SILVERPOETS                                                                            Page  1 Our forum members have decided to hold a competition each month for the best original poetic submission. We already have a large number of very talented members who are submitting daily entries in our 'humorous verse' forum section or create limericks etc in our games area. So, if you are wishing to participate by writing perhaps a limerick, verse, cinquain, lanterns, tetractys, haiku or similar, then please e-mail your submissions direct to silverpoets@gmail.com  where our judge will consider all entries each month. Your contributions can be of any length or any style or just a 4 - 5 line verse, and there is no limit on how many entries you can submit each month. Our resident judge "Dreamweaver" has significant experience and has been involved in judging for various writing competitions.  Her decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into in that regard. The monthly winner and the winning entry will be published here as soon as possible after the completion of judging. We sincerely hope that you will take up the challenge and get your presentation e-mailed to                                                          silverpoets@gmail.com and maybe your name will be up in lights on these pages soon!  Good luck to everybody! (webmaster)  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~                                                                   WINNERS CIRCLE October 2005               "A Screw Jus' Fell Orf Me Rocker"                 A screw jus' fell orf me rocker, It fell right onto de' floor. Now,....the screw wot' wus in me' rocker; is in me' rocker no more. Well,..I turned de' rocker upward, and buried me' face in it's rear; but all de' gruntin' an' gropin' did not make me' problem more clear. So,.....I decided to work to a plan now, And fingered de' thing on a grid. Me' 'ands is all greasy, I'm feeling all queasy, But,...I'm bloody glad that I did! I found de' gap in me' rocker! ...I lost de' screw wot' fell out..... I found the screw in a 'safe place'; ...but forgot where de' damn thing fell out! Now,.........I'm already to fix me' rocker. I'm primed; I'm ready to go; I put the screw in, Den' looked for de' pin,...... .....but somehow de' screw seemed to know...... A screw jus' fell orf me rocker...................                      by Glamma                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~     Judge's comments: The opening line grabs the reader's interest, an interest which is maintained all through this poem.  The work progresses well, with plenty action, and the closure is delightful, with all the humour of frustration. The colloquial language is well maintained and sounds natural, and the rhyme and rhythm never seem forced and unnatural.  Well done! Winner's choice of prize :    DVD of "Gregorian Chants" --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- November 2005 No entries received ! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- December 2005 "M E T E R" --  With apologies to Robert Browning -- ( How they brought the good news from Ghent to Aix ) We sat round a table, a dozen or so Discussing the merits that make poems flow. You need a good story, and that need is prime, And then perfect meter, to accent great rhyme! But how many rhymers are there that you meet That feel if it rhymes, then the job is complete? No careful thought given to meter and stress Produces a rhyme that is apt to depress! If you rode with Browning to Aix down from Ghent And galloped the whole night 'til horses were spent, You'd know when the morning came after that time That meter is very important to rhyme! For you would imagine as you rode that course, You sensed the great strength of your galloping horse, The rippling muscles, the four flying feet, The ring of the hooves on the cobblestone street. One syllable added or stripped from that race And both horse and rider would fall on their face. Good meter transmutes verses to their apex, And that would be great news to carry to Aix!                        by  Frank Halliwell                                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Judge's comments: This poem is well focused, with good progression from an interesting opening line to the final summing up. The strict meter gives the sense of a galloping horse, which aids the imagery in the poem. Alliteration is used subtly, as in 'merits' and 'make', while the whole carries a message to the reader.  Yet at the same time there is a sense of action, which words like 'ring' help us to hear. Congratulations! Winner's choice of prize: CD of  "Johnny Farnham and Tom Jones in concert" --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back to:  HOBBIES & GAMES                                                         Forward to: Silverpoets (2)