CLOSED. ENDED 10/31. Winner: Inili heart with the poem "Radiant"!
It was Breast Cancer Awareness Month!
If you didn't know already, Breast Cancer Organizations accept donations for these causes on their websites. You can donate with your name, in someone else's, or anonymously on sites like these: https://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/breast-cancer-donations
Background: A friend's mother defeated breast cancer, but there are so many out there who are still battling it. Please help show some love.
I wanted to read poems that paid tribute to those who've been through this, are currently fighting this, or to someone who knows someone with it, etc.
-Tipped every poem I liked by October 30th
-Gifted random items to every person who submitted a poem
-Chose the best poem among the selections on October 31st
-Declared winner on 11/1/14
Winner, Inili, received 350 million gaia gold and item Ravenwood Manor 3rd Gen.! biggrin
The Requirements for the poems:
There was no limit to submissions.
3 Requirements*:
1. No Abstractions. (These won't win i.e. "she is sad and yet happiness is in her eyes". Instead use details. Something people can envision. something like "tears rim the line of her blue, downcast eyes and wind blows a tear to carry across the garden to land upon the light, light pink, shining flower across from her...she gazes slightly higher until the pink is wholesomely in reflected in her eyes"wink
2. Must be about Breast Cancer. (i.e. Mammograms, pain, family, happiness, thankfulness, sadness, pink, ribbons, fundraisers, etc.)
3. Can not have end lines that rhyme. (Some people do not understand that it is NOT the poem that controls you..it is YOU that controls the poem. Poetry is NOT defined by rhyme. Therefore, to be sure everyone is thinking about the topic at hand, the poem can NOT have end lines that rhyme...i.e. don't do this: "she is dying, he is cold, he is crying, she can no longer mold, to the whims of society, the whims he couldnt care less, and yet she wore wigs, he has to confess" I can tell when poetry is driven by rhyme. And it is very often. So therefore to avoid this, let's just not do it. "Good" material, by adhering to rhyme and such, is NOT always the material that has heart or meaning...but that's what I want. I want the heart. The meaning; therefore, no end lines that rhyme).
*No length requirement. However, remember that shorter poems may not achieve the meaning I want here. And remember that longer poems do get boring. It is recommended that the poem be about as long as point number 1, 2, and 3. A poem like that sounds like a really interesting masterpiece to read. Poems that don't meet requirements will not be recognized.
Alright, nobody is posting, so I'm going to start this off. biggrin
Remember, the less submissions, the better chance you have at winning! I am going to choose a winner no matter how many participants there are. I simply want gaians to know that the community DOES care about breast cancer!
Monopoly
My lover's mother reaches her thick, dark arm across dark wood
surfaces...the coffee table with two shelves, molded to old
classical tastes where several old scratches numbered days when
jews climbed her attic ladder into the insulation polluted their souls...
my lover's mother's dark face is happy and joyful...her eyes are dark but
her face is so upturned by her gracious, thin, dark-lipped smile. My lover's
mother moves her pink piece on the board with solid gesture: she reached
her short arm over the coffee table to clutch her small pin substitute. A gleaming
reflector of ceiling light pin...it shimmered as my lover's mother picked it up into
the air in quick motion to slam it onto the monopoly square of boardwalk. Her ribbon shook
itself, wobbling back and forth on her space and my lover's mother said she'd buy it.
heart See this fits requirements! All I wrote about was my lover's mother substituting a pink ribbon pin for a monopoly piece!!!
Welp, just to help this contest along~ I really don't have time to write any long, deep poems but this is a good cause so here's your first entry heart
Worth
Perhaps in the end we would all see
those golden gates
yet--
She sighs and strains and frowns
and it was tiresome, rummaging
through her bag.
yet--
Crinkly green changes hands
then she smiles
for those golden gates could wait
yet--
It was probably best for now
at least she wears
A pink ribbon.
Welp, just to help this contest along~ I really don't have time to write any long, deep poems but this is a good cause so here's your first entry heart
Worth
Perhaps in the end we would all see
those golden gates
yet--
She sighs and strains and frowns
and it was tiresome, rummaging
through her bag.
yet--
Crinkly green changes hands
then she smiles
for those golden gates could wait
yet--
It was probably best for now
at least she wears
A pink ribbon.
Thank you so much for the submission! There are no length requirements, so no worries. Thank you for abiding by all three standards!
This is a great poem, with great details and I LOVE that you didn't ever say what the crinkly green was (show don't tell!). smile ...and this really does need help moving along, so thank you!
It's a pleasure to send you this gift <3 It's a hearty thank you for submitting your poem, Mera D. I enjoy reading it.
Besides breast cancer, I am aware there are many other current problems (i.e. EBOLA). For right now, you guys, I just want to focus on Breast cancer. This is also immediate to many women, and, rarely even men. Nobody here bites, please don't be scared to submit your poem heart
Sodarkar I just almost invited you via comment to this forum! biggrinheart
No, there's no winner until the 31st. Don't worry! The gifts are given to every participant that submits a poem (that meets requirements).
However, your poem doesn't seem to have anything to do with Breast Cancer. Numbers 1 and 2 requirements aren't met. Try revising with some more intimate details/imagery? biggrin I'm really happy you posted this, because I hope no one else thinks this contest is over!!
