Ok I’ve been in agonizing pain from my total left hip replacement operation on June 10th
Normally I’m a very upbeat and positive person…
But pain has a wasy of making your glass half empty, when it should be half full and then you find yourself laying down in the muck and myre of self pitty.
While I was wallowing down there I stareted looking through a stack of un-finished poems and came across a poem that pulled me right out of my self absorbed pitty party.
I read this poem marked “Author Unknown” and it made me cry just as it did the first time I read it years ago and I remembered why I had held on to it! I was feeling sorry for myself the first time I read it and after some tears, I had an epiphany as a result of reading this poem.
Ok, The Poem is titled….
“The Park Bench”
Your mission if you should decide to accept it, is….
To read the poem and spring board from whatever it does to you or makes you feel, or think!
I want metaphor, visualiation, breveity and most of all sincerity of how this poetic gem affected you.
This poem happens to be one of my favorite poems of all time. It’s a shame that I will never know the person who wrote this masterpiece. But in some way’s I believe that we have all been this “Author Unknown” sometime in our life.
After reading this poem out loud to yourself
You do not find your eyes at least watering…
If not openly crying or it does not strike a chord on the heart strings of your soul…
Then don’t enter the contest!!!
This poem is a cry of solidarity from the wharehouse
of emotions that all truly great poets keep safely locked away in the center of their muse.
This is a Big Points Contest, because the winners will undoubtally have just written a masterpiece!!!
And should be rewarded accordingly.
I will run this contest for one month, so you will have plenty of time to create, a profound work of art.
This is an open contest as far as style or form is concerned, Please keep foul language to a bear minimum as well, so as not to cheapen or disrespect what I am looking for.
Ok….
The Prompt!
The Park Bench
The park bench was deserted
As I sat down to read
Beneath the long scraggly branches
Of an old willow tree
Disillusioned by life
With good reason to frown
For the world was intent
On dragging me down
And if that wasn’t enough
To ruin my day
A young boy out of breadth approached me
All tired from play
He stood right before me
With his head tilted down
And said with great excitement
Look what I found
In his hand was a flower
And what a pitiful sight
With it’s petals all worn
Not enough rain or too little light
Wanting him to take his dead flower
And go off to play
I faked a small smile
And then shifted away
But instead of retreating
He sat next to my side
And placed the flower to his nose
And declaired with overacted surprise
It sure smells pretty
And it’s beautiful too
That’s why I picked it
Here it’s for you
The weed before me, was dying or dead
No vibrant colors, orange, yellow or red
But I knew I must take, it or he might never leave
So I reached for the flower and replied, just what I need
But instead of him placing
The flower in my hand
He hels it mid-air
Without reason or plan
It was then that I noticed
For the very first time
That weed toting boy
Could not see, he was blind
I heard my voice quiver
Tears shown like the sun
As I thanked him for picking
The very best one
You’re welcome, he said
And then ran off to play
Unaware of the impact
He’d had on my day
I sat there and wondered
How ahe managed to see
A self pitying woman
Beneath an old willow tree
How did he know
Of my self indulgent plight
Perhaps from his heart
He’d been blessed with true sight
Through the eyes of a blind child
At last I could see
The problem was not the world
The problem was me
And for all those times
I myself had been blind
I vowed to see the beauty in life
And appreciate, every second that’s mine
And then I held that wilted flower
Up to my nose
And breathed in the fragrance
Of a beautiful rose
And smiled as I watched that young boy
Another weed in his hand
About to change the life
Of an unsuspecting old man
Please do not critique this poem.
I'm aware that the line lengths are erratic
This poem is for inspiration Not disection!!!
Ok dear poets, wipe your eyes and start writting!
If you use the PIC Please credit,
http://witchazel.deviantart.com/art/Under-the-Willow-69726766
Contest is Over
- Contest was judged on August 5
- Rewards: Gold: 5000, Silver: 3000, Bronze: 2000, Honorable mention: 5 people
- Final notes: Ah a sigh of relief. This was the most difficult and at the same time the most rewarding contest I have ever had the pleasure to have hosted. My tear ducts are empty, thanks to all of your beautiful entries. If I had my way there would have been 20 Trophy's awarded in this contest. Unfortunately AP will not allow me to do that. So I am increasing the HM award to
300 points and the finalists will recieve
200 points for their wonderful poems.
