Well! What was originally going to be my own little poetry challenge has turned into a major competition! Please read every word in this opening post very carefully as everything I say must be adhered to. I don't know if you know this, but I am very strict with my rules and regulations...
The general point of this competition
A few of us users have come up with a list of 50 themes which can be found below. The aim of this competition is to write a poem or a piece of short prose for each theme, just for fun! There are no deadlines (as of yet) for the submissions because I don't want the pieces to be hurriedly written, so don't let that put you off participating. Everyone is welcome to participate. There's no pressure to submit all 50 pieces, take your time, have fun!
Please remember to follow the basic rules of the AMW. All work must be your own. No flaming, trolling, spamming, etc. Only provide critique on a user's piece if they have asked for it specifically. Keep general discussion on this thread to a minimum so as to remain at least a little bit on topic.
Submissions
A list of rules that (hopefully) cover everything you need to know about submissions. Read carefully. If you have any questions, contact me on my profile.
*You do not need to submit the pieces in order. You may start with whichever theme you like.
* Once you have written and revised a piece, submit it!
*You may submit more than one piece at a time, although submitting too many at once will seem as though you've rushed them.
*I will keep track of how many submissions each participant has entered on my profile, so take a look once in a while.
*Only short prose pieces are accepted. Nothing too longwinded please. I am going to include a word limit of 1,500 words.
*There is a certain structure to submitting a piece in order to keep the thread nice and tidy: - Your piece must have the theme name and number as the title in bold. You may also include your own title in brackets next to it. - You must state which form you have written your piece in, for example, haiku, short prose, sonnet, standard verse, etc.
Here is an example post;
51. Insanity (Two Minds) - Haiku
Come here; don't be scared I am confined in both minds Stay away from me
List Of Themes 1. Innocence 2. Entombment 3. A Forgotten Name 4. Rising Tide 5. A Broken Picture 6. Leaves Falling In Autumn 7. Birth 8. Falling Into The Abyss 9. Near-death Experience 10. Beautiful Sunset 11. New School 12. Describing Colour To A Blind Person 13. Home Alone 14. Nightmare 15. Dreams 16. Inner strength 17. Self-Hatred 18. Martyrdom 19. Political Corruption 20. Self-Completion 21. Genius 22. Thanksgiving 23. Halloween 24. Christmas 25. Guilt 26. Daydreams 27. Orange Leaves In Autumn 28. A Shy Person In The Middle Of A Crowd 29. Unrequited love 30. Kraken 31. Memories 32. Revolution 33. The Shining Auroras 34. Poverty 35. A Hero Among Evil 36. An Entity Who Shows Itself 37. The 5th Dimension 38. Berserk Wildlife 39. A Light In The Black 40. Trial And Error 41. A Creation 42. Two-Faced 43. Disillusionment 44. Regular/Ordinary 45. The Mind Of A Villain 46. Someone Who Lives To Watch The World Burn. 47. Old Age 48. Something For The Girls 49. Something For The Boys 50. Go Crazy
And now for the fun part...
I am going to include a few features similar to Strop's 'erks and penalties' idea in the WoM. Some of them are preeeetty difficult, so good luck with that. Once you've completed one, I'll stick your name on my profile.
Here they are:
1) Theme-a-Rama!: Mention 15 separate themes in one piece.
2) Sonnet 130: Write a mock sonnet which relates to love and one other theme.
3) Total Overkill: Use the theme title 6 times in one piece.
4) Like a Freight Train: Be the first to complete the first 10 themes.
5) In The Dank And Dark Recesses Of The Mind...: Be the first to complete themes 8, 14, 17 and 46.
