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After recently becoming involved with Iron Poet, I got a desire to read through some of the previous competitions, but I found it very unpleasant to try to sift through all the individual threads, so I took it upon myself to create an archive. Hopefully someone appreciates it. If not, well, I was bored anyways, so that's fine. :smallsmile:
So, this took a bit longer than I expected, and it may be a while before I'm all caught up, since this is number one and we're on fifteen.
Iron Poet
Winner: Ravyn
Round 1:
Castaras vs. Nevrmore; Theme: Hurricanes
Castaras:
SpoilerThe whirling wind is cold that night
Whistling past the ruins that were once so high
Mighty and strong, brought to ruin by a wind so bright
Fast, and cruel. A tight and fast whip that has let fly
Destruction. Death. Misery.
The remenants of the wind whistle through my hair
Cold, almost silent, bringing the smell of death to us
By a ruin, a mother holds a broken child there
Weeping for another so dear, yet lost
Gone. Departed. Faded.
There, my eyes spy; three shivering childer
Huddled together under a blanket warm
Two staring eyes, skin pale with the death that killed her
Peek out from the shadows of the fallen tower torn
Destroyed. Crumbled. Fallen.
The havoc that has been brought here so soon
So fast, so lightening-quick, over in a flash of light
In a way, it should be respected, as the remaining threats loom
In case the hurricane comes again, before fading into the night
Fast. Cruel. Murderous.
Nevermore:
None
Winner: Castaras
Phoekun vs. Fally; Theme: Glaciers
Phoekun:
SpoilerI breathe; a mist rolls along the ground
And vanishes in the morning air.
She reaches; long white fingers
Grasp the sky and stretch towards
Infinity.
I can't move. She seems to stand still,
But I can feel her all around me.
Were she warmer, I would drown myself
In her. I shiver, and wonder if she even
Knows I'm here. Her gaze doesn't
Come at me, but through me. Like the
Lance of purest white she uses to pierce the
Clouds and rend the sky. Hours pass. Days.
Years. Nothing changes. She stands, and I watch.
My eyes fill with mist. What's happening?
I had forgotten. My body goes limp against
Her, and she doesn't even notice.
That I forgot to breathe...
Fally: None
Winner: Phoekun
Ravyn vs. Methodical Meat; Theme: Music
Ravyn:
SpoilerCalling
Well-meaning but misguided, they bring me,
To echoing halls and silent rooms,
To forsake the life of a dreamer,
And find my place in the world.
To stop listening for the world's song.
To find work.
To find dedication.
To find a path.
Complaining in a wearying, unceasing staccato,
Five cowbells doing rhythm-fugues.
Don't wander off, speak brightly, pay attention, smile.
Distract yourself with nothing.
I arrive, and their words are forgotten.
It echoes, rooms away.
A cascade of notes that tumble through my heart,
Harpsong for heartstrings.
Calling, seeking, summoning,
More alive than these toneless people,
And their speech of trade and tariff,
Of toil in a world without song.
Their droning nothing compared to this music.
Before I know it, I am seeking it.
Those who brought me are immersed in their droning;
I will not be missed.
Ironic, that the path in front of me now
Is the one they tried to herd me away from.
Through echoing halls it guides me, beckoning tendrils;
Over hardwood floors that shine with fire from above--
Past marble statues that seem to point the way.
With something lacking, but the omission makes it stronger.
It calls from behind a door of oak,
Which I open slowly, softly.
To startle the musician--to stop the song--
Would be a crime.
And I see her.
She sits on red velvet and drips with gold,
Black eyes intent on nothing,
Slender fingers rippling through the air,
Bringing forth the music that spills around us.
Incomplete, calling...
...and I know.
What are you waiting for? it asks.
Nothing more.
Life had been a holding pattern,
The same repeated measure until I lost count,
And played it again and again, waiting for that note,
That would tell me where I am.
Her song is my cue.
The missing notes in her melody--
I hear them now, the song of the world about her.
The marble walls a chiming pattern,
The hardwood below a mellow, reedy baseline,
I hear the world. I know the world.
Its song echoes in me.
Somehow I know that it always has.
My song, the world's song, complete hers.
She looks at me--the song within an alien echo to the melody she plays.
She nods towards the door,
And now her music hints not of potential to be found here,
But a world to be seen outside.
To be changed.
No words are necessary:
Just one look back before I step back into the world.
The colors are brighter, for I hear as well as see them.
The future clearer, trumpeting through the discord.
The harpist who plays the world has shown me my part.
...and hearing the symphony around me, I know...
...it is my time to play.
Methodical Meat:
SpoilerDanny sits to my left,
plucks at his guitar strings,
not a care for the world,
he un-hunches and looks me in the eye,
and says, "Let's play."
I look at my hands,
slim, delicate and far too pale,
then cast my eyes to the corner,
where lies the bones of my music,
splintered wood and shredded notes.
Danny starts to play,
slow and quiet,
fingers glide across the strings,
and casts a spell of loneliness and longing,
and for want of my music I weep.
A touch on my shoulder,
it's Rose,
sweet, gentle Rose with curls of fire,
and eyes of brightest green,
smiling warmly, drawing me out.
I look up with eyes far gone,
lips parted,
tongue quivering,
brow furrowed,
I sing.
Rose moves behind me,
she adds her voice to mine,
soft singing drifting under my shaking melody,
holding it aloft,
carrying ever upward.
Danny comes in low,
deep, strong and full of life,
surrounds our voices,
all to the tune of quivering strings,
dancing beneath his fingers.
Twining voices lifting up,
forever upward,
we see ourselves singing,
faces upraised,
shattered hands forgotten.
Winner: Ravyn
Abacab vs. Tiako; Theme: Children
Abacab:
SpoilerChildren enter school knowing nothing about life
They start innocent
But soon enough,
A kid will soon experience things-
Fighting,
Name calling,
Gossiping,
Stealing,
And lying
They think it's the pinnacle of immorality
Because days are spent thinking about the mental and physical scars
They think it can't get any more severe
It does
Years later,
Right before the beginning of middle school,
When the line between popular and-non popular is drawn,
Students become more raucous
The crimes against peers worsen
And teachers are fully disrespected
A student will become discouraged
The student might use the past as a comparison to the present
The same past that
Looked like playful brawls instead of fights,
Sounded like insignificant rumors and small taunts
And smelled like lies as white as snow
The eleven year old will think that the past was more cheerful
Because nothing was important
And everything was innocent
Tiako:
SpoilerA child’s eye, bright and keen,
After dark, is opened wide,
The moon’s light reveals a scene
Of shadows dancing, he tries to hide.
Underneath the covers, safe!
But oppressive blackness, pooling in,
He feels his air is running out,
He has two choices before him now,
To risk a breath, and fresh air sweet,
But face the demons and the dark,
Or hold tight and fast in his cocoon,
Without air, devoid of light.
The child, huddled in his bed,
Hearing demons left and right,
The noises may be in his head,
But real enough for too real fright.
Winner: Tiako
ZRS vs. Faerwain; Theme: Love
Zombie Rock Star:
SpoilerThe Incomplete Collection
I think the captain is secretly in love with Wendy.
Taking grains of sand for notes,
Writing songs and hiring an orchestra
Ten thousand strong to emote
What I'm thinking as we dance
On the beach, I teach the steps
To you and we kick up the sand
And send it in cyclones, we trip
And fall on our backs, razing
The coastline, We lie
On our backs and I pry and stroke
At your fingernails. They're long, like mine.
We listened to Radiohead, since it was all we had there. The CD had just washed up on the shore and I looked out on the lake and begged it for more. "Give me a DVD, a book, a play, more music, a painting, some photographs...something," I said. "These are Christmas gifts come far too late and you owe me." From this medley (white water, blue, clear, red, yellow...) of the lake, many more things appeared, mostly music. We spent three months listening to all of it.
I sailed the lake in a pirate ship
Of LEGO. It took forever to fit
Every piece together. I took
Days finding each block
Of the right colour
Instead of some other.
It's there, that's the important part,
Though the ship only sails at night,
When the episodic days are done
And we must move on from each
Individual, neatly packaged beach
To a new one that looks the same
As the one from yesterday.
New episodes of a sci-fi show
With a cheap budget.
As we leave the beach the sand clings to our feet, but only for a short time as our feet are slowly drying...some of it falls over my floor like the pieces of LEGO scattered about. Except what gets stuck underneath out toenails, which I will never get out. The rest becomes wind for pirate sails.
But I took what I head left and ground it into ink. I use that to make drawings and write novels. It makes you think.
Our first date wasn’t a film.
No gigantic glasses of Coke
For you or me to spill
And the size and noise of it’s a joke.
Instead we went to the bookstore
Where you spent an hour or more
Tearing up every book on the bestseller shelf.
Scattered pieces about the floor…
Hanging on like snow
On branches of a tree
And we gather and turn into
Papier-mâché
A gift of a mask, put together,
It itches when I put it on.
Now, I write novels again and again; the same one each time but I put the sentences in a different order. I do it so you can tear them up and do the same thing all over again, for your birthday. For mine, I got a paint-by-numbers kit. I’m not exactly sure it was worth it, since it was a picture of a duck. I mean, ducks are fun, but was it really enough? The palette was too narrow, with too many shades of yellow. Every thought I had was a new colour that wasn’t there.
I tried to paint a Valentine
With these new colours of mine.
It’s…not done yet.
I think I need one or two more years
Before I’m finished,
As I spend days
Deciding and deliberating
On each debilitating colour
When all I have left is a painting on a beach. Each grain of sand blasts brilliant, boring into eyes like the Saturn rocket, which falls to pieces as it leaves its orbit.
Faerwain: None
Winner: Zombie Rock Star
JoseB vs. Goodfellow; Theme: Ocean
JoseB:
SpoilerOceans deep, unforgiving and cold,
Cold with the wind and the storms of the winter.
Endless extension of mysteries untold,
Always inspiring and always terrific.
None dare confront you; none but the bold.
Oceans red with the blood of the dead,
Covered in smoke from a myriad battles.
Enemies fighting and tearing to shreds,
And in the end meeting down, little tatters.
None are remembered; names go unsaid.
Oceans wide and majestic and great,
Calm like a pond in the twilight of summer.
Embers of sunset reflect and pulsate
All over you like the beat of a drummer.
None is as glorious; none as ornate.
Goodfellow:
SpoilerAt first there was nothing.
Only the sound of water, as it moved to lovingly embrace the earth:
the embrace from which we were born
-Delicate salt statues.
The embrace, aeons old, continues on still,
as the two lovers meet by moonlight,
whispering sweet secrets to each other.
Secrets that their children dismiss as the sound of the surf,
-As the cacophony of water.
Should not these ocean children look more kindly upon their parents?
Should we not embrace the smell of salt? The touch of the sand?
Look more closely upon our mother’s turbulence and see,
Heaven, reflected in her waves.
Winner: JoseB
Brickwall vs. Elvaris; Theme: Plays (theatrical)
Brickwall:
SpoilerThere is a light that pierces the darkness,
It hits my eyes, a nova burning bright,
'tis the same that makes a strong man heartless,
In it the refined reach their full height,
Though not to say that their deeds are noble,
Nor that I am cultured or sagacious,
But that to acheive the highest total,
One must practice to be more audacious,
More stars brighten the sky, shining for me,
As I look upon the crowd from on high,
And they display my full for all to see,
But they bring to bear not truths, but a lie,
It is humorous that that glowing search,
Lets shadows abound, and leaves fact in dearth
Elvaris:
SpoilerMarquee. Makeup. Memorized lines.
House lights. Audience, dressed to the nines.
Costume. Adrenaline. Opening night.
Stage crew. Double check, everything's right.
Curtain. Focus. Hitting your spots.
Action. Banter. Advancing the plot.
Gasps. Tears. Gripping the house.
Curtain. Cheers. Taking your bows.
Handshakes. Flowers. Talk of the town.
Adrenaline. Crash. Tough coming down.
Apartment. Normalcy. Milk turning sour.
Tedium. Memory. King for two hours.
Winner: Elvaris
Deepsear vs. Cult_of_the_Raven; Theme: Trains
Deepsear:
SpoilerTrain,
pulling a heavy load, straining
only stopping at the end,
reminds me of how life is funny like that
you have a course,
you keep going
pulling your responsibilty behind
you try not to stop
sometimes you don't - you're feeling great
sometimes you do - you have nothing to do it for
sometimes you feel like just racing ahead without your responsibility,
without your load,
but you would get to the end
and what would you have to show for getting there?
nothing.
So the train keeps going.
It will have something to show.
Cult of the Raven:
SpoilerGods' Train
Have you seen the hidden train
That runs within the trees?
It goes across the silent plain.
And brings with an ocean breeze.
The wheels are made of angel’s hair
The engine made of gold.
Powered by all men’s despair
And all things hard and cold.
The train of silent speaking
Runs only in the night.
For it carries secret cargo-
The secret to eternal delight.
Winner: Cult of the Raven
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Round 2
Castaras vs. Elvaris: Island(s), Smoke
Castaras:
SpoilerA hazy grey fog coats my eyes
The smoke of the dying fire
Obscuring the flickering light
Of the failing, guttering flame
A twirling, twisting pillar high
Of smoke a-dancing climbs above
It alone can escape this place
The silent cage of sand and dust
Lonely I stand, watching the sea
Topple in taunting waves upon the beach, laughing
As I stand, stuck, without escape
No ship will come sailing for me
Lost in the lands of endless sea
Without hope nor trace of comfort
The smoke still stays a-twirling up
Escaping the cruel, silent isles.
Elvaris:
SpoilerThe Dandy Pirate
ALL:
Oh, we'll burn your town and we'll kill your folk,
And we'll take your isle amid the smell of smoke.
We'll loot your town and we'll take no chance.
CAP'N:
And all so I can get a pair of frilly pants.
CAP'N:
ALL:
Oh, I am the dandy pirate.
Yes, he is the dandy pirate.
I'm the scourge of all the seas.
Yes, we take all that we please.
I'll pillage every island.
You should run up to the high land.
And your women I will please.
Yes, your assets he will seize.
ALL:
Oh, we'll burn your town and we'll kill your folk,
And we'll take your isle amid the smell of smoke.
We'll burn their crops and we'll salt their dirt.
CAP'N:
And a bounty for the man who grabs a poofy shirt.
CAP'N:
ALL:
I'm by far the best dressed pirate.
He's by far the best dressed pirate.
All my buttons shine of gold.
And his cuffs expertly rolled.
I will filch your finest vest.
Yes, and we'll burn all the rest.
My clothes, the finest ever sold.
Yes, they take up half the hold.
ALL:
Oh, we'll burn your town and we'll kill your folk,
And we'll take your isle amid the smell of smoke.
We'll win the day and we'll sack and loot.
CAP'N:
And some leather for a brand new pair of stylish boots.
CAP'N:
ALL:
Oh, I am the dandy pirate.
Yes, he is the dandy pirate.
And my features you should learn.
Or by his torch you'll burn.
Wait, what is with all this fire?
Oh it's simple: We like fire.
But the smoke gets in my hair.
Oh, The rest of us don't care.
ALL:
No the rest of us don't care.
{Some of the formatting was lost on this one...}
Winner: Elvaris
Cult of the Raven vs. Ravyn: Baseball, Saxophone
Cult of the Raven: None
Ravyn:
SpoilerThe view from the stands
He fidgets on the bleachers,
And twitches in the stands,
On sunny days that bari sax
Must feel cold in his hands.
His uniform says “Pep band”,
But pep seems not his thing,
At least when sports-time comes around,
Especially in spring.
In the still of autumn evenings he’d played far into the night,
Without complaint, o’er helmets clacking, under stadium lights,
When winter brought its icy chill ‘twas back to hardwood floors,
And bouncing balls and swishing nets, past ever-heavy doors.
He’d made it two semesters,
And thought that he was done.
This mandatory sports-gig,
He never saw as fun.
He’d learned from those around him,
What times were good to cheer,
And when to gripe about the ref,
…at that time it was clear.
In the still of autumn evenings he’d played far into the night,
But here the energy is gone; he just can’t get it right,
He never liked the other games, but now he wants them back,
At least he understood them. Baseball… throws him out of whack.
Then baseball season rolled around,
And dragged the band along,
So there he is, his sax in hand,
A-wishing he were gone.
The other sports he’d dealt with,
Their pacing kept him there,
But baseball’s ragged start and stop…
He’s bored. He doesn’t care.
In the still of autumn evenings he’d found ways to make it through;
Those winter nights of basketball he’d brought his own tricks to.
But here the game is fickle and the time just slips away,
So many other things to do on such a fine spring day!
And now he sits a-dreaming there,
Of days when he was free,
The crack and shouts from home can’t hope
To break his reverie,
The speeding ball comes streaking in,
A clang rings through the stands.
But now it’s nowhere to be seen,
Confusing all the band.
But he knows what has happened here and wishes it not so,
What brass did sound that ringing clang, and where the ball did go.
And why his sax is heavier, and why his hands are cold…
That single, ill-aimed baseball….
For it his bell just tolled.
Winner: Ravyn
ZRS vs. Tiako: Newspaper(s), Fire
Zombie Rock Star:
SpoilerHeart of the Paperboy
My bike moves fast to keep the fire fanned.
I try so carefully to keep my hand
From burning like a leaf in campfire flame.
I toss vermilion, blushing, bombs away.
It looks just like I’m throwing oblong hearts
And bleeding flame in rhythmic, jumping starts
To flow through veins in every house I hit.
And at the very end of my route, sit
And watch, I do, the veins of every street
Ignite. The wind makes the black smoke retreat.
Tiako: None
Winner: Zombie Rock Star
PhoeKun vs. JoseB: T.V. Show(s), Farm(s)
PhoeKun:
SpoilerDreams can be funny things, you know? You spend your
whole life working to make them come true,
and when you've finally got it all worked out...