I knew when I ran this contest it was going to ignite a fire within the muse of all who entered and I was not wrong!
Expect to be messaged very soon with part two...
I look foreward to and hope to see many of you return for my next contest...
"Author Unknown # 2 The Dash"
Thank you one and all for honoring me with your most excelent entries.
Your friend,
Bill
AKA-BluesMan
Contest Winners
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Do senses cast aside belie
if beauty is but for the eye;by albymyheart 44 lines, 37 comments, on Jun 21 11:53 AM. In Contest, Thoughts, Nature
Silver trophy winner
• Commented on by judge. [remove] -
When it gets cold look outside
Realize the sky is just a mirror• Commented on by judge. [remove] - Error: Unable to find finalist item 5449477, it seems to have been deleted :( [remove]
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Innocence brought in the shape of a dead flower,
how simple a task, and yet so powerful the meaning• Commented on by judge. [remove] -
Listening to Birds Sigh
• Commented on by judge. [remove] -
Wrapped in his arms in the thick water cold, I smiled
and he turned his head toward mine -by xxRainbowDawnxx 18 lines, 5 comments, on Jun 16 4:26 PM• Commented on by judge. [remove] -
Ripples outward spread from such a casual loving touch
to souls once dominated by a broken-hearted trust.by BearWoman 32 lines, 16 comments, on Jun 16 6:52 PM. In Reflections, Meter, Ballad meter, Spiritual, Philosophical• Commented on by judge. [remove] -
The phones were screaming bells of hell ringing.
People were restlessly demanding attention fast!by ears2hearyou 130 lines, 7 comments, on Jun 16 7:48 PM. In Contest, Life, Love, Lost love, Family, Friendship, Contemporary, Happiness• Commented on by judge. [remove] -
• Commented on by judge. [remove]
- Error: Unable to find finalist item 5529313, it seems to have been deleted :( [remove]
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• Commented on by judge. [remove]
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Four brown ducklings swimming
in the lake; quacking and flopping wingsby misticmoonlite 21 lines, 6 comments, on Jun 16 1:50 PM• Commented on by judge. [remove]
Gold trophy winner
Bronze trophy winner
Honorable mention
Entries [41]
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I watched as he went up to the man
Spoke some kind words as he sat down• Commented on by judge. -
• Commented on by judge.
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by AngelBellerose 26 lines, 23 comments, on Jun 16 1:35 PM. In Life, Pain, Personal, Sad, Message, Noguest, Adult, emotion, My own style• Commented on by judge.
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A small but happy child
In a world he would never seeby An Old Codger 34 lines, 20 comments, on Jun 16 1:50 PM. In Contest, Big points, Emotions, Soulful philosophy, Visualiation, Imagery, Life• Commented on by judge. -
See an empty park bench
just waiting there for meby Kathleen a Nazarene 23 lines, 11 comments, on Jun 16 1:58 PM. In Life, Love, Sad, Personal, Pain, Spiritual, Inspirational, Message• Commented on by judge. -
I sat beneath the willow
I thought why do you weepby jimek 46 lines, 4 comments, on Jun 16 2:20 PM• Commented on by judge. -
by Celtic Legend 31 lines, 4 comments, on Jun 16 2:46 PM• Commented on by judge.
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• Commented on by judge.
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The boy stands in awe as petals paint the ground,
his sight not there and yet not completely left bound.• Commented on by judge. -
• Commented on by judge.
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You are sitting in the dark park,
alone like you came and go in this world.• Commented on by judge. -
• Commented on by judge.
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When the sunset blisters the dusk sky
The reclusive roam the night• Commented on by judge. -
As I walked through the park
miserable pain throbbed in my kneeby Aries 65 lines, 19 comments, on Jun 19 6:28 AM. In Contest, Thoughts, Life, "The Park Bench"by Unkown Author• Commented on by judge. -
Near the weeping willow by the pond
a weathered park bench stoodby amysticwriter 36 lines, 8 comments, on Jun 23 1:25 PM. In Thoughts, Emotions, Metaphor, Soulful philosophy, Visualiation
• Commented on by judge. -
• Commented on by judge.
