We got six fine poems. You may vote for up to two. Spoiler: Poem 1: A Lord A Lord Aloof, a lump aloft A legend, already alight A list, a lord, always Spoiler: Poem 2: Grieving Loss Grieving Loss The Bellowing, raging wind swayed the grasses Where a saurus thereupon crouched Emotionless and cold of the wind’s tout brass For she held a corpse’s dead slouch Indeed, the wind’s assault upon her scales felt too real With the unending time’s taunt to feel She wondered if she could’ve felt the heart’s faint zeal Or if that was just her tensed claws’ reeling The omnipresent clouds begun darkening above her Rats and lizards’ many blood spills hardening around her Seething muscles pulsating themselves aggressively within her Teeth clenching and trembling with urges to roar their rage for her A stegadon herd trotted across the horizon yonder Its pups trailing from behind with grand wonder Contradicting her and the corpse’s bloody tale Her roar reverberating throughout in its scale Memories fleeted and faded amidst the burning pain Her Stabbed gut perturbed with churning shame Surrounded by bloody carnage that was; now enshrouded by lonely silence The mangled corpses all strewn about violently; now in peace with nature’s patience Amidst it all; amidst all of the otherworldly torment, she somehow found its sense For the sauri never question purpose An omen to the Old Ones’ incessant will And so, she let go And let go The eyes beginning to warm and water up strangely enough, she thought... Spoiler: Poem 3: "Fangs of Sotek" Fangs of Sotek Fire in the skies, raging among the stars Come to life as dragonflies traveled from afar. Slaying the forces of the dark. All evil that wears their mark will think: 'What the heck!?' Just before they face the 'Fangs of Sotek' - Zectoka Spoiler: Poem 4: War WAR Sharp teeth snap and meet cold steel The hiss of an arrow in the air Blood dried and cracked on hard scales Blank unblinking eyes stare Shrieks of pain blend with those of rage Bone is crushed in snapping jaws Arrows snap and poison flows The acrid stench from dripping maws Rippling strength a fatal blow The fasted hand the smallest slice Toppling to join the rest Half crushed skull the tilted knife Pools of poison, blood and gore Indiscriminate, no one left Drowning on the muddied floor All will taste the hand of death Spoiler: Poem 5: Jungle Temple JUNGLE TEMPLE Roots run deep Reaching skyward, branches stretch Up up up Splitting the sky and hiding it from view through thick green Up up up enclosed A stronghold of shadows Cast by blue moonlight and fiery sunshine Up up up Wind tears branches snap Crash Splinter Down down down Roots run deep An anchor in the ocean of rich soil Down down down Twisting and choking the life from the ground tracing rocks with gentleness Down down down Deeper still Buried beneath centuries of destruction, millennia of disintegration Floods rip limbs from the earth Crack Torn apart, exposed and shattered Up up up Roots run deep Walls stretch into the sky Stones glisten underneath grit and grime Waiting Watching The jungle protected Or claimed Vines cling to stone Soft leaves fall on harsh stone Drip Carvings Images Stories Drip Roots run deep Claimed by the jungle Drip The onslaught of the sky Water gouges stone Wind tears branches The earth cracks Stones vanish Trees topple Walls crumble Ruin Vines and ruin Roots run deep Spoiler: Poem 6: Six Sneaky Skaven Six Sneaky Skaven Six sneaky Skaven creeping through the trees Squeaking and cursing and scratching fleas A whistle, a thunk, and then a cutoff cry Down fell a ratman, a dart in his eye Five furious Skaven glaring through the trees Squeaking and cursing now ignoring the fleas A creak, a snap, a squeal that was cut quick A grin on lizard lips at the pitfall’s trick Four frantic Skaven edging through the trees Squeaking and cursing with shaking knees A ripple, a whisper, a blade through vile heart Blood for Sotek as does another life depart Three terrified Skaven fleeing through the trees Squeaking and cursing as fear glands squeeze A crack, a rumble, as the ground opens yawning One too slow screams into chasm falling Two trapped Skaven staring through the trees Squeaking and cursing fear making them freeze Another whistle, thunk, and topple into dark From the shadows steps one of Chameleon mark One overcome Skaven slashing through the trees Squeaking and cursing as his foe weaves as a breeze Flittering into sight, and flittering out of sight Till a slash and a gurgle and end of the fight No Skaven creeping through the trees The hunter smiles again, seemingly pleased Throughout the jungle squeals and cries As the verminous invaders, one by one dies Constructive commentary and critiques is encouraged. Combined, these six poems are less than 900 words collectively so I ask that you read these slowly and carefully consider your votes. I randomized the order of the poems. It is a happy coincidence that poem 6 has the word "Six" in the title. Have fun and enjoy the first days of Spring. Voting will be open for two weeks and two days because that seems mildly poetic. Author Identies Poem 1: A Lord by @King Dust Poem 2: Grieving Loss by @Paradoxical Pacifism Poem 3: "Fangs of Sotek by @Imrahil Poem 4: "War" by @Infinity Turtle Poem 5: "Jungle Temple" by @Infinity Turtle Poem 6: "Six Sneaky Skaven" by @Y'ttar Scaletail
I've been sitting here for about five minutes try to come up with some stupid haiku as a response, but "competition" is 4 syllables so I'm stuck on the first line. 'This competition' sound like a bit of a stretch... I'll get back to you guys when I'm feeling a bit more inspired
When writing a hauiku, an online thesaurus is your friend. You can probably find a synonym with the appropriate number of syllables.
