yes... that is what I am seeking, or seeking to improve, rather...
& yes, my apologies for the confusion, this is a poetry contest, so you have not (necessarily) arrived in the wrong place...
read all rules, please
I hope that this caught your eye with all of the strength of a personal ad that you just could NOT resist viewing...
I have noticed that several people on this site have formed meaningful personal connections with one another... I am not saying that I have not, but sometimes, I am certain, I may take some of you (or some of our personal connections) for granted...
Personally, I often struggle with how to respond to many of you - your messages and comments - I hope that this contest will help me improve upon my ability to do these things...
Here is your mission, should you choose to accept it:
1.) write about your interpretation of OUR personal connection...
2.) attempt to forge a personal connection with me
3.) write about ways that WE could improve OUR personal connection
4.) write about why we (or I) should value OUR personal connection more
5.) write about a personal connection that you share with someone on this site
6.) write about a personal connection that you formed with someone that was unexpected
7.) write about how a meaningful personal connection saved your life
I apologize if some of these options seem a bit repetitive...
Please do not mock the contest...
This is AN ANONYMOUS contest... I do NOT want to read the name of the person that you feel you share a personal connection with in your author's notes, but if you feel compelled to share, and you must, I cannot stop you... Please - no sappy dedications - let your poetry speak for itself... Please DO NOT rate or reply to my comments...
I want to read GOOD poetry, rich with metaphor... Please feel free to employ poetic device... I especially enjoy subtle alliteration and subtle/slant rhyme...
Ambiguity is welcome, but please try to make certain that the piece is not too abstract or enigmatic... I appreciate things left to the imagination and left open to interpretation, but I'd like to feel that I have SOME idea of what the piece is about... If the piece does not fit, it will be removed...
I prefer free verse but am a fan of form poetry when composed well!
Should you choose to write a poem using form, please make an attempt not to be repetitive unless repetition of lines/verses is something that your specific chosen form requires...
I will read entries as they come in, but I intend to reserve my comments for once the contest closes, so please ensure that you are using correct spelling and proper grammar...
I'll add honorable mentions as I see fit... :D
Thank you, poets! I look forward to reading what you have to offer! Go forth, be fruitful, and give me meaningful poetry, please!
Contest is Over
- Contest was judged on October 24, 2007
- Rewards: Gold: 1800, Silver: 900, Bronze: 450, Honorable mention: 9 people
- Final notes: thank you ALL so much for participating in this contest! It means a lot to me... These were all great pieces and I can honestly say, there was not one among these pieces that I did not like and that I did not feel, at least on some level... I seriously look forward to reading more from each of you in the future ('specially those of you not yet on my favorites... I'll be watching you! ) Anyway, in the end, I still had to go with the pieces that appealed to me the most or that spoke to me the loudest... the gold winning entry was about a connection, I do not think that it had to do with me personally, but it spoke to me about me and about connections that I have found, a need that I feel even people who feel they don't need people sometimes feel... Is that clear as mud? sorry... it was the kind of real, raw, relatable poetry about everyday ordinary experiences that can mean so much and have so much more to them for those involved... the silver winning piece blew me away! the style the way that it spoke to me, the author definitely knew how to reach me on a personal and intense emotional level and the poetic elements utilized within the piece were incredible... a wonderful display of writing ability, talent, and feeling, and I was really trying to bring the feeling out in this contest... The bronze winning piece spoke both to me specifically about the kind of unexpected gem of a connection that I have actually found with several on this site and throughout life, but it spoke more generally as well of how connections between people can be formed and interpreted, which is quite universal and quite applicable to this contest in particular...
