@Jaybells:

You won! Congrats! New theme? 

@Anon: 

No, that's not how I feel at all. A contest is a fun thing for you to write poetry with a theme. I don't do it to win, and I'm sure most people here don't either. If you feel like that, you don't have to post in contests if you don't want to. For me, contests are also ways to improve on writing/drawing/etc.

Just because you don't win doesn't mean the judge is saying your poetry is terrible. I have not read a single poem on this thread that is "terrible" and personally, I think being the judge is very nerve wracking and stressful. Everyone has amazing poems, and judging anything is hard, and you don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. By being upset by the verdict, you're making their job more stressful. I know that it doesn't feel good to lose, but it is not that everyone is saying your writing and poetry is terrible. Do you hear me? It's NOT.

If you feel that you are getting offended by the contest, you don't need to participate. Other people are having fun, and to each to his/her/their own, y'know? If contests aren't fun for you, don't feel like you have to do  them. <3

I don't know how helpful this is or if it just made you feel worse, but yeah, that's my opinion

I think the contests are really just for fun. It's a game. Just because you've never won doesn't mean that people think your writing is bad. There's a ton of entries most times, and it's impossible to mention everyone. If you don't want to feel like no one appreciates your work, you don't have to play. Sorry if this comes off a little stiff, but it's true. 

Hi, Anon.

I will first say that I'm really sorry about that. I think it's possible I'm someone who made you feel this way. Feeling left out isn't fun.

I want to tell you that nobody here ever wants to call your work terrible. When judges say that it was a hard round to judge, they mean it. They could think your work is wonderful, but also think everyone else's work is wonderful too. Often judging comes down to personal preference, so while someone can acknowledge you create beautiful poetry, it might simply not be their preferred style.

I have loved the poetry contest since I first started participating about two and a half years ago. It took me about a year to win. But I kept submitting the poems because they were fun to write and it was nice to hear feedback on them. This is a casual contest, with no prizes or even bragging rights really. We continue because we like to write poems.

I'm going to encourage you to please keep writing. Poetry is hard! It's brave of you to write poems. All of your poems are works of art. We do not think they are terrible. Keep writing. Keep posting on the Regular Poetry thread. Ask for feedback if you would like. But the contest has been going for a long time, and I think a lot of us would be sad to see it go. Again, nobody wants to be mean. Nobody wants to put people in last place. There have been plenty of people who waited very, very long to place or win. Over time your style ight change and evolve. If you want to keep trying the poetry contest, please do. If you think it's not for you and won't encourage you, then you don't by any means have to participate. We don't want you to be discouraged.

Okay, first of all, I'm late and other ppl basically said what I wanted to, so yeah, what they said. I just wanted to add that a lot of poetry and writing is up for interpretation. One person may think it's not very good, and another person might think it was the best one submitted! I know I've seen poems that I thought were beautiful not even get into the judging. Please don't take a little contest like this to heart. 

@Anon, yes, I am late, apologies. But I think I needed to apologize for making you feel left out, especially because I was the judge last round and I really didn't want anyone to feel like I was discounting their work. I thought each and every one was amazing, and judging was soo hard for me. Honestly, all of you are so amazing that sometimes I read some of the poetry on this thread for hours just because it's all so good. If you want to keep trying, go ahead, but if you want to stop, that's cool, too. Just know that I really didn't mean to make you feel upset, I'm so sorry that I did.

@Anon, I do hear you, but I also agree with everyone else, and would like to reiterate that no one is saying your writing is terrible. It seriously isn't. Every entry I've ever seen in these contests have been amazing. But if poetry contests aren't the way you want to share your poetry, there's also a regular poetry thread, which is pretty popular. (That's what the link is down below). Also, keep is mind that judging poetry is entirely subjective. For every one judge that doesn't place your poems, there's one who would've. Anyway, just know that every entry I've seen is amzaing. The result of contests is by no means a determiner of your skill.

Regular poetry thread:

But really, this is amazing, dreamii.

I have a couple things to say before I shower praise on your poem, though XD

1. Hera was a jerk.

2. Narcissus was a jerk.

Okay, now that that's over, I will shower praise on your poem.

I loved the repetition of "im/not/you". It adds so much power to your poem; Echo is willing to forgive anything Narcissus does because "im/not/you". 

Her love is tangible. But also something the myth doesn't hightlight- not only is her love tangible, her heartbreak is too.

You can feel her falling apart as she watches the one she loves (ugh, i still don't know why she fell in love with someone who's name is what the word narcissistic comes from) fall in love with his own reflection (like, what?!) and not even be able to do anything about it; you can feel her helplessness, her pain.

It's raw emotion, love and sadness and helplessness all woven into one tapestry of Echo. Not Echo and Narcissus, Echo. 

I hope that made sense.