It's never what you thought it would be.
I know that, but... Can't help dreaming, right?
Just how I am, I guess.
I gotta tell ya, farming is definitely my dream. Keep
the family farm alive; that's the dream I had. Make
my living off the land, raise cattle. Good, honest stuff.
'Cept, these days, not so much with the honesty.
A drought'll happen, product'll be low... I keep
hearing about how folks'll step in and help take some of
the load off, but instead, I gotta charge more for milk than
people pay for gas. Only thing is, I'm barely makin' ends meet.
Life can be pretty cruel sometimes, you know?
I remember, I woke up one morning - felt like the
left half of my body was asleep. I shuffled over to a
mirror, and, and half my face was just sagging!
Like it was dead or something.
Doctors poked at me for hours before they finally figured
out what was wrong. Said I came this close to
having a stroke. He wondered how it was I had even
managed to drive myself to the hospital. And then
he charged me $1500.
Where the hell am I supposed to come up
with that kind of money?
But listen to me. I don't give a damn
about any of that. So you open up those ears of
yours and listen real good,
'cause I'm only going to say this once:
I'm not going to be your little pet. You want to
kidnap the president? Fine.
But leave me the hell out of it.
...Listen. I... I'm sorry about what I said last night.
I was upset about some things, and...
I know it's no excuse. But, if you'll just give me a
chance, I'll make it up to you, I promise.
Dinner, a movie... whatever you want. It'll
be my treat. Come on, what do you say?
Click.
Click.
Click.
...Damn. Nothing's on.
JoseB:
SpoilerEmpty eyes watching the flickering glass;
Empty minds drinking the dreck pouring forth.
Sheep staring blankly, an unthinking mass
Of pliant consumers that swallow the dross.
Happy are those who provide TV diets,
Watching the effect that it has on us all:
We have become barely more than plant matter,
Carefully grown to believe what they show.
Oh poor inventors of broadcast technology!
You had believed it would better mankind.
See how, instead, we're now barely like algae,
Farmed just like cattle, no use for our mind.
Modern-day farmers don't bother with tractors:
They wear real nice suits and Italian shoes.
No hay or feeders: Instead they hire actors.
That is just perfect for their lambs and ewes.
Modern-day farmers and those high in power
Know just exactly what to tell their flock.
They tell their cattle that sweet is now sour,
And we, very obedient, believe all that crock.
Are we all really so hopelessly sheepish?
Are we all doomed to be farmed by TV?
Can't we wake up from this nighmare so fiendish?
That, my friend, rests wholly in you and me.
Winner: PhoeKun
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Round 3
ZRS vs. Elvaris: Duck, Ocean
ZRS:
SpoilerI, Witch
I’ll show them what I’m made of.
They tried to burn me first,
Gave me wine of gasoline,
But it was only fuel.
Pristine,
And pure for consumption.
They threw me from a cliff,
But I could only float on air,
I left exhaust clouds and dared
Them to follow, which they did.
For I am a bridge, you try to burn me
But I’ll only remain there.
But they could’ve read the warning label
That said: "Keep out of water, you fools!"
Because I, Witch, cannot swim.
Sparks like candles on a birthday cake
As I’m thrown—tied to stone—into the lake.
I, Witch, am on fire,
And I’ve shown them what I’m made of.
Elvaris:
SpoilerAn architect was asked
About the height of his designs.
"Why scrape the sky with metal?
Why challenge the divine?"
"When I am asked that question
I always seem to find,
A poem my father taught me
Pops into my mind.
'Sunset on the water
Pulls my heart out to the sea,
But whirring gears remind me
That the ocean's not for me.
I was not designed
For feelings or for flight.
But sorrow fills my quacks
For I am not water tight.
If I could find my builder
I would peck away at him.
What kind of fool would build
A duck that can not swim?'
Just as a duck must swim,
So must a building soar.
To reach up to the sky,
And then climb a little more.
Because that's the human essence:
To reach up to the stars.
To climb the highest mountain,
Or land a ship on Mars.
My buildings push our limits.
Grand visions I inspire
In any who walk in them
To reach a little higher.
Why do I like tall buildings?
Why rise above just good?
Why do my buildings soar?
They soar because they should."
Winner: Elvaris
PhoeKun vs. Ravyn: Hands, Navy
PhoeKun:
SpoilerOur hands, together, turn to stone
As we drift helpless out as sea,
I'm with you, but I'm all alone.
The sun that earlier had shone
Above is gone, and as it flees
Our hands, together, turn to stone
With veins of ice that chill to bone
And drain both heat and hope from me...
I'm with you, but I'm all alone.
But why don't posters ever show
The ship can sink? Where's honesty!?
Our hands, together, turn to stone
That drags us under wave and foam;
It's dark, and getting hard to see
I'm with you, but I'm all alone.
Is this the last thing I will know?
And you: too late to say sorry...
Our hands, together, turn to stone
I'm with you, but I'm all alone...
Ravyn:
SpoilerLeft Behind
From out the poster smiles the lad,
In sparkling naval blue,
A gaze that says if you join up
You can be like him too.
The girls all say he's wonderful,
But on that face I see
A mocking, cold reminder of
The love he stole from me.
On foreign shores they fight their wars;
On homeland coasts I stay.
Above the idly churning sea,
Below the sky of gray.
There is a park atop the cliffs:
From there I hope to see
A ship that carries the sweet lad
Whom wartime stole from me.
Within this park were statues built,
Great hands of polished stone,
Some fisted, flat, or coiled to grasp
At something yet unknown.
'Twas o'er their granite fingertips
We first had chanced to see,
Each other's eyes--me and the lad
Who now is gone from me.
And now within their cold smooth grasp,
I dream and watch the sand.
Remind myself that both our fates
Are in much greater hands.
I reach and almost feel his hand,
A solid memory,
And then the wind comes blowing through,
And takes it back from me.
I hear from my love now and then,
Once every month or two.
By telegraph or dashed-off note
He tells me he's still true.
And speaks of how he's doing there,
Somewhere beyond the sea,
And how he longs for the bright day
That he'll come back to me.
He's not a strong one, is my lad,
And none would call him bold,
And still the sight and scent of blood
Would make his own run cold.
But he's gone for a soldier now,
To think they felt that he
Could learn to fight amid the strife,
So far away from me.
But when the pipes and cannons called
He fled away instead.
The town's ashamed to speak his name--
But better that than dead.
Cold comfort, though, when 'round each bend
And on each wall I see
The jeer of that bright Navy lad
Who took my love from me.
So every day, above the bay
I perch upon the hands
Await his coming on the ships
That in our harbor land.
Again we trust to greater guides,
Together yearn to see
The day when Providence restores
The lad the war drove from these shores
The one the poster-boy abhors--
The one he stole from me.
Winner: Ravyn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Final Round
Elvaris vs. Ravyn
The poem must contain any and as much information as possible found in the following pictures or articles. Winning may be decided by the best usage of prompts.
Prompts: River, Temple
Elvaris:
SpoilerI pray at the foot of your temple
Begging an indulgence from you
A moment of your attention
A touch from the divine
Like a river I twist and turn
Winding my way closer to you
Searching for an opening
Only to be turned away
Like a beacon your fire draws me back in
Yearning to feel your warmth
But I am frozen in my banks
Chilled at a glance
I can feel a cold embrace
Drawing me away from you
Quenching the heat of desire
Of unreachable fire
One last turn before you are lost to me
One last effort to scale your temple
To be blessed and ascend
To rise to your heights
But I am cast down to the depths
Damned by the touch I so craved
Forever to despair at your loss
To weep at the memory of warmth
Ravyn:
SpoilerTwo Rivers
.............................Waiting on the banks
.............................Youths on the cusp....
Boy with black-mop hair..........................Girl with braids and basket
Eyes bright in darkness............................Gathering in the morning
...............................Following a memory
Songs of the sister who guided him...........Laugh of the brother who taught her
.................................On the verge
Of the path to manhood..........................Of a choice that is not a choice
............................Come to the river to reflect
To look for courage.................................To seek acceptance.
..............................In the shadow of the guardian
Great pyramid, light watching.....................Oak that guards the stream
Yellow eye in darkness..............................Dawn-sun cradled in its branches
Ever-burning........................................... Standing for lifetimes
......................................Ever-watching
Now a motion in the water........................Now the scent of herbs
Fish-ripples attracting..............................A chance glance notes
The Guardian's golden gaze.......................Pale leaves below the bushes
........................................Should I?
It may be gone in a moment.........................It will still be here tomorrow.
.......................................Hesitation. ....
...but he watches it glitter away...................But she gathers the leaves.
...............................There, on the right.....
Wings splashing in the water.........................Otter cavorting in the shallows
Bright colors muted by night..........................Sliding on the mudbanks
Spraying drops of gold and crystal..................Two? Three? Never!
......................................Pause in wonder
The bird who will never die............................Spirit of the joyful heart
She............................................... ...... ......He.....
......................................is here for me.
....................................Spirit, animal, both....
....................................Does it truly matter?
....................................It is its own message.
The bird flutters on......................................They see their observer
Serpentine in flight.......................................Momen t of tumbling and rolling
Into the treetops.........................................A nd they are gone.
...............................Again, thoughts the only company
......................................Pick up a stone
....................................Smooth and inviting
She would smile............................................H e would laugh.
..............................Skip it across the empty water
Test of skill............................................. ....Test of luck.
............................................One... .
............................................Two... .
...........................................Three.. .
............................................Four.. ..
............................................Five.. ..
.......................................And it is gone.
....................................Gaze into the water
....................................Placid gurgling mirror
That can't be right!..........................................Wh at magic this?
....................................Not a true image....
A vision?........................................... ....... .....A window?
......................................Someone else's eyes
Watching me................................................ .. ..Watching you
Watching you............................................... ... .Watching me
........................................Who is this stranger?
Sees the maiden dreaming Tamesis................Sees the lad hunting wisdom....
.................................................. Or not....
.................................................. .True?
.................................................. .False?
.......................................Reaching out to touch the water
........................................Reaching for a dream
............................................Finger tips and ripples
........................................The mirror is broken.
..........................................The moment is gone.
.......................................Reach and touch a dream...
A day of wonder............................................ A night of adventure....
...................................Two travellers at a crossroads
.....................................Under the guardian's care.
Waiting for the morning........................................... .Fearing nightfall
.......................................Where does this river go?
......................................All rivers lead to the ocean...
All memories to wisdom.........................................All dreams to the future.
......................................All time to destiny.
.............................................Again , a pause
................................Searching for a dream's reflection
...............................In a self-healing, self-breaking mirror
.................................Reach and touch another world
.............................................So near....
..........................................Yet so far.....
........................................So different.....
........................................So much the same....
Knowing where courage hides.................................Finding another path
.......................................Lessons of the guardian
.......................................Lessons of the river
Eye, glow for me................................................ ...Tamesis, guide me...
...............................Half a world apart, the wanderers
........................................Find their waiting path
.................................................. Alone.
...............................................Tog ether.
Winner: Ravyn
Iron Poet II
Winner: Rubakhin
Round 1
Mr. Saturn vs. ZRS: Butterfly(s)
Mr. Saturn:
SpoilerThe Butterfly and the Moth
I saw a butterfly in the cloud.
It came to earth, although not loud.
Upon the flowers it came to rest,
and sip and nibble the flower's zest.
Again I looked and saw a moth.
It came from out a devil's broth.
On wool and clothing it came to feast,
To ruin and eat to say the least.
Then to the opposite they did attract,
with traits unlike and inexact.
It was of something God hath wroth,
the butterfly and the moth.
ZRS:
SpoilerI locked a butterfly inside a box.
It was just like a stained-glass hexagram
With black and crescent sunbursts for its legs.
The box… it shuddered as the thing tried to
Escape… I dreamt of screaming from within,
But nothing more than a soft, quiet hiss.
I then took gentle pity on the thing.
I opened up the lock and set it free.
And there it flew to where the thing belonged,
Not in a box—at the top of a tree.
And like a star, it perched up there for good.
It was exactly like a Christmas star.
I’d locked a Christmas star inside a box.
It was just like a silver butterfly
And no one knew more of it’s suffering
Than I.
Winner: ZRS
Ravyn vs. rubakhin: Telephone(s)
Ravyn:
SpoilerDemon's Bargain
I knew a girl, once.
She’d sold her soul to a demon with twelve eyes.
By day it slept in her pocket,
Waking only to cry for her attention.
By night it rested at her bedside,
Feeding from her wall,
Watching her dreams.
Her devotion to it was total.
If it called to her while reading,
The book was soon forgotten;
If it needed her while she was among friends,
Her friends would have to do without her.
Its summons could pull her from her cooking,
From meals, from cleaning, even from the shower.
Only for her professor would it be silent
(Are all professors demon-slayers?)—
And even then,
She looked to it constantly,
Apologetically,
Silently begging its forgiveness.
We worked at the same place, that summer;
I hoped the work would free her.
But its elder brother made its claim on her,
Chaining her to the desk with a spiral cord.
Its calls were even more insistent,
Its demands stronger.
Even its younger sibling was silenced.
She hated it even as she served it.
All around me are those demons,
Leering from people’s pockets,
Tucked safely in their purses;
Clinging with a deathgrip to their belts,
Or in a place of honor over their hearts.
One has made its lair in my home:
It perches on the wall, an ivory spider,
Flinging out its web during dinner.
One has taken over my sister’s room,
And I sit outside and wonder—
What unholy bargains is she making?
What temptations does it offer?
Now my parents have fallen,
And given me a little one of my own.
It curls up in a small, silver carapace;
It is small, but that makes it more dangerous.
They say it will watch over me,
Tell them when I’m in trouble…
What price will it exact?
My friends rejoice that I have joined the possessed;
They teach me to make its siren song more to my liking,
Show me the delights it offers to steal my minutes.
How the mighty have fallen.
But then, one day…
Lunch an eternity alone,
It purrs in my pocket,
Tells me my attention is needed.
Lets me speak to a friend, while away the time…
And I think that perhaps…
Perhaps a soul is not such a high price after all.
Rubakhin:
SpoilerYa-Brodyaga (I, Vagabond)
Childhood pastoral, a not uncommon scene:
I used to wander so far that I honestly believed
I had hit uncharted ground.
Every boulder was a mountain
To be named for me, a stream
Would lead to heathen villages
To make over in my image.
This small room, with white curtains
Wringing hands like impatient lovers
In wind meandering, Septemberish
Has its own monuments now.
"The sheets that Sashenka used to sleep on."
"Souvenirs I meant to give."
The cell phone that I used to send you
An ostentatious message full of pain.
River Sevachka was paved over,
Mount Rubakha is now gravel.
As for you and me, Sashenka
Love became impossible,
What with one thing or another.
"The daily grind," as Mayakovsky said.
But could a soldier sleep atop a war memorial?!
Lowered down, spirit broken like a mortar shell
"The sheets that Sashenka used to sleep on."
Eyes unblinking to the grey pulp of dawn
I check my phone six times 'til sunrise
And every time you will not call.
Yes, every time I know you will not call.
I belong to the world of dusty alleys
Lit by sunlight and the burning eyes of poets
Of torn-knee jeans and iridescent things
That promise stiff drinks and open horizons
Wild-eyed poems stalk the streets inside
My mind; like gangsters walk the roads of
Old Odessa; rubbing grubby fingers together
Mumbling, with the tenseness of a thug
Before a hit -
"Sashenka, Sashenka, Sashenka!"
No ship bearing sleep leers down on
The clandestine docks
Of my soul.
My soul, cluttered by the syphilitic footsteps
Of eight thousand syllable/sailors!
Phone beeps, heart leaps
Although I know it's just the alarm
I answer "Sasha, sey minuta!" although I know it's just the alarm.
Startled, suddenly, out of my reverie
With this pen I'll burn the docks
If I can't go out to sea!
Am I - I, vagabond! - am I a man?!
Or a lovestruck poet?! A lovestruck poet
No more! My pen will tear my notebook paper
Till it falls like fetters in a liberated prison!
There should be a revolution of the heart!
Full of torchfirelit faces and sweat-soaked arms!
Women with dresses torn to the navels
Boys with bald heads and hungry blood!
There should be an escape of the heart!
Border cross to Berlin, or Amsterdam instead
To musky dungeons! Forbidden Americas!
Where the old red sorrow of love can't chase!
And yet - and yet! - and yet!
And yet I, vagabond
Distilled to a scoundrel pacing back and forth
Before the cell phone lying like a relic on his pillow.
This notebook should have been a bundle
Tied to a cartoon stick.
These blackened train tracks should have stretched
From Petushki to the tundra.
I should have been a hunchbacked dot
Crossing the white empty Sibir dream.
Who knows if we can speak again?
We keep on passing one another in the night
A waltz for two to the tune of train whistles.
I'll leave. Right now I'll leave.
I can't carry in these threadbare pockets
Memories carved out of granite and gold.
Just my cell phone, in case you want to call.
I give up: it's love, Sashenka, love that
Can't be stomped out by snow-caked boots.
Nor my stiff drink, my open horizon:
A toast to your bare skin, my darling,
Whether I see it again or not.
You know the number. I won't wait for it,
But here's one thing I've got no choice to do:
I'll name all the roads after you.
Winner: Rubakhin
Average Joe vs. Methodical Meat: Carnivals
Average Joe:
SpoilerInside the Circus Tent
This is not snow white
Though the face is ghastly pale
And the lips blood red
This spectral pallor
Could not be mistook for snow
The moon's face perhaps
He sits hunched over
Grinning with those red-stained lips
A vulture mid-meal
But his shoulders shake
Wickedly laughing at me
Pale teeth 'tween red lips
This is no vulture
Nor a giggling hyena
but a scavenger
His hand turns a crank
Keeping a steady rhythm
In, out, light then shade
The crank turns around
His magic box produces
A strange, ghostly tune
Behind is a wheel
It turns, keeping the song's beat
A steady metronome
Pale white with dark lines
they spiral toward nothing; down
toward infinity
Mesmeric patterns
Halt the mind; one only stares
The hypnotic rings
Who knows where they end
In those vast outer reaches
The dark between stars
Do they truly end?