kewl poetic entrants guys and girls. They're all good and i have no idea what to vote for (or what poetry is anyway) as per usual :/
Awww... two poems are falling back. It's a pity, as i was almost going to give a vote to one of them. Unknown author, even if you are collecting few votes, i want you to know that your work has been appreciated!
Let me try to do some poetry critiques. Maybe that will help me figure out what I should vote for. "A Lord": The first Poem was the shortest. I don't have a problem with this. My favorite poems from famous poets of yore are generally very short ones. This good aliteration and communicates the traits of a Slann conscisely with well chosen words. Well done. "Grieving Loss": Like you would expect with a poem named "Grieving Loss" the second poem had the most feels. This was sort of structured, sort of free-formed. Not sure I would have done that myself but I cannot deny the impact of this poem. Well done. "Fangs of Sotek": Of all the pieces in this contest, the third poem seemed to have the most structure. The piece had a formal rhyme and rhythm structure and much like the first poem communicated a single core character with concise well chosen words. Well done. "War": The fourth poem was mostly structured with a bit of free form. There was a lot of partial rhyme and slight deviations from the form, but it works. It certainly encompasses typical Lizardmen attitudes towards war evocatively. Well done. "Jungle": While a lot of poems here had elements of being a free form poem, the fifth poem was the only truly free-form poem. Highly appropriate for a poem about ancient wisdom encapuslated by savage wilderness. Well done. "Six Sneaky Skaven": Another highly structured poem. I'm not sure if a steady rhythm jumped out but the rhyme scheme was excellent and I like that it told a complete story in an entertaining fashion. Well done.
I am a sucker for structured and rhymy (is that a word?) poems. But all of them were entertaining to read, good job everyone! 1. Short is hard, you have to find precise words and there isn't much space for structure (that's probably why Haiku are pretty formalized). Nice alliterations as well. 2. A lot of feelings in there, a very emotional piece. Also very thematic with all the different stuff mentioned. That also makes it dynamic. 3. I like how this one refers to a bataillion in AoS, it reminds me of my own piece from a time ago (the Shadowstrike song). It also has a nice structure and the rhymes look well done (not that I am not an expert for English rhymes as that isn't my native language. Often I think English rhymes look weird, but once spoken they sound OK, or vice versa.) 4. War is hell, this poem isn't, though. Nice job on the rhymes, and it has the perfect length IMO. Quite brutal as well, as is war. 5. I admit I am not a fan of free form, but I like how this piece is about the jungle and the structure mimics that seemingly chaotic, yet ordered undergrowth in a away. It also has the contrast between the temple and the jungle (one active, on passive), and the up and down. And that contrast is also in the words (like when "twisting and chocking" is in one sentence with the word "gentleness"). 6. This looks like it is meant to be sung around a campfire. It is entertaining and well structured. I like. Voted.
This is probably obvious, but I would recomend reading the poems outloud to yourself at least once. That helped me actually figure out what to vote for.
Voting has slowed down so I'm calling it. The winning poem is "Six Sneaky Skaven" by our own Y'ttar Scaletail. Infinity' Turtle's teen angst picked up second and third place. Author Identies Poem 1: A Lord by @King Dust Poem 2: Grieving Loss by @Paradoxical Pacifism Poem 3: "Fangs of Sotek by @Imrahil Poem 4: "War" by @Infinity Turtle Poem 5: "Jungle Temple" by @Infinity Turtle Poem 6: "Six Sneaky Skaven" by @Y'ttar Scaletail Thank you to all who participated. If interest remains, we will have a Poetry Contest every Equinox, so a two a year. The Solstices I guess have no contest at least for now. I'm sure the April 1st snafu and Y'ttar winning two contests in a row are completely unrelated.
Ehem, sorry about that. As much of a last minute rush as it was, it was fun to write. I for one would like to see more such compys.
Of course it's a deserved victory: it took one of my votes! It's me that thanks you for the pleasant reading. @Infinity Turtle I also voted for your poem