidden world of Petra may be found• Commented on by judge. Prewrite -
• Commented on by judge.
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by belly 37 lines, 3 comments, on Aug 20 3:52 PM 2007• Commented on by judge.
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by amaranthine lover 40 lines, 2 comments, on Aug 21 12:07 PM 2007. In Contemporary, Contest, Dark, Fantasy, Abstract, Nature, noguest• Commented on by judge.
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stained ivory columns
of fortitude• Commented on by judge. -
Awake you ancient city
"Petra prepare thyself!"by Carly Pop 10 lines, 2 comments, on Aug 27 9:24 PM 2007• Commented on by judge. -
by hoodoolover 27 lines, 2 comments, on Aug 27 10:51 PM 2007. In Spiritual• Commented on by judge.
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Comments
1 - 5 of 5
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awesome photo, this should really get some great entries
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Let's hope!
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My! My!
One of my dreams in my early life was to take a camel ride to this place. Hope you are well! -
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well, here's your chance, Jane!
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Thank you for the gold! Writing for this contest made me feel a little heathen inside
And I loved it. This was an easy one to write for, and I appreciate the opportunity. Congratulations to the silver and bronze winners as well.
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