Or do they begin again?
Methodical Meat:
SpoilerMidnight fallen and the city by the old carnival sleeps,
While the father in the sky watches and weeps,
To see his playground so changed from his dreams,
His twinkling toy in the aether no more gleams.
Far below amidst the tears run the children of the city,
Hunting the Strange boy without pity,
They hound him through the forgotten rides,
Over and under old carnies' rusted prides.
Fay and pale is the boy,
Slim, fragile and coy,
Strong and red-faced are those who torment,
Their spite no longer dormant.
Cornered and frightened,
Senses all horribly heightened,
Fay-boy huddles and weeps,
Whilst up his spine fear creeps.
The smallest of the bullies learned a new word today,
"Changeling!" he shouts with a bray,
A larger girl looses a stone,
And for the Fay-boy it has flown.
A cry in the night,
A desperate flight,
Cut short by a bit of concrete,
Which for a rock was surprisingly fleet.
They leave him to bleed,
All are pleased with the deed,
No one feels morose,
Not a one feels remorse.
They leave him there to weep,
Not knowing what in the darkness does creep,
Once they are away-ed,
Out of the shadows a figure does fade.
A stooped old woman with a beard,
Certainly an old woman most weird,
She crouches and cradles the child,
And shakes her fist at the others most evil and wild.
Then sighs and draws him into her arms,
Wanting to shield him from all the world's harms,
She drifts away into the shadows so quietly,
Plodding to home so steadily.
"We'll have you fixed up with a bandage and thyme,
then have you home again in not time,
so wipe away your tears my son,
and always remember, I love you my only and one."
Winner: Average Joe
Amotis vs. Brickwall: Paper
Amotis:
SpoilerThis is a poem; written.
I never really liked your poems,
but you wrote them for me.
And it's like that really.
You never tell your lover
'I don't understand.'
You just don't.
And that's kinda like a metaphor,
right? Like for our entire lives.
And approaching something
like the light that hits your
endless clothing.
There's certainly a difference
between not understanding
and not believing.
And that's what you tell me,
with that little look upon your face
that says 'please'.
Reasons why you won't take
those pills I wanted you to.
You call them 'suicide pills.'
'They're only for safety,'
I say.
And you say you don't believe it.
God, you're pretty, you know that?
I could spend hours sitting with you.
Making everyone jealous.
Like that one time on the park bench.
The discarded newspapers,
like blankets for the homeless,
telling them how to lie,
and how their lives have just kinda
boiled down into useless sexual steam.
You sighed at the correlation.
I smiled and tried to hold your hand.
Or that other time.
Sitting on the park bench.
And a pair of sparrows just flew past.
Us watching their jagged flight
to the one of those urban bushes
with cigarette butts and rain stains.
They darted inside,
and I mean at that speed,
those little things are fast,
surely they must of know where to go.
Planned it before hand
or knew each other's moves so well.
Wind blew the hobo's newspaper
out of view.
And you moved my hand on mine.
And I was confused.
But you're kind to me, of course,
patient when I try too hard,
but I can't help to think
sometimes you like a little
pain.
'Cause you give me a dry look,
that says "hope.'
And I don't know what to say.
But you keep on writing,
that's what you do, you say.
I don't really get it.
But I don't tell you.
And you're always telling me about
the finer points of virginity.
And how the bitter water
that we all drink,
swing pass swing swing f***,
really doesn't make it better.
Bulls***, I say.
I don't believe it.
I still remember that night,
where it was filled with things
that made you cry.
And filled with things
that confused me.
'I can't stop now,'
you said.
'You've gone too deep.
My paper flower's gone
and all that's left
is to bleed.'
'Well, f***',
I said,
and you agreed.
So we filled this poem,
with with pills
and stuff that makes you me.
And we smoked it,
drunk and f***ed,
and then you sleep.
Paper epitaphs are the worst you said,
just before the end.
Just a oxymoron too the core,
and how we ought to spend
all our lives just wishing for
something that doesn't burn.
But in the end, you said,
we live in a paper world.
I never got that.
But hey, I got you.
And so that's what I told you.
Brickwall:
SpoilerPaper Crane
Paper crane, paper crane
I think I love you, paper crane,
You make wishes come true,
Everyone is happy to see you,
Everyone loves you, paper crane,
Someone worked hard to make you,
You're the product of tenderness and care,
You're delicate, lighter than the breeze,
You're a few folds away from a flower,
Everything about you is precise, and perfect,
You haven't a flaw to speak of,
Paper crane, paper crane,
I'm not like you paper crane,
There are so many things wrong with me,
I'm a mismatched heap of all the worst things,
Nothing could make me beautiful,
I'm calloused and cumbersome,
I'm a product of cynicism and scorn,
No heavenly craftsman put work into me,
Nobody is happy to see me,
Because I can never make their dreams come true,
Paper crane, paper crane,
I think I loathe you, paper crane.
Winner: Amotis
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Round 2
ZRS vs. Amotis: machine, house, actor
ZRS:
SpoilerMy acting mentor was my home; the house I lived in
when I was young. The lessons were, like the floor, the colour of tea.
Ballet lessons were going up the stairs to sleep on Friday night—
Stage fighting in coming down again on Saturday morning.
The stage turns into a death trap.
The pulleys bring the walls in to crush you.
The trap door, downstage left, is above a pool of sharks.
The spotlight is a set of lasers.
The tech crew are its sadistic operators. The stage manager is the diabolical orchestrator. The director gives me acting lessons in how to die and I am at home on the stage. This time, the lessons are the colour of cranberry juice.
Amotis:
SpoilerDon't Call Me A Slut. I Am Surge Protector. I Am Revolving Doors. I Am Wheel.
there is a house in new orleans.
bought by my parents.
and drawn by me,
when i was three.
my teacher asked why i drew it
from the inside out.
i answered with a sneer,
"a rolling stone gathers no moss,
but triggers a goldberg device.
and that's why i'm still here."
just let me walk down,
this stupid town.
just once.
without you giving me
looks about my clothes.
working the ticket booth.
of my front door,
he's cute.
he's nice.
i'll let them in.
and if my head was screwed on right,
not hammered in with their values.
i could forget your head
and your screwing,
and hammer the door.
just want to hit something
that means something
to them.
and that's why i still give
a f**k about this world.
and that's why i let them
in. let them hit me.
i've got a lifetime left in here.
that's why i hate the intermissions.
where the smokers walk outside
and the actors stay backstage.
my race is run
on a treadmill.
on a stage.
if your parents watched
like this is your job,
and you're only in kindergarten.
you would be bitter too.
i wish i smoked.
i wish i had an
angel catcher.
they're not dreams.
apparently.
wooden hoop
and woven thread,
just hanging from my ceiling.
the only boy who's left
in the morning.
parting music,
bow my head
on to yours.
i hate to believe it
but
sex ain't an escape.
it's the motions
that lock you into me.
like gears
that sets it into motion
all over again.
encore. encore.
Winner: Amotis
rubakhin vs. averagejoe: soldier, jealousy, game (electronic)
Rubakhin:
SpoilerRhapsody on a Theme of American Poverty
America dances on a raw nerve
Called my back.
The mother tongue
Has been pulled from my mouth
With pliers heated in the melting pot.
The kettle gets riled up, and
Shakes from its sweaty lip
A breakfast's worth of steam.
Even the kettle doesn't speak
The language of the samovar
Of my youth.
America - with its drumbeats
And happy savages,
no ancient parapets
Nor colonnades; onion domes
As far away as Grecian temples.
America - with the chant of poverty
Purifying the abandoned theater
The mass written on the old marquee.
My children will not know Khram Spasa na Krovy
My children will not pray to ikons.
America - where the jobs go to
Yale students with trust frunds
Seeking work experience rendered useless
By nepotism. And I, with my poet's eyes
And the blood of Akhmatov throbbing
In a chest sunk in with sad compassion
I, with my poet's eyes and eighth grade education
In the afternoon wind, I exhale my problems
In a cloud of menthol smoke and autumn fog:
"The only chance I've got now
Is to make a killing
With a best-selling novel."
The ghetto sings its chain-gang song
"Yeah, I know, man,
Yeah, I know it's hard.
Peace Corps don't want me cos
Communications degrees
From party college come in handy
In third world countries; the army
Don't want more middle-school soldiers,
Middle-class daughters
Get the Dunkin' Donuts jobs.
To buy video games. What?
Claim I hate her outta jealousy
This city: can't take it
But we can't afford to leave.
Too many lost kids singing "**** it -
If life gives you **** then suck it"
Slip Terry a kiss and an extra dollar-fifty
Buys safety on the bus cos I know his hood is tricky
He say
"Honey promise me
You won't go out tonight
They got a guy going 'round, picking off us blights
On society - cops and papers don't care
They would if he was killing
Regular girls."
Terry knows what happens
When you have a dream deferred.
A dream
deferred.
For this dream was I wrapped in furs
And sent sailing from a shore getting smaller
And smaller. I looked back and saw my fathers
Waving farewell among the pine limbs
Singing lullabies from the water.
The wind carried the cries of the Royal Martyrs.
The twilight clouds bore the blood of Pushkin.
A sea breeze kicks up dust
On a desolate street.
A last gasp from a dying city creaking beneath
37 million
American Dreams.
The ocean is a lover's shoulder
Calling my lips, my tear-stained cheek.
America, let me run,
towards the ocean,
past the endless fences and parking-lots-on-the-blood
Prostitutki! Ya - vash poet!
I will fight for you, people
Until tears take me over.
I will sing down our swollen jaws
Our filthy skin and broken sighs.
The stained corners,
The stink of urine.
I will wed the drooling and depraved
And lead the march down the streets
In our colanders and boas, king of poets
America, you will know our joy:
We shall be saved!
Though not all of us are beautiful,
And not all of us are kind.
I will run, America,
Past desolate highways
And deserts of construction
I will run, America,
Until I see the choking shore.
And know for sure this
Will never be
Home
And where
Where are the cliffsides?
Where is the sand?
The shores are crowded with endless miles
Of tanks, of carriers, of docks.
Bridges sway among the rusty domes
That seem to shriek in horror.
Let my people
go.
Waves of Odessa, come find me, let me rest
Come lull me to sleep once more
You who rocked my cradle long ago.
I'm coming to you, from beyond the fog
In a funeral shroud, white
Like the clothes of a virgin. I will lie
In the water, hands crossing my breast
Let the waves of Odessa bear me home on their backs.
Average Joe:
SpoilerThe fighters stood, poised
One the prince; the god
Who lived at the world’s summit
And, with his ancient machine
Wove stories and spun tales,
Showing peoples’ desires;
They loved and worshiped him.
He played his game; he pulled the strings
The prince and his ancient machine.
The second fighter, a young girl,
A proud and noble soldier,
Who believed in the miracle.
A grand fairy tale
Part of the prince’s game.
They stood, poised,
Battling with their minds
Ready to fight with steel.
And the prince wove illusions
Visions of time past,
Before she climbed the world’s summit
Defeating his lieutenants along the way
Then challenging the prince at the top.
First he tempted her heart;
A prince on his white horse.
She believed him a savior,
He made her his princess;
A nightingale caged.
He held her close
And whispered to her ear.
She, under his spell.
Next he challenged her ego,
Saying, “You’re as bad as I,” and
“’Prince’ is just a foolish ideal.
You have no right to this power.
Foolish, naïve girl.
You’re a child; you’re no prince,
Though you wish to be.
Your noble ideals
Are merely jealousy.”
Then he challenged her body
With blade, blood, and fire.
The old soldier, he said,
“I have fought many times
But you have only fought for play.
Put up your sword;
You have no hope.
Give in, child.
You are young,
And cannot appreciate me,
Nor my ideals.
That power should not be yours,
And I will take it from you.”
She responded,
“You are a mighty warrior
And have proved yourself
In the field and off,
But I fear no harm
And I never played when I fought.
You use this machine
To control others’ lives,
Seeing their existence as part of your game.
I shall not yield.”
They fought;
The clash of blades
In that room at world’s summit
Shook the Earth and heaven.
Those who worked for world’s end watched on.
The ancient machine started
And as she fought
She saw every battle she had fought before,
And other things.
The twelve apostles, puppets in the prince’s hands,
The earth’s eye,
The zodiac, an ancient clock,
And a graveyard in an ancient city.
He beat her back
But she stood firm
And she said,
“I will beat you,
and become a prince!”
Lights flare
The spell breaks
The bells toll,
As the grave of ABRAXIS shatters.
The fallen prince watched
As his castle crumbled
His eyes went wide
He fell back before her
Terrified.
Once friends
Once lovers
The fate of the world between them.
Winner: Rubhakin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Final Round
Amotis vs. Rubakhin
Promps: I (as in you), Happiness
Amotis:
SpoilerI drive
downstream southern california and blue roof dusk - and slowly
find air between gray darkened dashboard
and the open car windows,
and the buildings.
buildings
that blur into sky as monet would have it.
named for their cold high windows and their lantern eyes that talk softly from inside.
names like ‘sunrise’, ‘forever’,
and ‘trying.’
on the steering wheel, positioned over on the left
a thin string is tied - chains of deep turquoise mixed with
strands of aged green. you tied it there.
watched you tie it, remember the tiny warm rain it seemed to create
against the angled light and cordial day breeze.
how it felt on my hand as it moved across it.
wanted to take a picture, already could see it in black and white.
focused and ageless
and saved.
but there was no camera and the picture
felt fleeting.
with the silent tempo of asphalt; the scene’s a screen door.
as full as new water running off a moving wheel,
removed slipping and parted, but the feel -
it makes it. it sings blue gospel to cloth horizons.
but it's not horizons where headlamps face,
brake lights flicker valleys and exaggerations across your white garage door,
the wheel spins back into place and I feel the string brush across my palm,
a left turn unto memory,
headlamps face the west and the no endings there.
Rubhakin:
SpoilerAhmed Kalashnikov
It was Grozny, after the rain
and he was effervescent; filthy-minded
adolescent with alabaster
skin and trackmarks
Leading our pack through the ruins of a proud and distant empire
Ahmed Kalashnikov, innocent in his camoflauge and skullcap, bare toenails nascent in the dust and the sand
Ahmed Kalashnikov, innocent with his axl-grease fingertips and face buried in my shoulder during a dilaudid high, and I am kissing his hands
innocent in Ramzan and Kadyrov the elder, innocent in
Playboy mags and Stoli hidden under a steel beam that used to be a mosque
innocent Ruslan who holds us like a Pieta and sings prayers after sniffing glue in the old shelter in a voice that is naked and alone
innocent Sevastian who was recognized in the breadlines by a widow of war and asked "Can you describe this, Akhmatova?"
We were joy without trousers in one sock and leather jacket and fifteen codeine pills between us,
joy giving blow jobs in alleyways, against doorframes
dodging bullets during an irrelevant attack
collapsing white and laughing in the foundation pit where we were safe:
Seeing Ahmed's blue veins and thin arms and being hushed by the sudden presence of beauty.
Kissing him.
It was a week later, after the rain
and Ruslan bursts into my room sobbing
"Akhmed umer! Akhmed umer!" the meaning of which should be obvious in English
He had gone out with my manuscripts
and he was missing, I was kissing Ruslan's face and praying for him to be dead
instead of
Ahmed Kalashnikov, nailed feet and hand to a slab of plywood and left outside my door, twin bullets for eyes, still alive
Ahmed Kalashnikov, suffering burns and strange pricks and starvation, naming names and killing Ruslan the innocent
Innocent now in the governmental sense of the term, no more embracing like children, clothesless and direct, facing towards God and the Circassian dawn
but panicked on my bloodstained mattress above the grey walls where prayer cards pasted with bubblegum serve instead of ikons
panicked when we saw his body, on the kitchen table with its hands over its chest
panicked when I kissed its vaulted ankles and begged in Chechen for forgiveness
Ahmed Kalashnikov, little light of my life, died holy and murdered - by a punk with a handgun
whose face I cannot picture twenty hours later
in an American shopping mall by the airport,
but surely all beard and muscle and cap
like Ruslan who was stared at when we parted at the gate
whispering "God forgive you,"
Unspoken words: For I won't.
America, king of dreck in its robe of tinsel and mantle of advertisements
Play after play after play on words delivered by a cartoon chipmunk,
safe after sale after sale runs screaming out of the radio in stores,
and I, on the escalator, staring straight ahead
Already thinking of Makanin and the story I'll write about a war vet
who kills himself at the end to the tune of the most stupid, poshlosty
Christmas song I can find (thirty-nine-and-a-half-foot-po-o-o-o-l-e ... !")
Who is Sevastian? Only Akhmatov.
Friends. Condolences. And I, blunted, surprisingly calm. "I don't know. I don't know. Well, thanks for coming. Well, at least it was quick. I guess so. I guess so."
Come home and tell my mother I will beat your whore brains out with a tire iron if you don't shut the **** up about my smoking (god, if she had known our joy!)
and for the first time in my life she apologizes
Two days later, last words of sympathy, last cigarette.
Ruslan is in bed with me, for the helluvit. We are platonic. Our eyes align.
For the first time in his life it's
"Shame about your prick," he says.
"Yeah. A real shame."
America, with its college bars and smell of women
in perfume that is nothing compared to the
metal-scent of Kalashnikov bullets that I bless'ed with my lips
all cosmetics and white angles
or first world female ultrasoftness
Discussing, somehow priggishly
Absinthe, eternity-by-Rimbaud, the beauty of sin and
Self-congratulatory, giggling, references to Betty Page
and inside my heart Ahmed Kalashnikov is dying
YOU DON'T KNOW YOU DON'T EVEN ****ING KNOW HOW GOOD A BLOWJOB IS WHEN YOU'RE BEING SHOT AT
and we did it like animals
like innocents
without a single thought
because we looked at each other
because we wanted to
Freude, schöner Götterfunken
in our beloved country, peace in war.
