Can you change the judging date to December 31st? I am planning to put the winning piece in the MCU, so if you can, please change th judging date.

Hey I hope it's not too late for me to join! I don't love the poem I wrote, it's kind of strange, I just don't want to keep falling off the face of the CB! Again, everyone here is an incredibly talented poet, and I can't wait to see even more of your poems! <3

<This is not based off of personal experience!> 

~~~

"I'll just catch a cold."

you said to me,

i could tell you were annoyed.

it's winter break we're supposed to play and laugh

and dance in the powdered sugar snow,

but no,

instead you said you weren't mad but the tone in your voice betrayed you,

telling me otherwise.

you were mad because i had pushed you in the snowbank-

on accident

-might i remind you

and you were stuck.

i tried to get you out but you told me to go inside.

then you got mad when i turned around to go back in the house.

what do you want from me?

"It's fine, I'll just get frostbite."

I had put on a pair of mittens

underneath my gloves

and you were mad that we only had

one pair of mittens.

you had told me you didn't want to play in the

powdered sugar snow anyhow.

what was i supposed to do?

"No, take it, I'll just freeze."

we were trying on winter coats in a store

and we both eyed a shiny silver one.

i grabbed it first,

excited.

i thought we were just joking around

until you told me how much you wanted the

sparkly treasure of a coat.

you wailed and cried

and when i went to hand it to you,

done arguing, 

you got angry.

apparently it was too late.

why was i never good enough for you?

not in the summer,

not in school, 

not even in the winter.

what happened to fun winter breaks?

(btw, I heard a quote along the lines of "I'll just catch a cold." in a show called camp camp, I hope that's alright!) 

Ahem! Judge!

YOU NEED TO JUDGE SOON! LIKE TODAY!!!! DO NOT PUT OFF VOTING UNTIL TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!! sorry, but we really need to have the winning piece for the January MCU! Please judge really soon!

PLEASE judge now!!!!!!!!

Pancake, if part or all of the monthyly checkup is a bit delayed in posting, it will still be appreciated and enjoyed for the whole rest of the month. Jaybells may be busy with family or something else today.

Admin

Yikes, sorry, I'm here for judging! Definitely, absolutely on time, at that.

*coughs*

Honourable Mentions (in no particular order, as always):

> Spellbound! Love the mini-story and, drama(?) I guess!? It's a super relatable/imaginable scenario, and the some of the last few lines; "why was i never good enough for you? / not in the summer, / not in school, / not even in the winter" are tad heartbreaking. Agh, it's so good! (Also, being inspired to write a whole narrative by a random line you heard? Why is that so relatable?) Great poem!

> Pancake! The contrast between the cold outside, and warm inside that are both part of Winter, as well as the juxtaposition of summer and winter, was pretty cool, and I liked the wistful sort of feel that this poem evoked, especially at the beginning and end. Nice job!

In Third Place:

> anonymous poet! I think the strongest point is your use of imagery. I honestly find it break-taking even when it's describing stuff that's pretty mundane; it has that level of sheer pazazz. The inspirational message on being strong like an evergreen, and the prevalent focus on strength, hope and stalwart- ...ness(?) is a suiting inclusion too. You're really talented, and it'd be great to see more of your work!

Second Place: 

> Cranberry! Again, I really enjoy the implied backstory as well as the clear sharp, cold feeling one gets from the way you describe and set the scene. The theme of acceptance/forgiveness is a really powerful one in this context, and the little bit of helpless but hopeful encouragement for the 'audience' at the very end; "Winter. / And i realize, / winter is part of everyones life / death is part / of everyones life. / And i have learned, / to embrace winter. / I hope, / I hope you will, / too" just hits perfectly. Everything feels really strong throughout though, so it's hard to say that's even my favourite part! It's sort of hard to describe, but it definitely encapsulates that bleak, slightly gloomy bitingly-cold winter feeling, where you just have to make the best if it. Superb work!

And finally, First Place: *drumroll please*

> PERIWINKLE! Your language throughout was stunningly beautiful, and between the haunting descriptions and semi-tragic characterization of Winter as slightly out-of-touch but ultimately kind being, to the point of being self-sacrificing in an almost admonishing way; it's just splendid. I absolutely love it! I do like the way you incorporated the candle quote, and I think you did everything quite masterfully! Congrats!

As a side-note, it felt like you all really outdid yourselves fantastically with your poems this round! Maybe it's just the wintery magical-ness, or personal bias or something, but all of them felt so deep and lovely. I also wasn't expecting so many entries in such a short time-span, but you all delivered brilliantly! You should all be proud regardless of the rankings, you awesome human beings! 

Shattered, Broken, Scattered, Cracked

Shattered

Broken

Scattered

Cracked

My heart of glass

Is shattered

From that rejection, even if it was years ago.

Shattered

The glass vase is gone

Broken from a hand, 

Knocking it to the floor.

Broken

The glass cup is in pieces

Scattered everywhere

When the news made it slip from my hand.

Scattered

The glass ornament is thrown out

Cracked from that time

We had a party and the ball hit it.

Cracked

All made of glass.

Shattered, broken, scattered, cracked.

All so fragile.

Shattered, broken, scattered, cracked.

Forever glass.

I made a different poem, but I liked this one better. I will post my other poem on the Regular Poetry thread. 

The world is made of glass--

Fragile balance, delicate scales,

Hearts that'll break at a breath's touch--

Snowflakes that splinter, shattering into a million pieces;

But I see also see glass in the ocean,

A stirring pot of a million molten shards come together,

The unsavoury greens, still reeking of broken families

Paychecks spent and bills gone unpaid,

But beautiful in the grand mosiac:

Pain forges a promising path, after all,

And that glass enters the lives of some, becoming the very air they breath

While it gives life to yet others, an effect on all no matter how big or small.

And I see glass in the beaches

Sand, a testament to once boiling soreness and jagged edges 

Now softened by a soothing flow, 

Aching resentment put to rest, at last,

Peace will be restored in the end, glass lasts forever in different forms.

And I see glass in the sky,

In our stars so feeble; they're strong in their in way and yet waver

On each passing breeze,

And sometimes they fall, sometimes they shatter,

But sometimes they stand firm above it all, shining in spirit and eternally hopeful.

And I see glass in people,

Some break at a whisper or ghost of a touch,

They have not yet been tempered;

And some hold in everything they can for others,

While yet more are clouded and their motives unknown.

Some fall apart and lash out with raw shards,

Mere fragments of what they used to be

Some are bevelled and multi-layered, not what they seem,

Some let us gaze into an infinity of possibilities,

Or see a reflection of ourselves, in warning or in what we aspire to be. 

But it is all beautiful in the end.

Maybe not pretty or nice, but truly beautiful because

This world is full of glass;

It may be delicate, a fragile balance of unseeable scales,

And prone to fracture and cause pain,

But glass is what makes up the world

And it is wonderful in a way. 

Lightning strikes on sun-drenched sand,

Windows peering into uncharted land.

Dishes washed and dried and clean,

Addictive lights 'neath a computer screen.

Little doodads blown from hand and heat,

Cinderella's ledgendary slipper-clad feet.

All this truly does connect:

Glass, born from Mother Nature Architect.