The woman in pink had a tear in her eye
The tear streamed down her face as she heard the news
After this day her life would never be the same
Everyday she woke up and her life seemed a little more grey
The woman in pink looked in the mirror and didn't recognize who she was
She would caress her body and cry, feeling like she was missing parts of herself
Yet she continued to go to the chemotherapy and look for the sign of hope
Everyday was harder as she started to lose more and more of herself
The woman in pink continued to fight this cancer with pure spirit
She knew the fighting was going to change everything
Everyday she would pick herself up and fight this cancer with an iron fist
Then the day finally came where she had beaten the cancer because she believed in herself
Sodarkar I just almost invited you via comment to this forum! biggrinheart
No, there's no winner until the 31st. Don't worry! The gifts are given to every participant that submits a poem (that meets requirements).
However, your poem doesn't seem to have anything to do with Breast Cancer. Numbers 1 and 2 requirements aren't met. Try revising with some more intimate details/imagery? biggrin I'm really happy you posted this, because I hope no one else thinks this contest is over!!
There is no limit to submissions. smile
haha, oh I'm sorry, I'm pretty bad at english (I'm from Chile) and I didn't know exactly what 'breast' mean, I will try to think something better wink
The woman in pink had a tear in her eye
The tear streamed down her face as she heard the news
After this day her life would never be the same
Everyday she woke up and her life seemed a little more grey
The woman in pink looked in the mirror and didn't recognize who she was
She would caress her body and cry, feeling like she was missing parts of herself
Yet she continued to go to the chemotherapy and look for the sign of hope
Everyday was harder as she started to lose more and more of herself
The woman in pink continued to fight this cancer with pure spirit
She knew the fighting was going to change everything
Everyday she would pick herself up and fight this cancer with an iron fist
Then the day finally came where she had beaten the cancer because she believed in herself
I love this!! Thank you for the submission!! I wish I knew what she was wearing: "The Woman in Pink".
Even then, I REALLY enjoyed reading this. I imagined the pink myself (for my own behalf), and imagined her in a t-shirt. The mirror was really interesting and a great incorporation into the poem because we could see the woman caressing herself. I did wish to know how she fought the cancer.
Overall, this was a really great job. (((: Amazing!!! Again, thank you for the submission heart
Sodarkar I just almost invited you via comment to this forum! biggrinheart
No, there's no winner until the 31st. Don't worry! The gifts are given to every participant that submits a poem (that meets requirements).
However, your poem doesn't seem to have anything to do with Breast Cancer. Numbers 1 and 2 requirements aren't met. Try revising with some more intimate details/imagery? biggrin I'm really happy you posted this, because I hope no one else thinks this contest is over!!
There is no limit to submissions. smile
haha, oh I'm sorry, I'm pretty bad at english (I'm from Chile) and I didn't know exactly what 'breast' mean, I will try to think something better wink
Awwww, well....details about Breast Cancer
Beast Cancer is a disease to women (and sometimes even men). Many people suffer from this, and some have died from it. Then again, some who've had the disease fought through it and survived. Breast Cancer, even after you've defeated it, produces a higher chance of experiencing it again. Those with Breast Cancer get Mastectomy: Breasts (boobs, fat on your chest) are removed surgically in order to remove the cancer tissue.
The Symbol for Breast Cancer is a Pink Ribbon.
I'll keep note that you're from Chile. This is a contest not on your proficiency in English, but in how well you construct a poem. Good luck and thank you for submitting smile
She is trying to keep strong, maybe with a problem that won't disappear.
Every moment trying to not show pain through her eyes,
just to make her family don't feel bad and be happy for her.
She is going on, while some people maybe criticize her situation.
But there are people who wanna help her too,
people who have been through this and needed someone just like they do now.
Perhaps that misfortune disappears... or make her disappear.
It'd keep growing... stop for a moment... and be repeated... or make her life stop forever.
She always uses a large necklace, that has the form of a Pink Ribbon.
Maybe asking herself why this had to happen to her... she can die, and no one knows it.
Her family started watching her... noticing her attitude... why she acts 'that' way...
But it will keep being a secret until they figure out what her Pink Ribbon means.
Maybe words are repeated, but I don't know a lotta english, so I'm sorry if it's horrible sweatdrop
Sodarkar I just almost invited you via comment to this forum! biggrinheart
No, there's no winner until the 31st. Don't worry! The gifts are given to every participant that submits a poem (that meets requirements).
However, your poem doesn't seem to have anything to do with Breast Cancer. Numbers 1 and 2 requirements aren't met. Try revising with some more intimate details/imagery? biggrin I'm really happy you posted this, because I hope no one else thinks this contest is over!!
There is no limit to submissions. smile
haha, oh I'm sorry, I'm pretty bad at english (I'm from Chile) and I didn't know exactly what 'breast' mean, I will try to think something better wink
Awwww, well....details about Breast Cancer
Beast Cancer is a disease to women (and sometimes even men). Many people suffer from this, and some have died from it. Then again, some who've had the disease fought through it and survived. Breast Cancer, even after you've defeated it, produces a higher chance of experiencing it again. Those with Breast Cancer get Mastectomy: Breasts (boobs, fat on your chest) are removed surgically in order to remove the cancer tissue.
The Symbol for Breast Cancer is a Pink Ribbon.
I'll keep note that you're from Chile. This is a contest not on your proficiency in English, but in how well you construct a poem. Good luck and thank you for submitting smile
damn, I wrote the poem before reading this, I will do it again xD
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