English Poetry Contest - December

child of the other side · Geplaatst: Di Dec 04, 2007 9:28

Winners of the November Contest;
1st place; Nevodeon
2nd place; FelixdeFeniks and Loesewies Boterslag

Hello everybody and welcome to a new English Poetry Contest!
This challenge will be organized every month, by Marlie (Child of the other side) and Charlotte (Sweet Hermione).

The idea is very simple. We decide the subject, you write the poem. (And of course, we’ll try to make an entry as well.) This can be anything that’s inspiring; another poem, a lyric, a title, a picture, a word, etc. We’ll try to vary the subject as much as possible.

Every participant has to maintain the following rules:

About the voting:

Well, those were the rules and now the most important part; PRIZES!

1st place - 40 sickles
2nd place - 30 sickles
3rd place - 20 sickles

No one can win the first price more than 3 times in a row. If so, SH / Cotos will decide what to do. I hope you all understand why we do this.
AND, *drums*, this time we have a special price for the first place winner; he or she gets to decide what the subject of January is. ^^

The subject of this month is a lyric;

Underneath the sky

Underneath the sky of red
Is a storyteller sleeping alone
He has no face and he has no name
And his whereabouts are sort of unknown

All he needs is his life ln a suitcase
It belongs to a friend of a friend
And as we drink to ourselves
We'll amuse ourselves
Underneath the sky, underneath the sky again
Underneath the sky again

So wish me away to an unknown place
Am I living in a land with no name
I'll be making a start with a brand new heart
Stop me making sense again

All we need is our lives in a suitcase
They belong to a friend of a friend's
And as we drink to ourselves
We'll amuse ourselves
Underneath the sky, underneath the sky again
Underneath the sky again
(This song belongs to Oasis, please don’t steal or reproduce it.^^)

The task is simple; you can choose whether you write a poem about the whole lyric/a stanza/a sentence/the title/the expressions/etc. You can also use words of the lyric in your poem or name your poem after one of the phrases. The only thing that’s not allowed is to use more than two whole sentences of the lyric in your poem.

Please send your poem between the 4th and the 26th of December.
And you can vote between the 27th and 1st (24.00) of January.

We wish everybody good luck and lots of fun. If you have any suggestions, tips, notes or ideas; feel free to use the lovely pb-button, it’s begging to be pushed.

Charlotte (Sweet Hermione) and Marlie (Cotos).

child of the other side · Geplaatst: Do Dec 06, 2007 12:15

1st Poem

My inspiration for this poem is the first stanza of the lyrics:
Underneath the sky of red
Is a storyteller sleeping alone
He has no face and he has no name
And his whereabouts are sort of unknown
It made me think of a vagrant, homeless man, who has to beg for money. And in big city's, you have these vagrants who sell junk for a living, like flashlights, or whatever. So I made up the Laceman, a vagrant who sells shoelaces. I wanted to write something about the story of the Laceman.
It's not the best I've written, but it's alright, I guess, though I couldn't get the rhythm quite right. Anyway, here it is:

Laceman, oh Laceman
Tell me your story
Please, do

Silver hair
Wrinkled face
And baggy clothes
His kind, sad eyes emit
Wisdom

He’s always there
Never leaves his place
Selling shoelaces for a dime
Waiting for his next customer
In vain, he knows

Everyday, I wonder
Who the Laceman really is
What’s his story
Where’s he been
Yet no one seems to know

Laceman, oh Laceman
Tell me your story
Please, do

Sweet Hermione · Geplaatst: Vr Dec 07, 2007 9:20

2nd Poem

The first stanza inspired me:

Underneath the sky of red
Is a storyteller sleeping alone
He has no face and he has no name
And his whereabouts are sort of unknown

It is about the first tree lines. It made me think of a wandering poet, all alone in a cold, dark winternight. He always wants to tell his stories, it is his way of surviving, but no one listens to him. Although he has been anywhere, nodody knows him. He wants to go home, but can't find the way anymore. In the past, he had always wished for the life of a poet, alone, and get inspiration for his poetry, to become a big name. But this life is very disillusioning and he wants to go back, but there is no way.