So even sex with these people is an identity and an ideology and a set of fashionable clothes, fake British accents and the right books and the right stores
Ahmed Kalashnikov, my sorrow and my joy,
whose white smile and taupe lips are in my dreams
while I am in the shower
Afterwards I am cold
Afterwards I think "I am a pederast and a ******."
Afterwards I am alone.
Ahmed Kalashnikov, died holy and murdered
in my American thoughts, in my American arms.
Whose image cannot live amongst the rise and fall
Of plastic cups on the ocean: in pictures, on magazines, in supermarkets
Next to headlines, in whiny articles,
Ahmed Kalashnikov, king of purity, son of Elysium, flower of war!
I see you in my mind as you were on that night
In light blue headband and camoflague pants
Bare chest, touching your shoulders like a woman,
the three of us, standing atop the ruins
watching the slowly-coming dawn.
Winner: Rubhakin
Iron Poet III
Winner: Elvaris
Round 1
Amotis vs. Truemane: Light
Amotis:
Spoilerdies irae
watched two pairs of headlights
mutely collide
in a darkened parking structure.
aphotic sounds engulf the air
and make the sky
like it was painted
or embroidered.
i feel
calmed - yet
claustrophobic.
Truemane: Poem is MIA
Winner: Amotis
Phoekun vs. Ravyn: Streets
Phoekun:
SpoilerSunset. Light dwindles over crumbling concrete.
A flicker. Once. Twice.
Too old lamp posts stretch shadows to cover
The path. I shiver;
A cold wind funnels in between cramped buildings.
Looming. Glowering.
I step. Footfalls echoing for miles, searching for another but
Finding no one there.
And here along this path of Gloom
Stretching through some town entombed
By age, by apathy, by disrepair!
I walk, and frightened, discontent
I stare into fading sunset.
A hand! I startle as it grasps my own.
It’s warm. I look. You laugh,
And point from useless lamps to the sky.
“You can see the stars.”
The last rays of twilight dance across brick buildings.
Enchanting. Magic.
I squeeze your hand, to make sure you are real.
This is too perfect.
Ravyn:
SpoilerGutter Genesis
The world came from the sky,
And fell from the lights that illuminated its space.
Little by little it formed
Until it floated, ever-reaching, atop the Foundation,
Black in a black space,
Its growth rippling steadily in the firmament.
The world knew its path.
It measured its time in sunlight and gravity;
In places it hurried to its end,
Rippling away to the sheer drops where the Foundation ceased
Where it would fall away to become something new
Or join the worlds that had come before.
In places it waited, placid,
Until the sky and lights no longer fed it,
And the sun came and ate it away.
The world had life.
Their shapes were many,
Spirals and discs and shapes without shape.
Where it did not know its place
Larger things would appear,
Hang from the firmament, wriggle,
Grow and be gone again.
The world knew its gods.
They entered with a splash
And changed the shape of what was around them.
Occasionally they left heralds,
Creatures that drifted silently through the world,
Aurora they could be, if they glowed.
Where the world flowed to its fate,
So too did they,
Unwinding serpents chasing time to its end.
Where the world was placid,
They spread, hanging in the firmament,
Brilliant canopies.
Where the world knew not which way to go,
Or where its edges were ruffled by the wind,
They spun, and trailed, and danced,
Leisurely tracing paths to nowhere and everywhere.
The world knew the Others
They entered, as the gods did,
But their times were fleeting,
Their effects less.
Sometimes they would avoid the world,
Other times immerse themselves in it,
Reshape it for the joy of seeing it fly,
And take parts of it with them when they left.
Some gave it things which were Other
To take to the drops beyond knowledge
Others poked at the heralds
To see what shapes they would take.
It mattered not; when they left
The world remained.
The world knew its end.
When all that had sought the edge had reached it,
When the sun had eaten away all that remained,
There was Foundation again,
Heralds, empty, still,
Trailing like limp ribbon,
Or, as disks of lightless aurora
Splattered over the Foundation.
The world is gone.
Its gods rush heedlessly where once it rested.
Someday it will grow again,
Seed itself from the streetlights,
Creep over the asphalt,
Shelter the small and the shapeless,
Meet its destiny in the stormdrains,
Be eaten by the sun,
Leave oilslick avatars as psychedelic snowflakes
Stamped where once it had been.
I, Other, step where once was world
I will see it again.
Winner: Phoekun
coolgaelbert vs. Mr. Saturn: Night
Gaelbert:
SpoilerThe darkness before the morning dew
is often much maligned;
the superstitions we possess
roam these hours freely.
People lose their minds in fear
of what they cannot see.
But this inky blackness is that which makes
the daytime hours clear.
For if all lived under this noble star,
this giver of life,
it's constant, blazing, searing light
would burn away our sight.
This night, this profane night,
this gentle and calming night,
provides us with the time to rest,
and blinds us so we may see.
Mr. Saturn:
SpoilerPerfect darkness
Nothing less
Is what comes with the advent of night
The absence of light from the heavenly hosts
Withdraw from the earth as a spirit or ghost
A lingering eclipse
Creeps in like a wisp
But the same as it comes
As we sleep in our homes
All is forgotten, with the advent of light.
Winner: Gaelbert
Elvaris vs. Raiser_B1ade: Sleep
Elvaris:
Spoiler"Sleep on it" you said
With a growing sense of dread
Though it does seem fairly strange
That a night of sleep could change
How we feel about each other.
"Sleep on it" I'd plead
For even you fulfilled the need
To have someone in my arms
Though we both knew of the harm
We were doing.
"Sleep on it" we cried
As we swallowed our own pride
While we stubbornly denied
That the other we'd abide
Only in our sleep.
Raiser Blade:
SpoilerMoonlight shines into my window
I feel you breathing
I feel your heartbeat
At least for tonight I know you’re here
As I put my arm around you and close my eyes
I sigh
For tonight at least my world is complete
No worries just you and me
The rhythm of our heartbeats slowly falling into sync
They say that sleep is a dancer
Dancing away your worries and your fright
Will you not dance with me
Oh elusive dancer of the night
Winner: Elvaris
Gezina vs. Gem Flower: Birth
Gezina: None
Gem Flower:
SpoilerBirth, the creation
The joyous celebration
Of a new-born soul
Another being
Who will move and breathe good life
With love’s innocence
The pain shall mingle
With the heavenly trumpets
That greet the new child
There is not any more
Frightening experience
For the new infant
So our lives are bliss
No more frightening ordeal
Than the one that’s gone
Winner: Gem Flower
Em Blackleaf vs. SweetRein: Grief
Em Blackleaf:
SpoilerA benevolence lost
In a dark outer world
Like a closed door
To an open heart
A cut connection
With no way to follow
Lying still in a coffin
Comatose for an eternity
A life long lost
A speck of existence
All-consuming sorrow
Alone with only memories
Everything must go
But the bereavement
Shall stay with me
Until my own heart stops beating
SweetRein:
SpoilerBlue Widow
I rise from my basement low
I've put my heart to the past
I wish I could change what's done
my tears fall for love long last
and I realize I'm alone
As I roam my barren home
All abound are memoirs by
I try to dwell memory
yet only stir how to cry
as I realize I'm alone
Then I grasp an empty thought
As to blanket my pain
I try to carry it on
I hide my tears and wane
and I realize I'm alone
So I move on with my life
rare I look back upon it
or else I am struck in grief
the sounds of sunken sonnet
as I realize I'm alone
Winner: Em
Malmagor Andrigal vs. Kneenibble: Pictures (photos/drawn, etc.)
Malgamor Andrigal:
SpoilerBig flowery shirts
Shoes full of dirt
Some ridiculous hat
And an annoying camera, to top it all.
It’s a tourist, not the smart one,
who knows how to blend in.
This one feels like standing out,
Burning the flash lightbulb out
Big Waterfall? There goes a picture
Ancient ruins? There goes another
Flashy Gift shop? Last one so far!
Random poor kid? I’d rather pass.
Kneenibble:
SpoilerI laze undressed and captured in a frame.
You colonized my body with your eye,
A hole for light and surface; and my name
Is "model 69: the lullaby".
Your gaze is not a window. Glass alone
Reveals content! But my form will fill
Your soul, opaque as oil slicks. You own
My image? Ha! - like junkies own their pills.
You praise me with the hunger in your stare
Like perverts gaud their icons with their pearls.
But knowledge of my flesh is naught; you're bare,
A naked subject collared in my curls.
You grip me with the lens; but with a look
Like hair or smoke, I take back what you took.
Winner: Kneenibble
Tormsskull vs. zeratul: Denial
Tormsskull:
SpoilerThe sun lit abright her golden hair,
Her lovely face, a smile, it did wear.
Sapphire-blue eyes, enchanting me,
Her beauty, obvious, all could see.
I stepped with butterflies in belly,
My knees as well, they were, jelly.
Smile aface, my name I did bellow,
Told her, I said, I'm a nice fellow.
Her face became a horrible frown,
My cheeks turned rosy, like a clown.
I was in headlights, just as a doe,
Then she hit me, a great big, "NO!"
She laughed as she walked quickly away,
There was nothing, nothing I could say.
Times like these I try not to cry,
I tell myself, that I'm, a good guy.
Zeratul:
SpoilerThe beast inside him rages
As his human spirit dies
But as his infant demon ages
He persist s the mirror tells him lies
The town lies still in shambles
With ash strewn all around
Yet he still told himself
That a bomb had hit the ground
So he stumbled now from town to town
Wherever the cold winds blew
But each lies now in ruins
So he tried to convince himself the lies were true
Anything suppressed will leap out
Like an arrow from a warring tribe
But denial gets you no where
And nothing but the demon comes out alive
Winner: Zeratul
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Round 2
Amotis vs. Zeratul: Comedy/Humor, Swing
Amotis:
Spoilershakespearean comedies (the end)
two years ago
we played together
and smiled.
with the world
swinging by our young hands.
we were close to god.
now i sit (and remember)
in dark playgrounds.
and all my hands touch now
are cold empty chains.
if i write
goodbyes
about how it was,
is it letting go
or keeping it alive?
Zeratul:
SpoilerA peculiar thing is the swing
High flying strange contraption
The joy and mirth
Which in it one unearths
As stated in the caption
Drawing closer to beams of light
Like magnets to a pot
Its chains jangling like bells
So often bring foolish yells
From a childish lot
And at night it glides
Reminiscing of rides
And human and flying chairs truce
And it shows its scars
Yet remains unmarred
For another days levitous use
Winner: Amotis
Kneenibble vs. Phoekun: Gymnasium/Gymnast, Camera
Kneenibble:
Spoilerhis flesh bends fluid, flips, and lands,
an O without a shape, or form -
too flickering quick on feet and hands
to be abstracted. flesh is warm
and round; but mind is cool, square,
and seeing seven somersaults,
draws one in four sharp edges there,
a static shape set free from faults.
and thus, his folding flesh is cut
from all the superflux of sense,
and known in the judgement. but
the knower has no recompense:
the mind can look, but cannot touch,
and tumbling bodies beg so much...
Phoekun:
SpoilerBeijing, 2008
He yawns and finishes a hot dog, cracks his neck,
And lets the wrapper fall to the ground.
Discarded scrap of paper wafts in artificial breeze,
Flutters over five joined rings.
Booming voice of God announces her name,
Echoes in English, and Chinese.
He bends suddenly, knees popping in protest,
Fumbles for the camera.
Her auburn hair dances in a ponytail,
Sways as she steps into the light.
Silver blue and red sparkle in the spotlight,
Cling to slender subtle curves.
Her chest rises and falls a little faster now,
Pulsing music starts to play.
She runs and tenses, leaps and flips, lands and poses,
Avalanche of applause cascades down.
But he sees her in reflected light.
Twirl. Spin. Hit the mirror and reverse.
Twirl. Spin. Hit the mirror and reverse.
Body of light. She leaps and dives into an arc of electricity.
Twirl. Spin. Flip the switch and record.
Twirl. Spin. Press the button and preserve.
Winner: Phoekun
Elvaris vs. Gem Flower: Big/Giant, Cliff
Elvaris:
SpoilerThe old man sat and began a lament,
An ode to a place called Earth.
He spoke of trees and cliffs and bright blue sky
Of mountains that only he'd seen.
"You could swim in a lake near mountainside
Then dry off under trees evergreen.
The sky was open and vast overhead
not hidden behind sheets of steel.
I know what you're thinking, it's plain to see.
The domes hold in the air we breathe.
We couldn't survive without their presence,
Why rail against that which you need?
Because even here where the air is stale,
Collected, filtered and returned,
There are lessons in the ancient landscape
That should never be forgotten.
The universe is vast and filled with worlds
Of infinite variety.
But each has its own natural wonders
That can not be duplicated.
So build your domes, do what you must to live,
But remember the fall of Earth
And respect the planets on which you land,
For even worlds have their limits.
Gem Flower:
SpoilerThe cliff is what I see each day
It’s what I say good night to
But, always, it so towers over me
Its innocent surroundings
Give an atmosphere serene
But, always, it so towers over me
It’s just so overwhelming
It’s biggest of them all
But, always, it so towers over me
I’ve never gone much farther
Than my quiet little town
But, always, it so towers over me
I can’t imagine larger
I’ve never seen its like
But, always, it so towers over me
Winner: Elvaris
Coolgaelbert vs. Em Blackleaf: Baby/Child/Childhood (one or all), Seaside Town
Gaelbert: Couldn't find this one either...
Em:
SpoilerA shining ray of sun on the sandy shore
Bold as the crashing waves
Blithely dancing on the water's edge
A child, of surf and sand
Playing cheerfully, with the stones
Washed smooth by the tumbling sea
Too consumed in his innocent games
To be bothered with burdens of adulthood
Now, the joyful boy has grown
He looks over his old seaside home
Only to shed a saltwater tear
For the child long-last
Winner: Em Blackleaf
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Round 3
Amotis vs. Elvaris: Swim, Pride
Amotis:
None. :smallfrown:
Elvaris:
SpoilerButterflies
Stillness. Not a breath is taken.
At a sound, an explosion of motion.
A wave of life, churning away.
A flurry of strokes propelling the flight
A barrier, a change of direction.
Now, a drive for a destination, for a perch.
A goal in sight. Stretching. Reaching.
Finally, a touch. A fleeting touch
And a swell of pride as one finds wings.
Winner: Elvaris
Phoekun vs. Em Blackleaf: Space, Fate
Phoekun: None. :smallfrown:
Em Blackleaf:
SpoilerFleeting
Speeding through traffic
Running red lights and running out of life
The sands of time pour down
Hills of a life well wasted swell
Like a wave that will never crash
Old and gray now, though not wise
So many experiences
So little time
The clock is ticking
Like a bomb that will soon explode
Moving slowly now, like a planet
In orbit 'round the Sun
Desperately grasping at life
While time runs out faster, faster
Like the life that never was
Darkness
The blazing beacon at the center dims
An icy grip closes on life
A bitter end to a frittered existence
Like the essence that was never found
Winner: Em Blackleaf
Since the other two didn't submit, they made this the final round. Elvaris won!
Iron Poet IV
Round 1
Raiser_B1ade vs. Alarra: Relaxation
Raiser Blade:
SpoilerShifting sands beneath my feet
Oceanic melodies
Beat upon the coast
Hand in hand
We walk and listen
To the rythym of nature
All the cares in the world
Washed away by a sprinkle
Of salty air as I let go
I free my mind
As you free yours
We bask in the harmony
As I forget the world
The world forgets me
And we let the surf remind us to live
Alarra:
SpoilerCentered, open, empty,
I sit
Breathing.
The air has substance,
Weight,
Glowing, pulsing.
I follow its journey.
A measured breath,
Infusing each vein,
Bringing life.
I exhale
A fine golden mist
Of tension, leaving.
Time stills, waits.
I inhale,
Slowly, calmly.
Color, light, air
I breathe.
Free of worries, time, care
I breathe.
Winner: Alarra
Em Blackleaf vs. Hellpuppi: Perseverance
Em Blackleaf:
SpoilerBroken, Sore, Restrained
He looks around and all he sees are locked doors
A shimmering ray of hope illuminates the key
His lame limbs find strength to stand
Determination overcomes the chains
He makes great strides toward freedom
His will to go on having paid off,
He soars on brittle bones
Leaving his constraints far behind
Hellpuppi:
SpoilerWith will unbroken he stands
Body bloodied but the heart true
The knight saddles his tired steed
And rides to fate unknown
The lady sits quietly in a corner
All around her demons wait
Trying to pry apart her mind
She writes to keep the demons at bay
She writes about a knight
Once proud and strong
There are no friends beside him
Only enemies nipping at his heels
She writes about the knight
Not knowing
That she is writing about herself
As he stands so does she
Together in heart they ride
Bloodied but unbroken
Their will stronger than the enemy
Their hearts lighting the darkness
She writes about lost loves
And friends turned rivals
Trust betrayed and words left unspoken
Not knowing she is writing her past
Her work labors on
The doubts set in
Her heart is troubled
The knight does not falter
As he stands, so does she
Not knowing that he is what
She would like to see in herself
She simply knows she cannot stop
The book comes to a close
The words stop rattling in her mind
But in her heart she sees
The bloodied knight riding to fate unknown
Winner: Hellpuppi
Nexus-R.C._Mina vs. Devigod: Uncertainty
Nexus:
SpoilerWalker of the Waste
The sea of sand stretched boundless
across the land,
The land of vision, where all eyes burn
Slow, danced the dunes
Desert waves and desert tides
There ebbed and flowed
Graceful, the sweet caress
Unheeding of mountains’ might,
The crystal kiss lingered,
Rose the ruby to sapphire smite
Frozen thunder, crooked lances
Made the devils dance and scream
In sunlit sight, for sulfurous sin unseen
A storm there blew
From innocent sky of blue
Swift, the wrath grew
Beyond the heavens roared the crests of waves
Beyond the abyss there gaped the troughs
The night seethed and strangled light
The stars sinking, wept
The Moon, beaten, fled the field
And left the sea of sand in darkness dread
No more, it seemed, night its might shall shed
But blazed forth once more the searing Sun
Faith failed not the forge of fates
Burned the dross to cowering, seething slag
Scars of the desert, marring its sharp lines
Scars of the waste, swimming in the sand
Scars of the soul, the mountains and masts
Where truth is born
Where lie as one, the sea and sky
There came once more a darkening of the sky
Ere high-sun, ere noontide true,
But was it midnight?