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There's somewhere in the day to day
Where grays are color boundby Violet Moodswing 45 lines, 5 comments, on Jul 14 8:29 AM• Viewed by judge. -
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh
Sometimes I just want to stick my face in a pillowby DisturbedEstate 34 lines, 1 comment, on Jul 22 12:52 AM• Commented on by judge.
Add a comment
Comments
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The Contest
Well does it have to be metaphoric? as much as every single linebeing so? or u just write what u felt in the poem. Im still confuzeeled. A long ass poem or directions or just ALOT of words makes my emo-ish head hurt. -
what a lovely reminder to be thankful for what we have. I can see why you kept this poem. . .it's beautiful and human and real. I hope you get so many entries, you'll never be sad again.
Love,
jin -
Thanks for the link hun. It is indeed a beautiful poem. I'll try to find my muse...
Hope your pain has lessened a bit by now.
Love you, Cathy
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good lord I am blubbering like a baby! thanks Blues! ears/Seattle i need a bowl of icecream..that was a magnificent poem.
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I do not know how you found me but am sure glad you did for this very piece hit the heart within Myself as well dwelling deep in pity Id sit and wonder why in this world I am living yet to read this, indeed i know why... and I shall share that story, when the eyes dry. Thank you so...good luck with your contest Passionspromise
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Your poem was amazing.
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Sigh~ you have tears falling here. It is very beautiful and I do not know you I don't think so, sending this makes you a sharer of beauty and heart as well. I will enter tonight if I can pen something worthy of this beautiful, touching poem Thank you! Lynda
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this was a beautiful poem. I have bookmarked this but I'm not sure I will be able to come up with anything worthy.
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thank you for the invite, i've bookmarked and shall be back
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I actually found this inspirational poem quite pleasing. I love the humanity shown by the little boy and the narrator. Instead of making me cry it actually made me smile all the way through. Any tearing up I did at the end was cuz of the generosity and sweetness the child showed another human being on his own free will. I guess I've met enough people that have learned to live with disabilities and over come them that I can't get hung up on his blindness. He's still living life freely and happy. I love that the narrator kept refering to a rose as a "weed" . Great poem. Hope none of what I said sounds twisted or anything, I'm just a glass is full type of person. Hope you feel better soon Shantti
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I wish for you a speedy recovery...and I felt I read this poem some time ago before...yes it is very touching and filled with a spiritual wisdom...beautiful Mal
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I wish you the best on your recovery. I have another friend on the site who went though this and he took advantage of the time to write. I hope you find the down time an outlet for your creativity. Thanks for the invite.
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wow now that was a great poem it is so sad!!!!
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So sorry to hear about your hip... One of my friends has just had the same operation.
But the great thing about physical pain is that it CAN be dealt with - one way or another.
Good luck with your recovery...
PS I cannot promise to enter your competition, since I have a huge backlog of work at present, which fully absorbs my poetic energy. Though this poem in a "lateral thinking" kind of way does remind me of one of my own... but as you have decided to exclude "previously written" work is not eligible. But if, as a matter of interest, you would like to see it. I can find the link for you.
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i do not think i could do justice to your contest but i am amazed by the write you are using for inspiration. wow! is all i can say about the poem. viyanna rosemarie
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This poem is beautiful... thank you for sharing it.
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Hi
I thought you might like the link to the poems page the author is named at the bottom or at least their user name is
http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Bluffs/6615/park.html -
Wishing you a speedy recovery, with less and less pain every day
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AMAZING
Ok so i'm too lazy to get on my own account but my User name is KittyCat247. I absolutely about cried right here and now. This has so much meaning to it and I wish I had the talent that you have. This took dedication and time and I think that is just outstanding. BTW this is about the Park Bench Poem. Haha. And I didn't really notice the line thingy. So yeah. GREAT WRITE!!!! -
that poem was pretty damn nice
[[=
im gonna try and do it justice? even though im not in such a poetic mood. -
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Thank you for hosting and congrat to the winners
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Congratulations to all the winners and thanks for hosting. Sandy
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Thank you
for the inspiring, challenging contest, and for the Finalists recognition. Glad to have "made you cry."
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Thank You!
Thank You for the HM and points for I am Honored also Appreciative
Congratulations to all who placed
Excellent contest which tugged hard
and so Loved the prompt~
I hope our words
brought forth a smile
Thank You for Hosting Sweet Soul!
Many blessings to You
Best wishes in all You do
with much love & light~ Desire~*~
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