---

A wanderer in the cold dark winternight
The dark and the haze hiding his path home
The sky, a velvet veil, his only disguise
From his demons, he walks alone

This wanderer, storyteller by heart, yet unknown
Only living to tell his tales
He fights through the despair of being alone
By writing his words in the glance of the moonlight so pale

To find a word, to seek a rhyme
Never shall he wonder
Always has he been enclined
To write, to tear humanity asunder
Has always been his greatest wish
Yet never to be granted
Begging for someone who can relinquish
Him from the life he demanded
The life of a poet ever alone
Under the moonlight sky, he wants to find home

Sweet Hermione · Geplaatst: Do Dec 13, 2007 8:59

3rd poem

Hi, there. For my poem I only used two sentences from the song. ‘And as we drink to ourselves’ and ‘Underneath the sky, underneath the sky again’. My poem isn’t really like the song, but more sensitive and it isn’t a happy poem. Anyway, if you read it you’ll understand!

---

Long, blond hear felt elegant in the princess’ neck,
When he said he wanted her back,
The prince didn’t realized that I’ve got a heart too,
Cinderella lost her heart, along with her shoe

The Prince Charming didn’t thought twice,
Now I have to pay the price,
I’m sitting underneath the late night sky,
A bottle whisky in each hand, ready to cry

Does it always have to be like this,
That only princesses deserve the kiss,
You have to live a fairytale life,
The only thing that let you feel alive

My body lying in the green grass and thinking,
Looking at those falling stars, keep on drinking,
When I close my eyes for the last time,
I’m forgetting the sins, I’m forgetting the crime

child of the other side · Geplaatst: Di Dec 18, 2007 19:25

4th poem

This poem is what I felt like after I read the lyric. I felt like I had left something behind, something that was now beyond repair. No mather how hard you will try, you've lost what you loved.

---

This love you are giving me is like a blanket that doesn’t cover me
Your love is like the blanket that always leaves my feet cold
True love shouldn’t keep you awake in the nights you spend alone
You love is not the one that offers me sleep this night

My heart is not yours to take along wherever you go
This heart is mine and I will keep it save all the nights that you're gone
Your heart will never warm me again when the evening is cold
Two hearts shall no longer beat as one after tonight

Your breath is no longer calming me when I cry about you
This breath is freezing my heart in these cold nights without you
My breath is the only thing I can still control when I scream your name
Our breaths will no longer breath each other for I don’t love you anymore

I will be gone after tonight

Sweet Hermione · Geplaatst: Di Dec 25, 2007 23:09

5th poem:

So wish me away to an unknown place
Am I living in a land with no name
I'll be making a start with a brand new heart
Stop me making sense again

I really loved this part of the lyrics, because it reminds me of me.
I am in struggle with myself, these days. I think I can be more fun than I am right now. I'm a teenager. I must be wild. But mabye I don't know how to be like that.
The first stanza is a symbol for losing control: broken eggs.

---

The perfect teenage story

The eggs were scattered, dripping
Over furniture and floors
My house were a church
For twenty-fours

It's morning, it's broken
My soul could bear no more
Sleepy eyes lost innocence
Soken alcoholic chor

Misschief in bunny-ears
Slithered back beneath
I'm crying out for gazing tramp
Soldiers between burning sheet

''Disgust must be so precious,''
I think, my head in heath
I never lived a life, but swell
I will take life at lead

child of the other side · Geplaatst: Wo Dec 26, 2007 14:10

6th Poem

The lyrics remind me of modern society. We’re no-ones. We don’t have a name, we don’t have a face, we’re blank. Yet we bear a lot of memories. I think the suitcase is a metaphor for our mind/history.
I used several words of the lyrics in my poem, such as underneath the sky and suitcase. The poem is mostly about the past, how life used to be.

---

What’s Lost

The kill flies over the edge
The mighty time bird sings
A bill left
Undone and spilled
The silence rumoured of silent flings

Underneath the pale indigo sky
Where candles scarcely shine
I gave up
This alarming rate
And wished to be your concubine

The eagle’s scout has never won
His silver wings down the brine
Bring back hope
And a bottle of gin
I’m suffering a life that isn’t mine

A suit fits with my suitcase
A ribbon with my crowd
I slowly drown
In the day
And sing a song about

What’s lost

Sweet Hermione · Geplaatst: Wo Dec 26, 2007 21:17

You can vote from tomorrow (this night, actually, from 0.00 'o clock) until the first (0.00) of January.