Cold stung the sleeping feet
The sky coughed and the wind sung a maelstrom
Of its mirth was drunk the whirlwind
And stood it still
Amidst swirling silks and singing sand
It was a tapestry of a thousand shards
And smiled it so
For lo! From its bosom there wandered forth
Lone but for fate and faith
One who walked the wastes,
Shrouded in shadow, shone in silk
The walker lacked
not in cloaks and robes
The head was bound in woven wool,
Tight the bind, but light the crown
Wrought of thorns and golden mould
Wrought of pearl shards and iron black
Far reached the gaze,
Though naught of eyes was seen,
Naught but a blackest shadow
Betwixt veil and crown
Behind was slung, black a scroll,
And a silvern shield
Faith and fate
The way and the wall
The walker wandered forth,
Flying on wings of rags, pinions of dust
The walker wandered on
Beyond the gates of night
The wanderer walked on
Unto the maw of light
The wanderer walked on
And came unto the crest of *****
Wandered forth, the walker of the waste…
Devigod:
SpoilerAnd then he'd seen-
Seen the maid-
Blue eyed with golden hair-
Never before could one dream-
Of seraphim so fair!
Youthful form and gentle face-
Humble pride and subtle grace-
But could he know?... might never know-
In indecision woe!
The soldier 'fore the coming battle-
So well trained but never killed-
After so much time he's trained,
and all the time he's drilled.
The youth- he was so full of fear-
Afraid he was, approach her near-
He turned away and shed a tear,
knew that of courage, he mustn't veer.
The soldier hears the scouting crow-
‘Twould feast on him or fallen foe.
And then came death on nocturne steed,
beckoned him unless he flee!
Sleeping night and sitting day,
'neath the sky, the coward lay.
All the time has gone away-
Life goes on, whilst he delay.
At his sleep he has a turn-
Oh for her! his heart did yearn.
And yet to her how could he to speak?
What ‘twould he do with spurn?
Weighted cold, his hope seemed bleak-
Whilst his desire burned!
And then he knew, he’d none to lose.
Death in battle, or death in age,
in his life, no other use,
he’d to face his fear-
Or face death’s cage!
Wishing, hoping to the moon,
for triumph in this battle soon.
Crouched 'ntill it's opportune,
beating fear, he climbs the dune.
Angelic, oh she did seem kind-
Tender yet so very blind;
when the youth did give his try,
she seemed to simply turn her eye.
Battered, now he did retreat-
Next day to foe in battle meet.
He’d lived the day- no easy feat,
just one more day- beneath the heat
The youth resolved to finish this-
Seek his eternal happiness,
no matter the answer that she give,
for now he knows:
He’d try, he’ll live.
Charging, eager- to the fray,
beneath the twisted sun of day-
Forgetting- oh... what should he say?
And in response... he gets... delay?
When the girl does call him over-
Thought of the prospective lover,
the young man's heart begins to pound,
his lips are tied, his fate been bound.
In her words she holds his fate-
To right lay heaven, to left- hell’s gate!
The girl said sorry-
Gave him a nay.
Sheepishly, he walks away.
And with a laugh he thinks to say:
"Well, who needs her love anyway?"
From the lesson, now he knows:
'Twas uncertainty been slain-
His greatest of all foes.
Winner: Nexus
Jibar vs. Rubakhin: Instinct
Jibar: None
Rubakhin:
SpoilerOh, mother, stricken, turn your back
And hide your face like a battered bride.
We have come to take your children
And turn them into men.
Brothers, you will see your sisters married
Brothers, you will buy your family bread.
Help us reclaim the gifts of our mother
Which they have ruined in their stead.
The clouds alone could veil her beauty
Only the fields could hope to adorn her.
An endless sky was once her dowry.
A blackened hillside is her shroud.
They have salted the earth with their language
And the clouds are smoke in dreams of fire.
(Love me, she-wolf. I am your son.
Do not watch me lead your cubs to slaughter.)
Look, brother, the stream is clear
Our hands are cold, our prayers are clean.
No more do our people need.
Only the grass knows to tremble and weep.
The howling lion has no memory
Nor do the antelopes mourn the feast.
Mother, hide us in your loving arms,
Let him be no more than light that falls
On the Tatar thistle and cicada-leaves
Let him forget that he holds a weapon.
Listen, brother, how soft our footsteps fall.
We are but beasts with padded paws.
(Love me, she-wolf. I am your son.
Do not watch me lead your cubs to slaughter.)
And when the mountains collapse
Beneath torrents of rain, and shrug off
Mud and landslides like a person a cloak
Walk, until you can think of nothing but rest
Walk, until you see nothing but the step ahead.
And when it is time for you to kill
Remember that we are the people of wolves.
Reach without thinking for the trigger
Like your father goes for his own bare fang.
And when it is time for you to die,
Remember that you want death more than life.
Beyond life there is the warmth of a woman
With closed eyes, to rest beside, the first sleep
in a long time, and a silence.
And no tower can haunt you like these valleys
No law will give you pause beyond the growl of gunfire.
(Love me, she-wolf. I am your son.
Do not watch me lead your cubs to slaughter.)
Yellow flowers, and the smell of dust.
Sound of cooking meat, of radios breaking
Half-grown men wrestle like playful dogs.
Far behind us are the bodies. And tomorrow we will die.
But no one thinks of it.
In this alone we have our innocence.
Would a canine know what lies beyond
The grotto where we dropped our guns?
When the smoke clears over the morning field
And your children have gone to the earth
What can I offer you, my motherland?
The sun and wind braid your hair,
alone.
Winner: Rubakhin
Helgraf vs. Felixaar: Conceit
Helgraf:
SpoilerI am in involvement to mineself beholden
No greater idol, no glowing unreachable orb
No wistful longing for the disdainful to embolden
It is to mine rightful ambition and place
Before the gates of history to absorb
The praise and power due properly mine face
And if this to thee seem unsightly artifice
Such as thine sensible digestion cannot absorb
That is naught but thy unseemly avarice
For thine place is not mine place
and that which exceeds thy reach is the orb
of mine orbit, high above the lowely space
Tarry not in seeking the path of my ascent
Thy arms cannot propel thy craft so oared
The heights are mine personal advent
This conceit is mine alone.
Felixaar:
SpoilerHigh and Mighty,
Fast and Flighty,
You don't have a clue.
It doesn't show,
So you don't know,
The things I'll do to you.
You stand tall up now,
But you're gunna came falling down,
It is true...
The only way for me is up,
and the only way for you is down.
You might not believe it much,
but you'll know it when you hit the ground!
Crumbling, Falling, Flaking, Misting,
You dont that I am listening.
Richness, Wealth, Trade, Gain,
You'll be in a world of pain!
And when you've fallen,
I will rise,
And lead our people,
To the skies!
Winner: Helgraf
Kneenibble vs. Dallas-Dakota: Desire
Kneenibble:
Spoilerit goes like this: I stick my swollen toes
into the water, dipping for relief;
I crave cold comforts, blistered like a leaf
at noon -- the day-hot road has smoked my soles
as red as apples! but the water flows
too fast, too cool, too sweetly gilds the grief
and takes me like a lover or a thief
(that quiet), kissing bubbles from my nose.
and every time, weeds wound around my thighs,
feet slimy in the silt, I lift my eyes
to glowing shimmers. cold as lenten fish,
I shiver for that fire and how I wish
to singe my soggy feet again! again
I grope, and pleasure tugs me on in pain.
Dallas Dakota:
SpoilerWant, need.. Desire
Its as if I'm on fire
I need it
If I don't get it, I don't know, may I'l throw a fit.
The urge is there
Haunting me like an nightmare
But it can be a good urge
But I can't splurge
The urge is there.
Its there, where?
Always with me.
I need it
I want it
I desire it
But in the end,
I know,
I'l have it.
Winner: Kneenibble
Amotis vs. Quincunx: Simplicity
Amotis:
SpoilerWhere's Walden?
few years ago,
our friend on pcp thought she could fly
and we believed her. so with ocean
and driving past our old high school trees,
we figured out what we wanted to do.
but now,
s**tfaced silence making it harder to reason with time.
with tomorrow.
first time i've felt anger in a while and now i feel naked. and vain.
tracing unnamed hawks with my finger to colorado thunderstorms.
as i'm stalled out on the freeway.
yeah, i'm part of something bigger.
but so what?
i wish this was easier -
finding a middle zone between
living our dreams and getting high and jumping off of coronado bridge.
Quincunx: None
Winner: Amotis
Zeratul vs. Brickwall: Curiosity
Zeratul:
SpoilerCouldn’t help myself
Had to see what I didn’t know
Couldn’t just let it go
Had to find out what you were up to
Couldn’t leave my thought’s alone
Had to find out what to do
Stuck my nose where it don’t belong
End up face in mud again
Had to look behind the lies
Curiosity killed the cat again
I thought you might be up to something
The strange look in your eyes
Checking it out was better than nothing
First one to die is the first one that tries
Found you in an old apartment
Walked in through the door
Wound’s on my face again
Insatiable need to know something more
Found I was right that you were wrong
Saw through the veil of lies
But I’ve got scars deep and long
That show curiosity means the feline dies
Brickwall:
SpoilerCalli-hey, calli-hoo,
Is anybody there?
Is there someone somewhere?
I suppose the saying is true,
I should have stuck with the map,
It would show me the way,
And I'd take boredom any day,
I could do with a nap,
But I took my own route,
Just to see what I'd find,
I didn't think I'd mind,
Getting all turned about,
So now I just pray,
To find someone, somewhere,
Is anybody there?
Calli-hoo, call-hey!
Winner: Brickwall
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Round 2
Hellpuppi vs. Nexus: 'Scape
Hellpuppi:
SpoilerYou hear the trickle of water over rocks
A stream flowing gently
A breeze whispers through the trees
Scattering leaves with a delightful sound
Pretend you are an explorer
The first to see this place
Pretend you are a child again
And climb the trees with glee
It is quiet and calm
Beautiful and serene
Here nothing bothers
Here nothing distracts
You spot birds flitting among the branches
Give a wide berth to the bees nest
Skip across rocks
Play in the water
You climb a tall tree
And see the distant mountain
You pretend it is Mount Olympus
And there the gods are having tea
Tomorrow you will return to your house
There will be a job
And an alarm clock
You will have to do things because you must
But today you have escaped
Into the quiet of distant woods
Playing in the mud
And resting among the shade trees
Nexus: None
Winner: Helpuppi
Rubakhin vs. Amotis: Don't Forget
Rubakhin:
SpoilerTell me how you've lived, pure one, beautiful one
The way that he loved you, and the way
You loved him too.
I want to know what is ineffable
Beneath the tremor of his glances,
And the tenderness of his touch,
The trembling eternity of first love
And the refuge of a secret world.
The peace that came to nothing
The love that rose up and washed away.
You are the path of wind in a wild field
The cool moss that grows beneath a stone.
You are the grass between the slats of a train-track
You are the way the ague-leaf fits my palm.
Tell me how you've suffered, white one, golden one
The river where you dropped your gun,
And where you bled your blood.
Speak to me as though I have not suffered,
Or like I've suffered all mankind has known.
My soul is as vast as the sky
Above the steppes, but my body is so small
And my years are few in number.
Yet I have seen this and I must bear it
I must bear it because there is no one else who knows.
You are the transient rain on a still summer night,
The taste of salt that lingers on the shore.
You are the skyline of a city whose name I do not know,
You are the hidden whiteness of the midnight fog.
Tell me how to love, pure one, beautiful one
The way that I loved you, and the way
You loved me too.
I am not a man or woman, just a poet.
My secrets go back a thousand years.
I see them leave red stains in my footprints
I see them pour from these two lips like blood.
A lifeless line through silent mountains.
I have no other way of loving.
White one, golden one,
I cannot save your life.
Amotis:
SpoilerEve(n Night)
I know that there's another girl,
though I sit here with the windows open.
where the trees reach the second floor
and looking down, the ground broken
with old roots like what first flowers implore.
and now this feels of those roots,
as this room feels alone.
mulched new regrets with a lustful lie
from days forgotten grown.
and I feel like I should thank you
for this little reminder,
as not to feel cold or dry
or god's embrace entire.
Winner: Rubakhin
Helgraf vs. Kneenibble: Rise and Fall
Helgraf:
SpoilerSix times up and seven times down
blistering grains form the ground
Across the blasted desert sand
Where I pursue a fallen man
Up the slope of spiteful sand
that seeks to snare my feet
to throw me down its one resolve
and wrap me in its sheet
Astride a wretched summit
echoed to the far horizon
in the rolling symmetry
of quenchless static ocean
My pursuit reflects the sun
as it must rise, so must I rise
as it must fall, so must I fall
Invariant to my task
As the sun, so the sand
through wind and heat
through time and toil
forged these hills of trial
And as the sand, so I
against inexorable forces
against indefiable will
am shaped by my opposition
I am shackled by a fallen man
whose form I have followed
whose path I have pursued
whose crime I have committed
In a moment's wavering
from dedication and purpose
my rise became my fall
my journey, my exile
Countless times up, interminable times down
A guilt-wracked soul run to ground
seeking hopeless resolution
risen ... fallen ... absolution?
Kneenibble:
SpoilerDown where the wind combs the ripples
packed like dough and spins the grits
thread-fine and hissing across the bars,
the lizard sees valleys
and blinks at the dripping sun,
hot glass slopped in a puddle beneath;
the scarab sees crestless waves
that do not curl to slap their own feet,
that do not reel head-over-giddy
like a dolphin or a salmon
but roll along flabby, flank-first:
slow leeward snakes or strands of baked paste.
The scarabs and lizards, poised scabby,
loaf in the luxury of close meal-coarse grains
and their toes scratch away crumbled sugar
as they change places.
The needle-tickled tidbits
trickle where they scuttle oblique
rising and falling in a fading pen-stroke line
as static as the sand.
But up where the wind braids the vapour and dust
in a whipped hanging froth
dabbed and strung against the sun in the morning,
the sky cannot see beetles or toads
like little weevils dragging their chitin
across a bin of cereal.
The sky, a stretched twisted slab
sees the dunes from above
shift along their rolling bulks
not quite like a wrinkled barm bubbles and pops
but like sentinel whales as old as boulders
rearing their round glazen rinds
and plunging again in a few sibilant weeks
rising and falling in a silent mammoth onslaught
as static as the sand.
Winner: Kneenibble
Brickwall vs. Alarra: Guardian
Brickwall:
SpoilerFor you, my best friend in the world,
I will guard your home,
I will stand vigilant
Against the teenagers
who try to take your stuff,
I will be wary
Against the neighbor's cat
I know she's up to something,
I will be steadfast
And I will not let my eyes
Stray towards the poodle across the street,
And I will not rest
Because I know
That soon you will come home
And hold me in your arms,
And you will tell me you love me,
For you are my best friend in the world
Alarra:
Spoiler"Athena waits"
Each evening you leave me.
I sit, alone.
Waiting, wondering,
Will you return?
Time passes.
A minute? An hour? A year?
All I know is that I’m lonely.
A car door slams.
I press my nose to the glass.
Is it you?
No. False alarm.
I search the trash.
Maybe you left me a clue
Or a treat? Paper!
I bring it to the door.
Chewing as I wait,
Knowing that I shouldn’t.
No one comes.
Hours pass.
I sit. I chew. I wait.
The sun rises.
I look around.
Are you home yet?
No. I’m still alone.
Soon, the distinctive sound
Of your bike in the drive.
The cat hears it first.
I follow his glance.
It’s you!
I wag, whine, wallow in excitement.
You come in.
Pat my head.
I was good, I say.
Just a little paper today.
I follow you around.
You inspect our home.
I kept it safe for you.
Are you proud?
Winner: Alarra
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Round 3
Kneenibble vs. Alarra: Gratitude
Kneenibble:
SpoilerI found a piece of candy on the sidewalk today,
A smooth and confected young thing.
I tore off his wrapper
Without words or flowers
And scratched his thigh on my cheek.
He admired himself
In the foggy mirror
Of my eyeballs -
As clear a reflection as a muddy puddle
Slopped against the bottom of a wall -
And left no flower growing
Where he knelt there gazing.
I've slurped up all that he left
Already, and I am still
Hungry.
He dissolved on my tongue
And disappeared - he thanked
Me like a picture
Thanks a frame -
Even wrapped up together, that unnoticed
And that empty.
But that necessary,
I like to think
(I took
It, it's all the thanks I'll get).
Alarra:
SpoilerA cold, mourning dawn, in silence shrouded.
The careless wind scatters wilted blooms.
Pale mist casts forgotten tears on fresh packed earth,
Collects in pools on neglected tombs.
Through frozen limbs and aching joints, she holds her vigil.
Kneeling molds in dark clay as she weeps.
Her tears join the dew, to muddy her stockings.
And still the silence she keeps.
Hands clasped, she awaits the sun’s birth.
Watching silent and still for her cue.
As it crests, she begins her lament,
Achingly giving the child her due.
I remember you, always.
Golden curls framed your face.
A gurgling laugh and toothless grin
And the joy you brought within.
