DailyWritingTips

DWT Poetry Competition: Twelfth Round

dwt-poetry-competition

It is Thursday, and as usual we have a new round of our poetry competition.

The poems of each round are selected randomly. Oddly enough, you’ll find that many of them share a common topic (and sometimes even the title is similar!).

Make sure to cast a vote for your favorite, and feel free to leave feedback for the poets through a comment. Most of them are following the competition closely.

1. Phantom Wind by Anthony R.

Moon sky in the dark light
glowing blue, white.
Air cold touching down
a frosty, snow-gown.

Bitter white, frozen time-ticks
A pale, ashy rhetoric.
a hardened feeling grows,
wields frostbit toes.

Underfoot, tracks behind
such trail of shine.
Spreading vine, thorny crown
light litter-down.

Burning mead, maddening cold
a rotten, torn fold
Paper sheets they burn with ease
Oh simple-tease.

Blanket feelings, fire it sows
now icy wind blows.
Silver heart of diamond cause
if time would pause.

Winter dove, my flighty love,
don’t push and shove.
What a wondrous deed is done
under moon, and sun.

2. Seasons by Aruna Thosar-Dixit

Butterflies dance to the spring choir of birds;
feathered seeds float down to new warmth.

Flaming gulmohurs, golden laburnums, mingle;
heat embraces the brown fecund earth.

Warm breeze, swaying trees rain leaves;
dust swirls prick straining eyes.

First monsoon showers surprise tired hills
with softening verdure.

Monsoon lush hills rise from brimful lake;
yellow mist creeps on water.

Autumn tinted almond feeds parrot flock;
crow awaits handout.

Twilight hour; shadowed trees yearn
for the homeward birds.

3. The Moon Shines Brightly by Samantha Penninipede

Long grass seeded with wildflowers,
soft and lush beneath my hands.
Loose hair splayed across the meadow.
The moon shines brightly.
Wind waving heavy pine trees
and shuffling through leaves,
making them twirl and drift to the ground.
The moon shines brightly.
The sun hiding beneath the earth,
as the evening breeze ruffles my clothes,
brushing over my hair and skin.
The moon shines brightly.
I stand and stroll slowly
the grass sliding against my legs as I walk,
dead leaves giving way beneath my tread.
The moon shines brightly.
Clouds gather in the sapphire sky,
stretching like a waking lion.
The thick layer of white almost conceals the moon.
But through the fluff the moon shines brightly.
The moon will always shine brightly.

4. Cheerios and Cheese by Tom Rinkes

Once upon a time there was a girl, a little girl with amber hair and dark brown eyes that shined above her tiny size, who played a game most every day with the dog she loved a special way.

She’d sit beside her stove and say:

Hey Casey dog—you come my way.

Now Casey was a special breed of Burnise Mountain-Collie creed,
who loved the treat that she made but drooled and barked till petition paid.
Her tiny fingers they would toil above the layers of Mom’s tinfoil
to count, to piece, to trim with ease his favorite snack Cheerios and Cheese.
She’d make the count of twelve in all being careful none would fall
upon the floor, the rug, the wall so none could cheat his scrumptious treat
She’d add the piece of yellow goo that said Wisconsin’s best to you
and stuffed it tight so trimmed and true that strangers say: He’s crazy too!

I’m not crazy said that one called Cindy Lou:

I love my puppy—can’t you see—he’s fit and trim and fun to see jumping up the apple tree to get the ball that I’ve just thrown and never does he let a groan for his cholesterol is dropping down. His teeth are long and straight and white, the cheese churned so to make it right so my Casey friend can chew all night. There’s nothing harmful in oats and cheese—you ask his doctor—now leave us be.

And with that, she and Casey lived happily ever after her time out for mouthing off to strangers.

5. A Star Fallen by Ki Peter

Tonight the sky’s amiss
For there’s a tiny dark spot above
And though the night
Appears no less bright
To depths below, a star has fallen

Tonight the family’s quiet
For there’s an empty chair at dinner
And though no one’s crying
Or bemoaning a loss
To war, a favourite son has gone

Tonight my being is desolate
For there’s darkness within my soul
And though I chatter no less
Or laugh no less loud
To stone, my heart has hardened

6. Count the Stars by Candice Yeo

I remember when
We used to sit
In the darkness
And count the stars.
But then you died
Leaving me alone
In the darkness
And I stopped counting.
Then one day
My child asked me
To count the stars
Along with him.
I let go of
The bitterness
That consumed me
When you left.
I took his hand
And one by one
In the darkness
We counted the stars.

7. Tribute to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) Soldier by Dennis W. Lid

They call him ARVN,
That’s his name,
And each one looks
About the same.
His skin is caste
With yellow hue,
His hair is dark,
His eyes are, too.
The ARVN Soldier is
Not very tall,
Little more than five feet
Overall.
Though small in stature
He may be,
Still, ARVN’s quite
A sight to see.
Clad in ARVN
O.D. green,
And sporting tennis shoes
He’s seen.
On his feet,
Down the trail,
There goes ARVN
Pack and pail.
Burdened by
A heavy load,
With ten days rice
His back is bowed.

