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Inspired by Bible stories....

Give me poems inspired by stories from the Bible. Regardless of whether or not you are a Christian, the Bible can be read as a piece of literature, full of beautiful and powerful stories.

I'm not asking for testaments of faith, or poems to praise God. Instead, I want poems that portray their own, creative emotions and tell their own story, while somehow alluding to a story or character from the Bible.

It could be a very obvious allusion, or it could be more subtle. It's up to you. It could even be as simple as referencing certain Biblical emotions. Love, betrayal, devotion, evil, faithlessnes, punishment, and many others could be valid topics.


For example, you could write a poem about great sacrifice, alluding to the story of Abraham and Isaac. Or you could write about being blinded by love, referencing Samson and Delilah. The lyrics to "Samson" by Regina Spektor are a perfect example of what I'm looking for.

You don't necessarily have to mention the names of the people in the Bible story in your poem, but you may if you wish.

This is actually fairly open-ended. I just really don't want to read a bunch of poems talking about how wonderful God is.

Here are some do's and don'ts:

Do:
-tell an original story, using your own imagery and metaphors.
-somehow allude to the Bible in your poem.
-describe the allusion you made in your comments.

Don't:
-Write a poem simply praising God
-just retell the Bible story, unless it's from a completely new and different perspective.
-write bad rhymes. If it rhymes, it better be good.


I will try to comment on all entries. Anyone who doesn't follow the guidelines will be disqualified. I also reserve the right to cancel the contest if not enough people enter.

Good luck, everybody! This should be very interesting!

Contest is Over

  • Contest was judged on December 19, 2007
  • Rewards: Gold: 350, Silver: 200, Bronze: 75, Honorable mention: 2 people
  • Final notes:
    First off, thanks a lot to everyone who entered.

    Now, bad news first. I have to say that a lot of the people who entered must not have read and understood my directions. I got way too many poems that were essentially, "God's love is so wonderful," and that's about it.

    The winners were the ones who were able to take whatever allusion they were making and use it an a creative way.

    First place went to "Vanity Fair" because I loved it's structure and the way that it alluded to Mary Magdalene. I personally am one of those nuts who entertains the theory that Mary Magdalene and Jesus may have been lovers, and so this poem really appealed to me. Check it out to see what I was looking for.

    Second went to "Eve on the Gurney." This was a very very interesting write, because it was so crammed full of medical terms, and yet they were used in a very creative, powerful way to express very vivid emotions. I loved how the Bible references were very subtle.

    Third place went to "Lazarus," a very moving, powerful piece. This poet has a very distinctive style that I thought really translated well to the story of Lazarus.

    So thank you all very much for entering. Merry Christmas to you all!

Contest Winners

  1. At Vanity Fair
    by Vera Rich 23 lines, 11 comments, on Feb 12 3:30 AM 2006. In Lyrics, Spiritual
    Gold trophy winner
    • Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove]
  2. Eve on the Gurney
    First transect
    Then bisect my pelvis.
    by Lifecycler 44 lines, 1 comment, on Dec 9 12:49 PM 2007
    Silver trophy winner
    • Commented on by judge. [remove]
  3. Lazarus
    by Vera Rich 76 lines, 18 comments, on Mar 16 7:10 PM 2006. In Spiritual
    Bronze trophy winner
    • Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove]
  4. Memories Of Québec City (très très honorable et seulement pour ADULTES)
    by Barry Hodges 25 lines, 24 comments, on Jul 1 9:10 PM 2007. In Canada, Mindless violence as perpetrated by Koreans, Love, Adult, Horrid Erotica
    Honorable mention
    • Viewed by judge. Prewrite [remove]
  5. Rahab
    by Vera Rich 22 lines, 17 comments, on Aug 9 6:01 AM 2007
    Honorable mention
    • Commented on by judge. Prewrite [remove]

Entries [18]

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