I remember you singing
As you danced the backyard
How you twirled through the flowers
I could watch you for hours.
I remember you crying,
When a boy broke your heart.
Holding you close, worries you’d share
I offered comfort, compassion and care.
I remember you happy,
As you walked down the aisle.
You looked an angel, glowing and pure.
Ready, willing, confident and sure.
I remember you dying,
I clung hard to your hand.
Death and birth, tangled together,
A child without a mother.
My life for yours
In a heartbeat, I’d give.
A new life beginning
One you deserved to live.
But lord, since you claimed her,
My daughter, my love.
I know that you’ve reasons
To need her above.
And so lord I thank you
That I am still here.
To care for this child,
Show her a life of no fear.
I’m grateful, my lord
For the chance I’ve been given.
A new life to raise,
Old mistakes been forgiven.
I’m thankful I find
For the memories I hold.
For the tales of the mother
That the child must be told.
I wish she were here, lord.
My daughter, my friend.
Yet I trust in your judgment
Of what’s right in the end.
And I thank you, my lord.
For the child that waits my return
For the love she’ll be given
And the women into whom she’ll turn.
With lowered head and hooded eyes she finishes her prayer.
Though for a few hours more remains silently there.
And then as the sun rises high in the sky
She looks to the clouds and resolves no longer to cry.
For now she is needed,
A child to love.
To hold and care for,
As she’s watched from above.
Winner: Alarra
Rubakhin vs. Hellpuppi: Imagination
Rubakhin:
SpoilerYour death will come as a matter of routine
To these white walls, to that yawning nurse
Timed with the flicker of florescent bulbs
And the distant hum of your machines.
I have written this poem to imagine death
As I myself would have liked to have had it.
I revive you. I revive you now
In the mountains, where I sing nasheeds
Songs that float to nowhere in the fog.
Beneath the mist there is a lake
Where, like a child, I play at believing
That I alone among all men have seen it
As I alone among all men have loved you.
I revive you in the storm-winds and the dusk
Revive you in the leaves and shadowed rain
Revive you in the changing face of streams
In the somber eyes of boys you might have loved.
And in the evening, when night wells up so softly
In my weariness, I revive you in my tears.
But in my silence and my secrecy
In prayers as soundless as a flock of birds
That rise from a distant treetop
I revive you. I truly do.
I do not want a large miracle,
no movement of the earth, but a small one
That may have happened on its own.
The test results. A sudden cure.
And for this gift I had surrendered
All that was left for me to give.
Take my life, or everything in my life,
In heaven and earth I want nothing for myself.
You will murder me, rape me, carve deformities into my body
You will burn my mind to ash, make me speak in tongues
No longer love, and lose all reckoning
Of humanity, of profound depths and infinite names
Then you will cast me into the pool of darkness
Where even your hand cannot go.
My God! Why won't you take from me
My offering? My life, my work, my reason.
All hope for the future, all my gardens
And my swaying gates. My dawns
And my days, and my nights.
Take all I have and give it to my lover
My white one, my beautiful one,
Come make your child better
With my own breath and blood.
And my love was so ardent
That I knew I would die as I offered.
Perhaps slowly, as you yourself may have died,
at the hands of sickness, at the hands of men
Or quickly, with a beating of wings
And delicate exhale, a murmured word
Light and shadow moving across the wall.
My heart was at peace. I walked
As does the wind, ephemeral and half a myth,
I moved like a blessed thing. And I wondered,
How will it come to me? What are the terms?
What torment will I feel, what softness and repose
What dark god will take my blood?
In my weakest moments I imagine
That this creature in his infinite grace
Curls his massive hand around my shoulders
And does not demand a sacrifice,
For my kindness, for your good heart
There will be a house, a road and a marsh
With birds of prey and snails, flatlands, mud
And storm-tossed reeds among the riverbanks.
Here you will die, at an old age, with no sorrows,
Where the world drifts close to us and dissolves.
And at your feet will be our children
Yaroslav Sevastianovich
And his brother Alexeychik.
And I wait for death,
And I see it in the eyes of men,
hear its footsteps in the beating
Of my small and shivering heart,
So fragile, in the face of this world,
with it all its murders, with its helplessness and guilt.
And I wait for death,
And I see it in the eyes of men,
And each night I continue living,
and the dawn breaks my heart.
And I wait for death,
and I see it in the eyes of men,
and if I can hear the smallest voice
I will listen, will burn all I own,
and throw my body on the pyre,
I will tear my throat and eyes.
There will be no voice,
There will be no symbols,
There will be no call.
No signs, no sacrifice,
no ritual, no power to this love
To my fierce and terrible fire
That blazes without wavering
On the remote cliff side, on the farthest shore
Of my soul, of my goodness, of my mind
That cannot kill me, cannot cure you,
Cannot light the smallest room.
And I wait for death.
Though I know that God,
if He is still living,
is not a savior of men.
Not like this.
Your death will come as a matter of routine
To these white walls, to that yawning nurse
Timed with the flicker of florescent bulbs
And the distant hum of your machines.
The end of the world will not know shouts,
Nor thunder, nor hope of redemptive rain.
There will come a dimness and a twilight
There will come a stillness without wind.
The sun will appear as a red heavy beast
Slouching beneath the horizon to die.
Hellpuppi:
SpoilerI once heard someone say
That imagination is like a lion
You must stare it down
Make your peace with it
Or you can run away
I once read imagination called
The space of the mind
Vast and incomprehensible
Unknowable and immeasurable
What it truly is no one can claim
No words can bind it
The greatest philosopher can only muse
No science can measure it
It is much like a sacred place
Holy to those who know its worth
Just another thing to some
A part that everyone is equipped with
Like those that came before me
I can only ponder
My words fail to grasp this unknowable depth
Perhaps I can only hope
To give you something to think about
Imagination can be like a cave
Dark and frightening
Noises come from the depths
Echoes of things you wish to forget
A private playground to pass the time
An adventure you create
Filled with heroism and daring
Simple entertainment
A world the you build
To share with others
Filled with people you come to know
But who do not exist outside of this place
There are dark, frightening places
That come sometimes only in dreams
They can invade your private world
Even if you chose to ignore them
There are great beasts and nonsensical creatures
There is light and happiness
There is sorrow and pain
There are things you are proud of making
There are things you wish you could stop thinking about
Heroes and villains
That appointment you need to make
(how did that get there?)
An old friend
That cowboy from some movie
They all exist within that space
That vast nothingness
And yet everything
That is imagination
Winner: Rubakhin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Final Round
Alarra vs. Rubakhin: Dawn
Alarra:
SpoilerA stilled breath, heartbeat,
Fleeting, chilling.
I waited.
Time caught, broke,
Continued too soon.
Your whisper in my ear,
Step amongst the leaves,
Illusion.
Your hand in mine
As you pushed me away.
I longed for a choice.
Having none, I left.
Reluctant.
A last look, assuring,
You would come.
Before dawn, you claimed
And believing, trusting,
I waited.
I did not doze.
Stood vigilant alone.
Clinging to hope, love
A passionate embrace.
Foolish.
Light’s first touch, shadow,
A crystalline mist.
I saw tendrils of smoke
Over distant trees
Inevitable.
A perfect moment,
Forever tainted.
The mind grasped reality.
Still, the heart hoped,
And I waited.
Rubakhin:
SpoilerThe storm is a beast,
and the body is mine
The lightening is heartbeat,
and the thunder is blood;
and I am coming to you
from across the forest,
La illah ha il Allah.
The wind is your scent
From beyond the damp earth.
The rain is your voice
From beyond the shadows;
and I am coming to you
from across the dawn,
La illah ha il Allah.
I will know happiness
When night is on my back.
I will know happiness
When I have bloodied my feet;
when the rain covers me
like the body of a lover,
La illah ha il Allah.
I will not know peace
Until I have what the thunder awoke
I will not know peace
Until he has me exhausted
when I no longer know
where my footsteps land, or why,
La illah ha il Allah.
Assah!
Darkness, draw back
like the sleeve of a woman
Sun, rise up and cleanse me
Light up the rain of my tears
Leaves bend down and brooks overflow
I am thirsty for him, thirsty,
La illah ha il Allah!
Come to me, oh, come
I am your grey wolf
Come to me, oh come
I am dying, I am dying
Let me come to you,
endless run,
La illah ha il Allah!
Assah!
God, grant me the breath
so that I may kiss him again
God, grant me the sun
so that I may see him again
God, grant me the ground,
so that I may take him in the rushes,
La illah ha il Allah.
God, grant me the vision
to carve his likeness with my words.
God, grant me the strength
to build the tower of my verse.
God grant me tirelessness
and I will make him immortal,
La illah ha il Allah.
Winner: Alarra
Iron Poet V
Winner: Truemane
Round 1
Gemflower vs. Elvaris: Observation
Gemflower:
SpoilerColours so unique
Trees so green and skies so blue
So much change around
I can see the world
My scrutiny views it all
A land of many
Home ever-lasting
We who observe the change
So much is diverse
I can understand
It is all from what I’ve seen
This kind of training
Elvaris:
SpoilerDay one: A discovery!
Day two: Calm reserve.
The new lab assistant
Is a pleasure to observe.
Day three: Established pattern.
Day four: Status quo.
If she just sees my pluses
Then surely love will grow.
Day six: Altered pattern.
Day nine: To no avail.
It seems I must do more than watch
Or this experiment will fail.
Day thirteen: Signs of interest.
Day fourteen: False alarm.
My thoughts become a jumble
when exposed to her charm.
Day seventeen: All quiet.
Day twenty: Losing hope.
My degrees prove cold comfort
As I feel like a dope.
Day twenty-four: No progress.
Day thirty: Like the rest.
The scientific method
Didn't help me on this test.
Winner: Elvaris
Truemane vs. Vavaara: Failure
Truemane: Deleted again for some reason...
Vavaara:
SpoilerThe eyes of your supporters burn into your back
always wanting, never giving
They expect your success, beating everyone on the 'track
Your heart pounds, sweat runs in your face,
They cheer you on like maniacs,
Those who want you to win the race.
You feel their pressure like a lead weight,
Slowing you, strangling you,
Your legs feel heavy, made not of flesh but of slate.
Your companions, they know the score,
They run with the weight as well,
Though unlike you they crave the mighty roar,
That sound of approval coming from a mindless entity known as Crowd
You watch with despair as another passes you,
Yet you feel a sense of relief,
For now eyes burn into him and not you.
You fall back farther, farther,
The weight leaving your body
Your feet have become feathers,
Your legs a passing breeze,
Yet you make no effort to go ahead
To others you may have failed,
As they mock your loss,
But those who you raced know the score
They know the weight, and the mighty roar,
They have learned to handle and use it,
And take no pleasure in mocking those who don't
All the same, as you finish last,
Those who burned their gaze into you
Turn away, muttering,
You don't care, as long as you feel good
You'll gladly take the name
From those who cheered,
Who have never known the weight and the roar.
Failure.
Winner: Truemane
ZRS vs. Flame Master Axel: Mystery
ZRS:
SpoilerSomeone dies, and we sit people down and interview them,
wondering what their story is. I forget them all. I wish I knew.
I never take notes. It cheapens their lies
to put them down in crude scratches on paper.
I just want to be absorbed in the lie, not to analyze it.
To exist as part of the lie, just him telling it and me listening.
Then we have to figure out the mystery and his lie ends, when I just wanted to go one forever.
I wanted to try and figure it out.
Not to actually know.
Don’t tell me the truth; I’m so happy with the lie.
FMA:
SpoilerThe Mystery of a Life and Death
Rise and fall
Return
To the open hole you came from
Agree
To the terms and the conditions
That you
Told me
And you obviously lied
Whed you
Told me
How we go so far
It's leaving now
Forever
We never know the ways
In which we will discover
The bodies and the plains
So lets shout to one another
The life and death of hate
And the tradegy of man
The mysteries of fate
Are as far away as you
Could ever know
The knowledge of our lifes
Is as hard to find as it
Could ever show
We know that in the end
We'll see the glow
Of a skylight burning bright
Of a lonley midnight
For us all
We stand
Tall and proud
You learn
About the way things used to be
Look out
For all the things you can't unlearn
For all
You try
And I obviously lied
When I
Knew you
How we knew so much
It's a mystery
Forever
We never know the ways
In which we will discover
The bodies and the plains
So lets shout to one another
The life and death of hate
And the tradegy of man
The mysteries of fate
Are as far away as you
Could ever know
The knowledge of our lifes
Is as hard to find as it
Could ever show
We know that in the end
We'll see the glow
Of a skylight burning bright
Of a lonley midnight
For us all
We stand
It's all evolution; It's all so new to me
It's all revolution; It's all a mystery
But no matter how close we look into the future
No matter how far into the past
There is never any doubt
Never any fear
Never any need to look back
We never know the ways
In which we will discover
The bodies and the plains
So lets shout to one another
The life and death of hate
And the tradegy of man
The mysteries of fate
Are as far away as you
Could ever know
The knowledge of our lifes
Is as hard to find as it
Could ever show
We know that in the end
We'll see the glow
Of a skylight burning bright
Of a lonley midnight
For us all
We know
Winner: ZRS
Zeratul vs. Jibar: Solitude
Zeratul:
SpoilerIn the domain of my choice
No need for the others of this world.
Content with listening to the noises of the wild
And nothing else but the sound of my voice
Enjoying my company only of the beasts and birds
I am free from the imbecilic chatter of the mobs
Entertained by the battles of wolves and deer
I have no need for the stories of their monotonous lives
Free to hunt and to rest as I please
Without interruption from their foolish words
I’ll live contented with my life of peace
Till blown away by sands of time
When the bears and the wolves will sing my tale
Down to the vast dark forests of the East
As it was for the hunters and the hermits of old
The solitary life is mine
In the beauty of the crags and forests of the world
My mead and my peace is all I require
And when compared to the monotonous lives of normal folk
I’d not trade it for my weight in gold
Jibar:
SpoilerOne morning sitting in my big red brick house,
I sat talking to my friend, the Dormouse.
"Why Sir Rodent, why are we shut away?
When outside it is such a lovely day?"
"Why, good gentleman" he did speak,
With his soft gentle squeek,
"To be indoors this day is truly a sin,
So instead, why not invite our friends in?"
I ponder this most radical idea,
'Till the Dormouse notes the fear,
"Don't worry, I can see it in your eyes,
You are scared of telling our keepers more lies,
We just have to avoid them for an hour tops,
Enough time to entertain the minces and fops."
With this in mind we set the table and cutlery out,
Telling guests to keep quiet and please not to shout,
I naturally took my place at the table head,
The Dormouse grew tired and went off to bed,
To my right sat a dice of sides numbering three,
A nice fellow despite his fascination with tea,
Then to my left was an ancient pinball machine,
Accompanied by his lover the sugar cube queen,
The table was packed with individuals unique,
From the loud and brazen to the quiet and meek,
We all basked in the sun that poured through the grate,
Laughing and singing until the hour grew late,
And when pudding was served, a mighty great gateau,
I used the knife to make a wound on my wrist quite shallow,
Then those big fellows in white burst into my room,
They were shouting in their harsh voices that boom,
They took the knife and took hold my arms,
While the rest of the guests were all in alarm,
And they hauled me away down the corridors,
Ignoring my requests when I asked them to pause,
The doctor prepared the needle and stuck
It slid in my skin
The were gone
I
Dormouse too
Back room
Sun
Alone
Winner: Jibar
Sewer Bandito vs. Brickwall: Madness
Sewer Bandito: None
Brickwall: None
Winner: None
Helgraf vs. Ravyn: Eternity
Helgraf: None
Ravyn:
SpoilerTime snakes around the world
Brings the colors together,
Wraps them in a sheath of green.
Below there may be anything,
Stone or metal, bark or stucco,
Fence or bush or road or sign,
But above all is the same.
There were those who grew it;
Those who seeded it,
Who welcomed it,
Who trailed it up their fences,
Who tucked its blossoms behind their ears.
Did they think it would change things?
Time does not distinguish
Those who welcome it,
Those who fight it,
Those who let it come.
There will come a time
The cars stilled,
The people forgotten,
The rocks and trees as one,
Eternity will swaddle the world
In three-lobed leaves,
In violet blooms,
All the time in the world but none to enjoy it.
And the morning glories...
They live on...
Winner: Ravyn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Round 2
Elvaris vs. Jibar vs. Ravyn: Glamor
Elvaris:
SpoilerDown Home Fashion Plate
Well I got gold studded jeans
That ain't never seen dirt.
And i got diamond cuff links
For my plaid flannel shirt.
Well my red carpet style
Has got 'em pretty irate.
I wear my string tie in black.
'Cause I'm the down home fashion plate.
Style section? Front page.
Setting trends? All the rage.
Best dressed? No debate.
I'm the down home fashion plate.
{twangy guitar solo}
Yeah, I wore my cowboy boots
On the cover of GQ,
'Cause some fellah in New York
Can't tell me what to do.
Well, they paired me with a model,
So I asked her on a date.
And of course she said yes,
'Cause I'm a down home fashion plate.
Hot club? I'm there
Dress code? Don't care.
Long line? I don't wait.
'Cause I'm the down home fashion plate.
{even twangier guitar solo}
My ten gallon hat's
Got nine gallons of bling.
And my silver belt buckle's
In the shape of the King.
I'm the good ol' boy
All the yankees love to hate.
I got southern high style.
I'm the down home fashion plate
Jibar:
Ravyn:
SpoilerThis you weave.
Lights and songs and satin,
Cars that stretch around the corner,
Crystal chandeliers winking,
Your jewels smiling in response.
You are stories:
Your lives, your loves,
Your wishes, your mistakes.
Living for the world,
Posing under glass.
In your homes you reside,
But it is in your names you live.
Grand titles, perched on the hilltops,
Discussed, admired, worshiped.
