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 

submitted by Booksy Owly
(March 4, 2017 - 8:58 pm)

Hello! My apologies for the lateness, but here I am! You all are very talented and judging this contest is truly an honor. Without further ado, here is my verdict!

Third Place: Hawkstar!
The concept for this poem is so cool! The repetition of the “again” portion of the poem is extremely satisfying, and you nailed the frustration of being so focused on a thing that you forget to consider working around it. My favorite bits were where you called the window a “crystal prison” and a “diamond cage”, because it shows how important you can make something so mundane seem. The only note I have is that I think it would be more intriguing if you made it clearer in the poem that it is about a fly – I don’t know if I would have figured that out if you hadn't mentioned it at the bottom. Very well done!
Second Place: KatanaLuna!
This is a beautiful poem – all the imagery in it is simply gorgeous. I particularly love the line, “We would dance with the ravens on a whisk of the wild wind,” for its alliteration and imagery and also because I really love ravens. There’s something wistful about the whole thing, which makes it slightly bittersweet while still having the happiness be very clear. I do wish it was slightly more focused – the windows metaphor at the end helps tie it together, but it isn’t completely clear, and I think it could do with some sort of thread running through it to make it feel more cohesive – but it’s very satisfying to read. I feel like I was transported into the past while reading it. Great job!
First Place: Moon Wolf!!
Wow. I have no idea what the situation here is, but I find it very moving. The potential metaphorical properties of stained glass are something that I have explored before, and so I am thrilled to find some of that here – all the implications that come along with seeing through something that is also purposefully distorting what you are seeing, along with all the religious connotations – but anyways. The use of m-dashes throughout as well as the shorter lines really cuts the poem up, which I think works very well, or at least I really enjoyed it. I love the bit that goes “But something within me keeps / Wanting to see what happens / To the world in the end - when / It is led to its own destruction -”, because that is something I think about often, wanting to follow the human story to its end. And then I love how it ends on the eventuality of shattered glass – this imprisonment, desired or not, has to end someday, somehow.
Congratulations, Moon Wolf! 
submitted by WordSong, age Judging!
(December 22, 2024 - 8:50 pm)

ahh thank you so much!! and yes, everyone's poems are so talented!

The next prompt will be echo and I'll try to judge January 5

submitted by Moon Wolf, age lunars, A Celestial Sky
(December 22, 2024 - 11:29 pm)

I stand

at the peak 

and call.

a chorus of voices 

calls 

back

HELLO, hello, h e l l o.

I call again

louder 

and I hear 

WELCOME, W E L C O M E, welcome.

I stand

and dream 

that the echo 

was

talking

to me. 

 

submitted by Climate bee
(January 3, 2025 - 10:26 am)

Since there's only one entry so far, I'll extend it to January 10th.

submitted by Moon Wolf, age lunars, A Celestial Sky
(January 6, 2025 - 7:29 pm)

-echos

The night may feel only so forgiving

It’s hard to accept the inevitable

You keep trying to run toward the gold

Even though you will be the last to reach it

(Everything is already gone----)

Still, you resist 

Jumping impossible gaps

Stretching

Reaching

Grasping 

For things you can no longer have

(Please I just want-)

You can want

Doesn’t make you have

You take things for granted

Don’t realize how much you need them

Depended on them

Until they’re gone

Only then will you panic

Start to freak

Attempts to snatch up the left behind bits

Will ultimently fail

Because everything

Everyone

Will have long ago

Walked away

It just took you this long to even notice

(forgive me, come back, I won’t do it again-)

But the decision was already made

You apologized to late

So now all you have is echos

Of what once was~

 

Ehhhhh I'm not to confident about this poem, but... Ah just post :p

submitted by Hawkstar
(January 8, 2025 - 3:45 pm)

I'm not sure about this but hopefully it's okay

----------

She touches the flame of her candle to the carpet of woven memories 

and flees the blaze, although watching the pain burn could have been satisfying

until the echoes of the tears that rolled down her cheeks 

until the echoes of how small she felt

curled up, alone, in the darkness

until the echoes of her aching fingers as they manipulated the loom 

of her standing in the cramped hall full of noise

when all she wanted was quiet, and to sit

until the echoes return to haunt her

ghosts of the nights she waited for arms to wrap around her

waited for warmth, for a feeling of protection that didn't come

ghosts of the flowers

of the feeling of delicate petals against her rough fingers

as she studied her past, unable to tell her anything about her future

which led her to one day make it for herself 

which took her away from the misery

but not from the echoes. 

submitted by Amity
(January 8, 2025 - 7:42 pm)

to reflect the love 

her mother always took her to the beach.

she remembered the wash of the tide

upon their bare feet,

and the kiss of pink sun

upon her mother's rippling sundress.

they would take a treasure basket,

white wicker woven with handmade daisies,

and fill it to the brim

with whatever struck her youthful fantasy.

her room filled with darlings of the sea 

as the years crashed and waned on the shore;

and though their adventures

grew fewer and fewer,

her mother still filled the house

with shells and daisies

soaking up the dying sunlight.

 

she returned to her hometown

at the call of the sea spray siren,

homesick for the warmth of sand

between her toes.

she gripped the rough wicker,

thumb over the woven yarn daisy chain, 

filled already with the pink of memory.

she looked towards the ebbing horizon,

and the fallen sandcastles,

and the gulls which once knew her name.

she could almost feel a familiar hand in hers.

she was as a ghost on the shore:

sundress waving,

toes in tide,

shells in her basket,

just the same. 

submitted by the indigo frog, they/he
(January 8, 2025 - 8:11 pm)
submitted by @Moon Wolf, Judging
(January 10, 2025 - 8:52 am)

Thank you for all your spectacularly written poems! It was really hard to judge, since each one was so good!

