For this contest, I would like to read works about abortion. The poem must relate to it in some way.
When I say anything goes, I mean it.
It can be personal, political, feminist, Christian, pro-choice or pro-life or ambivalent. Whatever your experiences, views, politics, religion or gender, I want to hear from you. You can write about the decision, the procedure or the aftermath; you can write from the point of view of the woman, the doctor, an activist, a protester, a partner, or anyone else involved in the decision. You can write about choosing NOT to have an abortion. You can write a poem celebrating a women's reproductive freedom or decrying the murder of unborn babies- whatever you like.
You do not have to take a political stand by any means. If you do, you will NOT be judged by whether your views are the same as mine. You will ONLY be judged on the merits of the poem.
Rhyme, free verse and form poetry are all ok...but if you rhyme, don't force it and PLEASE do not rhyme "life" with "strife" ok? Do that and I will automatically DQ you. That is the only rule.
Note: If you write a poem from the point of view of a woman having an abortion, I will not automatically assume that the poem is true, and you do not have to tell me. Do not reveal anything you don't want to reveal. If you really want to give me background on the poem, you may put it in the authors' comments.
It is perfectly fine to let the poem stand on its own without doing this.
Make it as long as you want (within reason) Originality is good, so is imagery and metaphor.
One tip- keep in mind that this is a poem, not a letter to the editor- use poetic devices. If you just give me a bunch of statements of opinion broken into lines you are less likely to win.
When I say anything goes, I mean it.
It can be personal, political, feminist, Christian, pro-choice or pro-life or ambivalent. Whatever your experiences, views, politics, religion or gender, I want to hear from you. You can write about the decision, the procedure or the aftermath; you can write from the point of view of the woman, the doctor, an activist, a protester, a partner, or anyone else involved in the decision. You can write about choosing NOT to have an abortion. You can write a poem celebrating a women's reproductive freedom or decrying the murder of unborn babies- whatever you like.
You do not have to take a political stand by any means. If you do, you will NOT be judged by whether your views are the same as mine. You will ONLY be judged on the merits of the poem.
Rhyme, free verse and form poetry are all ok...but if you rhyme, don't force it and PLEASE do not rhyme "life" with "strife" ok? Do that and I will automatically DQ you. That is the only rule.
Note: If you write a poem from the point of view of a woman having an abortion, I will not automatically assume that the poem is true, and you do not have to tell me. Do not reveal anything you don't want to reveal. If you really want to give me background on the poem, you may put it in the authors' comments.
It is perfectly fine to let the poem stand on its own without doing this.
Make it as long as you want (within reason) Originality is good, so is imagery and metaphor.
One tip- keep in mind that this is a poem, not a letter to the editor- use poetic devices. If you just give me a bunch of statements of opinion broken into lines you are less likely to win.
Contest is Over
- Contest was judged on November 18, 2007
- Rewards: Gold: 300, Silver: 75, Bronze: 50, Honorable mention: 2 people
- Final notes: Judging this contest was a difficult task. Some of the writes I got were very personal and emotional but not technically well-written. Others were technically brilliant but were not personal. How does one compare a woman's cry for the child she has miscarried or a teenager's story of incest to a haiku that is wonderfully written but not heartfelt? It is difficult to compare the two types of poems.
In the end, I decided to judge the poems based on which ones I thought were the best written.
Judging by the sheer number of finalists, you can see that there were many good writes in this contest.
Now that it is over, I will reveal my personal opinion. I feel that everyone should arm themselves with as much knowledge as possible about abortion before choosing a side. To this effect, I have been studying the issue of abortion for over fifteen years, and I've put together a huge site at http://www.clinicquotes.com which has quotes and first hand accounts of abortion by abortion providers such as doctors and clinic workers. It also has articles and pictures. Perhaps if you take the time to check it out, you will decide, as I did, that abortion kills a baby and should not be allowed.
At any rate, thank you all for participating in this contest- it was a great one. Congratulations to the winners!!!
Contest Winners
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by Luna Tique Fringe 64 lines, 19 comments, on Oct 12 11:51 AM 2007. In Vignettes
Gold trophy winner
• Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove] -
• Commented on by judge. [remove]
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all cherub limbed and squinty eyed with nought but my blushing blood for swaddling clothes.
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I never realized you’d have fingers and toes
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by be a circle 43 lines, 2 comments, on Oct 27 7:08 AM 2007• Commented on by judge. [remove]
- Error: Unable to find finalist item 3546658, it seems to have been deleted :( [remove]
- Error: Unable to find finalist item 3216872, it seems to have been deleted :( [remove]
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• Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove]
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A divine gift , just time away we’re having a child• Commented on by judge. [remove]
- Error: Unable to find finalist item 3476418, it seems to have been deleted :( [remove]
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To those who have indured abuse, I salute you, bearers of broken homes, you are the true heros.by Homicidal Loner 11 lines, 12 comments, on May 3 7:34 PM 2005. In Dark• Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove]
Silver trophy winner
Bronze trophy winner
Honorable mention
Entries [38]
1 - 38 of 38
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I didn't get to choose
whether i wanted to live or die• Commented on by judge. -
by AliceinPoetryLand 29 lines, 10 comments, on Sep 5 11:32 PM 2006. In Sad• Commented on by judge. Prewrite
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I was conceived by an egg and a sperm,
I was a big mistake,• Commented on by judge. Prewrite -
Mommy, oh how happy I am.
In this secure and nice warm place.• Commented on by judge. -
Mommy! I can hear your voice,by mystikal-mayhem 56 lines, 10 comments, on Nov 15 12:14 AM 2007. In Pain, Sad, Spiritual, Life, Loss, Teen issues, Depression• Commented on by judge.