In the end I did show a bit of favoritism to poems that spoke to me, well, quite honestly, specifically about me as I feel this will be the closest I ever get to adopting an "AP Family" (I have enough trouble not neglecting my nuclear family and blood relatives and they are not members of this site) and I have to admit, I needed to feel that bond... Those poems that spoke most emotionally, intensely, spiritually of bonds with others, whether literally or figuratively or metaphorically, were the entries that won honorable mentions (As I had enough difficulty judging just the top three entries, the HM's are in no particular order) - All HM's were earned, not just because of the poetic elements employed in the pieces themselves, but because of the vulnerabilities of the authors exposed... can't form a meaningful connection without making one's self vulnerable... I also have more of an affinity for those with a positive message, I know that meaningful personal connections can have their downsides and there are negative aspects to them, but this contest was about hope, about seeking and searching and finding, whether a connection was what was looked for or not... I loved the very sensitive and patient tones of some pieces as well...
I can be a picky judge, also, somewhat difficult to please at times, so please DO NOT let my personal opinions keep you from writing in the way that you prefer... I hope to read more from all of you and mean that sincerely, as I am NOT in the habit of saying things that I do not mean...
Thank you, participants, no, thank you poets and peers, for entering this contest and I am sorry you had to deal with my rambling closing comments... Thank you so much for sharing in this contest/experience and THESE experiences - the ones that all of you shared - with me!
Take care and please keep penning...
Contest Winners
- Error: Unable to find finalist item 3521068, it seems to have been deleted :( [remove]
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Love paints the sand
on wings of indescribable ecstasy• Commented on by judge. [remove] - Error: Unable to find finalist item 3513622, it seems to have been deleted :( [remove]
- Error: Unable to find finalist item 3513268, it seems to have been deleted :( [remove]
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Oh my love
I frequently halt me while I am on my way to pilgrimage• Commented on by judge. [remove] -
• Commented on by judge. [remove]
- Error: Unable to find finalist item 3454386, it seems to have been deleted :( [remove]
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incubating emotion
percolating a notion• Commented on by judge. [remove]
Silver trophy winner
Bronze trophy winner
Honorable mention
Entries [19]
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Your parting gift to me was love
entrusted such that I would shareby butterflywriter 22 lines, 5 comments, on Oct 6 11:28 AM 2007. In Love• Commented on by judge. -
I always wanted a brother, Someone to look up to,by xTomorrowx 30 lines, 4 comments, on Oct 14 9:04 PM 2007• Commented on by judge.
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I don’t know how or when it happened
It was totally unexpected.
by BluRosePoet8488 59 lines, 9 comments, on Oct 16 9:41 PM 2007. In Personal, Life, Love, Lyrics, Friendship• Commented on by judge. -
Wherence a divide of a bad vibe
to why I care I have to wonder whyby LeanneBridgewater 21 lines, 5 comments, on Oct 18 12:31 PM 2007. In Freewrite, My own style, Inspirational, Contest, Life, My life, Family, Goodbyes• Commented on by judge.
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Comments
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What a day with the poets
we have spent
we need not know their names
They are us -
booked. this is perfect for me.
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Damn, girl..your new picture is hot
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well, you know I have to enter this one
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i would enter this contest, if i were doing them, for the one reason of showing you that which you are looking for. But, as much as i like the premise, the idea, your concept, the opportunity to be more than just a passing commenter in life – I will pass this challenge by and let the mundane day to day interactions occur as they may, between us. I will pass by the noise, the jostle of the competition to hear something else carried on the wind; your smiles behind the words you make, the tears that adorn others. I know you will get wonderful offerings, poems that will mean a great deal to you, wonderful connections, for that, I am very pleased. I hope you forge deep and meaningful relationships that will carry your heart home and beyond . So, hows that for being sappy?
~r.
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Frankly
I must admit..for me to indulge a relationship further than the distance between those whom Ive grown to appreciate here...is something I weary myself with...I was cought up with such manderings of heart on line...lets just say...the lies were more than I care to remember...and trusting as one may be...can faulter all your dreams of happiness...those ones you were led to believe...oh how I love the cyber world...it's truly amazing to me
Mal -
i like the concept-
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Excellent Theme
I think this is a brilliant theme and shows you as a thoughtful poet! I hope I can come through with something worthy; I'm sure going to give it a try! -
Thanks for the HM
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Ahh, the HM, I am most grateful for, and your contest was a challenge for sure
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