Still he trudges
‘Neath the sun,
Till his weary
Day is done.
As dusk draws near
All ARVN hear
Their captain’s order
Loud and clear.
“Take the high ground
For the night,
No danger of
An ambush site!
Post the guard, then
Cook your rice,
Lest negligence
Viet Cong entice!”
The high ground gained,
The post secure,
One more night
Will he endure.
Then ARVN crumples
To the ground,
Hardly uttering
A sound.
Exhausted, sweaty,
Hungry too,
ARVN lets a smile
Come through.
Tomorrow is
Another day;
We’ll chase VC and
Make them pay.

8. Life by Rachna Rohatgi

Life is a paradox,
It is a pandora’s box,
It sometimes gives us shocks,
With its beautiful surprises,

And at other times leaves us perplexed,
Thinking how wonderfully we are blessed.
Life makes us dance to its tune,
From no moon to full moon,
It makes us admire the power of destiny,
And bow our heads to its supremacy,
It lets us feel emotions we shouldn’t,
Yet at the same time teaches us control and self-restraint.
Life is indeed a paradox,
Which generally keeps us foxed,
By its devious ways and means,
Which sometimes act like Satan and sometimes like angels and fairies,
Life is a bag full of mixed emotions,
Which we all feel at some stages of our devotions,
The one thing that never changes about life,
It gives us beautiful surprises in spite of all the struggles and strife.

9. My Life by Nichelle Edwards

I am locked up inside,
And I don’t know how to unlock.
I feel that I can talk to no one,
For the simple fear that they won’t understand.
I heard so many times,
“If you need to talk, I’m here,”
From my parents, teachers, and even students.
I feel like no one will understand me,
Not even my own parents.
I always thought they should know everything.
My past relationships, and even the friends I “hang” out with.
My parents, and even some family friends tell me,
“My friends are bad influences.”
They don’t have any control over who I am friends with, Do they?
They don’t have control over who I associate with, Do they?
If you think that your life is hell,
Take a walk in my shoes for a day.
Go to my school.
See how everyone makes fun of you,
And hurts your feelings and they don’t care.
See how everyone judges a book by its cover,
Before actually seeing who you are in the inside.
See how many people on average don’t like you because,
Of the way you dress, talk, or even look at people.
Take a walk on my side of the street,
And see how you feel.
On the outside looking in,
In my school we have our,
Jocks, preps, and even popular people.
I am none of those things.
I’m not a prep or popular.
I’m my own person.
I’m my own group.
The group of “your not important.”
I graduate with the class of 2012,
And be known as “the girl we never got to see the real her.”
You don’t have to be perfect to fit in,
You don’t have to be popular, a prep, or even a jock,
Just be yourself,
Even when you are in your down days, up days, or so-so days,
You can always count on yourself to be there.
If you are feeling sorrow, sadness, and anger,
Write a poem.
Writing lets you put your feelings on paper.
Do what I did on January 27, 2010,
And grab a pencil and paper and write away.
I guess what I am trying to say is this,
When life gives you choices and chances,
Take them as they are.
If life gives you a bridge,
Walk over it.
Go with the flow,
Even though others think that it is wrong.
But you try, try harder.
One more thing before I go,
As if I haven’t said enough already,
Be yourself, and your own friend.

10. Winter Blues by Clayton Doak

Too many ice stiletto stalactites are suspended
From the gutters of my ranch-style house
And I am desperately searching for a robin
Although in the distance I do hear an obnoxious woodpecker.
My seasonal affective disorder is taking hold
And I really need some sunshine, right now!
Before I fall asleep and miss the first pitch of baseball season.
I am sick of snow and ice and albedo and dogs that frolic
And cavort outside as if their paws are filled with antifreeze

And I yearn for my crabgrassy lawn and the sound of crickets at night and the gentle luminescent emanations of fireflies and the smell of the muggy August air and the quiet rhythmic, expensive hum of my air conditioner in the side yard.

Mind you, I am not against winter but there comes a point where I emphatically doubt the gloom and doom and fuss and to-do concerning global warming

I really need to borrow the Hubble to discover a planet with a single season – Spring…

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5 thoughts on “DWT Poetry Competition: Twelfth Round”

  1. This round is really a fun and thoughtful set of poems. Thanks so much to all of the writers. I will have to read them several times before choosing one to vote for.

  2. This was one of the harder rounds for me to choose. Several really excellent poems and a few very good ones too.

  3. Toughest round yet. Sorry I can only choose one. Of the 3 I love here, I voted for ARVN, which is just so…uplifting, in terms of highlighting the nobility of purpose and spirit of dedication to what must have been a hellish experience. I have so much respect for our military. The other 2 gems here (IMHO) are “Cheerios and Cheese,” which is hands-down the funniest/quirkiest (characteristics that always appeal to me, in general), especially the punchline. “Count the Stars” is so true and touching, and I would guess universal…a wonderful observation about moving on in life and making the most of what you have…love the one you’re with, as it were…
    GREAT round. I am enjoying the whole competition.

  4. While I’m at it, I would ask DWT to consider publishing a small book with ALL the poems in it. I would be willing to pay a small amount to have the whole collection (whether I liked them or voted for them or not). Or, just publish them all at the end in some printable format. If the ones I like don’t win, I feel I will lose them. Besides, just because I don’t like something doesn’t mean someone else might not be touched by it, and it could be a nice gift. So what if these people are not all Shakespeare or Frost? Each has something to say, his or own perspective on some aspect of life. And I appreciate that they are brave enough to submit their work for such agonizing scrutiny! What do you say, DWT?

  5. @Blue Bird, this would be cool, but a bit complex, because we would need to ask permission of all the poets to publish their poems under a book/ebook.

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