"Computations" by Phantasmagoria

Procedures

Rules

If this, then that

Hundreds upon thousands upon millions upon billions

Of computations each day

Regulate the current

Store all the files

Don't. Forget. Anything.

Repeat loops: do this again and again and again

Everything is the same

Everything is different

Pretending to be something I'm not

Not this logical, not this orderly

Do it anyway

Calculate the answers, the results

Don't. Forget. Anything.

Remember: Every. Single. Rule.

And don't tell them I'm not a computer 

"Black Shape" by Gallium 

I scream a silent scream.

The goop,

The dark,

The cold --

They bite into my soul.

Slowly grinding away with ebony enamel;

The sickening smell of asphalt -- it smothers me.

I drown on enslaughts of crashing inky waves,

Breathing sticky black goo.

I will never be free.

How can I ever spread these imagery wings

If they're coated with tar and jumbled thoughts?

My safety bubble becomes my worst enemy

Robbing me of light and air and will.

Now I am but an insignificant bug,

Trapped in the Night-Spider's web, 

As I always have been.

That at last brings me slight comfort.

Things is how things are meant to be.

But with that lull in panic, terror, pain;

The hope solidifies my black casing.

I am stuck, petrified in an eternal scream.

I am finally beautiful --

Twisted,

Haunting,

But in the way it was always meant to be...

Only two days till judging- should I extend the due date, perhaps?

Based on a photo of a bird silhouette framed against blue sky. I can't share the photo as I don't have permission from the person who took it.

Why can’t I fly free?

Free like a bird,

Free.

Soaring up, up, up.

Up into the sky,

Up, wings flapping.

Wings.

Wings beating a steady heartbeat—

Heart.

Heart thumping, excited.

Excited. Waiting.

Waiting.

Waiting for freedom.

Free—

Really free?

Finally free?

Flying?

Why can’t I fly free? 

Are you judging today or waiting?

can I enter the contest?

undignified predator

the silent tiger stalks

the defenseless mouse, squeaking in fear.

the fear engulfs, it never lets go.

the orange-spotted lion pounces

the terrified insect, trying to escape.

round, rough paws capture and tear.

the roundish cat purrs contentedly

the walls and furniture are covered in hair.

very sticky hair, immune to vaccuming. 

I don't know if someone else chose this painting already, but I'm going to be basing my poem on The Scream by Edvard Munch!! Everyone's poems are amazing and this theme was so cool! Keep up the good work!! <3

Emotional~

"Why so blue?"

when the sunset is beautiful

and the colors swirl,

i'm still breaking.

people tell me to enjoy

life now,

they ask me 

why i'm so emotional 

all the time,

but i'm trying.

i'm haunted by the shadows

and swallowed by the hues

that others 

have learned 

to appreciate.

the dark is easier to recognize

than the shades

of the sunset.

the pain is easier to remember

then the laughter.

i've bottled every part of me,

every emotion i've felt,

for years.

the pressure is building.

am i hallucinating?

is someone watching me?

when can i escape?

sometimes you have to let it out.

i'm sorry i'm so emotional,

i haven't felt anything for years.

being numb is easier

than being okay.

maybe my voice will cause an avalanche,

my tears a flood,

my steps an earthquake,

maybe i'm too much.

but i'm hurt,

i always have been.

i've learned more than

most people will ever learn.

or maybe i'm just dying.

maybe i'm just faking it.

maybe i'm seeing things.

but i know for sure that 

sometimes it's easier to bottle it;

and sometimes you just have scream. 

Could some one tell me what the theme is, or i could just wait until the next one.

~*Autumn guardian*~
Standing tall,
at the gate to your domain.
Wind blowing like the soft kiss of the seasons.
Your eyes sparkle like an emerald in the shinning sun.
The fire flies flutter around you,
casting an ethereal glow on your copper hair.
Your feet planted firmly on the ground,
ready for anything.
You take so much pride in you autumnal forest.
Loving every tree like you love life its self.
Welcoming everyone in to your orange haven.
The sent of pumpkin and apple fallows you
around like a loyal puppy.
The trees sway happily when your
presence is here.
You rap your self in the sents and colors of the fall.
You truly are the Autumn guardian.
May your nights be dark and your pencils not break
~Reuby

Gahh, I'm sorry for the lateness, I typed out like half of the judging yesterday but forgot that the CB doesn't always save... :( Anyway!

Honorable Mentions:

Darkvine - I love how at the beginning, the cat seems very scary and dramatic ("the silent tiger stalks" is a great-sounding line), but by the end we realize it's just a lil cat. It ends on a surprising note, which is cool, though it could perhaps use a different ending? Also, using "fear" twice in the 2nd and 3rd line doesn't seem quite right. Just some suggestions, overall nice job!!

Reuby Moonlight - First of all, is that Mebh (or her mom?) from Wolfwalkers?? I LOVE that movie! This poem uses some great imagery and similies, it feels like autumn for sure. For most of the poem it's pretty standard autumn stuff that you'd expect but the last line is more surprising and almost mysterious; that's my favorite part of the poem.

3rd Place - Phantasmagoria! This concept immediately grabbed me- like, how some people surround themselves with these rigid jobs and routines, but they still have a human nature that pulls them away. As the poem goes on, it builds tension, like the beginning is setting the scene and we slowly uncover the meaning while keeping with the theme. Some of the lines, especially at the end, sort of throw of the cadence-like rhythm, but that also could be an artistic choice. And the drawing... I'm not exactly sure what's going on, but it's so interesting. Very cool.

3rd Place (tie) Hex! Though this poem is relatively short and simple, it's so cool. Each thing leads to another so smoothly, and I love the way it loops back around to "free". It feels like someone who is hoping for freedom, building up that hope at the end and then realizing that they cannot fly free.

2nd Place - Spellbound! I've always been fascinated by The Scream, and this is a great interpretation of it. Because, yeah, the colors in the backround are beautiful, yet they have been done in such a way that you see things from the persective of the screaming person, and it's terrifying and emotional, and you captured that. Some of my favorite lines- "i'm haunted by the shadows/ and swallowed by the hues" and "maybe my voice will cause an avalanche,/ my tears a flood,/my steps an earthquake,/maybe i'm too much." The ending is perfect.

1st Place - Jaybells!  Wow. It's so ambiguous, both in drawing and poem, what is going on, yet so full of this terrifying, beautiful emotion. The fight between panic and refusal and acceptance of your fate. The metaphor of a bug, wings ensnared, in a web. The imagery of so much black goop, being stuck in it, it's just like how your amazing drawing feels. But with all the fear and pain, the ending is most creepy. It truly is haunting. Wow.

This was sooo hard but so fun, oh my goodness! But thank you for entering, all, and congrats!!! <333