Poetry Contest
Chatterbox: Pudding's Place
Poetry Contest
Poetry Contest
Well, we haven't had one of these in a while, have we? Time for a new one, I say! Welcome, resident poets!
The rules are pretty simple. I am the first judge. I will give you a theme, and you must write a poem relating to the theme. Be creative with your interpretations! I will then judge the entries by a set date, and the winner will then be the next judge, and set the next theme. And so on, and so forth.
The first theme will be... *dramatic drumroll*
Stars! Whether you chose to write about the kind of stars you wish on, or the kind that take the stage, I will be eagerly awaiting your sparkly, shiny, beautiful poems. Have them in by... Saturday, March 18. Two weeks. Sound fair?
I hope to see your poems soon!
~Booksy <3
(March 4, 2017 - 8:58 pm)
written at 2 am, monday, in the dark
it's late at night
and still I can't sleep for memories.
he's never looked my way
and I only saw him once,
but I know exactly what he would do and how he would look at any moment -
maybe at this point he's more of a character than the boy I saw that day,
but still those memories of him flood me with longing.
or maybe it's not the memories I have
that are invading me -
maybe it's the memories I don't.
memories of a mild spring day.
warm wind sweeping winter before it,
roaring through the green-budding trees,
and promise in the scent of rich dirt.
and sitting on the old broken-down backyard fence,
and knowing that he's beside me,
with a promise in his eyes of a different kind.
or maybe it is the same kind.
maybe all promises come down to love in the end.
does it count as a memory
if it's only a memory of what I've imagined, every day and every night?
no. it doesn't.
it's just late and I feel lonely and I think I'm in love,
but that doesn't matter,
nothing's really wrong,
it's just late and I feel lonely and I think I'm in love.
(December 9, 2023 - 6:43 pm)
(December 9, 2023 - 6:44 pm)
it's been a while since i submitted a poem! glad to see so many entries :)
the traitors
i. memories are flowers that grew in my ribs
and bloomed and bloomed and bloomed
until one year they started sprouting thorns
and every time i think of
my old neighbor's garden
and the buds of magnolias and the scent of basil
and the smile of a woman whose face was carved by
the gentle fingers of age
i am stabbed with the realization that her garden is gone
ii. memories are crystal lakes that gleamed in my chest
and flowed and flowed and flowed
until one year they grew murky with decay
and every time i think of
the park near the neighborhood pond
and the rusty swings and the plastic purple slide
and the call of ducks whose beaks were full of
sacrificial slices of bread
i am bogged down with the realization that the ducks are gone
iii. memories are a girl that lived in my heart
who loved and loved and loved
until one year she grew quiet with the weight of the world
and every time i think of
the sandbox girls who did not know how to hate
and the lost teeth and four-square wars
and the giggles of scrape-kneed heroes whose eyes were
light with perpetual sun
i am silenced with the realizaion that girlhood is gone
and the memories which built a basement of loving strength
are traitors to my ramshackle home.
(December 9, 2023 - 6:54 pm)
(December 15, 2023 - 11:20 am)
(December 15, 2023 - 1:10 pm)
(December 15, 2023 - 1:59 pm)
sorry this is kind of late! I've been swamped with finals this week unfortunately. I'm super impressed with everyone's poetry. this was SO hard to judge. all of these entries were amazing!!
honorable mentions:
(in no particular order :))
Hawkstar -- I love your use of short, quick lines. it makes the poem interesting to read! I also like how you used questions to show how the narrator's memory was fading. the lines "Memories of you/Are distant storms" are my favorite!
Moon Wolf -- this is a great poem! the repetition of the word "remember" in the first half is used really well, and I'm really impressed with the rhyming in the second half. I always find it difficult to write rhyming poetry without it feeling forced, but your poem flowed beautifully!
Rainbow -- the formatting of this is so cool! the way the words bounce back and forth is very visually appealing, and it adds a lot to the poem. the repetition of "It's all your fault" is really powerful. this piece definitely packs a punch with practically every line. great job!
AvaraStar -- this is a beautiful poem! I love the lines "And the light/Of your magical,/Sparking/Eyes" and "Song of the stars/And the smile of the moon". The celestial theme in this is really cool! nice work!
