Poetry competition CLOSED 25th March 2015 2:26am
WINNER
David_Macleod (14397816)
David_Macleod (14397816)
RUNNERS-UP:
gazellemon
and hornyatmorn
The Word
Anonymous
Poetry Contest Description
Power of a word
If you had the power to remove one word from existence and by removing this word, you'd erase all its meaning and connotations.
What word would you choose?
1. New or old poem (No previous winners)
2. No word limit
3. Grammar and spelling checked
4. One entry per entrant
5. Two weeks duration
What word would you choose?
1. New or old poem (No previous winners)
2. No word limit
3. Grammar and spelling checked
4. One entry per entrant
5. Two weeks duration
Anonymous
when you say grammar, are you talking the correct use of your, you're, there, their, etc? or are we actually talking correct sentence structure and such? because while i can do that if i must, i don't always employ it while writing poetry. :)
Anonymous
Yes, grammar as in usage, tense, pronouns etc. As for sentence structure, I will leave it open to your discretion, especially in free verse format, I'm well aware that the lines are not always as disciplined as in specific forms of poetry. Therefore, there will be much more flexibility in that respect.
Anonymous
Thanks hornyatmorn, for kicking off the comp.
Not strictly what you asked for, Rina, but since I have written a poem called 'The Word', I couldn't resist posting it.
The Word
Consider the word.
Relish it. Turn it. Marvel at it.
Thought made sound,
It lingers for its moment on the air
And then is gone.
Yet still it lingers in the mind,
Thought returned to thought.
Or, silent on the page,
Captured in the coils and curves
Of alphabets and ideograms,
Marks, signs and symbols,
It lies in wait to catch the passer-by
And leave its gift of knowledge or despair.
Examine its machinery:
Its hooks, its springs, its universal joints,
Its subtle movements and its fertile power.
See how it locks in place,
Or opens to reveal
New planes and depths of thought.
Admire its bold façade,
Fixed and certain in its form.
But hear its echoes;
Peer down its dusty passages
Which branch and meet through time,
Where recessed doors are closed on ancient rooms.
The Word
Consider the word.
Relish it. Turn it. Marvel at it.
Thought made sound,
It lingers for its moment on the air
And then is gone.
Yet still it lingers in the mind,
Thought returned to thought.
Or, silent on the page,
Captured in the coils and curves
Of alphabets and ideograms,
Marks, signs and symbols,
It lies in wait to catch the passer-by
And leave its gift of knowledge or despair.
Examine its machinery:
Its hooks, its springs, its universal joints,
Its subtle movements and its fertile power.
See how it locks in place,
Or opens to reveal
New planes and depths of thought.
Admire its bold façade,
Fixed and certain in its form.
But hear its echoes;
Peer down its dusty passages
Which branch and meet through time,
Where recessed doors are closed on ancient rooms.
Anonymous
Thank you Ceejay for your entry.
So there he stands. Dark as night, and Tall as an oak.
Hands like the Hulk.
And I'm stupid enough to let him know I'm no joke.
So the words fly. None too harsh to stain or provoke.
Just enough for each to test the other.
He wants me to spit it. That word. The worst ever spoken.
I'm not giving him the satisfaction, so
I lay out a possible unpleasant situation, and he replies:
"I don't know about all that, but I do know
ain't no white boy gonna kick my ass!"
We both look hard at each other.
I mean, anybody can see the shit's about to fly.
I summon my coldest Don't-Fuck-With-Me, and calmly reply:
"Maybe I'm not as white as you'd like me to be."
A moment's calm before the storm, then I see it:
A smile about to break on that Take-No-Shit face.
The smile becomes a grin, and we laugh and bump knuckles.
I didn't take the bait: an advantage made
by deleting that word from my vocabulary.
After all, this was not a black and white thing,
but a him and me thing.
Hands like the Hulk.
And I'm stupid enough to let him know I'm no joke.
So the words fly. None too harsh to stain or provoke.
Just enough for each to test the other.
He wants me to spit it. That word. The worst ever spoken.
I'm not giving him the satisfaction, so
I lay out a possible unpleasant situation, and he replies:
"I don't know about all that, but I do know
ain't no white boy gonna kick my ass!"
We both look hard at each other.
I mean, anybody can see the shit's about to fly.
I summon my coldest Don't-Fuck-With-Me, and calmly reply:
"Maybe I'm not as white as you'd like me to be."
A moment's calm before the storm, then I see it:
A smile about to break on that Take-No-Shit face.
The smile becomes a grin, and we laugh and bump knuckles.
I didn't take the bait: an advantage made
by deleting that word from my vocabulary.
After all, this was not a black and white thing,
but a him and me thing.
