Minimalist Poetry Contest

#0



I’m just fine thanks
yes I got disconnected
no I don’t know the number
no don’t know the name either
ummm actually...........
...........
I have no one to call.
none.
................did you know
......you can implode
in a void
here I am, alone
in a dark place
dying inside as we speak
...
operator can you please
reconnect me

Zero -
12 o'clock,
Ironsights, muzzleflash,
Potassium nitrate, sickly sweet,
Cast iron earthquake;
The rising sun smoulders
With Bellerophon's fury...
Pain,
Darkness,
Zero.

Zero Hour

Zero hour approach in dead of sleep.
The body stir with never ending time loop.
The zero hour here.
My stomach cramp with pain.
Did I leave my latest Stephen King in here?

Results to be announced soon!

Hello. I was right, a few days in, to realise with sinking heart that there were going to be too many good entries...

There was Moonbird's 'Black Hole', an infinity of nothing, with all the paradox that implies, as well as the clever idea of 00 being ∞ (or something else, even, maybe '..').

Then came Pendragon's neat juxtaposition of the physics and the human condition.

And blank|verse's elegantly typeset, playful little 'zero'. Clever.

And YesNo's little non-geography lesson, so to speak.

Silas Thorne gave me a problem though. I wasn't sure how to read the five little dots. Surely there was an ellipsis in there somewhere. Or not. Then I had an eureka moment and said, "Oh!"

A difficult test was posed by firefangled. The first poem was pretty sharp, a dramatic thumbnail. The second (as usual) supersedes the first. But was the second, 'mistake deleted', meant to be a poem? If so, it was as much a potential winner as the first, and as much a potential winner as the others. But was it an entry?

Jajdude came up with a motif very much like a traditional nursery rhyme. Here was creepy excellence. Or binary excellence. I was beginning to lose myself in ones and nones. Or something.

And then DieterM, who wrote a poem I wished I could have written. Sigh. That nut tree got into my dreams.

It was typical of kryms-nkyng to write s-mething clever which was als- a p-tted hist-ry. The 'h-les' in it were pretty -bvi-us. It's alm-st a classic clerihew. S-rt -f.

I really wished Haunted's poem hadn't quite been so haunting. I could just about imagine a missing persona trying hard not to be quite so missing, and... missing.

And RaoulDuke's evocative rising sun smouldering with Bellerophon's fury, like some mad hybrid of WW2 and Greek myth. Argh. Another great Zero.

The last entry was zoolane's. Understated, with lovely flavour and balance.

=====

And I was stuck. They were pretty much all genuine winners. So I had to make some losers, and none deserved to be. This is the nightmare of everybody who has to moderate such contests around here. Many of you know this well.

=====

I had to settle this by making myself this really picky person. It's hard to decide in the narrow space between zero and zero. I had five winners after a long hard look. But that was technically still four too many. You need one choice so that you get one person running the next show...

=====

In the end, that person was RaoulDuke. Every line has a zero of time, space, existence. There is the beginning of the end and the end of beginning. From one kind of Zero to another. RD, you win because it was a hero among zeroes. Go ahead, start the next one!

And there is an honorable mention for firefangled's 'mistake deleted'. I had to reason that an entry which got rid of itself should win ANY minimalist poetry contest, and hence should be disqualified in a way.

Thanks, everybody! :)

Congrats to RaoulDuke, and I feel the heavy responsability of you, dear autolycus, because as you've said, there have been really so many different ways of celebrating zero in so many little poetic gems. Let me just correct you, autolycus: in my sense, there are never any losers in this contest. I at least always feel like such a winner only in participating and in reading the other contestants' entries. Some make me mull over them for a long time, some make me giggle, some make me want to be able to write material as good as the one offered on here. For those to whom I haven't said it yet: all my best wishes for this new year!

Nice going, RaoulDuke! :wave:

Congrats RaoulDuke! :)

Props to RD, and good job all.

RaoulDuke, yours would be my top pick too. Congrats!

Thankyou all. A good contest with some stiff competiton; all entries had their merits but I was particularly fond of DieterM's frosty little gem.

The next subject is sunset and I will set the deadline as midnight on the 8th of February - good luck!

Congrats, RaoulDuke! Here's one to start off the new contest:


Sunset

Across the bay the sun has set.
The rain tonight won't get it wet.

the richly-painted horizon
an explosion of vibrant color
dims like a flickering bulb
and fades to shimmering black sky

Fire breaks
through
the sky
in one brief
splendid
moment
of rapture
and than

darkness

The golden ball dives
into its own reflection
on orange waves

My healthy hunger and I
arise from our vault
with fangs politely bared

I'm not mad about apples
if they're not Adam's –
my 'Juicy Fluid Appetizers'

Spotted a sweet-necked girl
in the 'Crushing Wave' bar
downing gin tonic after gin tonic

So I might get plastered tonight
'Poor girl' you say? what is life
to one who ain't living?

...................................morning........ ......................
............................and...............the. .......................
........................in........................ ..in......................
..................the............................. .....rose..............
......evening..................................... ..........sun.......
.set.............................................. ....................The

24 hours (ish) left to submit an entry.

