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Poetry competition CLOSED 3rd February 2021 3:17pm
WINNER
da_poetic-edifier (Damon)
da_poetic-edifier (Damon)
RUNNERS-UP:
I_IS_ME
and Poems4me
BAME (Black And Minority Ethnic) free topic contest
I Look At The World (The Higher Road)
I seek to find
the higher road;
in country wide I roam.
But where to find
without bein' blind
a better way to go,
O, a better way to go!
When all around
our dreams lie bound
by fences and corrals;
on paths we walk
comrades who talk
of freer times than now,
O, of freer times than now!
I cannot see
nor feel their pull,
oppressed though they
in joy are masked --
all our wills defy this still:
the better road we lack,
O, the better road we lack!
.....
(a support non-entry)
the higher road;
in country wide I roam.
But where to find
without bein' blind
a better way to go,
O, a better way to go!
When all around
our dreams lie bound
by fences and corrals;
on paths we walk
comrades who talk
of freer times than now,
O, of freer times than now!
I cannot see
nor feel their pull,
oppressed though they
in joy are masked --
all our wills defy this still:
the better road we lack,
O, the better road we lack!
.....
(a support non-entry)
Written by PoetsRevenge
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Jermaine Should Be A Household Name
I watched the television at high noon
Laughed and made mean gestures as that uncouth, Orange buffoon boarded a helicopter and knew that soon WE the people would come together, brave the steel winter’s unforgiving weather, and welcome adults back into the room. YES! We would watch, teary eyed as the racist underbelly of this country, crawling back to hide beneath the rocks and stones, left a country to atone, for this stolen land. America, raise your crimson hands and know you’re not alone. When suddenly... who should step up to the podium, to speak the truth from their heart? An upstart. Lemme make it plain. Jermaine should be a household name.
I don’t know this “poet laureate”- and I reckon I won’t soon forget. America, you failed, my inauguration invite must’ve got lost in the mail cause I sitting at home watching this on the TV when our leaders should be in front of me, saying “Jermaine you nailed that shit.” “Jermaine where did you find the words.” “Jermaine, you been graced with a gift”- but now our country limps forward cause I can’t uplift the nation if they can’t hear what I was gonna say. Cancel the celebration. Who likes Tom Hanks anyway? Not to belabor the point, but allow me once more to explain. Jermaine should be a household name.
Y’all fucked up.
Laughed and made mean gestures as that uncouth, Orange buffoon boarded a helicopter and knew that soon WE the people would come together, brave the steel winter’s unforgiving weather, and welcome adults back into the room. YES! We would watch, teary eyed as the racist underbelly of this country, crawling back to hide beneath the rocks and stones, left a country to atone, for this stolen land. America, raise your crimson hands and know you’re not alone. When suddenly... who should step up to the podium, to speak the truth from their heart? An upstart. Lemme make it plain. Jermaine should be a household name.
I don’t know this “poet laureate”- and I reckon I won’t soon forget. America, you failed, my inauguration invite must’ve got lost in the mail cause I sitting at home watching this on the TV when our leaders should be in front of me, saying “Jermaine you nailed that shit.” “Jermaine where did you find the words.” “Jermaine, you been graced with a gift”- but now our country limps forward cause I can’t uplift the nation if they can’t hear what I was gonna say. Cancel the celebration. Who likes Tom Hanks anyway? Not to belabor the point, but allow me once more to explain. Jermaine should be a household name.
Y’all fucked up.
Written by Jermainesplain
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SO HARD I CRIED
So hard I cried, but you turned a deaf ear
Tell out my errors, worth sentence to die
He dragged me out in fragments, less a fear!
Your lust, your deeds, I was forced to appear
I saw in your plans my end drawing nigh
so hard I cried, but you turned a deaf ear
You said "I'm not ready and can not rear"
He asked what to do you made sign witheye He dragged me out in fragments, less a fear!
You look so fine, but in your hands redsmear. Do you raise your head, when a baby cry?