About the voting

- Use more than 15 words to explain why you've chosen a certain poem. "I love it" won't do
- You only have three votes. The first vote will be 3 points, the second vote 2 points, and your last vote will be 1 point. We will count all these points per person. The three poets with the most points are the winners. Please, place these votes in the same post and think before you make a choice, we don't appreciate cheaters
- You have to vote before the given date, if you cast your vote later it doesn't count

How to vote:
My first/second/third vote goes to poem number:
Because:

Good luck with voting!
We hope we will have a lot of votes. *hint*

SO YOU CAN START VOTING NOW. =D

Rayatje · Volleerd Tovenaar Verdiend: 0 Sikkels

My first vote goes to poem number: #1

Because: I really like the laceman part. Accept I don't have a clue what a laceman is, I love the word. *cough* I also like the style and the way how it's written. Really beautiful. The words are wisefully chosen and you can see that. Worth my vote.

My second vote goes to poem number: #6

Because: Wow.. What a poem.. I really liked this poem too! I was in a doubt (zeg je dat zo? xD) between this poem and number one to go as my first vote, but I thought number one was a bit better. I like the concept of this poem. There are a lot of beautiful words in it or beautiful sentences. Very Happy

Totally worth my second vote.

My thirth vote goes to poem number: #4

Because: This poem doesn't give me a warm feeling or makes me feel happy. But the feeling it gives me, it's good. It's a sad poem, but I really like it. First I thought the long sentences were a bit too long, but after reading it I was sold. =D Beautiful poem!

Let niet op m'n mislukt Engels xD Ik had geen zin om fantastische zinnen te maken en het is al laat, eh. :'D

child of the other side · Geplaatst: Wo Jan 02, 2008 22:03

Come on folks, is it that difficult to vote? Unfortunately it’s too late now, therefore SH and I have voted in your place.
If you don’t agree with this; please vote next time. (:

***

My first vote goes to poem number 2

Although I’m not really fond of the first two stanza’s, the last stanza makes it up. The rhyme and rhythm are good, so is the flow. I like the words you’ve used, they are not ordinary, they sound special. And the subject attracts me as well.

My second vote goes to poem number 5

A very close second, it was hard for me to choose. I liked your descriptions, especially these two lines It's morning, it’s broken and I'm crying out for gazing tramp, Soldiers between burning sheet. They sound very pretty ^^ and they make me think.
But I think you should have altered the first two lines of the last stanza. They seem, somehow, out of place.

My third vote goes to poem number 1

It’s a bit similar to poem number two (or vice versa) and yet it is so different. You use very short sentences but it fits with your style of poetry. I like the way you tell his story. It should be sad but somehow it makes me feel happy, like he’s not really dissatisfied with who and where he is. Nice.

Sweet Hermione · Geplaatst: Wo Jan 02, 2008 22:12

My first vote goes to poem number: 2
Because: The last stanza. It's perfect. The ending is very good. I actually don't think that the poem has got a very original subject, but you did it very, very well.

My second vote goes to poem number: 3
Because: I don't like cliché-fairytale-poems, but it's sad fairytale poem and me likes. =D It's about too lovers and one girl. That's really realistic.
I like the contradiction between the ''fake'' world and the real world.

My third vote goes to poem number: 6
Because: Another sad poem, yaaay. xD A bit too complicated for me, I'm not that good in English, but eh, I like it. I especially admire your ending: I slowly drown / In the day / And sing a song about / What’s lost .
I like the subject as well, and I agree with you.

child of the other side · Geplaatst: Wo Jan 02, 2008 22:35

Yay, it's time for fun. ^^

1st place winner is; Poem 2 - Genner (40 sickles)

2nd place winners are; Poem 1 - Loesewies Boterslag and Poem 6 - child of the other side (25 sickles)

The second place winners will receive 25 sickles. We combined the second and the third place so (30+20)/2= 25.
Congrats everyone and please join next time (as well).

Poem 1 - Loesewies Boterslag
Poem 3 - Rayatje
Poem 4 - Josse
Poem 5 - Sweet Hermione