In others' names you cloak yourselves,
But yours shine through,
Sun through clouds,
Starlight through mist,
Until the name you wore is gone,
And only yours remains.
I see your dreams,
Spread between your hands,
Wrapped around your hearts,
Twined around your admirers.
Through them I see you:
Cold symmetry no mortal can match,
Faces with no true feeling,
Voices that tempt the young,
Riches that sway the old....
All your glory is dreams.
All your names are echoes.
I see you, your glamors stripped away.
The lights faded, the illusions dimmed.
Creatures the world ignored,
Decked in costume jewelry,
Draped in tinsel.
How can I keep from laughing?
Winner: Ravyn
truemane vs. ZRS: Solemn
Truemane: Nope.
ZRS:
SpoilerMarching in military formation.
A dirge in military unison, because harmonies are too cheerful.
A man speaking military words of military comfort,
As we sit in military formation.
Uniform colour surrounds us all. We are expected to be uniform men with uniform minds and uniform hearts. We walk past and salute a flag that lies perfectly still, more uniform than the rest of us.
A child is told to be quiet. Now is not the time. We must be silent. We must be still. We must be military. We must be uniform. We must be solemn. We must be respectful of the dead.
Winner: Truemane
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Final Round
Ravyn vs. Truemane: Tranquility
Ravyn:
SpoilerGlowing,
Glowing,
Carrying the treetops' color,
Carrying the warmth of summer,
Streaming from the noonday sun the
Everpresent light.
Flowing,
Flowing,
Ripples in the streaming sunlight,
Water singing, pebbles clicking,
Moving, waiting, cool inviting
Step into the stream.
Growing,
Growing,
Swaying as the soft wind blows, a
Carpet for the weary toes and
Scent that rises in the sunlight,
Fresh and green and right.
Drifting,
Drifting,
Sun upon my upturned face and
Leaves upon the flowing stream and
Warmth of grass upon my back and
Drift away and
Watch the day and
Wait upon the shore.
Drifting,
Drifting,
Dreaming,
Dreaming...
Dream...
Truemane: Deleyed all his poetry for some reason.
Winner:Truemane, though we may never know why.
Iron Poet VI
Winner: Devigod
Round 1
Hamsterofthegod vs. Szilard: Journeys
Hamsterofthegod: None
Szilard:
SpoilerThere's lots of places,
Lots of places to go to,
All over the world.
Just bring a journal,
To record all your journeys,
Around this great world.
Pick any continent,
Any country in the world,
Then journey to it.
It's not important,
Where you go, it's the journey,
That truly matters.
Winner: Szilard
Helgraf vs. Devigod: Sound
Helgraf:
SpoilerTorn, discordant bleeding
drowning order killing sense
as fingers flicker over metal cords
tormented symphony of dissonance
Screaming individuality
throwing primordial notes in the face of conformity
throwing away the self to spite similarity
And the Sound rises
And the Sound falls
buried rhythm, buried meter
an blistering aural assault
A suddenly crackling hiss
and the scent of ozone.
Another amplifer blown.
With just a faint electric crackle
Silence comes to reign.
Devigod:
SpoilerThe sound so clear
An airy bell
The hollow sounds of death
A clouded beat
A sullen sound
That marks the final breath
A silentness
A rushing sound
An addle headed stir
A solitude
A nothingness
A dreamish fading blur
And then the bell
That sounds its toll
To make the people leave
They leave behind
The steepled house
And leave the ones who grieve
They walk the road
A crowd as one
And walk into the night
They come upon
The gaping maw
And vanish out of sight
They journey on
An odyssey
They’re far beneath the ground
To darker depths
And muted steps
Silence the greatest sound
They heare the roar
Of crushing grief
Though not a word was said
And yet they feel
In company
The aching pangs of dread
A flowing stream
The walkers cross
Across a dark abyss
This tide of tears
A darkish tide
Made of forgetfulness
The bell is tolling
People sulking
The bell to match their pace
Lovers crying
After dying
Their love has lost its face
To Erebus
They journey on
To Hade’s Fated land
They pass the shades
And hope they’ve not
Gone on into death’s hand
And the in drawl
The silent toll
The ever calling bell
Unpounding hearts
Can hold no fear
As they walk on to Hell
The walkers walk
The deadly march
They go on to the hall
With ebony
And candlelight
That bringeth one and all
Winner: Devigod
Ravyn vs. Flame Master Axel: Depression
Ravyn:
SpoilerHaunted by the Depression
There's a hole in the ground where I hide the signs
Of what I cannot do,
Of what I want to do,
Of what I'll never do.
Out of sight, out of mind,
Earth covers all things.
Throw them in, shovel it in,
Wish it all goodbye.
Can I still let go?
Can I even do this right?
But the hole won't fill,
And the dirt runs out,
And that little dip is still there,
Mocking me, reminding me
Can I even do this right?
So the dirt runs out,
There's a dip in the earth,
Perhaps the rocks will fill it?
Find the pebbles by the lake,
Bring them over, throw them in,
But now it's a patch of rocks
In a dip in the earth
Mocking me, reminding me
Can I even do this right?
So then I toss in leaves
They hide traps, right? They'll hide this!
And they fill it for now.
But some leaves blow away,
And the rest rot away,
And they show the patch of rocks
In a dip in the earth
Mocking me, reminding me,
Can I even do this right?
But there's a boulder near the spot
Where the dip in the earth
Sits for lack of dirt
Can I fill it now?
And I shove the boulder over
And it covers the leaves that have rotted away
And hides the patch of rocks
That hide the dip in the earth
Mocking me, reminding me
Can I even do this right?
But the rock looks like a marker
Always drawing in the eye
So I bring in morning glories
To overgrow the boulder
That sits on the leaves that have rotted away
That hid the patch of rocks
That hide the dip in the earth
Mocking me, reminding me
Can I even do this right?
And then I walk away
From the vines
On the boulder
On the leaves
On the rocks
On the dirt...
Out of sight, out of mind;
Now will I do this right?
FMA: Some of the code was lost on this one...
SpoilerNow, to the birds
Teach me how to fly
Because I'm falling fast
We see things that
lets us know we are
alive
Never give ----- We read sights and sounds
Never say to let us know how
Never ever to survive
Never mind
In this world where
truely living is not
mandatory
Where books and movies
are never the true story
And we can't know why
It's never been alright
Standing over a ledge
Wondering how things
ended this way.
How it makes me hurt
Wonder lures me.
Gravity tempts me, physics mocks me
To fly, to fall, then die
Distance knows me
How to push my buttons Maybe death is painless
Maybe it's not
Maybe were all falling
off a ledge
into the ground
soon
forever
...
In the end, we're all just fools
Who fall, and fly at our own expense.
Winner: FMA
Wadledo vs. Zeratul: Birds
Wadledo:
SpoilerI am god.
I am black,
I am white,
I control my world with harsh, unmerciful strokes.
I am Emperor,
I am King.
My crown is sky,
My throne ice,
All creatures great and small bow before me.
The beasts of the sea carry me,
The creatures of the air gaze at my beauty,
The animals of the earth hide from my magnificence.
I am god,
I am penguin.
Zeratul:
SpoilerA Walk Through Stone
I gazed upon the etched rock
Worn by neglect and time
I read eroded names
Of those who died
As I view a vast black flock
The crows have gathered here
Their domain amongst the dead
Where I, like them find refuge
From the world and its troubles
To be amongst those past
Who once were held so dear
And I sit alone among them
The misunderstood avian they are
My kin, among the beasts
Surrounded with the trees
And with decay
And with peace
As I walk away, one follows me
And reminds me of the content I feel
Beside the bird that most condemn
Winner: Zeratul
Rubakhin vs. Wolfbane: Evening
Rubakhin: None
Wolfbane:
SpoilerI come down from the heavens
Lingering eternally between day and night
Never resting, ever moving
I am forever the Harbinger of The Night to Come
I am the Alpha and Omega for this world,
The Beginning and the End
I end the healing warmth of Day
I bring the cruel darkness of Night
I come into existence, then I leave
Winner: Wolfbane
Elvaris vs. Gezina: Madness
Elvaris:
SpoilerBreathe
Running some errands,
walking home from the store
Try to beat the crowd.
Pause as more and more
people fill the avenue.
Spaces grow tighter.
Shoulder to shoulder.
A person at every turn.
No
Room
For
Breathing.
Turning
Bumping
Shuffling
Sweating
Shaking
Dropping
Stuttering
Scrambling
Clenching
Breathe.
Gasping
Struggling
Dodging
Searching
Darting
Jostling
Veering
Crushing
Sobbing
Breathe.
Reaching
Fumbling
Turning
Stumbling
Climbing
Trembling
Stretching
Opening
Lunging
Slamming
Breathe.
Breathe.
Breathe.
Breathe.
Breathe.
As I lean against the door
In my apartment.
Oasis of air
Closed against the teeming throng.
My heart rate subsides.
Gezina: None
Winner: Elvaris
ZRS vs. Raiser_B1ade: Mind
ZRS:
SpoilerWeep for David
A fanboy's elegy for David Foster Wallace
The blood jet is poetry and there is no stopping it.
—Sylvia Plath
Yesterday, I put my thoughts on a wall in the street with tiny red specks of paint. I tried to put them in coherent lines and coherent colours, filling in the painful spaces left by my painful lines and leaving something permanent on the body of the wall. I’d seen other people do it. The managed to create beauty out of paint and brick, and so I wanted to. But it wasn’t really working. In the end, it was just red paint on a wall. It was just another inane mess and every other wall in the street looked exactly the same.
I was thinking of the times when you could read my thoughts—when you knew what my mind looked like and how it went with my soul—but I could never read yours and I resented you for it because it felt like an invasion. I was thinking of the times I tried to tell you but could only say I loved you one word at a time, and you knew a thousand that you could use.
And I was thinking of the voice crying in the wilderness, wondering if it was saying anything useful, because I remembered you promising me once that you would sing for me until your voice went hoarse and cracked, and that, even then, you would keep trying, making fond retching sounds for me because you had to keep singing. I remembered you telling me that the sound we make when we sing for so long that our voices collapse, but we keep singing anyway, is what Love sounds like.
So I was wondering if the sight of a man hanging from the rafters of his garage, or slumped over the toilet, or lying on the road under the bridge, or of his mind in red on the wall...is that what Love looks like? Because I was wondering if dying is the only art left; if the only way to show someone what your beautiful mind looks like is to show it to them literally. I was wondering if suicide is the only unironic communication left in a postmodern world. It is painless, after all, and I was wondering about death as a metaphor.
A man passed me by and asked me how I’d done it—how I’d managed to get my thoughts so eloquently on the wall, and he looked at it in wonder. The aerosol can was clearly in my hand. I said: “I don’t know, man. I just make this s*** up as I go along” He laughed and I laughed, and then he turned and walked away, leaving me to cry alone because I knew that he was the only other person I was ever going to see again.
And, if you’re telling me that dying isn’t art, then give me another word for it, you who were so f***ing good with words, because I don’t have any.
Raiser Blade: None
Winner: ZRS
Stormthorn vs. Hellpuppi: Mystery
Stormthorn:
SpoilerInscrutable (response to prompt on Mystery)
Dark the call of stranger singing birds
Whispers faint like oil on glassy swells
Ringing ears not knowing what I heard
Troubled, struck by midnight morning bells
Questions needing answers and a voice
Tomes all laying broken through the spine
Like any man I follow without choice
Seeking, hidden things for which I pine
Never will the riddle lose its pride
Nor the secrets within depthless seas
Searches I for where the answers hide
Hopeless, riddles locked up without keys
Hellpuppi:
SpoilerI saw a little dog one day
Sitting at the pound
She barked at me to let her out
So I couldn't let her down
We walked and played
I took her home
I think we both needed a friend
I notice she doesn't like to be alone
I brush her fur, she stands quite still
She doesn't bark or chew
I don't understand, who left her there?
I really wish I knew
She's very cute, my brand new friend
She has a funny little walk
She already knows how to sit and stay
She sometimes tries to talk
I see no fault that could condemn
No ill habit of which I could speak
Did her owners no longer have the money?
Had to move? New baby? Allergy?
Her name is Rosie, someone had named her
And taught her to behave
Kept her for a few years
And walked her on some days
I know this because she perks right up
When I say the word 'outside'
Oh well I suppose she's mine now
Maybe I'll just never know exactly why
Winner: Stormthorn
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Round 2
(Szilard dropped out, so another odd one)
Stormthorn vs. Wolfbane: Separation
Stormthorn:
SpoilerThe Distance Between Point A and Point B is Futility
She pines for him
I know that she does
A girl needs her father
Her mother tries so hard
Yet she is but a mortal soul
Raising a daughter born to the flame
So the girl longs to be with her daddy
And we both know that this will never happen
That her father will never take wing and return
Because he is in hell and there he will stay
So she puts on a brave mask for the world
Yet I can see how much it hurts her
And she’s missing him so deeply
That late at night her chest aches
And she thinks she is crazy
Longing for someone
She's never met
Wolfbane: None
Winner: Stormthorn
Zombie Rock Star vs. Devigod: Trust
ZRS:
SpoilerWhite Chocolate
The frost on the glass door draws promises for her.
She trusts the promise of the door;
The promise of the white chocolate streets beyond.
She lives in the milk-chocolate world
& trusts in the promises of its indie music
& dark roast coffee
& people in long scarves.
She trusts in the promise of her ticking watch
& its assurance that thirty minutes isn’t too long to wait
in this weather.
She trusts in the promise of snow
& the white chocolate traffic.
What’s the good of losing heart now, that’s what I say. We should have thought of it years ago…
Devigod:
SpoilerThe pastors all about convene
To cast the light on things unseen
To gentrify the things obscene
To beautify the things unclean.
The white sheep cast in them their trust
To scold and keep them from their lust
Is this by choice, or forced will?
Within the house, upon the hill
The writings cast the world alight
The people see inherent blight
And evil still in every shade
They justify attack and raid
The lambs attack their fellow ewe
They’re tricked and led to what is ‘true’
And though a some would call it right
‘Tis brutishness, and hate, and might
These merchants are of only lies
They speak of ‘father’ in the skies
And after death that all’s not flies
That you can see without your eyes.
The foolish customer’s been sold
He buys a lie, the oldest told
And swindled out of his just right
He grovels for words, day and night
The happy miser makes a fee
That all be in hegemony
Beneath the feet there of their Lord
The coffers added to their hoard
The silencers of all the din
Forgiving all the rich who sin
Outside their house all life is grim
The lies from all the wool they trim
Money’s the madman’s only care
Whilst he looks up and speaks to air
And awes the crowd with fancy speech
Becomes a drone to his own preach
And soon delusion takes the crowd
Demanding blood from those not cowed
And fervor chokes out all the space
It pushes out all civil face
And when the profiteers do see
The margins that they risk, they plea
They tell a truth to stop the rage
And then resume and turn the page
But when the liars made resign
A slowly tinning, sinning whine
It reached a few enlightened ears
They leave the house, and face their fears
The foolish now been left behind
To lead their flocks to munch on rind
But now a few can take their leave
They slip through cracks within the sieve
And now their life is simply free
Guided now by morality
A cradled life is made more pure
And life no longer a detour
For faithful men just bow to fate
To be received at Heaven’s Gate
A few are moral, good and kind
The rest misers, they lead the blind
Winner: Devigod
Flame Master Axel vs. Zeratul vs. Elvaris: Tears
FMA:
SpoilerStorms
Water drops pattern the sidewalk
The little pattering of rooftop windows
pollute the air
A cold wind runs past my face
The sky rumbles above
The ground moistens below
Suddenly, it hits.
Wet washes from above
A waterfall soaks me and
the ground I step around.
Cold, bitter drops stain my face
Bleeding blue into the grays
and blacks that litter the sky.
The sky shouts at me.
Flashes it's anger and hate.
Screams to the world! Why!?
The earth fears for its solid state.
Any shelter is ripped away.
The storm presses. Dominates,
It pushes into me and out of me.
Cold and wet become one.
There is no droplets.
Only a solid block.
Crashing to the ground.
A final break down
of anger, of pain, of hate and misery.
Daylight for but a second...
Nothing but the screams of the sky...
Then...
Light vanishes. Sound flees.
Winds die down and stop.
Floods turns to showers, turns to drops.
The light returns, and birds sing.
New creatures are unearthed
And enjoy the aftermath
Of the wet soil.
I recover my balance, pick myself up.
The smell of ozone warms me
The worst is over
The storm has ended.
Zeratul:
SpoilerA monotonous pain has come
A bland sorrow boring mind and soul
No longer recalling where it came from
Like an endless song awaiting it’s final crescendo
But the flow never begins
Never begins to start the healing
And emotions meaning thins
And leaves you without a spark of life
Pride will not release a tear
Holding the floodgates firmly shut
And the joy in you, you used to hear
Fades like a note played long ago
Elvaris:
SpoilerLost
In a haze
I've lost my way
Without you
And the only signs
Of where I've been
Are the spots
The darkened stains
Where my teardrops
Leave their mark
On the ground
As I pass
Again and again
I see the trail
Where I've been
And tears fall
At the thought
That I can't break
From this path
Without you
I've lost my way
In a haze
Lost
Winners: FMA and Elvaris
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Round 3
Stormthorn vs. Flame Master Axel: Circle (or Circular)
Stormthorn:
SpoilerTHERMALS
And who is to say the falcon is blind
As she wheels about the circumference of the sun
Cutting shadows in the desert sand?
Stretching at the tethers in her mind
As she draws rings in the void till day is done
When gyre breaks and she returns to land.
She sees the path of her own orbit
Perfect as she turns and turns about in the sky
Riding the hot breath of the earth.
I don’t care what mortal men have writ
For her eyes are open drawing whirligigs on high
And of all that she has seen I’ll ne’er know the worth.
