Best Contests Poems
I pick up my notepad and find a sharp pencil
(Hope any comments won’t be too detrimental)
I scan the contest themes and hope I’m inspired
I’ll enter an old poem if I’m just too darn tired
I post my ‘best effort’ and hope that I win …
Yet ANOTHER N/A so I start hitting the gin!
With tears in my eyes I soup mail all my friends
There’ll be a ‘screwed contest’, will that pay dividends?
I finish the bottle, then scan the 'best new poems list'
My poem’s ‘pisadeered’, how my eyes start to mist
My masterpiece isn’t there - where has it gone?
It’s been cast into the realms of total oblivion
My eyes are now closing, I’m too sozzled to write
It’s well after midnight so I’ll bid you goodnight ....
I wake in the morning, dash to check all the lists ...
but with all the moaning on blogs… they no longer exist!
Inspired by Jerry T Curtis's POTD
07~25~16
This contest style’s description is one I’ve never heard
I’m unfamiliar with that particular word
An internet search comes up empty
However, others seem to have poems aplenty
My eyes are getting blurry a total collapse seems imminent
Quickly penning an entry appears to be the only way out of my predicament
My freshly emerged imposter’s syndrome is now on full display
As I throw words together to prayerfully send a piece on its way
Whoops, I don’t believe the lines above were exact rhymes
I wonder if I will get disqualified this time
I see it is quintessential to utilize the word “quintessential”
Unfortunately, that stretches me to also use a word like “nonextensile”
Argh! I just realized I’m not counting my meter
I promise I’m not purposefully being a cheater
Oh well, competitions are all in good fun,
even if they drive you a bit crazy
You just have to be creative, put in the work,
and not . . . something, something lazy
Just wanted to make a few things clear for my fellow poets
If you are going to use A I, to write a poem for a particular
contest, then be sure to let the sponsor know by adding
A I on top of your poem, so the sponsor of the contest
can then decide whether to use it or not.
I don't believe it is the responsibility of the sponsor to
check every single poem to see if it is A I or not
Please be honest about it if you are and let the sponsor
know.
If the sponsor has specified no A I, then please respect
that. After all we are all writers, and we all know that
we take pride in our creative abilities. So I am asking
if anyone agrees with me, please leave a comment.
This was not written to put down A I in any way
Its coming from a naive woman who just assumed
I am no longer that naive,
Please don't join any of my contests unless you are
planning to write me an original without the help
of AI,
Thanks
Vienna aka Mystic Rose
Why do I have a distinct feeling that
Some of us are addicted to Poetry Soup?
I look so forward to my Soup Mail chats
And those occasional poems about poop!
First thing in the morning I check to see
If there is a Blog I simply must read,
If I have won a contest with my poetry, [or]
If Cunningham has shared his latest deed.
Next, I look to see if I won the P.O.T.D.
After all, it certainly does no harm to check
Most days, the answer is a resounding “Nay!”
But I’ll continue to submit poems anyway.
Then, I give attention to the New Poems list
Always eager to see what my friends submit
At times, I’ll tell you, I simply shake my fist,
Or shake my head at lousy poems, I admit.
I respond timely to every comment I receive
And check to see if I have had any replies
You see, I haven’t much else to do, I believe,
But enjoy the laughter, the tears, the sighs.
Last of all, I read over latest contest offers
And decide which ones I may choose to enter
Especially those from the interesting authors
Sometimes those that are far right of center!
When I have thoroughly enjoyed the Soup
I go to my writing program and start to pen
Some poems work, others are nincompoop
I have a good night’s sleep, start over again.
Written August 6, 2022
Entering contests isn’t a race
First past the post may not get a place
Don’t make it a mission
To get first position …
Attacking sponsors is a disgrace
Written after reading F J Thomas's blog AFTERAFFECTS OF HOSTING A CONTEST
30th May 2015
You LOVE my poem (or you say)
Your glowing comment really made my day
I simply smile and am floating on air
Sit down contentedly writing at my chair
Enter a contest and wait…
The contest is judged - I await my fate ….
