Poetry Tournament Stage 3 - Lyric Poetry

Poetry Tournament Stage 3 - Lyric Poetry

(This contest is part of the Tournament.)
I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.
Contest ended 1 year ago 4/10/2011 12:00:00 AM EDT

Contest Info

  • Cost: 10 credits
  • Jackpot: 100 credits

Contest Options

rss
 
 
Share
Sponsored by MsgtBob
First Place
# 1
By taite (Score: 7.274)
11

i used to live in boxes,
not just the ones from packing my life
away and expediting it, or where i would
store myself under old refrigerators,
making soft buzzing noises with my tongue

i kept things in them, wings plucked
from butterflies and soaked in the
sickly sweet scent of formaldehyde.
it was satisfying to separate myself
from all the spheres of influence
and drops in the bucket
of my mind.

the past was all accorded for,
the present mattered not. i could get by
on scratching windowpanes for golden flecks
of light. as long as i had the memories of
being too young to understand thoughts,
i was okay, and okay was a word i could say
without regret. it promised nothing.

so what chance did you stand, all silver
and sparkles, speaking backwards and boiling over
with steam? you pretended it was virtue you were
smoking, hand-rolled, on the slowly sinking porch.
i could taste it as hypocrisy, and that was the biggest
contradiction.

and i wanted to seal you off, garnished in
a soft sort of word salad, and dressed with adjectives
like “lonely" or maybe just a little bored. my way
was too angular for your knees, softly curved as they were,
and supple on my chest. you compartmentalized
so sloppily into a stream-of-consciousness story.

so there is a box for you, sitting somewhere, and i confess
that i always wanted to sleep alone. a can of soda
can be champagne if i’m celebrating something. and so
i think i’ll spend my night sugary and sober, painting
the sky cardboard and faded, like a memory without
a frame to hold it in.

Word count: 277
 
Second Place
# 2
By BonnySaintAndrew (Score: 7.122)
8

I was always there for you, through times both good and bad,
You could count on me to comfort you, whenever you were sad,
I'd be a friend or enemy, depending on the game,
But it didn't really matter, I would love you just the same.

The fun we had! The lessons learned! All that we did and said!
At the end of every single day I'd be waiting by your bed,
To stay with you all through the night, until the light of day -
But I knew, like all in our short lives, one day you'd go away.

Time passes by as always, and most friends will come and go,
But someday you might remember me, and that I still love you so,
It doesn't matter I'm alone, and that you have long since gone,
You've grown up and have a family; you have daughters of your own.

Maybe soon you'll have a reason to come walking through the door,
And see me there - forgotten, old and dusty on the floor,
In this room of happy memories from a childhood long since past,
You'll pick me up and hold me, and remember me at last.

Then while holding me you'll pause a while, and let it come back to you,
When you were young, and I was just the best friend that you knew,
And memories that all children keep will in your heart resound,
That we should take life as it comes to us; but take love whenever found.

Word count: 251
 
Third Place
# 3
By suomigirl (Score: 7.095)
6

Sorrow fills this world with darkness,
Wings of ravens cast a shadow
On my heart of mournful yearning.
Tribute to a soul departed,
With a single candle burning;
Lament for a flame extinguished.
Now my mind lies black and hollow
From the journey bleak and hopeless.
Demons, spirits, evil forces
Lead lost souls back to their garden.
And the bony hand of Satan
Slowly rocks the empty cradle.

Word count: 68
 
4
By celticfrog (Score: 6.999)
6

The sound of water slipping
through the cobbles on the beach
accompanies my thinking.

The waves roll in forever
churning the stones with each pass
to polish them with time.

I stand at the edge of foam
where the water never reaches
Safe on the dry grey rocks

Would life be much different
If I waded into the deeps
and let time smooth my skin?

Word count: 65
 
5
By Merbley (Score: 6.978)
5

A snowflake fell,
Softly drifting on the wind.
Blown gently,
Not knowing where it would land,
It didn't care.

I rushed,
Barely noticing the snow.
It was another inconvenience
In a busy day
Full of inconveniences.

The snowflake landed,
Lightly kissing my hand.
Startled by its cold touch,
I watched as it melted,
Slowly dying.

I paused,
Quietly watching as millions of snowflakes
Peacefully floated to their death.
Not knowing,
Not caring.

I smiled,
Forgetting my busy day,
Licking snowflakes from my lips,
I slowed down
And absorbed their peace.

Word count: 90
 
6
By akhenatenator (Score: 6.767)
5

Encaged, enslaved, infertile womb;
Enraged, engaged, immortal tomb.

The rain falls down from swollen skies
Like poisoned arrows steeped in lies.

And everyday my heart aches more -
And every night my soul bleeds more.

As raindrops slide down glassy pane
The rainfall hides the tears of pain.

The night is filled with silent screams;
The stars like shards of shattered dreams.

   The bars in my mind are not thick -
   One day I will break free

Word count: 75

In memory of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, author of The Yellow Wallpaper.

 
7
By figmentt (Score: 6.481)
4

Rage
Is blackness locked
In a box
Deep inside me
Where it will never be seen and never come out
And
I won't even admit it exists
As I smile and say
Everything's just fine

It eats my soul
Like
Little worms and maggots
Devouring a core
But leaving
A fragile skin
Or
Cancer
Blackening and charring
Internal organs
Under an unbroken veneer

My phony smile
Stretches my lips tight
To the point of almost
Cracking
But never reaches my flinty eyes

My honey voice
Is spiced
With gritted tension
When you ask
What's wrong
And I say
Nothing's wrong
Even though
Everything's wrong

I feel my fury
Growing
Until I think it may devour me
But
I push it down
And hope
That it will just go away

Word count: 129
 
8
By Sumax1 (Score: 6.409)
4

My world is filled with empty rooms,
Through which I roam.
I walk a lonely road.

My mind is but an empty space,
With cluttered thoughts,
Wherein frustration reigns.

My heart contains an empty ache
For something lost.
And yet, I know not what.

My dreams are empty echoes now
Of your warm voice
And promises you made.

My soul recalls a covenant,
Still unfulfilled,
Made long before I was.

Yet, notwithstanding all my doubts,
One thought persists …
All’s well … you will return.

Word count: 83
 
9
By mennufer (Score: 5.595)
2

Smiling madly do these lips
no thought
no heart
no meaning
Lost without the idea of a map
no up
no down
no direction
no where
Sitting, seeing, hearing only now
no before
no later
no yesterday
no tomorrow
no time
Asleep, awake-
Not a difference does it make
Frozen
no ropes
no chains
no binding ties
can't move
can't think
can't
can't
A universe at the end of it all
no heat
no life
nothing but darkness in my head.

Word count: 81
 
10
By icepigs (Score: 5.044)
2

I'm sad
And I can't be happy.
I always see your face
When I close my eyes.

Did you have to leave me?
Did you have to go?
I love you
Oh, so much.

I can't eat or sleep,
I am really not there.
I'm in my own
Little world.

Are you happy now?
Do you wear a smile?
I can't.
I forgot how to smile.

I pray you are happy
Where ever you are
I hate it here
Now you're not with me.

But I guess
I can make it
On my own.
I have to.

I always see
Your face
When I close my eyes.
Then I cry.

I do love you
I can't deny it
I just want to know
Do you love me?

Word count: 127

An attempt a free verse...

 

Related Contests

14 entries
12 entries
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
24 entries
30 entries