sorry everyone! I forgot about this totally. I'll post the results tomorrow~

hi people! sorry again for being so late; i think i've crossed the line from fashionable into vaguely aggravating. but here are the results at last! i truly loved reading all these poems. it's cool how so many different poems can spring from one word.

honorable mentions!

Rainbow! excellent metaphor, and so true. everyone's lives are so impactful and varied, and are not less for their number or fragility. the last stanza ties it all together perfectly :)

~Amarillis~! this starts out so sad and kind of despairing, but then the last stanza reverses the tone. it's surprising in a good way. so many of the best poems start out dark but find a resolution at the end.

echo! this really paints a picture, and it's a striking one (and a creative expression of "paper" in a poem). i love they guide my fingers to the bumps and--/i can see. it's relatively short, but very expressive.

Jaybells! ooh this is so atmospheric---you're quite good at that, even in a short poem like this. excellent imagery. the question at the end ties it together quite well.

Ayles! again, short but sweet! i like the way the poem becomes kinda self-aware at the end, that's quite cool. simplicity often makes for good poetry. 

in third place, Oldish books! this is so good. it's kinda conceptual (? maybe? idk the word) but i think i get the gist. i love this bit at the end: i suppose it was a fantasy/I am not a fantasy/this poem is not a fantasy but/I crumple it, all the same/this poem won't work/this poem is ugly/this poem is true. it is true, so much.

in second place, Silver Crystal! this is so relatable and wrenching and excellently wrought. it's a great metaphor, and such a human experience. I like these lines: /or twist and fold me/(careful not to cut your fingers)/into fractured geometric shapes/all angles and sharp points:/a serene origiami crane.

and in first place, we have Peri! this is so honest... the feeling of being less than someone else is pretty universal, i think, and pretty terrible. you express it well here. i'm fond of this kind of free-verse, transparent poetry, personally; this one almost feels like a song. well done! go forth and choose the next theme :)

Clouds floating,

Friends gloating,

My claws hit the floor,

And people start running,

Fire spews from my mouth,

Then my mind starts to slow,

The teacher calls on me,

"What was the answer to number 11?"

"Uhh.... can you say that again?"

I had...absolutely no idea how to write a good poem with this topic. Heh. So here we are and my poem is very confusing, and honestly? I was considering not entering this time but you know, didn't want to quit. Anyway! Here it is. It's not great, (or even mediocre) but...

pretending 

she likes to play pretend

it’s a bitter fantasy, one that

girls like her will never get

she wants to be perfect, like them

she questions herself

when all she needs

is to accept herself

can I join?

there are clouds, and clouds are there

fluffy white abstractions to be wished on

like blowing out a dandelion, but they remain as seeds in the wind

always floating above, shaping our futures as our futures shape us

they can be anything, we can be anything, if only we believe hard enough

anything can be ours if we try

but then we grow, and we stop reaching for the sky as we turn our gaze down to the earth

staring at our shoes never raising our sight to see farther

reality drags us all down

because those careful castles in the mind and in the air

are so fragile

so easily broken

so easily ruined with one word, building up our dreams and crashing them down in tsunami waves of regret

because always, in the end

it’s just recycled water vapor 

and pretend.

The sword slashes the air, and the brave knight steps forward to battle the dragon

Who roars and rears to claw at the knight who cleverly dodges 

The pile of gold, there it is!

The knight throws his sword and it strikes the beast

The gold is rushed up in his arms and he triumphantly stands on the scaly monster.

“Little brother, why did you throw a stick at that boulder, grab those pinecones?”

The knight bows to the thanks from the princess

“And why are you now on the boulder and bowing?”

The brave knight jumps of the dragon and onto the ground

And transforms into a simple boy once again

“Hey, sis, lemme tell you a secret. It’s called…”

“Yes?”

“Pretend.”

I haven't posted on PD in ages, dear me. I haven't been on anywhere apart from the SI's in CaC now that I think of it, oops.

Well, at least I have something to muse about now. Pretend! This topic can either be wholesome and fluffy, or just plain tragedy fuel. Here I go... 

Pretend

'What did you see?'

I am blind.

'Do you hear me?'

I am deaf.

'Answer me!'

I am mute.

I see nothing (but darkness, the unending void)

I hear nothing (but silence, the deafening clamor) 

I say nothing (but whimper, a grief unknown)

Maybe next time

I will cover my eyes (so I don't see the sight)

I will plug my ears (so I won't hear the sirens)

I will block my mouth (so I shan't break the silence).

But there wiil not, I know,

there will be no more 'next time'.

We are parted forever, my dear,

and its too late to pretend. 

just close your eyes,

turn your head, 

look away. 

clamp your hands over your ears, 

and hum until it's all drowned out. 

if you just act like it doesn't exist, 

it won't, 

right?  

walk away. 

pretend that the world spins on. 

skip, 

swing your arms, 

maybe even a smile a bit. 

close your eyes, 

fabricate a new universe where you are the royalty, 

and you sit tall on a throne,

(never mind that it's built of lies).

design a new kingdom where you can drown in a pile of gold, 

(never mind it's earned with ignorance), 

and send others to do your work

(never mind they're paid in false promises).  

close your eyes, 

and build a life of pretend success and smiles. 

or 

perhaps, 

you could open them, 

and build something real?

I wrote this at a bar mitzvah... It was fun though (writing and the party)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` 

Pretend

I pretend to be happy,

surrounded by loud noise.

Dress all snappy,

complete with perfect poise.

But it's all just pretend,

a mask, a wall.

When will it ever end?

Will this pretense ever fall?

Can I ever be free

of every expectation?

And ride through life

instead of stuck at one station? 

Will there come a time

where we all can just be?

when it comes, ring every bell and chime.

We'll fling off our masks, and finally see.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I realize after I wrote this I had another idea, like something about a child with a bff or sibling that they'd always play pretend with, then the pretend became real but a different type of pretend, aka pretending to be happy (b/c friend and/or sibling isn't around anymore [whichever meaning you want from that]). Or pretending to be something you're not b/c if you don't then, oop, you're getting bullied. Wait why are all of these ideas sorta depressing? Oh well. This one that I wrote is truest to me, and it had to be written, so yeah. 

Mum always told us

Not

To play pretend.

I guess she knew

Just how

Dangerous it could be,

How easy it would be

To just

Evaporate from reality.

After all, fantasy is so much

More.

More beautiful,

More exciting,

More flexible. 

When you play pretend 

If you don't want to be hurt, 

Then don't be.

If you want to live, 

Do it.

If you want to stand atop the world

You can.

Playing pretend

Gives you so much;

So much freedom

So much light

So much life.

But it can easily 

become

A deadly double-edged sword

That will rend you from the

Real World 

and your life within. 

So too can it become a cage

A prison which traps you in place

And forces you to continue forever,

Forever pretending

To be something you're not.

But sometimes trouble lands

When you don't even realize

You're pretending anymore.

You've become that character,

That puppet, that doll.

You are just pretend.

A fake.

And you don't even know it.

~~~~~~  

I love the theme, hehehheh <3 

Anyway, just got back from the AP Lang. and Composition Exam where I wrote some very opinionated essays, so let's hope that they count for the sophistication point!