Sweet N/A
10th January 2015
To post a poem is not a marathon*
when entered in a contest to be placed-
but rather there for others urged upon
to read- become inspired with its grace.
Unlike a sports Olympics, contests are
to challenge inner selves to meet a theme;
accomplishment alone gives us a star
for creativity that makes us beam.
We all are winners, who can shape our words
to paint the sadness or the joys of life,
with joyful metaphors like flowers, birds-
or those that pierce the heart with a dull knife.
When entered in a contest- win or lose-
our trophy is the journey with our muse.
September 17, 2016
For Contest, 'I Got A Darn NA Again'
Sponsored by Lu Loo
*Except when entering a real poetry marathon, like the one
sponsored by Mark Toney!! :)
---------------------------------------------------
~NA~
Contest: Second Chances For The Unloved Poem
Sponsor: Jesse Rowe
Judged: 09/11/2018
~NA~
Premiere Contest: 150
Sponsor: Brian Strand
Judged: 04/13/2018
If we never want to...
experience poetry forms new
Or... read how other poets
on the same theme do it
As well as... meet a deadline
with a poem ready on time
Or maybe... show capability
of your rule readability
And... no need to discern
new words to learn
If any of these are so...
then PS should know...
No more would indeed be best...
We don't need no stinking contests!
August 15, 2018
We Don't Need No Stinking Contests Contest
By John lawless
N/A
Winning contests pleases folk;
Losing makes ‘em shrug.
Write a lot and go for broke;
Get that writing bug.
Try new forms and have a blast;
Enter, have a ball.
Nothing wrong with coming last;
Laugh about it all.
for Joe’s I just can’t win contest
Using the 7/5 trochee, a form created by Andrea
Contests! good for building egos up
great for knocking creativity down
as I pore over words and sounds
to make my poetry jump off the page
to come alive in others minds
in the most imaginative way.
Contests! we don't need them
they drive us crazy every day
putting our best foot forward
and doing something that is brave
putting your art out there for judging
nurtured and created with much loving
only to be brutally dimissed
or even worse maybe even savaged
Contests! Huh, well this I find an interesting challenge
maybe I will just have a go at this
rise to the challenge and try to win it
not because I don't think it still stinks
but because in my own way we become
ever so slightly addicted to it
looking for some kind of justification
for writing poetry and putting it out to the nations
or just because we have a competitive edge
contests! I've won a couple so see what's next
see if I can be the best, I mean i wish everyone all the best
I just enter for a bit of fun, not to be just number one!
but being unplaced leaves me undone
but hey, let's show a little grace keep a smile upon our faces
swallow this bitterest pill and compete until they lose the will
to misjudge my work again, I am the top contestant man!
enter contests or be dammed, stinking contests drive me mad
Argh!!!! is that even a word?
17/7/18
Someone inquired of me about poetry contests,
And I shared some thoughts and considerations,
The contests, I wrote, are an incentive to write
Learning about poetry’s forms and foundations.
Don’t enter a contest for an opinion of your work
For your very best will sometimes go unnoticed
Some sponsors recognize only what they like
Their credentials for judging are clearly modest.
I have learned which sponsors to take seriously
The ones I want to give my very finest efforts,
Knowing they recognize merit even if I don’t place
I’ve learned few sponsors* are actually experts.
Then, I cautioned, a few sponsors you must court
For they only give placement to their best friend
You’ll identify them right away, the **** for tats,
I don’t take them seriously for any poems I send.
The best poems I write are rarely contest entered
And I enjoy most the poems I write for me alone
So, remember you are writing what pleases you
And if you win a trophy for it, that’s a milestone!
If you enter my contests, I can assure you of this:
I carefully consider the merit of every poem I get
I don’t care who wrote it, whether friend or foe,
When I post my placements, then I have no regret.