So hard I cried, but you turned a deaf ear.
I would have been out, in less than a year.
But now in the deep, I cry and ask: why
He dragged me out in fragments, less a fear?
The suction, the squeeze, I knew I wouldtear
And shatter my hope, like a bird, to fly.
So hard I cried, but you turned a deaf ear.
He dragged me out in fragments, less a fear!
Tell out my errors, worth sentence to die
He dragged me out in fragments, less a fear!
Your lust, your deeds, I was forced to appear
I saw in your plans my end drawing nigh
so hard I cried, but you turned a deaf ear
You said "I'm not ready and can not rear"
He asked what to do you made sign witheye He dragged me out in fragments, less a fear!
You look so fine, but in your hands redsmear. Do you raise your head, when a baby cry?
So hard I cried, but you turned a deaf ear.
I would have been out, in less than a year.
But now in the deep, I cry and ask: why
He dragged me out in fragments, less a fear?
The suction, the squeeze, I knew I wouldtear
And shatter my hope, like a bird, to fly.
So hard I cried, but you turned a deaf ear.
He dragged me out in fragments, less a fear!
Written by Gentle
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Anonymous
<< post removed >>
Anonymous
<< post removed >>
Hi, everyone!
I believe I am a guest judge by voluntary consent. Although I have taken a while to come to the forum, here I am. Having read up on the preceding dialogue, let me first thank our host for conceiving of this competition for the sheer facilitating of minority voices among whom she cannot, herself, be numbered.
Recently (last year) I became heavily involved in a Freedom of Speech forum hosted by Ahavati, et al. I found enough leverage to challenge my White counterparts to write an essay from the perspective of being Black, and several persons rose to the test, doing excellently. Someone challenged me in return to write like a White individual, and I did not flinch from the dare.
I say all that to say this: I do not see any harm in allowing non-contest entries from individuals outside the prescribed group guidelines, as long as their entries are thus identified and not shortlisted for the final adjudication. In that case, I would welcome entries from JohnnyBlaze, since he has asked. The same would go for Ahavati and slipalong. They understand their entries will not be judged because we do not accept surrogate experience or ethnicity here.
Hey, anna_grin: if you feel the same way after all I have said, you do have the final word.
Sincerely
I believe I am a guest judge by voluntary consent. Although I have taken a while to come to the forum, here I am. Having read up on the preceding dialogue, let me first thank our host for conceiving of this competition for the sheer facilitating of minority voices among whom she cannot, herself, be numbered.
Recently (last year) I became heavily involved in a Freedom of Speech forum hosted by Ahavati, et al. I found enough leverage to challenge my White counterparts to write an essay from the perspective of being Black, and several persons rose to the test, doing excellently. Someone challenged me in return to write like a White individual, and I did not flinch from the dare.
I say all that to say this: I do not see any harm in allowing non-contest entries from individuals outside the prescribed group guidelines, as long as their entries are thus identified and not shortlisted for the final adjudication. In that case, I would welcome entries from JohnnyBlaze, since he has asked. The same would go for Ahavati and slipalong. They understand their entries will not be judged because we do not accept surrogate experience or ethnicity here.
Hey, anna_grin: if you feel the same way after all I have said, you do have the final word.
Sincerely
cabcool said:Hi, everyone!
I believe I am a guest judge by voluntary consent. Although I have taken a while to come to the forum, here I am. Having read up on the preceding dialogue, let me first thank our host for conceiving of this competition for the sheer facilitating of minority voices among whom she cannot, herself, be numbered.
Recently (last year) I became heavily involved in a Freedom of Speech forum hosted by Ahavati, et al. I found enough leverage to challenge my White counterparts to write an essay from the perspective of being Black, and several persons rose to the test, doing excellently. Someone challenged me in return to write like a White individual, and I did not flinch from the dare.
