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Contest Summer 2022 Poetry Contest Voting and Reading Thread (Voting through August 19th)

Discussion in 'Fluff and Stories' started by Scalenex, Aug 4, 2022.

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Which Poem or Poem do you like Best (you may vote for up to two)

Poll closed Aug 19, 2022.
  1. Poem 1: "To the Praise of Chotec"

    3 vote(s)
    37.5%
  2. Poem 2: "Pets"

    5 vote(s)
    62.5%
  3. Poem 3: "In the Port of Skeggi"

    3 vote(s)
    37.5%
  4. Poem 4: "Speechless"

    1 vote(s)
    12.5%
  5. Poem 5: "Lords of Space and Time"

    1 vote(s)
    12.5%
  6. Poem 6: "The New World"

    1 vote(s)
    12.5%
  7. Poem 7: "Cold Blood"

    1 vote(s)
    12.5%
Multiple votes are allowed.
  1. Scalenex
    Slann

    Scalenex Keeper of the Indexes Staff Member

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    Summer 2022 Poetry Contest has begun. We only have seven poems and you only get two votes, so read these carefully before voting.

    They are fairly short so I recommend multiple readings. For me personally, I think it helps to read them quietly to yourself and then read them out loud.

    To the Praise of Chotec


    Drums beat


    The forest swathed in shadows and dark

    Begins to light and turn from gloom

    The song of the jungle sounds out stark

    As night perishes to Chotec’s boon


    Drums beat


    The song grows louder from bird and beast

    Awaken! Awaken to the glory of light!

    We watch the glow over the trees in the East.

    To the golden dawn, warm, within sight.


    Drums beat


    An orb of warmth, of light, of fire does rise

    Chotec we gaze to from Slann to Skink

    Until the darkness of the old day dies

    And a new day passes its awaited brink


    Drums beat


    We feel the fire course through scale!

    Hear the drums, hear the drums!

    For the Great Plan shall never fail!

    PETS

    The swarm crawls through the bushes, a creeping doom
    they’re tiny, they’re many, they are Lustria’s boon
    they hear you, they sense you, you’ve entered their homes
    they’ll bite you, they’ll eat you, deep down to your bones.

    Did you think it was safe the river by day
    a sudden stream of fire has melt you away
    you’ve met the salamanders, to water they belong
    consider yourself lucky, you didn’t last for long.

    They travel in packs, they move like a flood
    with claws and with teeth, they’re out for your blood
    no way you can hide, your smell is their guide
    they are named the cold ones, we ride’em with pride.

    A thunderous bulk that can tear down trees
    not hunger for blood, but branches and leaves
    is a Stegadon peaceful? yes that is true
    but be wary of horns, they’ll just pierce you through.

    It’s a titan made flesh, a God in lizard form
    its bite can shatter rocks, its roar a sudden storm
    an overwhelming terror, the last thing you will feel
    cause only a Slann bends a Dread Saurian’s will.

    You’ve met our pets, your life now is gone
    you call Lustria hell, we just call it home.

    In the Port of Skeggi (translated from Joaquin le Brel)


    In the Port of Skeggi, there’s a sailor who sings,

    Of the treasure he brings, from the temple cities,

    In the Port of Skeggi, there’s a sailor who sleeps,

    As the lizardman creeps, between the twisted trees.

    In the Port of Skeggi, there’s a sailor who dies,

    Full of darts, full of cries, in a surprised jungle flight.

    In the Port of Skeggi, there’s a sailor who’s forlorn,

    All haggard and drawn, in the suns blood red light



    In the Port of Skeggi, where the sailors all meet,

    There’s a captain who eats only fish heads and tails

    And he’ll show you the stump of a limb lost too soon,

    With stories of scales, and serpents that could swallow the moon

    And he yells to his men with his arm held wide

    “Hey! Bring me more fish, put it down by my side!”

    And he so wishes for the lost Norscan skies

    But is stuck in Skeggi till the day that he dies



    In the Port of Skeggi, there’s a sailor who drinks

    And he drinks and he drinks, and he drinks once again

    He’ll drink to the adventurers of the Port of Skeggi

    Who sell their sorry lives in jungles deadly

    Yes they’ve thrown their souls for Old One gold

    And bare their necks till the last head has rolled

    Yet, he remarks that it was their own doing:

    “Only a fool seeks the dreams that soon turn to ruin!”


