Picture Poetry Contest (...continued...)

Sisyphus; and Sun Wukong, the Monkey King

Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, traveling far and wide
met Sisyphus one day toiling with his infernal stone.
Sisyphus importuned, after pleasantries were exchanged,
besought the Monkey King's great compassion to
give the condemned a respite from his eternal toil.

Being no stranger to stone the Monkey King set the
massive rock before his shoulder and rolled the boulder
clear up the hill with powers far beyond any mortal man.
Hermes, ever vigilant, flew to scold the Monkey King
promising sore judgment if he would not right his wrong.

Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, piqued as never before
formulated an avengement upon the winged one; and so
to Sisyphus Sun Wukong declared: "You shall not find im-
punity for my sake, but I shall grant you one boon" - bid-
ding Sisyphus to transform into a dung beetle; and before
Hermes' eyes the Monkey King conjured up a fog; then with
a somersault he and Sisyphus did henceforth disappear.

4/23/2015 r.4/25/2015
(dedicated to Robin Jay & Wendy Margaret on their birthdays)

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

Thank you, comrades, for participating in this round. Pompey, ever exuberant, provided two offerings, but alas, although the first, in the form of a Shakespearean sonnet employs flawless iambic pentameter, with but a single dodgy rhyme, I fear the poem lacks coherence. The end result is a confusion of ingenious ideas which don't necessarily flow all that logically from the classical references. Everyone has picked up on Sisyphus allusion, as the unfortunate scarab is condemned to endlessly roll a ball bigger than itself, and, of course, the Egyptian deity who was responsible for rolling the sun across the sky is remembered, but though the names of many and various gods and mythical characters have been bandied about, poor old Khepre remains nameless :D

Pompey, you second offering, though very amusing, I feel would have been better entered into a famous quoted line contest! I think this would have worked better if you had not so closely mirrored the original. Whereas a tiger or even a tyger, might be described as buning bright, owing to its colouration, this particular beetle is rather dull, and though Khepre's ball wass the flaming orb of the sun, the one in the photograph looks a little too moist to burn ;) "What the hammer? what the chain?" didn't work particularly well in Blake's original! One should always remember that he was a bit potty :D

tS, your take, with its eclectic blending of classical Greek and Chinese mythologies, is certainly original but to me reads rather prosaically. There are moments of rhythm, but they become lost amid the fairytale style. Some of your line breaks, mid word, don't work for me, especially as there is no constraint on line length through regular syllable count. But the narrative works quite well. I did rather like the playfulness of "...shoulder to the Boulder..."

Which brings us to Y/N. Your piece was both simple and effective so I declare you to be the winner.

Thanks again to all who took part. Live and be well - H

Congratulations, YesNo! And don't worry, Hawk. My poetry has soared over taller heads than yours. ;-)

Thanks, Hawkman and Pompey Bum! I will try to get a new picture ready by tomorrow.

The next picture is a photo of the strange lights on Ceres.

http://mashable.com/2015/02/25/stran...-planet-ceres/

Deadline in a couple of weeks or so.

Any entries for this one? I will set a tentative deadline for June 2, 2015.

strange lights
appearance white
against a dark
magnetic grey
spark sight
it is because
a reflection
of late
of a shape scate
and a metal state
have caught up straight
they wish to appear great
hence the image made

deleted,,,reason, duplicated post accidently
sorry

It sounds like Canterbury Tales
A struggle between good and bad
A choice given to humans all
Unlike a one-door Sesame Street
These two round glaring gateways
Non-return doorways to final destiny
After terrestrial fate loses its hold
And ephemereal force shepherds you
To those enticing glaring holes
For you to choose any one of the entrances
If you chose the wrong door
You will miss the green channel
And Gabriel and his army of Angels
Will at once apprehend you
And take you for customs
As they would know
You were carrying contraband of sins
Your Evil deeds that you had committed
while enjoying life on Earth
You will be surely thrown into Hell

Y^e Momes

Ceres twinks and blinkys creating furrowed brow...
Perhaps y^e mystery shall be discovered soon
but y^e tulgeys shan't idly give up its whimsy
4
dimensional beings among us disavow
testing mere mortals with trialish beam balloons
whilst we gyre with our science rendered mimsy

6/1/2015

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

Thanks for all the entries. There is one more day left in this contest!

Thank you for all the entries!

cacian: I liked the idea that they "wish" to appear that way.

mazHur: The sense that these are two doors and we are required to pick one and we might be trying to carry the contraband of our sins through that door makes this one very interesting.

tailor STATELY: I enjoyed the whimsy-mimsy rhyme and the suggestion of some other beings testing us.