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by twilight seduction 25 lines, 2 comments, on Nov 6 6:21 PM 2007. In Contemporary• Commented on by judge.
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What's inside is not a potential life,
But a life that has potential.by coddledsoul 43 lines, 2 comments, on Nov 8 2:01 AM 2007• Commented on by judge. -
There was a sin
An, oh, so terrible sinby Mad As Rabbits 32 lines, 7 comments, on Aug 28 9:08 AM 2006. In Sad• Commented on by judge. Prewrite -
by TwistedTatum 29 lines, 16 comments, on Apr 19 11:58 AM 2004. In Sad• Commented on by judge. Prewrite
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And that small, tight opening that I wasn’t due to squeeze out of for another few weeks suddenly opened
by fullofpoetry 31 lines, 3 comments, on Nov 9 5:55 PM 2007• Commented on by judge. -
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A silent tear falls and does not make a sound• Commented on by judge.
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A silent tear falls
and does not make a sound• Viewed by judge. -
A mother of 21 her life on it's ultimate highby Pretty Britty 58 lines, 3 comments, on Nov 12 1:41 PM 2007• Commented on by judge.
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I chose the 5th picture. (the one w/ the baby)• Commented on by judge. Prewrite
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The author sulks,
His fingers play with his stubbleby tatteredparasol 44 lines, 7 comments, on Nov 12 4:33 PM 2007• Commented on by judge. -
Trust is essential, it's kind of an elemental thing
in these situations• Commented on by judge. -
Who in the right mind would do such crime
She is only fourteen and about to have a childby Rele anmwe 45 lines, 28 comments, on Dec 1 5:32 PM 2004. In Sad• Commented on by judge. Prewrite -
When I look at abortion what do I see?
Baby's bodies cut from their mother, that's what I see.by Elvenfairy 28 lines, 11 comments, on Feb 8 3:46 PM 2005. In Society• Commented on by judge. Prewrite -
Link to breast cancer abortion interrupts life• Commented on by judge.
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It isn't surprising that breast cancer's rising. Scientists say Abortion's a reason.• Commented on by judge.
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Comments
1 - 17 of 17
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ahahaha. that is a great rule. xP
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Yet what do you want to bet that some people will do it anyway?
Hope you enter, and hope to that the topic doesn't scare people off too much.
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sorry but I entered and took out my entry ...
I don't normally rhyme life and strife ... as it often sounds horrible - but I guess I looked and in this case - I did.
Hope you have other good entries
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You have plenty of time to add another entry, if you want to. Thanks for catching it!
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ahhhhh abortion
i have just spent an hour or so debating its merits on the msn message boards
i hope you get lots of great entries; it is a topic close to many people hearts
lucy
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Hi! Lovely topic..an awareness will be created I hope and stir the hearts of those who wish to make their Girlfriends/sweethearts commit the crime of abortion. Can each poet enter the contest more than once? Please enlighten me..
Charishma
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You may submit more than once, Charishma. But please be reasonable, because I'm only one person and can only read and reply to so many poems.
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I entered.................
but got a message from moderators saying my description of Partal birth abortion was too disturbing for this site. I was forced to delete or edit two of the stanza which detailed step by step the procedure. So I did comply but still I kept my entry in your contest -
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That really bothers me, Toni. Quite a bit. There shouldn't be censorship in that way, especially when taking out a graphic passage weakens the poem. I'm sorry they did this to you. I'm glad you kept your poem in the contest, though.
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i hope your not anti abortion yourself
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Lady Nightshade,
I would rather not reveal my opinion on abortion at this point. I do not want to prejudice what people write. I want people's real feelings, opinions, and experiences. I don't want people to simply tell me what they think I want to hear.
I do, in fact, have strong feelings about the subject. I have been active in the abortion debate and written a number of articles as well as volunteering time in different projects.
Having said that, though, I acknowledge that abortion is a difficult issue. I acknowledge that there are compelling arguments for both sides. I have friends who vehemently disagree with me, and they are decent, intelligent people. I also believe that by listening to and working with each other, people on opposite sides of the abortion issue can find common ground and work towards making the world a better place.
I am making on honest attempt to judge each piece on its own merits.
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abortion is such a touchy subject, i have always believed we don't give the soul of the child enough credit, (so much for not letting the child speak - perhaps we don't want to hear what they might say) i believe we choose our parents, circumstances of our lives and we put ourselves into situations and experiences in order to GROW from them ... our soul makes these choices before we re incarnate onto the physical plane and our soul knows how much time we need to be physical for ... sometimes it is only a few weeks or months in the womb that is required for that one souls life ... who said the child does not have a voice, what a concept to think that the soul chose to come into the world , making the plan with the parents to give the child the amount of physical time required hmmmmmmmmm even the miscarried and aborted soul, had been given the life it needed for this lifetime
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"When I say anything goes, I mean it."
Thanks for being a hypocrite and going against your own word...nice to know there are still humans amongst us.
Oh...and thanks for the DQ too, I don't need an explanation.
La x
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Lex, please read the rules. I had ONE rule- do not rhyme "life" with "strife" You did it twice in the first eight lines of your poem. I already DQed one other poem for doing that. I would in fact be a hypocrite if I didn't DQ yours. To be honest, I do not even know what political stand you took on the issue. I didn't read any farther. I set up a rule, said I'd DQ, and I did. If you want to edit the poem and submit again, I would be more than willing to take a look at it.
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I'm SO glad someone else hates the life/strife rhyme as much as I do... it is by far my biggest pet peeve with rhyming poems since it's both extremely common AND extremely reachy... I don't plan on entering, but that caught my eye and I couldn't agree more.
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congrads to the winners & thanks for hosting a gr8 contest
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Fab contest
Congrats to the winners xx
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