Minimalist Poetry Contest

In the absence of Tailor Stately I have agreed to volunteer as judge of this one (that way none of the participants have to forfeit by judging)

Great entries everyone.

Pendragon: Very simple but effective. It is a great example of minimalism for it is concise while still giving the reader a full view and understanding of the subject. It tells a little story.

prendrelemick: A fun playful poem that made me chuckle. I enjoyed the your use of language.

YesNo: I really enjoyed this one. It is simple and yet through provoking at the same time. The opening question caught my attention and drew me into the rest of the poem. I liked the idea presented.

Melanie: Beautiful, and almost melancholy in a way, and yet also hopeful I think. I particularly enjoyed the lines : "leaves footprints in autumn's
bountiful memories"

jajude: This was a very touching poem though evasive. It make one wonder what the story behind it is. I did enjoy the rather original take upon the subject. A lot of emotion captured within only a couple of lines.

cacian: I really like the concept of this one, and your original idea, it is a more abstract take upon the theme of harvest. I enjoyed seeing the subject taken in a different direction within your poem.

And the winner is.....

DieterM: Your poem is full of vivid imagery and I really like the picture it paints within my mind. I think it does wonderfully capture the atmosphere of harvest time.

Dark Muse thank you so much for taking time to read and giving feedback it is very much appreciated it.
DieterM congratulations!!!

You are welcome

TY Dark Muse, really nice of you indeed to take your time, and especially most unexpected that you chose me. And ty, cacian, for your congrats!

Next topic: "black moon"

Deadline Thursday Dec. 19, 20:00 Paris time (have to take a plane the next day, so I'm sorry if that seems a bit short) :-))

Looking forward to reading your input, my dear friends!

The full moon is bright
A new moon is dark
Dark of the moon
Whispers in shadow

Blue moon, black moon, mead moon noon,
Hip hop, bebop, on top soon.

dark moon
bright groom
underneath the darkened
loom
shine a glimour of soon
upheaved is never doomed

Eclipse.

Bright sun,
Black moon,
Portents grave.

Black Moon

Night-polluted,
black

but for a shiver
of light

a sliver
of silver

a reflection
of original ideal,

a thought
of a thought.

The idea of an idea
of an idea.

If ever the sky decides a black moon
That day can't come too soon.

Cetshwayo said not to fight
on the day of the dead moon,
yet beneath the dying light
his warriors screamed, "Usuthu," Kill
and "Ngadla", I have eaten.

O' ached chest of Saint Malaise
twang a string to grant one ease
when half is dust in fluff tonight
and half is more than grey and white
Adolescent09

Luna Limburger

The moon is made of green cheese,
it soars across the sky with ease,
except in June when it's left out longer,
turns black with mold and smells stronger.

When the angle provides no light
to reflect upon the night.
A black moon does arise
Replacing magic in the line of sight.

Alright, I'm a bit late (coupla hours Paris time) and I gotta do this unceremoniously because gotta catch a plane, plus it's bloody 4:40 in the morning... Well, very good entries, I have to say, and I'm glad my old pal Hawkie participated, too :) But the winner this time is...

Blank | verse

Something drew me right in, a certain je ne sais quoi, and of course, if you use the idea of an idea of an idea on me, you're sure to win, lol!

Congrats, thanks to all for having played the game, and let me wish you a wondeful Christmas and a Happy New Year, I'm now going to where there's no Internet... No, not gonna do me,in, just going to me mom's ;)

Congrats b/v!

Thank you Dieter - merci beaucoup mon petit chou - but then, I always knew you were a man of impeccable taste and judgement! :) And I hope you have / had a wonderful Christmas with your family (whenever you read this next). And thanks also, Hawk; for what it's worth, I thought your poem offered the most interesting take on the subject.

Anyway, enough of the shameless flattery. I'm sure people have got better things to do over the festive period, but here's a subject and deadline for the next round of the competition; hopefully it gives people enough time to enter. I'll be looking for poems that use language and form inventively; that are concise and condensed. Thanks again, b|v.

Subject: January
Deadline: Friday, 17th January, 2014 (midnight, GMT)

January

January and everything
starting again
soon spring
and flowers
and babies
and hope
and empty summer
and Christmas
and dying
and everything
starting again

January Morning

The sycamore alone, bare, skeletal,
The ruby-throated quiet, the black-chinned gone,
The streets, the grey pavements, the park empty,
The baby blue eyes, the poppies next spring,
I wander around covered thick, still cold.

January 2014

Snow.
Tons.
Wet.
Heavy.
Trees,
Pylons
Breaking.
Power failure.

OH!

That
Was
Last
Year.
Now:
GREY.

January begins a new year
Things seldom change
Same old crap, 2014
What the hell
Bring it on...