I expect we will find an explanation for these lights soon, but maybe not. Anyway, thank you for contributing to this contest!

The winner: mazHur

Congratulations!

Congratulations mazHur!

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tailor STATELY

Congratulations mazHur!

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

---

thanks a lot , buddy

here is the picture for the next contest,,,Attachment 9595




https://scontent-sjc2-1.xx.fbcdn.net...1e&oe=55F30288

One, I’ve started up the stairs.
Two, I noticed no one cares.
Three, I’m rising to the top.
Four, I don’t think I will stop.
Five, I’ve left the floor below.
Six, there’s seven more to go.
Seven. I’m too tired for eight.
I’ll take a break, procrastinate.

Um, shall we restart this contest? Here's a picture. Deadline is December 21st which is my wife and I's wedding anniversary!

http://artfiles.alphacoders.com/197/19737.jpg

The angel kneels and spreads her wings
Though dark they’re full of grace.
Respected, too. The choir sings.
Her violin has magic strings.
She bows to hide her face.

Her hair is long. Her nails are black.
Her clothes are dark as well.
The clouds torment the twisted sky.
The ground below is cracked and dry.
Soon rain will come to hell.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by YesNo

One, I’ve started up the stairs.
Two, I noticed no one cares.
Three, I’m rising to the top.
Four, I don’t think I will stop.
Five, I’ve left the floor below.
Six, there’s seven more to go.
Seven. I’m too tired for eight.
I’ll take a break, procrastinate.

---

Sorry, I had simply forgotten that I had to announce result. But since there was almost no inducement except one therefore I take this wakeup call to pronounce YesNo as the winner!
Congrats

Pen is welcome to blow new spirit in this thread ....
Congrats on your wedding versary :)

Muriel's Lament

Weep, Muriel, Angelic warrior

Was thy unconditional love wasted

upon thy fallen brothers and sisters -

fully one-third of the Heavenly hosts ?



HIS song of everlasting salvation

flourished upon thine instrument of war

did turn the tide of battle; ye who are

Heavenly blessed - held in deepest reserve


12/3/2015 r.12/11/2015 r.12/14/2015

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

it's the 21st and time for judging.

Both poems were solid poetry.

YesNo, your poem seemed made for that picture. Congrats!

God Bless

Pen

Thanks, Pendragon!

Here is a photo I took before a sunrise over Lake Michigan from a park north of Chicago. The bright point at the upper right hand corner is Venus. I went there to watch Venus, Jupiter, Mars, and Mercury prior to dawn earlier this Fall. Toward the center top around one of the hanging seed pods you can barely see Jupiter faintly in the picture.

http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/...20Michigan.jpg

Deadline: January 10th

Sky Lover

The sky hovers
just above
the horizon
in disquieting
stillness,
forever yearning
to touch
a lover
who remains
forever out of reach
though dawn blushes
with sympathetic feeling
at passions inflamed
and denied.

Against an Evening Sky

A spell is written in the leaves
Half-formed letters silhouetted against the sky
Some of them familiar, some symbols unique
Perhaps a linguist should give them a try

Is it a blessing or is it a vile curse?
Will it bring you good luck, or take it away?
Why is it that people usually suspect the worst,
Never seeing that good might be the words of the day?

Could it be Mother Nature has written a spell,
Tired of how us humans are destroying everything?
The dark letters in the air somehow give me a chill
Strung out on the branches like knots in a string

Reading the letters might be danger and doom
Black against the sky in the gathering gloom...

Pendragon
12/23/2015

Two great entries! I will announce a winner this Sunday. There is still time to enter!

Universe clad in a burqa
Catches a beholder's eyes
All to him is not visible
Through the lens though he tries

Earth and sky meet together
Like beans in a pod
Like the Light of Heaven
Symbolizing Face of God

Colors scattered here and there
Like the makeup on a Bride's face
Venus gleaming through the hijab
Like a mole on the chin of her Grace

The sight of sparkling universe
concealed in a thin silken veil
Manifests its rarest charm and beauty
To its sincere lovers who its love do hail.

Thank you for all the entries! The contest is over.

mazHur: That's a nice idea about the universe being hidden like a woman in a burqa.

Pendragon: That was an interesting way to view the leaves in the photos as letters making up a spell.

Dark Muse: Nice idea of the frustration between the sky and the horizon with the blushing dawn.

I enjoyed them all. The winner is mazHur! Congratulations!