Christmas Poetry Competition

[Scheherazade]

Here are the poems for the competition:

Christmas Dance

She dances
Round, and round and round
Joining the snowflakes
In a spirited waltz
The world becoming nothing but a white blur
Oblivious of the little girl
Dancing in the cold
Head lifted up to the sky
Laughing

Round and round she twirls
Until she falls
Gently into a downy pile of snow
And the world turns round
Her eyes close
And her mind flits
From one memory to the next

Christmas as a little girl
Father by the fire, smiling
Drinking cocoa
Listening to Christmas carols
Mother’s bubbling laughter
The warmth of the house

Again, Christmas
But Father is no longer there
The cocoa is tasteless
And mother stays in bed
The house is silent and cold

Another Christmas memory,
Mother is smiling
A new father is making the fire
Christmas isn’t the same
Mother grows sick

A different memory
Alone
Mother and Father have left
To be in a place
With eternal laughter
To leave the little girl
To dance in the snow
Alone

But now, as the cold
Gently brushes
The girl’s pale cheeks
Her soul dances
Soaring above
The tops of snow covered pines
There is laughter
And the world turns on
As the little girl leaves
To be with her Father
for Christmas


********

That Last Christmas

He coped with one closing Christmas with us.
Graced as a salvation of medicine
Papa returned home after having been
Mended—the surgeons fingering his heart
Like wise men offering pious.

Not fully mended. He needed my hand
To shave, lift out of bed, slide on his trousers.
He tried his best. That’s what life spurs,
His rasping breath, his timorous eyes,
His weight pitched on me to stand.

Mom put out her holiday table twill,
With the poinsettia print. Beneath the tree
The kids appraised the glitzy gifts with glee.
We even drank some wine, though all his meds,
Soothed by singing Santa on the sill.

We mostly talked. His face glowed. He said
Life, pain and all, was pleasant, one complied.
When he smiled it seemed angels were beside
Him. He said he understood our savior’s birth,
Tree lights twinkling green and red.

Brother horsed around, Sis drove a thousand miles;
Mom spread across dish after dish to feast
Into the night. At twelve yearning ceased,
Gifts peeled, he got a pillow for his neck.
He gave the kids twenty dollar bills.

Atoned, that was his last hale holy day.
Then on it was all stations of the cross,
A shrinking heart; the glow curved into gloss.
The winter night rounded into a bellow,
And the star above decayed.

Let's have a poetry competition based on the new season which is upon us

- If you would like to take part in the competition, please PM your entries to me by December 17th.

- The poems should be your own original work.

- The subject of the poem should be 'Christmas'.

- There are no restrictions on length or style.

- One entry for each member, please.

- Those who enter the competition agree to keep their identities secret till the end of voting.

- The entries we receive will be posted anonymously on December 17th and our members will vote for their favorite poem.

- The winner will be the member who gets the most votes and announced on December 27th.

Good luck and happy writing!

[Scheherazade]

Just to answer couple of general questions:

- Poems should be written recently this particular competition.

- The poems have to be about Christmas (although it is up to the writer to decide which aspect of Christmas they would like to write about).

[Virgil]

Oh I did not see the original post. Thanks.

[Scheherazade]

Oh I did not see the original post. Thanks.

*gasps*

Not even my beautiful, sparkling trees???

[Virgil]

*gasps*

Not even my beautiful, sparkling trees???

No, and even now I did not notice the trees. But not that you mention it, they are pretty.

[Scheherazade]

No, and even now I did not notice the trees. But not that you mention it, they are pretty.

*gasps*

First rule of LitNet, you will read the OP of every thread very carefully!

Last 5 days to submit your poems for the competition!

[Scheherazade]

Monday is the last day to submit your poems for the competition!

[Scheherazade]

Here are the poems for the competition:

Christmas Dance

She dances
Round, and round and round
Joining the snowflakes
In a spirited waltz
The world becoming nothing but a white blur
Oblivious of the little girl
Dancing in the cold
Head lifted up to the sky
Laughing

Round and round she twirls
Until she falls
Gently into a downy pile of snow
And the world turns round
Her eyes close
And her mind flits
From one memory to the next

Christmas as a little girl
Father by the fire, smiling
Drinking cocoa
Listening to Christmas carols
Mother’s bubbling laughter
The warmth of the house

Again, Christmas
But Father is no longer there
The cocoa is tasteless
And mother stays in bed
The house is silent and cold

Another Christmas memory,
Mother is smiling
A new father is making the fire
Christmas isn’t the same
Mother grows sick

A different memory
Alone
Mother and Father have left
To be in a place
With eternal laughter
To leave the little girl
To dance in the snow
Alone

But now, as the cold
Gently brushes
The girl’s pale cheeks
Her soul dances
Soaring above
The tops of snow covered pines
There is laughter
And the world turns on
As the little girl leaves
To be with her Father
for Christmas


********

That Last Christmas

He coped with one closing Christmas with us.
Graced as a salvation of medicine
Papa returned home after having been
Mended—the surgeons fingering his heart
Like wise men offering pious.

Not fully mended. He needed my hand
To shave, lift out of bed, slide on his trousers.
He tried his best. That’s what life spurs,
His rasping breath, his timorous eyes,
His weight pitched on me to stand.

Mom put out her holiday table twill,
With the poinsettia print. Beneath the tree
The kids appraised the glitzy gifts with glee.
We even drank some wine, though all his meds,
Soothed by singing Santa on the sill.

We mostly talked. His face glowed. He said
Life, pain and all, was pleasant, one complied.
When he smiled it seemed angels were beside
Him. He said he understood our savior’s birth,
Tree lights twinkling green and red.

Brother horsed around, Sis drove a thousand miles;
Mom spread across dish after dish to feast
Into the night. At twelve yearning ceased,
Gifts peeled, he got a pillow for his neck.
He gave the kids twenty dollar bills.

Atoned, that was his last hale holy day.
Then on it was all stations of the cross,
A shrinking heart; the glow curved into gloss.
The winter night rounded into a bellow,
And the star above decayed.

[Janine]

Scheherazade, Are more going to come in, or is this it?

[Scheherazade]

Only two poems have been submitted for the competition, Janine and the poll has already started so there won't be any other additions.

[Lote-Tree]

Only two poems have been submitted for the competition, Janine and the poll has already started so there won't be any other additions.

Hey you have not FIXED the competition have you?

If so you will visited by Ghosts of Scrooge

[Virgil]

Only two entries, with all the great poets we have who post almost daily.

[kiz_paws]

Well, I am sure that they had their reasons, though it is too bad.

As well, the two entries are so awesome, difficult, man.... difficult!

[Scheherazade]

If so you will visited by Ghosts of Scrooge

I get those visits every year; highlights of my year, really!

Christmas is a very busy time of the year for many people so it is understandable that not many had the time to sit down and write a poem.

It is also true that some people do not like competitions.

[Janine]

I get those visits every year; highlights of my year, really!

Christmas is a very busy time of the year for many people so it is understandable that not many had the time to sit down and write a poem.

It is also true that some people do not like competitions.

Scheherazade, I know that is true for me;too busy to do much on here this time of year and especially this week. Why don't we have the Christmas Poetry contest in July...you know "Christmas in July"!