-Are You Alright? -I Appreciate Your Concern My Son. I Can Not Keep Avoiding The Obvious. You Were Also Born A Pillar. How I Wish Your Heart Would Be Spared Of These Aches. If Only You Could Remain, Remain And Bask Beneath The Shade Of The Tree Of Life. My Son Pillars Are Meant To Uphold The Ceiling, The Ceiling Which Isolates Us From The Unknown. Some Of Us Are Meant To Carry The Weight Of Our Brothers. You Must Understand That You Are Stone But Not Unbreakable. And Once You Lose A Part Of Yourself, There Is No Retrieving It. You Must Understand That, Most Of Our Brethren Are ill Prepared, And Some Might Spend Lifetimes Avoiding Responsibility. I'm Not Angry But Worried, Worried About Those Who Contribute To The Rising Threat, Contribute Without Acknowledging. I Don't Mean To Be Unfaithful, But I'm Worried About The Evolution Of This World, Everyone Is Worried About The Passing Of A Family Member, The Ceiling Is Itself Our Spiritual Anguish. Mistakes. The More We Bask In Ignorance, The Larger And Heavier It Becomes. You Must Understand This. If The Ceiling Should Fall. It Shall Crush The Tree Of Life. Yet He Who Has Carried The Weight Of The World For So Long, If Not Broken By the Falling Ceiling, It Shall Live To See The Sky, Among Those Who Never Isolated Themselves, Of Their Natural Habitat. Among Those Who Faced The Unknown, Instead Of Rejoicing A False Sense Of Security. Among Those Who Are Themselves A Part Of Life, And Who Posses A Part Of Life Within, Among Those Who Grow And Share Their Fruit, Instead Of Only Devouring Out Of Fear And Desperation. This Place Was Meant To Help Us Who Are New To Life Grow, And Prepare For The Unknown. Think Of It As A Nest, One Must Only Be So Young To Be Thrown Out, Before Attempting Their First Flight. This Place Has Became Overpopulated. Many Refuse To Leave. Maybe I Have Become Over Protective. Maybe I Could Have Left A Long Time Ago, But Remained Out Of Compassion For My Fellow Brethren, In These Hard Times. I Might Be Too Stubborn To Fly. I Fear Some Of Us Fell From Glory, Out Of This Unlikely Compassion, I Fear Some Of Us Upset Divinities. I Fear Some Of Us Rebelled, On A Desperate Attempt To Save Mankind, Like A Vegetarian, On An Attempt To Rewrite The Laws Of Nature, With An Unlikely Compassion For The Animals, Who Became Victims, Overwhelmed By Anger And Sadness, Tends To Suffer, To Mourn, And To Carry The Weight Of All, All Who Are Oppressed And Victimized. Maybe Each Man Is Meant To Cary It's Own Weight, Maybe I Seek Perfection In The Wrong Boundaries, How Can I Not Seek Perfection, When Confronted With The Possibility, Maybe We Are All Meant To Uphold The Ceiling As A Whole, Responsible For Each Others' Actions. I See The World Suffering Changes. The World Turns And Changes, As A Result Of Each Man's Actions. That's It My Friend. I Seek One Moment Of Perfection, On Moment In Which Everyone, Is Doing And Thinking The Right Thing, Just To Sit Back And Watch, Watch The Direction The World Turns In, And That My Friend Shall Be My Compass, My Compass For The Afterlife, That's The Only Way I Could Find Peace. Knowing I Was A Part Of Perfection, Responsible For The Momentary Heaven On Earth.
//I Took An Afternoon To Write Some Thoughts.(My First Post) //I Meditate Allot, Thought It Was Selfish Not To Share,I Hope Provides You With As Much Joy And Help As It Did Me. //I'm Only 18 And I Would Consider Publishing Some Work. //Please Comment And Critic, But Responsibly I Don't Want Anyone Getting Hurt xD //Most Importantly Thank You!
I could be Henry. Shocking the crowd With a surprise ending.
Or I could be Dickinson, Keeping my words locked away From all society.
Or may be I am Poe? Works darker than the space Behind a bricked up chasm.*
Who Am I? __________ *Reference to 'The Cask of Amontillado'
The first stanza is talking about O. Henry. Henry was famous for his short stories (I write them aswell, but there only slightly less famous :P), and surprise endings. Seeing as no one outside of AG knows I write, it would be a bit of a shocker for them.
The Middle Stanza is a reference to Emily Dickinson. Among other things, she was famous for being a recluse, or staying locked up inside all day. Again, I only share my works on AG, or when no one else would know I wrote them.