    In the Port of Skeggi

    In the Port of Skeggi

    Speechless

    If the glistening coasts of Lustria could tell a story.
    They spoke of visitors longing for endless possibilities
    in a new land without laws, but with treasures galore,
    of inhabitants defending their turf with honor and glory
    keeping warmbloods from reaching their Temple-Cities,
    But still the waves crush upon a speechless shore.

    LORDS OF SPACE AND TIME

    We are here, and we watch
    the chaos and our brothers, a battle too far
    there, in the distance
    we are denied our fate.

    We are no more here, and we are blind
    A maelstrom of vertigo, the battle is near
    at charge distance
    we are gifted our fate.

    The New World

    Buried within the Jungle deep
    rise Temple-cities great and strong:
    Barracks, statues and ziggurats towering,
    age-old civilizations now long gone.
    Trespassing warmbloods scouring,
    gold and treasure is what they seek.

    Cold Blood

    The wave of bodies forges forward, their scales glinting in reflected firelight.
    The fire flames hot, but their blood is cold.
    The wave crashes over the foe, muscles burn and teeth are bared.
    The purpose burns within, but their blood is cold.
    He sees his brethren fall, their cries of pain lancing through him like forked lightning.
    The loss sears him, but his blood is cold.
    Roaring defiance, he tries to reach his brothers, his muscles smouldering from within.
    The purpose strong, but his blood is cold.
    He falls, the adversaries blows overwhelming him, even as his draws their life.
    Their blood is hot, but his is cold.
    Will not yet extinguished, he forces his arms to push himself upwards towards the fight but the strength is gone.
    His blood is spilt and his spirit cold.
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2022
  2. Scalenex
    Slann

    Scalenex Keeper of the Indexes Staff Member

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    Last edited: Aug 19, 2022
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  3. Lizards of Renown
    Slann

    Lizards of Renown Herald of Creation

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  4. Killer Angel
    Slann

    Killer Angel Prophet of the Stars Staff Member

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    Exactly what i needed.
    Poetry under the beach umbrella and near the pool :D
     
  5. Imrahil
    Slann

    Imrahil Thirtheenth Spawning

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    Nice poems all together. My votes are in :)

    I noticed there is the option to change your votes

    Grrr, Irmahil
     
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  6. Killer Angel
    Slann

    Killer Angel Prophet of the Stars Staff Member

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    Now ii'm curious.

    ...nah, you clearly gave a vote to me. :D
     
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  7. Y'ttar Scaletail
    Troglodon

    Y'ttar Scaletail Well-Known Member

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    Ooooh a very nice crop this compy!

    I will have to ponder upon these.
     
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  8. Y'ttar Scaletail
    Troglodon

    Y'ttar Scaletail Well-Known Member

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    Some review-things in the quiet:


    Poem One: Though I’d maybe call this more of a hymn of sorts. The writer uses very vibrant imagery to paint a truly glorious dawn over Lustria, punctuated by the beating of drums (perhaps a alluding to the hearts of the coldbloods beating faster as the sun warms them?) Very enjoyable.


    Poem Two: Ooh an almost riddle-like poem. Very nicely paced and written covering the myriad beasties the Lustrians use/keep as pets (apart from there being no Huagerdon but oh well. :p ) The final couplet isn’t really a true rhyme, but this feels like a mild complaint for an otherwise fantastic piece.


    Poem Three: Heh…I get the reference though it took me a few moments. It is certainly a well adapted homage to Brel’s song (or at least Bowie’s translated version.) A few lines could have a better flow, but otherwise colour me impressed!


    Poem Four: A very different rhyming structure compared to the previous poems. It’s short but it is sweet. Pacing and rhyming are more than fine. I suppose I may have liked a little more, but all things considered this was a nice ditty.


    Poem Five: Forgive me as my poetry form knowledge is very very rusty, but that’s either close to iambic or a haiku, I’m not quite fully sure which. Nonetheless, quite nice and solid with some good sound feel.