Nigger
niggers come in all colors
the worst of them is white
white niggers are the worst niggers
because they think they're special
but no black person
was ever a nigger
and now to control and enslave them
they made blacks call each other niggers
they made them subconscious slaves
once they have your mind
they have your time
and your existence is in bondage
until someone free liberates you
white niggers are the worst type of niggers
but niggers come in all colors
I hate bitch niggers the most
I wish there were no more niggers
and every body set free
to live in magnificent health, happiness and harmony
may the world and the universe and the English language
be free
of the word
nigger
There are no niggers
there are only warriors and slaves
be a warrior
niggers come in all colors
the worst of them is white
white niggers are the worst niggers
because they think they're special
but no black person
was ever a nigger
and now to control and enslave them
they made blacks call each other niggers
they made them subconscious slaves
once they have your mind
they have your time
and your existence is in bondage
until someone free liberates you
white niggers are the worst type of niggers
but niggers come in all colors
I hate bitch niggers the most
I wish there were no more niggers
and every body set free
to live in magnificent health, happiness and harmony
may the world and the universe and the English language
be free
of the word
nigger
There are no niggers
there are only warriors and slaves
be a warrior
If I had just one wish of the English language,
I'd dismiss the word race,
not the competition,
though it's funny how that seem's to be the white mission,
Why do we need to define artificial difference,
embedded in the children,
Paint the Christian savior in positive favor?
tear through the layers of what it all means,
Do the equation Caucasian is still Asian,
The racist persuasion is the ugliest hatred,
Both science and religion describe a common origin,
Maybe I'd rather do away with the word foreign,
And award those who destroy the barriers,
Judge only based on character,
But no, we are still surrounded by name-sayers,
I transcend above that behavior,
and stay connected with nature,
There is no stranger so do away with race,
If only for today,
don't discriminate against what you can not change.
I'd dismiss the word race,
not the competition,
though it's funny how that seem's to be the white mission,
Why do we need to define artificial difference,
embedded in the children,
Paint the Christian savior in positive favor?
tear through the layers of what it all means,
Do the equation Caucasian is still Asian,
The racist persuasion is the ugliest hatred,
Both science and religion describe a common origin,
Maybe I'd rather do away with the word foreign,
And award those who destroy the barriers,
Judge only based on character,
But no, we are still surrounded by name-sayers,
I transcend above that behavior,
and stay connected with nature,
There is no stranger so do away with race,
If only for today,
don't discriminate against what you can not change.
Anonymous
Thanks for entering your poems Brad, Bo and Fred.
Anonymous
Banish Civilisation
(For lack of civility)
There's a shaken feeling I get
a high frequency hum in my head
that makes me want to run
panic stricken my mind zooming
like a coke freak
in a stolen Lamborghini
they call it civilisation but
it feels savage attacking my senses
judging and assessing me and
everything normal in comparison
thieves and liars who've learned
how to act
to back stab with proper etiquette
they've traipsed around the globe
stealing and destroying old ways
the savage beasts tamed
grateful they say for factories
and Christ
freedom sold down the silk road
to Armageddon
and the slaves stand united
a civilised nation
owned by the masters
civility extinct
I think and therefore
I don't fit
(For lack of civility)
There's a shaken feeling I get
a high frequency hum in my head
that makes me want to run
panic stricken my mind zooming
like a coke freak
in a stolen Lamborghini
they call it civilisation but
it feels savage attacking my senses
judging and assessing me and
everything normal in comparison
thieves and liars who've learned
how to act
to back stab with proper etiquette
they've traipsed around the globe
stealing and destroying old ways
the savage beasts tamed
grateful they say for factories
and Christ
freedom sold down the silk road
to Armageddon
and the slaves stand united
a civilised nation
owned by the masters
civility extinct
I think and therefore
I don't fit
Anonymous
<< post removed >>
gazellemon said:If I had just one wish of the English language,
I'd dismiss the word race,
not the competition,
though it's funny how that seem's to be the white mission,
Why do we need to define artificial difference,
embedded in the children,
Paint the Christian savior in positive favor?
tear through the layers of what it all means,
Do the equation Caucasian is still Asian,
The racist persuasion is the ugliest hatred,
Both science and religion describe a common origin,
Maybe I'd rather do away with the word foreign,
And award those who destroy the barriers,
Judge only based on character,
But no, we are still surrounded by name-sayers,
I transcend above that behavior,
and stay connected with nature,
There is no stranger so do away with race,
If only for today,
don't discriminate against what you can not change.
This poem, juxtaposed with the profile pic that has a flag in the background....ironic, almost callously humorous...
Apologies for massive etiquete breach...
I'd dismiss the word race,
not the competition,
though it's funny how that seem's to be the white mission,
Why do we need to define artificial difference,
embedded in the children,
Paint the Christian savior in positive favor?
tear through the layers of what it all means,
Do the equation Caucasian is still Asian,
The racist persuasion is the ugliest hatred,
Both science and religion describe a common origin,
Maybe I'd rather do away with the word foreign,
And award those who destroy the barriers,
Judge only based on character,
But no, we are still surrounded by name-sayers,
I transcend above that behavior,
and stay connected with nature,
There is no stranger so do away with race,
If only for today,
don't discriminate against what you can not change.
This poem, juxtaposed with the profile pic that has a flag in the background....ironic, almost callously humorous...
Apologies for massive etiquete breach...