[*including me!]
Written July 10, 2022
THE ELEPHANT
The elephant is big and stout
And strong enough to knock you out
But when he really knows you well
The elephant will like your smell
The elephant is my best friend
For what I hope will never end
The trust we share will never part
For how we care to love by heart
To save the elephant is just
For how we came to earn his trust
And how we know our hearts will be
Attached to him eternally.
LOONEY TUNE
My heart just played a looney tune
When I looked in the mirror
I thought I liked my visage more
But now I like you dearer
I thought my truly gooney self
Was not that looney too
But when I fled the chicken coop
I stole the crazy glue
Don’t bother chasing after me
Because I lost my mind
Don’t lock me in a silent room
Or leave me in a bind
Just let me go to have my fill
Of some familiar moon
Or laugh at me as people will
Who play a looney tune.
THE DESERT
The desert is my favorite place
To be especially
For creatures small and cunning
For Joshua the tree
The challenge is survival
In living every day
To demonstrate the attributes
That help you get away
I love the vegetation
The cactus and the sage
The desert tends to make me wish
That I was half my age
I like to sit and listen to
The lonely desert call
I like to think and ponder on
The meaning of it all
I'm grateful for the desert
The blue sky up above
The desert is the place to be
The place I truly love.
NOW THE DAY IS OVER
Now the day is over
My writing hour is through
The fun I had is how I write this way
In silly words for you
The contest is a fickle thing
A memory at best
The chance to show what you can do
And lose to all the rest
No satisfaction guaranteed
No proof that you are good
No benefaction proves the need
To write the way you should
Sunday is my day of rest
The chance for me to sleep
So when you read at my behest
I'm swimming in the deep.
Eight contests to write for
Eight, is more than enough
Eight is the will
I need to fulfill
The chance that may seem like a bluff
I know that my body can do it
I know that my strength will endure
I know that I can
For the sake of my plan
To be strong in the way I am sure
Eight contest poems
Seven more ahead
This is just one
Before I am done
I’ll long for the comfort of bed.
FEELING THE LOVE
Well like I said, I feel the heat
To write eight poems this day
I will not ignore
The chance to explore
The things I am longing to say
For poem number two, I honestly do
The writing that follows my dreams
The peace in my heart
Is where I must start
To speak in the way that it seems
The light of my day, is found in the way
You do what you can for my best
The smallest of things
Is born of the wings
That fly to the heart of my rest
Your spirit is true, in all that you do
My spirit is longing to say
That all of my dreams
Are filled with the beams
That shine for the love you display.
STEP RIGHT IN
Step right in
You’re welcome here
To stay for as long as you please
The food that I eat
Is more than complete
By watching you resting with ease
The light of my day
Is born of the way
You cheer with a joke or a word
The voice that I hear
Is making it clear
How much that my joy is assured
The peace of a friend
Is more than you send
To cheer me with joy in your smile
The wish of my day
Is hoping you stay
For more than a walk is a mile.
LOST IN SPACE
I’m lost in space without you
I’m lost in space in flight
The viewport is my window
My dream of endless night
The stars are not my future
Their shine is not my sun
My spirit is receding
From all the joy I won
The planet I may land on
Is dark without you near
The moon is no less barren
Because you are not here
The journey is my travel
To distant parts unknown
And all my parts unravel
From monsters I have known
I’m lost in space forever
My fuel tank is undone
I’m drifting now without you
Before a fading sun
Please keep me on your radar
And let me see your face
I’m gone but when you think I’m far
I’m only lost in space.
All little boys like to master the fart
Among their peers its considered an art
It must be loud
To make them proud
If stinky, a winner right from the start
Once again I write what I think
Include your name, hell that stinks
It should all be read blind
Just imagine the finds
Leave the Judges purely in think
All contests should be read blind, unless a Workshop named!