Pendragon (C) January 2, 2014

Brrr! Such fear!
Spring is near.
Some folks prefer to race.
Patiently,
Watch winter flee
Gently from your face.

To start again,
And leave all that
Behind us,
And face the front,
Like January does,
Ah, I wish...

January
the blues loose
a clearance of moods
light appears least
hurried to break feast
let spring takes its lease
winter is needs to nature and east.

bump :)

Right, time’s up! Thanks for all the entries.

I enjoyed the circular nature (in both senses) of windblown’s ‘January’, which put me in mind of Wallace Stevens's ‘Domination of Black’; cacian submitted a characteristically rhyme-heavy offering; and barbara, Pendragon, YesNo, and prendrelemick all had a similar theme of January as being a time of looking forward. If I’m honest, I would have liked more focus on January itself - what it is rather than what it’s not - and of course, named after the two-faced Roman god, Janus, January looks simultaneously backwards and forwards.

But I feel the best of the bunch is Miyako’s ‘January Morning’. I was particularly taken with the second line, which showed some linguistic invention; the adjectival phrases lacking nouns are nicely suggestive of the absence felt during winter. Nice touch. Personally, I feel the poem could be tightened even further considering it’s a minimalist poem (do you need any of the definite articles? Three adjectives in the opening line!?) but overall, I think it has the edge over the other entries.

Well done, everyone. Over to you, Miyako…

blank I verse thank you :)
Miyako well done !!!

Thanks Blank and Cacian. My apology, blank--I just realized now I was in the minimalist not in the subject contest. Too much coffee and smoking. Give me till the end of the day to think of a subject/theme.

Okay, here it is:

cacophony

"a harsh, discordant mixture of sounds"

For added challenge, your poems should minimize, tone down, lower, calm, still, deaden, stop, mute, or silence
those harsh sounds, discordant voices, noises, shouts, or whatever bother your ears and your sense of serenity.

Deadline:

February 16, 2014
Before 12 midnight of Sunday

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by miyako73

Okay, here it is:

cacophony

"a harsh, discordant mixture of sounds"

For added challenge, your poems should minimize, tone down, lower, calm, still, deaden, stop, mute, or silence
those harsh sounds, discordant voices, noises, shouts, or whatever bother your ears and your sense of serenity.

Deadline:

February 16, 2014
Before 12 midnight of Sunday

---

hi miyako may I suggest a new addition to these contests?
how about you write something to give us an idea. I think it would be interesting to exemplify the contest. in other words anyone who gets a turn at starting a contest should write a piece themselves to lead by example.
what do you think?

Here, Cacian. Sorry I wrote this fast. Though not good, you'll get what I mean.


my domestic life


mother’s nagging
wakes up early
to start the chorus:
father’s sermon,
sister’s complaint,
brother’s guitar,
our hungry dog.
it’s seven o’clock-
too early for muffs
and silicone plugs.

Conversations at the Cafe

Spectrums of..
jewelry.....
return -myself
isolate
reality..
there is nothing wrong with
...the cat
a loss
postponing-
decisions
pervert -- truth
what you really want
-clam chowder-
to do...
nudge yourself-----
strong again.

eekpot riplot boo

Om

irrot yogblot noo

Om! Om!

yiptot tripgot doo

OM! OM! OM!

Om

Om

I see miyako. I'll try see if i understood :)

a symphony
music
and sea
woosh like bee
screech note
and key
ping pong
does gee
bounce up
and free
winning all
three
tournament
prix

Us, Our, We.

My teeming brain within,
Is stilled by thoughts of you,
You drive out the cacophony,
Of life's o'erbearing stew,
"You" my place of peace
"Our" my place of home,
"We" is my resilience,
And "Us" my comfort zone.

The verdict:


Dark Muse, I like the interruptions of thoughts and worries.

YesNo, I like the idea very very much, but the poem has no narrative. I wish those senseless noises are city noises, noises of busy people or noises of chaotic life that call for meditation.

Cacian, I like the energy of the poem, but they are all noises. Where is the muting?

Prendrelemic, yours is the most coherent, but the focus is not on discordant sounds but on the word "cacophony".


It's between Dark Muse and Prendrelemic. It seems their poems are opposite. But I have to follow the mechanics I proposed--write about cacophony and tone it down for extra challenge.

I'll give it to Dark Muse.

Thank you, I will have the new subject soon.

For the minimal poetry challenge I could not resist the idea of providing a picture of something microscopic for your next inspiration and I became quite fascinated with this little guy.

It is called Tardigrades, commonly known as water bears

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/...48_468x413.jpg

Deadline March 5

I am the monster
Under your bed
Because you cannot see me
Doesn't mean I'm not there!
Every time that you shrink
In one of your dreams
Come face the water bear
Am I fierce, do you think?

Pendragon
(C) 2/23/2014