Poinsettia -- this is a really relatable poem. it perfectly portrays the way things feel at two in the morning, and it's very well written. the lines "or maybe it's not the memories I have/ that are invading me -/ maybe it's the memories I don't" are my favorite! also, I love how the last line wraps the poem up!
third place: WildWolf and CelineBurning Bright
Wildwolf -- the imagery in this poem is beautiful! I love the lines "shades of peach filling the air" and "with rippled sunshine sprinked down". you also use italics perfectly and it's make the poem very visually appealing! I like the contrast between the simple lines and the descriptions. can't wait to read your future work!
CelineBurning Bright -- between the italics and the punctuation, this was a really fun piece to read! I love the way you interpreted the prompt. you do a great job weaving a story into your poem and I like how the open ending makes you think. I also think using both italics and regular font in the last line was a great way to tie the whole poem together. nice work!
second place: Eclipse
this poem might be short but it hits hard. I love shorter pieces because the writer has to make sure each line is deliberate and meaningful, and you definitely did this! the last lines give the poem a haunting ending. I always struggle with the right finish for my work, so I'm really impressed by yours! my favorite line is "a flight of imagination, ship to nowhere/stuck floating between the passings of time". great job!
first place: Luna-Starr
this is such a stunning piece! the title sets it up perfectly and it's beautifully written. I love your descriptions--they paint such vivid pictures in my mind. also, this poem is a perfect reponse to the prompt. my favorite lines are "memories are flowers that grew in my ribs"and "the sandbox girls who did not know how to hate". I wish I could write like this! amazing job! congratulations!!
(December 15, 2023 - 10:34 pm)
ty peppermint! your commentary means a lot. congrats Luna-Starr, your poem was absolutely beautiful.
(December 16, 2023 - 12:59 am)
Congrats @Luna-Starr!!! Your poem was rlly good!
(December 16, 2023 - 1:32 pm)
Congrats Luna-Starr and everyone, your poems were all so wonderful!! And thank you peppermint, wow, 3rd place?! Your feedback was also all wonderful! :D
(December 16, 2023 - 3:11 pm)
Eee, thank you so much for your kind comments! Congrats everyone!
(December 16, 2023 - 4:14 pm)
aah thank you peppermint!! you're so kind, i'm flattered :)
the next prompt is chain! judging on the 30th. I'm excited to see what yall come up with!
(December 16, 2023 - 11:11 am)
This is blech but Ig I'll submit until I have something better? :/
Chains-
I wear around my neck
Chains of daisy petals and
Rays of sun,
False promises and false hopes I show to the world
I wear in jangling bracelets
The chains of good grades,
A good girl,
A perfect girl who never makes trouble
And those chains bind me
(Who wears chains?
Criminals
But I promise that I'm not)
I wrap around my body
Chains of shiny, glimmery things
Without substance, but they do their job
And no one thinks twice about the girl sitting alone
In the corner
(My mouth is chained shut)
And so in my chains (chainmail?) I sit
In my Throne
With the trash
And pretend like nothing's wrong, but even the strongest chains
Have chinks and gaps
(December 16, 2023 - 3:19 pm)
Hello! I really enjoyed doing italics in the last poem, so I thought I'd do that again. I'm pretty proud of it, so I hope you guys like it too!
Daisy Chains
Long ago
or maybe just a few weeks
There was a field on a vacation
or in our backyard
Filled with daisies, spread like precious pearls in a green sea of warm grass
beautiful daisies, perfect daisies, or maybe that's just how I remember it...
I linked them together, spending hours
or was it days
Of time with friends,
And family too, I think
And when I was tired, I lay down and fell asleep, woken by a sister
or maybe a mother
with gentle hands
And a gentle smile
Memories
A mix of reality and fiction
Swirl together, forming everything I know.
(December 16, 2023 - 4:25 pm)
Chains
Those chains
Wrapped around me
Holding captive
No longer free
They were cold
Iron and metal
Decorated with
Daisy petals
And shiny coins
Paper dollar hearts
Pages of stories
In pretty little parts
Binded together
Collected from all
My life’s mistakes
Big and small
Arranged neatly
Like a bouquet
In the garden where
I used to play
Now my chains
Piled in my life
Cut in death
Like a knife
If only there was
A second chance
A little more time
For one last glance
To Life, pleading
To get rid of the chains
But I know that
Forever it remains
(December 16, 2023 - 6:40 pm)