Gift of Poetry Contest Winners

Contest Winners

Quite a few people voted this time around, unfortunately, about half of them are not members. Remember,  you have to be a member for your vote to be valid! If you missed the member list clean-up cut off date, then you are no longer a member and must rejoin. And if you "secretly" asked your friends to come and vote for you, make sure that next time you remind them to join too. There are links for instructions on how to join from any of our journal headers.

1st Place:

#8- Blood Orange by ~tashagladwell

2nd Place:

#2- The Red Candle by ~Nastaciakaye

Most of the other poems received the same amount of votes each, so rather than list them all again for you, simply read them below! The author's names have also been revealed if you want to see who wrote your favorite. Also, all entrants may now post their poems as deviations--the contest is over.

Contest Entries

#1- dedicated to a friend

Untitled by *shadowgeist

How cold was your heart, to do this to me?
You'd dazzled my eyes, like garland on a tree.
Your eyes were like winter, they'd frozen me so,
Like I'd opened a present and received only coal.
I failed in attempts to make things alright
And sat home alone on each dark, Silent Night.

And now, like a fire, you've roared back to life.
Old things are renewed, no more pain, no more strife.
It seems as though like snowflakes, things won't quite be the same.
But I hope you still accept this gift, I give it in my name.
If dissention ever reoccurs, I just want you to know:
This too shall pass, like a blizzard; let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.


#2- dedicated to a friend

The Red Candle by ~Nastaciakaye

(In the Darkness)

The unlighted candle.

You can see the promise of beauty that it holds.
All the potential that exist.
Just like the possibility of you and me.

The candle kissed by flame.

The promise is being fulfilled.
Separate, they are nothing.
Together there is enough light
to keep the darkness at bay.
When we hold each other,
we are safe from the dark.

The melting candle.

Heat consumes the body.
It is being reduced to viscous tears.
A fading beauty, that the heat
will eventually destroy.
Between you and me there is
so much destructive passion.


(In The Light)

The shapeless puddle of hardened wax.

Such beauty... now reduced to nothing.
A formless mess that needs to be cleaned.
We are like this mess, you and me.

Our flaming obsession has destroyed us…


#3- dedicated to a good friend

Untitled by =xipix

Not happy.
Snow is waiting.
I’m lingering
in shadows.
Warmth is
slipping
away,
like you.

Too cold.
it
might break
down
my heart.

I breath,
like candy clouds.

Too far to reach.
I want
to catch you,
but
my arms
won’t work.
Too short.

A puzzle
scatters on the floor.


#4- dedicated to my grandma

That Day by ~Amythest-Lily

That day the snow was ice on top
Sparkling in the sun
As sun shone from cool winter's skies
And we were having fun

You carried and orange sled
I carried one of black
We sledded down the hill two times
And went to get a winter's snack

Pulling off layer after layer
Of wintery snow gear
We get hot coco and candy canes
What a wonderful time of year!


#5- dedicated to my ex

Untitled by rosaic-Scriptor

Snowflakes fall,
star-sparks dancing in
the frozen air of
winter.

Time slows at midnight,
and the moisture on the window
freezes,
reflecting a face gone
sad with early pain.

Steam coils up from the
mug near the glass,
painting pictures in front
of the ice,
moving and slowly melting
the cold.

A vision of his face
flashes through the cooled
window,
and her face flashes with pain
unspoken.

The moment dies,
and the snow falls once more,
with the beaded drops of dew
following gravity's pull
down to the sill.

He may be gone.
but the snowflakes keep
falling
just as beautifully as before,
unaffected by life,
and untouched,
even by the
death of her
world.


#6- dedicated to my worst enemy/ longtime crush

Untitled by ~Hinatachan65

Under the guise of cold, hard wax
That stone heart of yours comes to life
With a spark that melts your walls
In your confinement of glass

You become a friend, a kindred soul
We share jokes, laughs, and smiles
The inviting scent of your cologne draws me
A moth to light
I am at home with you

But then the wind blows
And the camaraderie ebbs away
As you turn back into cold, hard wax
And become my enemy
Won’t you stay warm?