FMA: None :smallfrown:
Winner: Stormthorn
Devigod vs. Elvaris: Ocean
Devigod:
SpoilerEach bright horizon in my view
I search on for my home
I trek on roaring mountains blue
A stranger where I roam
I’m just a man, a man of fate
That stares against the sea
That thing of blue, that ocean great
Hinders my ship and me
Is it some god, brow fury wrought?
Paternal of the shoal?
With rains and winds my ship he caught
Made me a wayward soul
And so I wait, await the day
After the squalls subside
My vessel falls into a bay
Pulled by the rolling tide
And so I sail, against the storm
Seeking and searching on
In my mind’s eye, I hold the form
My lovely wife and son
And my heart rises, in the rain
And my arms pull the oars
And I fight on, against the strain
To reach Ithacan shores
Elvaris:
SpoilerApologies
“I'm sorry.”
A pebble tossed in the ocean
That's grown between me and you.
A gulf I dug with lies,
Filled brimming with your tears.
“I'm sorry.”
A plea you've gotten used to,
Used oh so many times.
But the meaning fades with distance
As you drift farther away.
“I'm sorry.”
And now I face the truth
That the gap's too wide to bridge.
Throwing pebbles aren't enough
When the only words I have
Are “I'm sorry.”
Winner: Devigod
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Final Round
Stormthorn vs. Demigod: Reflected Lake
Stormthorn:
SpoilerDeep
Down into the shadowed mouth of earth and liquid seeping
Across cold waters naked wade into that dismal room
Were flowstone teeth steadfastly guard the empty echoed tomb
Down to heated cavern with the eyeless spiders creeping
In the distant darkness the echoed heartbeats one can hear
Of those who tread were mankind is not welcome; is not known
Until they’re seen to halt were acid water meets the stone
And pause unsure of progress through the foggy cloud of fear
Each member of the party has seen many cavern maws
Deep in places twisted by strange forgotten cosmic laws
But here even the hardiest are hesitant and pause
Who would venture forth into lugubrious salted jaws?
Devigod:
SpoilerA mirrored carpet, spread out, ever old
There far below and shawl’d in earthly light
Behold this glist’ning gossamer of gold
Sublimely vast, yet veiled from mortal sight
No wrinkles cross this burning bright abyss
Yet steeped it is in many terran roots
In its smooth depths, perceive – forgetfulness
Whilst all 'round me, perceive the Pannish flutes
Encircled in this misty aurum’d bank
I trail fair Lethe down – below her flat
With shrouded masqueraders, ‘neath here sank
I sought where in that ebon hall she sat
Thus ‘mong stone faced shades and ever-revelry
I ‘leased a sigh, for I had fin’lly found thee.
Winner: Devigod
Iron Poet VII
Winner: Alarra
Round 1
Phoekun vs. Cryptana: Apocalypse
Phoekun:
SpoilerThe Way the World Ends
Twilight wanders slowly down the street,
Breathing in the moments before the night.
It happens across an open window
And lets itself inside without thinking about it,
Mingling and playing with the gentle glow of a television.
They dance, their delicate romance unseen
By the woman drifting off to sleep on the couch.
Her head falls forward onto her chest,
The motion jolting her awake again.
And in that single motion, the moment is over,
Twilight vanishes, the room suddenly darker than expected.
The woman sighs wistfully and changes the channel.
Her phone rings.
"I'm sorry."
She says nothing, staring at the screen.
"Hello? I know you're there. This is important."
She yawns and shuts off her tv.
"You haven't heard?"
She hesitates. "Heard what?"
"He's dead. He's gone."
In the pitch black, the world shatters.
Cryptana:
SpoilerEschatology
The end came
after much watch-ticking,
each click of the secondhand
a new link to the weighty
chain between us.
Red-shifting into infidelity,
only your will could hold
me in your world
like a loose net of atoms
that others see as solid.
I read the books.
They said to look for signs
encrypted in a toxic flow of insults,
the rise of a despot
in every clenched fist.
But when I opened the door,
there was no rain,
no red heavens,
no rage or ruin.
It didn't even hurt...much...
A rectangle of sunshine erupted between us.
“Fresh air, the friend of corruption,”
you quipped jealously, my dear horseman,
with a face the color of bruises,
sallow in the center, then darker and darker.
The room pulled at you,
blurring your edges,
an event horizon
in the bang of the door.
It was Rapture.
The rapture of losing everything
and waking up to a life wiped clean.
Winner: Cryptana
Helgraf vs. Trumane: Dance
Helgraf: None
Truemane: :smallmad:
Winner: Truemane
Mewdo vs. Rankrath: Insects
Mewdo:
SpoilerInsects
These insects have taken my freedom.
These insects are taking my life.
These insects have no care
But to cause misery and strife.
These insects have no value.
They are small, insignificant beings
That only think they have worth
In the grand scheme of things
These insects are only men
On a world that just spins and spins
And does not spare a thought of them
Or their horrible sins.
These men are only insects.
What else can I think of those
That took away my right to be free?
But, if these men are only insects,
What does that make me?
Rankrath:
SpoilerInsects rule the world
Insects rule the world,
a wise man once said.
And he is right.
For what animal
is so important to us
and yet so devastating?
While pleasing as the butterfly
they are useful as the bee
yet annoying as the fly
and deadly as the locust.
And what creature
demands respect
from all others?
For a spiders web
is only for the fly
the cow's tail likewise
a flower's pollen,
and it's nectar
exist only for the bee.
No, man may build and strut upon
this brown ball he calls home
but it is insects that run it
as the wise man once said
and he is very wise indeed.
Winner: Mewdo
Felixaar vs. Alarra: Myth
Felixaar:
SpoilerHeroes Of The Present
by Felixaar
An age from now, in a world much older
Will beauty be in the eye of the beholder?
Or will our descendents look back at us with distaste
And run from their history at most frightening pace?
Will we be glorious heroes of the past
Or will the riches of these days fade fast?
Will our great buildings, our stuctures, stand tall
Or will they, like all things, eventually fall?
In an age of disposable nappies, and plastic forks
A pretty voice it surely wont be, when our history talks
What is a shopping mall, to the colliseum?
The slums that we hold today, what will they be then?
So come on all, lets work together
And build a history that lasts forever
Something that any storm, it can weather
Not in buildings, but names
Not in buildings, but names.
Alarra: :smallconfused:
Winner: Alarra
Elvaris vs. JoseB: Scents
Elvaris:
SpoilerOur first date was at the cafe.
We didn't talk.
We held our chais to our faces,
Smiled tentative smiles between sips,
And stared into each other's eyes.
Now every time I smell cinnamon
I see your eyes,
And I can't help but smile.
So when you ask
Why I have 'that goofy grin'
over a snickerdoodle,
It's because your eyes
And your smile
Are as beautiful now
As they were on that day
In that cafe,
Behind your chai
Surrounded by the scent
of cinnamon.
And because "snickerdoodle" is just fun to say.
JoseB:
SpoilerMadeleine...
Aroma that brings back forgotten joy;
And again
I feel what it felt like to be a boy.
In my heart
Emotions brought to life by that sweet scent,
Like a dart
That pierces through my soul with kind torment.
In my mind
The memories that rush like a wild flood;
Intertwined
With the gold of the past, and with the mud.
Oh that scent
That brought my soul to life with such a start!
Heaven-sent
To give me back my youth, at least in part!
Oh the joy!
Oh memories that made me happy again!
I enjoy
That sweetly-scented, humble madeleine.
Winner: Elvaris
Devon68G vs. Thurge Namor: Weather
Devon: None
Thurge Namor:
SpoilerThe Storm of Ages
All of God’s fury
Unleashed in one outbreak of rain
And as water pours down my face
I can’t help but wonder what I did
To fall out of grace
With the most high being.
Light flashes, and thunder claps
All while fear ratta-tap-taps
Against the window to my soul.
Emotions flowing down the street
As a downpour becomes a flood
And anger leads way into wrath
A wrath so great, all I can do is cower in anticipation
Of what it to come.
Then, when all seems lost
Wrath breaks
And leaves a hole in the cloud.
Sunlight streams through
As fury breaks away, leaving only forgiveness.
Wash away my sins
And leave my soul pure.
I welcome you with open arms
Storm of Ages.
Winner: Thurge Namor
Devigod vs. Wadledo: Island
Devigod:
SpoilerDesolation
Oh see the rising, golden crown
That fills the empty plain
Oh see the gath’ring blackish smoke
That calls the choking rain
Oh stare across this roiling dune
A thing of sea and sand
The water’s edge beneath the moon
Strangles a piece of land
Stuck here are you, the sky a dome
And yet the waters deep
Doth tempt thy thirst and froth and foam
And then from thy lips sweep
But to what cause, and for what end
Can oceans be so cruel?
Blue tapestries that thy heart rend
Make thee a stranded fool
For you are gone, and you are lost
A marooned toy at sea
A pounding heart, forever tossed
You’re left to kneel and plea
And here stand I, hold I your fate
The waters can I lift
And yet I don’t, is this thing hate-
To leave thee at the rift?
Wadledo:
SpoilerAs one walks along the beach,
Pondering treasure, and the deeps,
One may happen to see(off to the side,)
Tiny islands, lost in the tides.
Do you know the stories of these tiny lands?
How they were created at dawn,
And are lost with the sun.
Tales of kings and pawns,
Legends of sword and gun,
Epics beneath the shifting sands.
What if I told you,
That these stories are true,
And all your dreams lie just beyond view,
And to walk down that path,
To see the islands in the tide,
One must put aside wrath,
And bury pride?
If I told you these things,
And of men who were kings,
And lost, precious rings,
Lying golden beneath the shifting sands,
And of a world rotting beneath the western sun,
With all things forever undone,
Would you say "He misunderstands"?
Winner: Wadledo
Rutskarn vs. Flame Master Axel: Jealousy
Rustkarn:
SpoilerDreams of a Shattered Dream
A bitter knot of tangled guts, and bile on the tongue
Jars of venom, stored up on the shelf
Private poison, bone-deep sickness choking at my lungs
Hatred of the enemy, and self
Why, I whisper, why, must my virtue drown and die
Choking on the brine of jealousy
It isn’t fair to me, that my hated enemy
Can strip away my good will fatally
The cozy little wisdom of my cozy little life
Tender flowers grown from naivety
Such was it imparted not to wish another strife
Let the victories of others simply be
Never wish another’s bundle, simply take your own
In good will we are noblest, most pure
Do not entertain such jealousy, so base and plain
The sickness of the soul has little cure
Upon such thoughts I rested, never dreaming they’d be tested
Never dreaming of the shame that was in store.
She was like a garden, and I tended her with care
Coaxing the blooms to sigh and reach
The hunger for her gnawed at me, it drew away my breath
Hunger for the love I might beseech
So came the day, the dream, when the sun would soar and scream
Together we would be upon that day
Until he came, a parasite, a grimy-feathered crow
He sang to her, and then bore her away
The hole bored through my soul, a dark abyss lonely and cold
Now fills with boiling pitch and blazing shame
My perfect world destroyed by a bitter bastard’s ploy
My nemesis, who doesn’t know my name
The lonely days are empty as a dusty china cup,
My companions my emotions, and my scar
Hated, bitterness, and all, I wrap these things into a shawl
And shudder violently as I watch from afar
But things, they won’t grow better, and my shawl is but a fetter
And I’m fettered to a worthless cratered pit
Someday I’ll break this chain, and then I will be free again
I’ll have a brand-new garden, fence in front of it
What I mean to say is though I'm miserable today
And my hatred for him isn't soon to die
I contemplate the day I let my hatred lift away
Perhaps that'll be the day I finally cry
FMA:
Spoiler"Your only love"
I wonder
I wonder how many days I've seen you
I wonder how many times you've been held
by someone who isn't me
I wonder how many times you've never noticed
when I've tried to hold onto you
I wonder
what goes through your head
when I touch you
I think of the days
you've spent with me
I think of the many times I've been there for you
I think of the times you've never noticed
I think of the times I wonder
I've always just say idly by
I've watched you throw your life away
I've seen your rebirths and evolution
I've seen your deaths and desolation
I was there with your ups
I was there with your downs
and still you never notice
still
I wonder
what would you do without me
what would I do without you
how could you ignore me like this
why can you leave me like this
every damn time
and never even return
still you do it again
and again
and I try
but you never notice
I need you
no
you need me
you will never need another
why do you bother
why can't you see
why am I pushed to the side
why don't you listen
I wonder
is it love
or are you just trying to hurt me?
Winner: FMA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Round 2
Trumane vs. Elvaris: Interest (any kind)
Truemane: :smallfurious:
Elvaris:
SpoilerWell you signed us up for a yoga class
Even though you knew I'd fall on my ass.
And I couldn't hold a single pose
While my falling led to a broken nose.
Now we may not be invited back,
But I know this much is true:
I may not share your interests,
But I'm interested in you.
Next you dragged me down to your reading group
Even though the book threw me for a loop.
Well, I'm sure I left your friends enraged
When I hadn't read a single page.
So I may not fathom Shakespeare,
And for Joyce I have no clue.
While I may not share your interests,
I'm still interested in you.
You threw your arms up into the night,
And asked for anything I could do right.
So I pulled you close and I held you tight.
I may not be well-rounded,
But I'm loyal through and through.
And I may not share your interests,
But I'm interested in you.
Winner: Truemane
Mewdo vs. Wadledo: Humor
Mewdo:
SpoilerA Somewhat Funny Story
It’s sort of funny, though.
That all you think and all you know
And all the evidence you showed
Had no effect when it came.
Now you’ve gone mad
While I stay sane.
Of course I’m very sad.
We were always best friends as lads.
But I guess I just was never bad
At laughing all misfortune off.
You would obsess
While I’d just scoff.
And still now I must confess
I see the humor in this mess.
You rambled on about “these insects,”
As if you thought them less than men.
Now you’re the one below
While I am one of them.
Wadledo:
SpoilerThere is often the question of what seems funny,
Or if all I say is just too punny,
And weither or not life is too runny
When things are never that sunny.
But when I think this
(From this little spiel, you must think I'm amiss)
I often must regrettably admit,
I never know quite when to quit.
This whole poem is getting out of hand,
And honestly, is rather quite bland.
With this in mind, and nothing to list,
I say to thee, I'm in a bit of a twist.
Please, stop reading right now!
Or I shall have to give in my cow,
For the words keep on rhyming
And I'm out of timing
And this last one is nothing but wrong!
Winner: Mewdo
Thurge Namor vs. Alarra: Dedication
Thurge Namor:
SpoilerElegy:
Grave side chats of the nature of life
and hopeful serenity in death
as flesh becomes earth below.
Breathe in
Breathe out
and let my life dissipate
then I'm on top of the world
watching the vicious betrayal
of my body turned to dust.
Tiny tears of pain drip from my lover's eyes;
a testament to the void of loss created at my passing.
Softly i whisper in her ear words of contentment
and she looks to the heavens
as my dedication of love passes into her soul.
Graveside chats of remembrances of life
and patient thoughts after death
as flesh becomes earth below.
I slowly wander away
with a smile on my face
at the golden flowers resting by my grave,
her dedication of love to my eternal soul.
Alarra: Again, missing...:smallconfused:
Winner: Alarra
Flame Master Axel vs. Cryptana: Honesty
FMA:
Spoiler"A true word is worth a thousand pictures"
Formulate thoughts into words
Speak your mind
Don't hide
Show your voice
Don't disappear
Behind a facade
Criticize!
Feel Alive!
Free your mind!
Don't be allowed to
pepper your feelings
with bittersweet compliments
Live vicariously through the moment
And treat yourself to freedom
Give no thoughts to shadows
and lies
Because only in truth
can we truly
be free.
Cryptana:
SpoilerBitter
The coffee was bitter. A tongue-twister,
a scalding sip that squeezed tears
from my eyeballs, causing her face to shimmer.
“So hungry,” she gasps as if truly famished
and not just crashing from the grande latte
she had for breakfast. I nod, and her mouth stretches,
lips bending around the burger,
blissfully feeding her bender.
Grease ran down her finger.
“100% Natural Grade A Beef,” said the menu.
An honest cow then, if by honest you mean
incapable of falsifying a simple moo.
I won’t crash. I will take the bitter coffee
if only I could swallow the gelled dregs
of what seems to be yesterday’s percolations.
Her cheeks worked the food,
the cud will be chewed,
and the only afterthought will be cow pies,
steaming patties in the field.
The waitress passes with a balance
of plates full of the honest beef.
The neon coffee mug on the wall
buzzed red-yellow, red-yellow
Best Joe, Best Joe, Best Joe…
My stomach roiled from the stench
of cow patties, the clatter of plates,
the bitter coffee surfing down the esophagus.
“How is everything?” the waitress says,
passing by. My fingers hug my mug,
protectively. “It’s good.”
Winner: Cryptana
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Round 3
Alarra vs. Mewdo: Poverty
Alarra: Nope
Mewdo: None
Winner: Alarra
Truemane vs. Cryptana: Paradise
Truemane::smallfrown:
Cryptana:
SpoilerLivingstone
I knew it was you hiking up the Zambesi,
the river, always swelling to bursting when you approach.
Do you wish me to rise and meet you too?
Your movement stirs the humidity,
a waver of white marching through the brush,
defying the churlish thunder.
You walk through the storm,
like you walk through boundaries,
malaria, and the death of your fellow gods.
Whole villages come, to touch you unbelieving.
But only I would ask for a kiss,
a wet tryst under the misting canopy.
Could I ask you to discover me?
The place unvisited, naked on the map,
dark as soil, unfreckled by cities.
Clouds diluted seeping through the leaves,
dripping heat enveloping us in steam.
Your cheeks glow a divine pink.
This is Africa,
what you've been searching for.
Winner: Truemane
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Final Round
Alarra vs. Truemane: Wonder
Alarra:
Truemane:
Both poems were stolen by Poem-eating web monsters.
Winner: Alarra