    Poem Six: Arguably the shortest piece. It is certainly short and sweet with a good economy of words. I did like the contrasting imagery of the vast size of the temple cities compared to the smaller and less majestic sounding warmblood treasure hunters.


    Poem Seven: A very interesting mantra that is built in this piece which leads to the sad but inevitable conclusion. A little sad we’re ending the entries on a more tragic piece, but truly a beautiful one at the same time.
     
  9. Killer Angel
    Slann

    Killer Angel Prophet of the Stars Staff Member

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    Well, given this should be the last day of voting, i think i can expose myself and reveal that my votes went to "In the port of Skeggi" and "to the praise of Chotec"
     
  10. Scalenex
    Slann

    Scalenex Keeper of the Indexes Staff Member

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    Poem 1: "To the praise of Chotec" by @Y'ttar Scaletail

    Poem 2: "Pets" by @Killer Angel

    Poem 3: "In the Port of Skeggi" by @Y'ttar Scaletail

    Poem 4: "Speechless" by @Imrahil

    Poem 5: "Lords of Space and Time" by @Killer Angel

    Poem 6: "The New World" by @Imrahil

    Poem 7: "Cold Blood" by @Lizards of Renown

    Congratulations to Killer Angel for winning the contest.

    Congratulations to Y'ttar Scaletail for getting second place twice in one contest.


    Thanks everyone, these were all enjoyable poems. I didn't post any commentary because I didn't have any intelligent means of analyzing them.
     
    Last edited: Aug 19, 2022
  11. Imrahil
    Slann

    Imrahil Thirtheenth Spawning

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    Congratulations @Killer Angel with the win !!

    you got one of my votes, my other vote went to Cold Blood

    Grrr, Imrahil
     
  12. Killer Angel
    Slann

    Killer Angel Prophet of the Stars Staff Member

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    That was great!
    This is the first time i win the poetry comp... well, it was about time! :p

    I woul also like to congratulare with @Y'ttar Scaletail ... 2 votes to both of your poems: i clearly like your style. ;)
     
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  13. Killer Angel
    Slann

    Killer Angel Prophet of the Stars Staff Member

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    that was me too :)
     
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  14. Scalenex
    Slann

    Scalenex Keeper of the Indexes Staff Member

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    It hardly ever happens but I missed a detail on a contest I was overseeing....
     
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  15. Y'ttar Scaletail
    Troglodon

    Y'ttar Scaletail Well-Known Member

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    I'm a little sad there weren't more votes and commentary for this competition (as difficult as it is to review poetry!) I know my reviews weren't to a proper schooling level, but part of me would like to know a bit of what I did right or wrong.

    But anyway, a well deserved victory @Killer Angel , in fact you had one of my votes for the winning piece. :D
    And I be touched you appear to like my style.
     
  16. Lizards of Renown
    Slann

    Lizards of Renown Herald of Creation

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  17. Imrahil
    Slann

    Imrahil Thirtheenth Spawning

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    Thanks for the kind words, but honestly there was no reference at all :oops:
    I am wondering which songs you are thinking of

    Grrr, Imrahil
     
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  18. Killer Angel
    Slann

    Killer Angel Prophet of the Stars Staff Member

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    You are so talented you created a poem similar to a Bowie's song, without even knowing it! :D
     
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  19. Imrahil
    Slann

    Imrahil Thirtheenth Spawning

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    Lol, that was the first thought when I read the review as well :D:D

    Grrr, Imrahil
     
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  20. Y'ttar Scaletail
    Troglodon

    Y'ttar Scaletail Well-Known Member

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    ...But poem three was (part)written by myself...

    It was a very direct homage to Jacques Brel's song: Dans Le Port d'Amsterdam, though I used the translated version as the basis for my piece which Bowie covered.




    But instead of talking about the Port of Amsterdam and the depravities afflicting it and its people, I turned it to the hopelessness of Skeggi. Some lines I kept because they were already too good and instead I shaped the narrative to fit Skeggi instead. Skeggi itself was a right git to rhyme to. :p
     
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