Honorable Mention - Amity 

I love how powerful the imagery is in this poem! The emotions were really strong and I loved especially "woven memories" and the repetition of the word "the echoes". I love the intensity overall and the last line is beautifully written! Good job!

Third Place - Climate bee

I really enjoy how this poem uses simplicity to convey such a strong feeling. The echoing words give it a magical, wistful feeling. I love how the poem was broken up into small chunks, and I especially like "I stand / and dream / that the echo /was / talking / to me." It's a beautiful, reflective piece. Great work!

Second Place - Hawkstar

This poem really hits hard. I can feel the regret and the struggle in every word. The repetition of "echoes" is really effective---it gives the poem this haunting vibe that sticks with you. I love how the idea of this poem plays out in its imagery. It feels really real and emotional, and the way you build up to the final resolution is so powerful. Truly amazing!

First Place - the indigo frog

I really love how this poem takes you through this mix of nostalgia and love. The way you describe the beach and the little details like the wicker and the sundress really brings everything to life. The shift between past and present is so smooth, and the feeling of longing is really relatable. I also loved how you tied everything back to the echoes of memory at the end---such a nice touch. Congratulations! You're the next judge!

 

submitted by Moon Wolf - judging, age lunars, A Celestial Sky
(January 10, 2025 - 9:26 pm)
submitted by @the indigo frog :), age congrats!!, your turn to judge!!
(January 13, 2025 - 4:42 pm)

so sorry everyone!! this completely slipped my mind.

the new prompt is devotion and the due date is February 1st :) 

submitted by the indigo frog, they/he
(January 18, 2025 - 4:16 pm)

Day after day I walked in with a smile.

I gave you presents.

I made small changes, observing with the keen eye of a scientist

   the modifications analytical and precise

studying what made you happy so I could be who you wanted.

Focusing so much on you while my own joy plummeted

until I realized that you were leading me away from myself

holding such power over me

as a smile or purse of the lips, a single word or phrase, could make or break my day.

You were steering me into the dark, handing over a candle

which I clutched as shadows shifted, shivers traveling up my spine

and then you were gone, leaving me with nothing but the single flame.

I called to you, I screamed, I begged

but you didn’t answer, of course not

because if you led me into the trap, you would not help me find my way out.

How could you blame me for trying?

I couldn’t help it, I was too devoted.

I was too deluded.

But people appeared to guide me from the gloom.

I only needed to open my arms to them

and there they were.

submitted by Amity
(January 18, 2025 - 6:22 pm)

-Completion

Like a blue sky on a sunny day 

I match you perfectly 

Like a rainbow after a storm 

I compliment you 

A cave behind a waterfall 

We know the secrets

In and out 

Like an oak, tall and old

Surrounded by saplings 

We're grounded in our roots

A satellite circling the moon

Circling the earth 

Circling the sun

We are in orbit

A sunset and rise 

We are constant

A tsunami wave rearing to strike

We can face the world

Two against all

Like a mother bird and her young

We protect each other, strong like a shell

A volcanic eruption, shaking Earth to its core

Withstanding and hostile elements 

A flower in the snow

Hope forevermore

Like a smile in the gray world 

Devotion shows~ 

submitted by Hawkstar, age Music that, makes my heart soar
(January 26, 2025 - 7:18 pm)

When the world became darkness and woe,

When the path ahead was crooked and unlit,

When everyone around me had left long ago—

I will always be there, I will always be there

When whispers became piercing arrows,

When calm ocean waves became a storm,

When beasts hunted me amidst shadows—

I will always be there, I will always be there…

A soft lullaby you would sing to me,

While bathing me in your ethereal glow,

Telling stories of somewhere free—

I will always be there, I will always be there…

Yet when light shone once more,

And chased away the fleeting shadows,

And I did not seek you anymore—

I will always be there, I will always be there…

No matter how far I strayed,

No matter how much I had forgotten,

No matter how long you I betrayed—

I will always be there, I will always be there…

And when darkness fell once again,

Blinded, I stumbled along, alone,

Searching, yet nothing, searching, when—

I will always be there, I will always be there…

The next night, you appeared anew,

And you showed and made me believe,

In your devotion, through and through—

I will always be there, I will always be there…

As while the sun shines for the blessed,

The moon glows for the ones who are lost,

Devoted to guiding them in life and rest—

I will always be there, I will always be there…

submitted by Moon Wolf, age lunars, A Moon for the Lost
(January 28, 2025 - 11:20 pm)

somewhere there’s an old crumbling courtyard

built in a whimsical, magical era before regency 

past thicket and bramble and stinging nettle green

it does not belong in our world of satin and steel

long, snaking vines choke the elaborate columns

and fragrant wisteria embroiders stone archways

and nostalgia plunges it’s dagger into my heart

a statue carved of marble reaches towards the sun

the wind blows past sadly, as if zephyrs is mourning

these long-lost days of gold crown and silver throne

and yet I hear a whisper, a silent beckon to come

i feel at peace in this solitary tale spun from stone

the sunshine warms my face as i look to the sun

although so delicate i fear it will fall fall to pieces

as the sky is as cloudy and gray as a london fog

ravens swoop through the ashy shafts of fallen light

tears slip down my cheeks as I see a wild garden 

lily of the valley-so like the ones she used to grow

and for a fleeting minute she’s with me-hand in hand

these flowers are in my anatomy thriving through


all who find this lonely place are lonely too, i feel

tender pain and fragile love is who i am was is

and maybe i’ll stay her forever, one with the wind

oh, how devoted I am to the nostalgia that binds me 

Oh, how devoted am i to the notalgia that sets me free

submitted by KatanaLuna
(January 30, 2025 - 8:20 am)