I say all that to say this: I do not see any harm in allowing non-contest entries from individuals outside the prescribed group guidelines, as long as their entries are thus identified and not shortlisted for the final adjudication. In that case, I would welcome entries from JohnnyBlaze, since he has asked. The same would go for Ahavati and slipalong. They understand their entries will not be judged because we do not accept surrogate experience or ethnicity here.
Hey, anna_grin: if you feel the same way after all I have said, you do have the final word.
Sincerely
firstly, thanks for joining the thread , cab! introducing our guest judge, everyone. have a read of his, he’s pretty cool
second, agree with you completely on the principle, and i think our readers understand as well. i do have to point out that ahaviti would be welcome to post an entry for consideration being a hefty part native american which is indeed a minority.
BAME covers black and minority ethnic, as i felt all of these groups deserved the space. i know it might seem a bit weird to bundle them all under “minority ethnic” and add them in with black when the cultures are not the same at all, but the experience of discrimination exists there still and that is why, i believe, the concept was created, as an artificial restorer of balance. if i was to run a black only competition i’d feel a bit hypocritical because firstly, im not black, and also i would feel i was excluding other poet’s voices.
i’d like it publicly known that cabcool will have the deciding vote in this poetry contest . i will do my part by suggesting which ones i like best poetically and choosing what shape of trophy the winner and runners up will receive.
I believe I am a guest judge by voluntary consent. Although I have taken a while to come to the forum, here I am. Having read up on the preceding dialogue, let me first thank our host for conceiving of this competition for the sheer facilitating of minority voices among whom she cannot, herself, be numbered.
Recently (last year) I became heavily involved in a Freedom of Speech forum hosted by Ahavati, et al. I found enough leverage to challenge my White counterparts to write an essay from the perspective of being Black, and several persons rose to the test, doing excellently. Someone challenged me in return to write like a White individual, and I did not flinch from the dare.
I say all that to say this: I do not see any harm in allowing non-contest entries from individuals outside the prescribed group guidelines, as long as their entries are thus identified and not shortlisted for the final adjudication. In that case, I would welcome entries from JohnnyBlaze, since he has asked. The same would go for Ahavati and slipalong. They understand their entries will not be judged because we do not accept surrogate experience or ethnicity here.
Hey, anna_grin: if you feel the same way after all I have said, you do have the final word.
Sincerely
firstly, thanks for joining the thread , cab! introducing our guest judge, everyone. have a read of his, he’s pretty cool
second, agree with you completely on the principle, and i think our readers understand as well. i do have to point out that ahaviti would be welcome to post an entry for consideration being a hefty part native american which is indeed a minority.
BAME covers black and minority ethnic, as i felt all of these groups deserved the space. i know it might seem a bit weird to bundle them all under “minority ethnic” and add them in with black when the cultures are not the same at all, but the experience of discrimination exists there still and that is why, i believe, the concept was created, as an artificial restorer of balance. if i was to run a black only competition i’d feel a bit hypocritical because firstly, im not black, and also i would feel i was excluding other poet’s voices.
i’d like it publicly known that cabcool will have the deciding vote in this poetry contest . i will do my part by suggesting which ones i like best poetically and choosing what shape of trophy the winner and runners up will receive.
Thank you for clarifying that, anna. Just as a notation, the Cherokee Nation doesn't adhere to blood quantum; they adhere to heritage, or family lineage. While I am more than qualified to enter this competion, I was doing so moreso to support ethnic minorities. When it comes to great suffering and unimaginable loss; no minority has the monopoly.
Carry on.
Carry on.
anna_grin said:
firstly, thanks for joining the thread , cab! introducing our guest judge, everyone. have a read of his, he’s pretty cool
second, agree with you completely on the principle, and i think our readers understand as well. i do have to point out that ahaviti would be welcome to post an entry for consideration being a hefty part native american which is indeed a minority.