The Last Stanza would be about Edgar Allen Poe. This is probaly the simplest, as the overall theme of my works would be sadness, darkness, or some other grim tale. Poe was famous for his works of the maqabrue, so it fits well.
Funny, I'm more willing to share my words with complete strangers than those closest to me...
I could be Henry. Giving my words Like Gifts from the Magi.*
Or I could be Dickinson, Only telling my works To an aspiring Bog.**
Or may be I am Poe? Works darker than the space Behind a bricked up chasm.***
Who Am I? __________ * Reference to the Poem 'The Gift of The Magi' ** Reference to the Poem 'I'm Nobody. Are you nobody too?' *** Reference to the Short Story 'The Cask of Amontillado'
The first stanza is talking about O. Henry. Henry was famous for his short stories (I write them aswell, but there only slightly less famous :P), and surprise endings. Seeing as no one outside of AG knows I write, it would be a bit of a shocker for them.
The Middle Stanza is a reference to Emily Dickinson. Among other things, she was famous for being a recluse, or staying locked up inside all day. Again, I only share my works on AG, or when no one else would know I wrote them.
The Last Stanza would be about Edgar Allen Poe. This is probaly the simplest, as the overall theme of my works would be sadness, darkness, or some other grim tale. Poe was famous for his works of the maqabrue, so it fits well.
I would be interested to know whic version people like better. Thanks.
@13thDisciple: This could possibly be because I'm extremely lazy and also quite tired, but I literally cannot decipher your writing through the mass of capital letters. Please please please take them out!
Funny, I'm more willing to share my words with complete strangers than those closest to me...
I am the same. It's not so funny because I fear criticism from people I know well.
the style i use for this poem is called pantoum. as you will notice, it is repetitive. the hard part is to use the repetition to make it flow. if you want to know the line order, send me a message
14. Nightmare
Modern Warfare (real warfare, not the game)
On the horizon the birth of war insults are traded war machines are assembled
the birth of war factories are built war machines are assembled men are recruited
factories are built farewells are said men are recruited planes are flying
farewells are said subs are released planes are flying on the horizon
subs are released missiles are fired on the horizon soldiers are landing
missiles are fired boats are drifting soldiers are landing bombs are dropped
boats are drifting explosions are seen bombs are dropped towns are razed
explosions are seen with cries of agony towns are razed nothing is left
with cries of agony destruction is sent nothing is left on the horizon
Im sinking... the rush of fear & the wind... it is howling in my ears. as i fall i look above me for i long to glimpse at the sky & sun
i look below the fear & wind seeming to fade away. eternal darkness & the feeling of claustrophobia. it becomes complete as i fall far enough to see no light. the feeling of being the only one alive is now also complete.
i see a new light off in where the wall had to be. i angle my body to glide to it only to miss. ...my body is broken i feel only pain. i slowly realize my one possible chance of getting out it only hurt me.
Green is like the smell of fresh cut grass in summer, & Blue is like the waves of the beach hitting of the rocks, & Yellow is like a hot day ,the sun making you hot, & Black is like the night,every soul asleep,
But the man stopped me and said"And white is the rarest,white is like a cloud in the sky or a new copy for school & peace after death"
And then went his spirit and his heart gave up, But he had knew what colour was like and he would see in heaven.
It was a glorious midsummers day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the air seemed to give off a certain vibe that made one feel so alive. The sky was a bright blue, blemished only with the stark contrast of the white, fluffy clouds that left gaps in the sky, as if a painter had left his work unfinished. The leaves in the trees were of the brightest green, and the petals on the flowers shows only the freshest pastels.
I was walking among the trees, out for a short stroll. Admiring all the world around me, and simply enjoying life. As I was taken back by the beauty of all that lay before me, I failed to notice the silence that had fallen upon the wood.
Suddenly, there was a sound of thunder! It reverberated among the trees, and caused the birds to take to the air in droves. Frightened, I turn and began to flee back to whence I came.
Then, the thing that had given off the roar lept up and took me from behind. I was thrown to the ground, mortally wounded by my foe.
As darkness closed in, and as I took my final breaths, a two-legged beast came near. He knelt down, and cradled my head in its arms. There was a flash of light, and then I knew no more.
