Poetic Medic #2 : To The Poem's Rescue

These entries are absolutely off the chart.  Each of you have risen to meet this difficult ( to say the least ) challenge head on, and have compiled poetry reflecting your own styles and thoughts.  This goes to show how, regarding poetry, there is something new under the sun with the same 80 words.  We are so proud of you!

And for those who believe they can't do it -- you honestly can!  Don't give up! This is one of the most rewarding challenges you'll accomplish!

Hello, everybody. I'm Kathy, and I just entered this competition of 80 words, to do as I may, as I can manage.  There, there's my entry, see it? Now, if I can do that, so too can anyone who has had any experience writing poetry. Let me be the first of the veteran DUP members who came through.  And it doesn't actually matter, it's not the priority thing that happens to you once you too cross the finish line.  Are you engrossed in winning?  Don't you know you've already won when you see this through with a poem you made that never existed before. THAT is our trophy, the reward, the brass ring.  And oh how you'll feel once you get a good rest, sleeping the sleep of the victorious.

Thank you, Ahavati, for letting me step forward to speak of my own journey in this challenge. Now it's time for those who don't think they can do it. You won't know till you try, and try earnestly.  God bless you all...

Kathy

Wonderful words of encouragement, Kathy! We appreciate both them and your caring for others.

Thank you for sharing.

You heard it here first, folks! <3

Yes, thank you, Kathy. Wise words of encouragement.

For those who may not be aware of it, the poem scrambled up in this competition is "Sleeping in the Forest" by none other than Mary Oliver, who recently passed away.

Thank you for your wonderful entries thus far.

Somewhere, she's smirking, perhaps pleased she had such a profound effect upon the Natural world and us poets who constantly redefine it through words.

📝❤

Yes, we were going to wait to announce this; however, in lieu of recent circumstances . . .

If you so feel led, please edit and hashtag your entries #MaryOliver

JohnnyBlaze said:For those who may not be aware of it, the poem scrambled up in this competition is "Sleeping in the Forest" by none other than Mary Oliver, who recently passed away.

Thank you for your wonderful entries thus far.

Somewhere, she's smirking, perhaps pleased she had such a profound effect upon the Natural world and us poets who constantly redefine it through words.

📝❤

#MaryOliver

WORDS FROM:

Sleeping in the Forest

I thought the earth remembered me,
she took me back so tenderly,
arranging her dark skirts, her pockets
full of lichens and seeds.
I slept as never before, a stone on the river bed,
nothing between me and the white fire of the stars
but my thoughts, and they floated light as moths
among the branches of the perfect trees.
All night I heard the small kingdoms
breathing around me, the insects,
and the birds who do their work in the darkness.
All night I rose and fell, as if in water,
grappling with a luminous doom. By morning
I had vanished at least a dozen times
into something better.

from Sleeping In The Forest
© 1978 by Mary Oliver

A Dozen Roses

Thank you all for participating in our second Poetic Medic competition, which was an absolute nightmare to contend with. Given our own attempts, Ahavati and I know exactly how frustrating it was to piece all those words together into poem with a coherent story to relate.

And aside from all of the listed 80 words being used, that's what we were mainly looking for -  coherence.

So, that being said ...

Hepcat61, you succeeded in both regards with a poem that flowed, due in part to your reliance upon our friend, The Comma.  We also would like to point out that forms being your wheelhouse, you conquered an uphill battle. Congratulations - the trophy is yours! 📝🏆

Eerie, you likewise rose to the occasion, but the judges concurred that while it started off amazingly well, your entry somewhat unraveled in coherence towards the end.

Heaven_sent_Kathy, yours too was a commendable effort. It was almost there! Likewise, it lost its steam before the finish line.

And we were blessed with many more impressive entries - though saddened by the sudden loss of Mary Oliver midway through, whose poem "Sleeping in the Forest" provided the words you all had to work with. Please add the theme #MaryOliver to your entries. She would be proud of your accomplishments here.

Thank you again for entering! We hope you will participate in our latest Poetic Medic #3 challenge just getting under way here:

https://deepundergroundpoetry.com/forum/competitions/read/10619/

And pay us a visit in our other Classic Corner comps currently in progress:

Maya Angelo
https://deepundergroundpoetry.com/forum/competitions/read/10611/

Pablo Neruda
https://deepundergroundpoetry.com/forum/competitions/read/10615/

Congratulations to everyone for a job well done! And especially to our winners, Hepcat61, Eerie, and Heaven_sent_Kathy! Hope to see you in the next!