BAME covers black and minority ethnic, as i felt all of these groups deserved the space. i know it might seem a bit weird to bundle them all under “minority ethnic” and add them in with black when the cultures are not the same at all, but the experience of discrimination exists there still and that is why, i believe, the concept was created, as an artificial restorer of balance. if i was to run a black only competition i’d feel a bit hypocritical because firstly, im not black, and also i would feel i was excluding other poet’s voices.
i’d like it publicly known that cabcool will have the deciding vote in this poetry contest . i will do my part by suggesting which ones i like best poetically and choosing what shape of trophy the winner and runners up will receive.
Joining the thread AND the crusade is my pleasure, anna. Being a vanguard for a worthy cause is always a worthy endeavour; I applaud you for that.
O yes: Ahavati and I are coming a long way; she has demonstrated shrewd understanding, touching sympathies, unflinching support, stalwart defense, and buoyant encouragement to my growth and survival here. She is also a repository of fertile knowledge and experience that have often come to my aid and rescue. I DO know she fits snugly into the group dynamics by virtue of her ethnicity; I guess I was reacting to her "apparent plea" (really more a justification/confirmation of her qualification) to participate. The same thing applies to my super buddy Tallen, who has been missing from me for quite a few months!
BAME covers black and minority ethnic, as i felt all of these groups deserved the space. . . .if i was to run a black only competition i’d feel a bit hypocritical because firstly, im not black, and also i would feel i was excluding other poet’s voices.
Perfect point. This is not exclusively a BLM competition. Thanks for your pregnant insight, whose offspring we must now all nurture for the excellency of its potential.
I appreciate the intro and the role that seems to equate me with VP Kamala Harris -- the Senate tie-breaker! I am passionate about poetry and I guard the opinion that every voice is trying to say something of its own, even in ways others might not at first understand. When unique voices begin to hold their own on a universal stage, then we know the world is becoming oysterized enough to accommodate everyone everywhere -- the very purpose for its and our existence.
firstly, thanks for joining the thread , cab! introducing our guest judge, everyone. have a read of his, he’s pretty cool
second, agree with you completely on the principle, and i think our readers understand as well. i do have to point out that ahaviti would be welcome to post an entry for consideration being a hefty part native american which is indeed a minority.
BAME covers black and minority ethnic, as i felt all of these groups deserved the space. i know it might seem a bit weird to bundle them all under “minority ethnic” and add them in with black when the cultures are not the same at all, but the experience of discrimination exists there still and that is why, i believe, the concept was created, as an artificial restorer of balance. if i was to run a black only competition i’d feel a bit hypocritical because firstly, im not black, and also i would feel i was excluding other poet’s voices.
i’d like it publicly known that cabcool will have the deciding vote in this poetry contest . i will do my part by suggesting which ones i like best poetically and choosing what shape of trophy the winner and runners up will receive.
Joining the thread AND the crusade is my pleasure, anna. Being a vanguard for a worthy cause is always a worthy endeavour; I applaud you for that.
O yes: Ahavati and I are coming a long way; she has demonstrated shrewd understanding, touching sympathies, unflinching support, stalwart defense, and buoyant encouragement to my growth and survival here. She is also a repository of fertile knowledge and experience that have often come to my aid and rescue. I DO know she fits snugly into the group dynamics by virtue of her ethnicity; I guess I was reacting to her "apparent plea" (really more a justification/confirmation of her qualification) to participate. The same thing applies to my super buddy Tallen, who has been missing from me for quite a few months!
BAME covers black and minority ethnic, as i felt all of these groups deserved the space. . . .if i was to run a black only competition i’d feel a bit hypocritical because firstly, im not black, and also i would feel i was excluding other poet’s voices.
Perfect point. This is not exclusively a BLM competition. Thanks for your pregnant insight, whose offspring we must now all nurture for the excellency of its potential.
I appreciate the intro and the role that seems to equate me with VP Kamala Harris -- the Senate tie-breaker! I am passionate about poetry and I guard the opinion that every voice is trying to say something of its own, even in ways others might not at first understand. When unique voices begin to hold their own on a universal stage, then we know the world is becoming oysterized enough to accommodate everyone everywhere -- the very purpose for its and our existence.