Five posted so far, and a diverse batch to be sure.

Where do the birds go
when the sun's past low
and the skies are burning
the treetops turning into
fodder for fantasy?

Fiery ball of life giving light
Taking a plunge into the sea
To refresh for its next moment on stage
Encore! Encore!

Pendragon

Fortunately your respective poetry is better than my timekeeping :frown5:

YesNo - A lovely example of a minimalist poem. There are echoes of Hemingway in your simple description of the sun setting over the sea. Two short lines that add up to a very stirring description, and yet leave much for the reader to fill in for themselves.

moonbird - Paints a vivid picture with some evocative words; "flickering" and shimmering" are perfect for the aftermath of the dying sun.

Dark Muse - After reading your poem I assumed that you intended line 8 to read "and then". A short and sweet entry that captures the euphoria of the moment but I was left wanting for some more descriptive language to leap out from the screen and set my imagination off wandering.

DieterM - Macabre yet lecherous, gruesome yet sensual. You've taken the theme down a very dark alley and it absolutely worked!

Jajdude - The notion of the sun setting in the west completely evaded me and it took numerous readings to find the true beginning of your poem. A clever idea, but as with DarkMuse's entry it didn't set a spark between my ears.

krymsonkyng - I absolutely love the idea of the setting sun as "Fodder for fantasy" and how you have inserted a delicate rhyming scheme into such a short poem.

Pendragon - A refreshing take on the matter that leaves the reader wanting more (and indeed shouting "Encore"). The world is a stage, but does it host a a melodrama or a farce?


My winner this round is krymsonkyng. Five short lines that add up to far more than the sum of their parts - the very essence of minimalist poetry. Your poem captured the magic of the moment far more than any other, and for this reason it's over to you maestro...

well done krymsonkyng, a good one

congrats! another excellent round with many excellent new poems!

Congrats krymsonkyng, a deserving win!

Thank you to everyone who participated! The next deadline shall be 5 March, and the topic for this next round will be Book Covers. Contest begins... Now!

Stiff spine
Smooth face

I wonder what
Book covers when
Not being Book

Congratulations, krymsonkyng! Here is one for the next contest.


Book Covers

They tease of joys they barely hide,
Spread-opened secrets deep inside.

Golden swirls, slanted together
Form calligraphic letters
Singing songs of stories
Yet untold
To entrance our eyes
And call us to read

Your Book

Under the covers
let me flick
the pages
of your book

I book a flight to New York
I book in at the Waldorf Astoria

I book car-rides and concerts
And a blonde hooker from Pittsburgh

Then I grow bored with my life
And call a Lookalike-agency where I

Book covers…

Never judge
a book by its cover
that which we call diamonds
were once a lump of coal

Thanks to all the great entries so far!
To everyone else,
the deadline is mere days away! March 5th will be here before you know it, and you will regret not taking part in this game. Go go go go go!

Sand in the pages
and blood on the blurb
A cover painted pale by the Afghan sun.

Pages in the sand
and blood on the curb
A brother painted pale by an Afghan son.

Flashy loud covers: too much make up, insecure;
Torn covers: dressed in rags;
Dull covers: clothed in gray;
Quiet covers: gems within.

Sorry everyone, weekending at the moment. I'll post the winner this Monday!

Autolycus- Oddly enough, this reminds me of Book from Firefly. I reeeeally like Firefly.
YesNo- A pleasant rhyming couplet that sums up the subject matter well.
moonbird- Sweet description in a short package. Well written.
blank|verse- Wow, that's eheh... well done! In four lines, eleven words for a librarian's pickup line. I'm blushing. Good work.
DieterM- Excellent spin on the topic, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and considering the lifestyle. Fun.
Pendragon- A simple and eloquent iteration of the common phrase. A good fact to remember.
RaoulDuke- Wow. What a six line switch. The scene becomes more clear with a quick punch to the gut. I've got a brother in Afghanistan, this resonates with me.
jajdude- An interesting analysis on the nature of book covers. Simple, and it begs more thought from the reader. Looking at my bookshelf I found myself trying to classify the things I have read and want to read.

This is... This is a pretty terrible task. Thank you to everyone who participated. Wonderful poems all, but in the end it came down to four or so entries that really hit. First prize though, goes to RaoulDuke. Congratulations!

Congrats RaoulDuke! :)

Well done RD, a deserving win.

Thanks very much folks, and krymsonkyng - an excellent choice :D

The next theme is The Old (Wo)Man and the Sea. Post your entries by 1st of April (I shall try to refrain from fooling around too much when judging).

last night i dreamt of
you, my prized catch,
roaming free again
in all your magnificence
a silver and black
silhouette
above the gray waves
and your sword
slashing the air

Temptress

Hypnotic
voices speak
tantalizing rhythms

come hither come hither

Into the deep
darkness abound
temptation
of secrets kept

She
Enchantress
alluring
with smooth
graceful movements

come away come away

Sings
a thousand songs
of forgetfulness
and sorrow.