#7- dedicated to my ex

Carnival by ~reveurpassionne

Why are you so cold to me?
Does this really have to be?
Though it started off so good
It ended far worse that it should

I really don't think we could be
Even friends happily
I really wish it wasn't so
But you could never ever know

So I'm on this Ferris wheel
Because these wounds just will not heal
Riding this merry-go-round
Chasing love that can't be found

It's time to go, step off it now
Learn to live again, somehow
So go and find another guy
It's over girl, say goodbye


#8- dedicated to a good friend

Blood Orange by ~tashagladwell

I like to
Split the skin of your poem, so
Your words glisten in
Pulses of blood orange
And coat my throat.
The seeds will grow
Deep; seep rhythms, and learn to
Sting my taste buds in your frantic pencil scratchings.
The tiny white flowers of an orange tree
Float on any breeze, leaving
Petals, scattered in jungle skin.
Blood orange seeds
Take root on my fingertips,
And I’ll dig in the mud,
To bury and treasure your sparkling red gold.
I’ll etch an ‘X’ in juice, so
I will never forget and starve;
Always be sticky and sweet.

Your poem is the orange in my stocking.

I’ll suck it dry.


#9- dedicated to one I thought I loved

Winter Days by ~anifell

One winter day you came
And brightened my life
You were warm, fun, my everything

All the days felt like spring
Bitter cold, a warm breeze
With love, all was perfect

As a candle in the dark,
You shone and showed me the way
The way out of my labyrinth of self-pity

Then one winter day you came
You spoke
Spoke words I hoped to never hear
Words of abandonment and pain

Thrown back into darkness,
You left my heart
In the bitter winter snow


#10- dedicated to a friend

Untitled by ~meathear8

Candles flickering, bright, bright, bright,
Like your eyes before they run out of sight.
The candles spread across the table,
White hot anger held inside,
Like my feelings, burning
Blue, red, white, orange.

Slowly the wax spills,
Onto the snow white table,
Smears, scars the surface,
With molten anger,
With sorrow held deep
Below the surface of cheer.

Convince me, slowly, like a friend,
That it’s too late, too much now,
Convince me to dance with you
On the last day of the year,
With the candles burning us up,
Just for one last day.

New Year lights hurt my eyes,
Like my past, they light up
Too fast, too true, too fierce,
For a heart that hurt itself
Too often, too much,
By never letting go.


#11 dedicated to a close friend

It Snows Again by ~tinyplaidninja

When the snow fell last December
I thought of you.
The delicacy and intricacy of each crystal
as it swirled and flurried slowly
riding wind currents before
settling on a frozen blade of grass
reminded me of you.

Sometimes I see you
falling to the ground the way
a flake is released from the storm clouds
subject to the wind
and the whims of nature.
It has ever been a cruel cycle that
holds you prisoner.

Somehow
you always return to the cold sky
the memory of each fall etching lines
on your tired face
as if it were a frozen lake.

Tonight
I watch the snow drift past my window
and I think of you
always drifting
always falling.


Contest Details

After the huge contest we ran for the whole DeviantArt community in October, *PoetryPlease wanted to do something special this holiday season for just our members. This contest will be run much like the contests of old, where the Top 10 entries will be posted and the members will get to decide who wins by voting.

The theme of this contest is centered around the holidays, but it's not going to be the usual namby pamby about Christmas, family, presents, toys, etc. This time, we want you to write a poem as a gift dedicated to somebody. You don't actually have to give it to this person, but it must be dedicated to a real person, even if it is just "a good friend" or "an ex" because you don't want to name names. There's a catch though: we don't want to encourage pure angst with no poetic quality, so we're asking that you choose at least one image that is associated with the holiday season (for example a color, snow/cold, candles, food) and write the poem surrouding this image. The image should be central to your poem and developed throughout. You may want to choose an image that reminds you of the person it's written for, and compare their likenesses. Or, your image may represent your feelings about that person. This poem does not have to be positive.

As of January 1, 2009, anybody who is not on the 2009 member list will not be eligible to participate in this contest.

Contest Rules

1. Your poem must not be submitted as a deviation. All entries are to remain anonymous until after the voting process is over.
2. You poem must be noted to the club by 10PM EST on December 31, 2008. Your note must say "Gift of Poetry" in the subject line with your poem pasted into the body. Again, do not send us a link to a deviation because you will not be eligible (see no. 1).
3. When voting begins, you may either note your vote or leave a comment on the deviation. If you choose to comment, you may only include the number of the poem for which you are voting. Anything more will disqualify your vote and the comment will be hidden.
4. You must indicate when submitting your poem the person to whom your poem is dedicated. You don't have to include their name, but you must include their relationship to you (friend, sibling, parent, partner, etc.)
5. Your poem must include a clear image that is central and developed throughout the poem. If there's any chance we won't understand your choice, you may wish to include a brief explanation in your note.
6. You must be a member to participate (that includes voting).