Poetry competition CLOSED 31st August 2011 6:00am
WINNER
opheliac
opheliac
RUNNERS-UP:
rayheinrich
and violet
Rain Rain Come Again Contest
We were bathed in taxi headlights
Running down 5th ave through manhattan twilight
Drops permeated my hair, cooling my skull
Humid July night washed its way down
Streams flowing into the stormgutters
We carried our sweet cookie dreams
Between our sweaty interlocking fists
Mouths open in laughter, washed in summer rain
But somewhere around 39th, the laughter stopped
Our hands were pried apart
The light went from 'walk' to 'don't walk'
And you were walking away
Then I called your name
But sound was trampled over
By the crowd leaving the subway
Somewhere under their feet
Was the bloody battered corpse of sound
And you still walked on
I ran after you
Rain pounding me like gunshots
Digging into my shirt, slapping my face
Piercing my already breaking...
But this one wasn't rain
My hand full of blood
Running through fingers- life
My knees collapsed into a puddle
And as the rain splashed my pallid face
I became part of it
Part of the rain washing Manhattan
Fading in the twilight
Running down 5th ave through manhattan twilight
Drops permeated my hair, cooling my skull
Humid July night washed its way down
Streams flowing into the stormgutters
We carried our sweet cookie dreams
Between our sweaty interlocking fists
Mouths open in laughter, washed in summer rain
But somewhere around 39th, the laughter stopped
Our hands were pried apart
The light went from 'walk' to 'don't walk'
And you were walking away
Then I called your name
But sound was trampled over
By the crowd leaving the subway
Somewhere under their feet
Was the bloody battered corpse of sound
And you still walked on
I ran after you
Rain pounding me like gunshots
Digging into my shirt, slapping my face
Piercing my already breaking...
But this one wasn't rain
My hand full of blood
Running through fingers- life
My knees collapsed into a puddle
And as the rain splashed my pallid face
I became part of it
Part of the rain washing Manhattan
Fading in the twilight
I looked up, and out the window
the summer sky was bright and hazy,
the air thick as a jungle. Content,
I looked back down to my work,
sorting the coins in my piggy bank
which had finally filled to the point
where I didn't feel guilty breaking it open
to count how much I had
going for me in this life.
I looked up again, and this time the sky
was bleak and dark, the haze and distance
having shrouded the ingress
of the heavy grey rainclouds
which poured their weight upon the world
(as if the world didn't have
enough trouble carrying its own).
A single gasp, a half a heartbeat,
a thundercrack and my world split open.
The rain was not cleansing, it was not pure,
it was not reasonable or natural.
It blinded me, burned my eyes,
froze my hands, stung me like lead pellets
and forced me down under their weight.
The heavy drops built up like bricks,
cutting me off from all I saw,
everything I'd finally allowed myself
to believe was true substance.
They cut a swath from the very earth
which I believed was firm and solid.
I floated away, the rag doll of fate,
ripped free of all that tied me to the ground.
And I could do no more than watch,
and hope when the killing maelstrom subsided
there was even a single coin left
to build a new life.
the summer sky was bright and hazy,
the air thick as a jungle. Content,
I looked back down to my work,
sorting the coins in my piggy bank
which had finally filled to the point
where I didn't feel guilty breaking it open
to count how much I had
going for me in this life.
I looked up again, and this time the sky
was bleak and dark, the haze and distance
having shrouded the ingress
of the heavy grey rainclouds
which poured their weight upon the world
(as if the world didn't have
enough trouble carrying its own).
A single gasp, a half a heartbeat,
a thundercrack and my world split open.
The rain was not cleansing, it was not pure,
it was not reasonable or natural.
It blinded me, burned my eyes,
froze my hands, stung me like lead pellets
and forced me down under their weight.
The heavy drops built up like bricks,
cutting me off from all I saw,
everything I'd finally allowed myself
to believe was true substance.
They cut a swath from the very earth
which I believed was firm and solid.
I floated away, the rag doll of fate,
ripped free of all that tied me to the ground.
And I could do no more than watch,
and hope when the killing maelstrom subsided
there was even a single coin left
to build a new life.
Well rain has splashed this part of my world with a strong welcome note and this one is going to be one of the biggest contest as it seems. A competition which I am going to decide in another 15 plus days is already having 20-25 poems with class. So those talents left please rise my wagon and compete...compete hard!!!
[font=Courier New][size=2] Wow, there are SO many good ones. (Hey, there are even four better than mine!! 
Why not have three awards? No need to say who's first, second, third...
Just give awards to the three you think are the best. With so many good poems,
I think the writers deserve more than just one award. (IMHO, of course.)
Why not have three awards? No need to say who's first, second, third...
Just give awards to the three you think are the best. With so many good poems,
I think the writers deserve more than just one award. (IMHO, of course.)
The page for awarding a trophy only allows one winner (and up to two runners up). This stops too many trophies being given out (thereby "devaluing" them).
However, I have included the capacity for awarding two trophies (as we've had some collaboration competitions and so forth in the past). I totally agree with Ray, that since this has been such a popular competition, more than one winner could be declared.
So if you do decide you want an extra winner, please let me know and I'll manually award it.
I had considered trying to link the number of trophies allowed to the number of entries, but it's hard to distinguish entries from comments (I considered a checkbox each time a post is made, but I think that would be overcomplicated and error prone).
The automated system is working pretty well, the only downside is this lack of flexibility.
THE WEEPING WILLOW
In the rain,
In sorrow and in pain,
A small child,
Cries in the rain…
The small child hides,
Under a tree,
So no one can see him,
Crying in the rain…
Then he sees the tree,
And sees it weep,
It is a Weeping Willow,
Crying in the rain…
The rain still pours,
But the child does not weep.
However, the willow is still
Crying in the rain…
In the rain,
In sorrow and in pain,
A small child,
Cries in the rain…
The small child hides,
Under a tree,
So no one can see him,
Crying in the rain…
Then he sees the tree,
And sees it weep,
It is a Weeping Willow,
Crying in the rain…
The rain still pours,
But the child does not weep.
However, the willow is still
Crying in the rain…
Thank you all my participants for making this competiton a huge success and the most difficult one for me to decide.
However, I stick to my very own opening note to you all that I wished to see the most interesting images of rain in poetry. Even though I got diverse entries the declared winner's entries actually striked my chord.
I wish I could have some more winners because the number of entries have been huge but then I thought that a competition must have a limited number of winners.
Last but not the least my 4th winner is Jack Heslop and my fifth winner is Mike. Your entries were too close to my topic. However, in terms of trophies I just limit myself over-here to the winners I have chosen, i.e. the top three winners.
Congratulation winners. Participate in my other forthcoming contests.
However, I stick to my very own opening note to you all that I wished to see the most interesting images of rain in poetry. Even though I got diverse entries the declared winner's entries actually striked my chord.
I wish I could have some more winners because the number of entries have been huge but then I thought that a competition must have a limited number of winners.
Last but not the least my 4th winner is Jack Heslop and my fifth winner is Mike. Your entries were too close to my topic. However, in terms of trophies I just limit myself over-here to the winners I have chosen, i.e. the top three winners.
Congratulation winners. Participate in my other forthcoming contests.
My dear Anando!
I can't thank you enough for choosing my poem! It means so much to me as it comes from a great writer as yourself.
I also want to congratulate everyone who participated in this contest; your entries were greater than mine.
I can't thank you enough for choosing my poem! It means so much to me as it comes from a great writer as yourself.
I also want to congratulate everyone who participated in this contest; your entries were greater than mine.
