# February Challenge: "Frozen"



## Chesters Daughter (Feb 1, 2019)

*AS PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED, IF YOU ENTER THE CHALLENGE, YOU MUST CAST AT LEAST ONE VOTE IN THE POLL. FAILURE TO COMPLY WILL RESULT IN YOUR ENTRY BEING DISQUALIFIED.

*The prompt for this month's challenge, as chosen by PiP is: *Frozen

*You are free to interpret the prompt in any way you wish, though of course, site rules apply. If you are unsure of the challenge rules please read the 'stickies' at the top of the board. *Please note that all entries* *are eligible to receive critique in the voting thread.* 

*The inclusion of explanatory text or links of any kind within an entrant's challenge entry is prohibited and will be immediately removed upon discovery. As always, only one entry per member is permitted.

*As previously announced, anonymous entries have been abolished, therefore, entrants must post their own entries in this thread, or if you desire to protect first rights, please post your entry in the [URL="https://www.writingforums.com/threads/181383-February-Challenge-quot-Frozen-quot?p=2203658#post2203658"]*secure*[/URL][URL="https://www.writingforums.com/threads/181383-February-Challenge-quot-Frozen-quot?p=2203658#post2203658"]* thread*[/URL], and then post a link to it here in the public thread. *Failure to do so runs the risk of your entry being disqualifie**d*, so if you require assistance with the task, please PM *me*, and I will gladly help you.

If your entry contains strong language or mature content, *please include a disclaimer in your title.

*Kindly make sure your entry is properly formatted and error free before you submit. You have a *TEN MINUTE GRACE PERIOD* to edit your piece, but anything edited after that will likely see your entry excluded from the challenge. 
*
Do not post comments in this thread. Any discussion related to the challenge can take place in the Bards' Bistro. 

Everyone may now use the "Like" function whenever they so choose.



This challenge will close on the 15th of February at 7pm EST.
*


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## toddm (Feb 6, 2019)

*The snows of Niigata*

Lost in the serene and frozen west,
in the throes of a love once unrequited;
now dreaming along many rivers,
crossing bridges to the larger mountains.
Assaulted by clustering snowflakes,
we warm the deepest winter with song
and unguarded rampant smiles,
running along the wider ways 
leaving bullet trains and dull buildings
in the grey distance far behind;
finding friends gladsome and buoyant
under low and quiet clouds,
bundled against the sharp cold,
eager in the morning air.
A subdued and innocent light
is on the white and new-made world,
at the very edge, beside the sea;
others will look for me, yet I will remain,
lost in the snows of Niigata with you.


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## apple (Feb 8, 2019)

*Mean Streaks*

Yesterday was a day for wearing socks,
“It's ugly out there,” mama said.,” Stay inside.”
 As rain and sleet tap-danced on the roof,
 I stared through my wishing window 
and mourned not playing Tarzan and Jane 
with my buddy Billy.

That means today my shoes are safe.
Not lost in someone's yard around the corner 
or down the street. Unnecessary 
for a shoe-hunt this morning. They sit 
poised for action at my front door,

Unfortunately paired with danged old socks 

Still, the glistening world outside catches my imagination
as pine tree spines, caged in silver,
sparkles the sky and vista.
Leaves of my gardenia bushes, frozen
like mouth size popsicles, wait for me to  
snap them off and suck smooth ice down to their bitter
skin. A bird tap taps at the icy ground. 

I wonder why birds and worms don't freeze. 

“Remember last year, when you forgot your mittens?
Your hands froze so bad 
you had to defrost them in the teacher's lounge.”  
“Wear them, missy.' mama demands, 
We're not going through that again.”

Oh, I remembered painful hands
and thoughts that hot water and radiator heat 
in the teachers lounge would hit the spot.
Well, some thoughts are not reliable. Teachers
mean well, but are really dumb sometimes.

Defrosting only causes worse screams and squirtier tears.

So wear your mittens to school on icy days; 
and swear to God _never_ to ride a bike 
that catches the hem of your dress 
in the pedal chain. Hands freeze 
trying to undo the mess.

I know of winter's white magic. The sound 
of dancing sleet and crunchy ice.
And my breath forming like smoke
proving to me I'm still alive.
I peek out my wishing window and wish 
that moonlight didn't shimmer ghosts around my yard.
and for daylight's silver reveal to sparkle truth sometimes, 

and admit how mean it can be to a little girl.


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## Pelwrath (Feb 9, 2019)

*What **Escapes** Time
*
If I could stop time,
If I found that fountain,
What would I do?

Love changes, evolves as we grow.
Fewer roaring bonfires,
watching not making shooting stars.

Life’s distractions,
shopping and honey do
higher ed and new store

Flirting eyes an unseen touch,
kisses in front of the kids,
replaced. ..Why?

Time is loves freezer
Age the body’s prison.
Wisdom the mind’s theater.

My heart, trapped in a frozen cocoon.
Your embrace melts it’s tomb. 
It flex's as it beats,
my love will never peter out.

To answer my question: nothing, 
for I’d never risk
not sharing it with you.


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## Gumby (Feb 9, 2019)

*waiting*


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## Neetu (Feb 9, 2019)

Polarized

These cold nights
I walk on ice

the earth cracks open
I lose grip over coarse particles
beneath my feet

numb in my veins
through which blood once coursed,
now frozen, they
crackle and curse

preferring the chill to
the shallow warmth
when your breath
brushes me.

© Neetu


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## TL Murphy (Feb 12, 2019)

*Broken Wing
*

On a dark river
blood runs thin.
A child of winter from feathers and furs
walks over water
old whiskey still burns 
his barefoot tongue
a broken wing in tumbled stones
where spirit ran
from ice to wind. A caribou man 
less caribou skin
through barren heaven 
boundless cold 
where brothers lay
where mother’s face 
turned lightning strike
and father fell 
under horse-drawn spirits
the holy pale
that shaved his head
and buried his wolf
under brick and glass
clipped his bear-claws 
one by one
.......bbound in inukshuk 
.........someone is here.


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## writersblock (Feb 14, 2019)

*Time's Up

*Frosty winds take aim at her being.
Her embattled will, long immune.
She labours on, into the untold.
Uncharted paths, in her wake unfold.
Tortured inch after another,
trailblazing limb after the other.
Her tracks are etched for ages.
Sheer spine bore these pages;
of stories unheard, fame unwanted,
shame abhorred, hope undaunted.
Unabashed by lordly pretext.
Uncorrupted by sleazy subtext.
Unwarped by sordid history.
Or ears lent, in promise only.
Deep in the mist, unseen, shattered lives,
frozen in time, archived lies -
tales - unwittingly preserved,
for the unseemly to be served.
Small victories, slyly acquiesced.
Snide redress, smugly obliged.
The war is over! They hasten to urge;
keen to remind, of who’s in charge.
She knows better, she knows the trope.
She’s scarred by time, yet replete with hope.
Atonement is in sight, for the stubborn misfit.
There’ll be light, torches of her ancestors insist.


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## Chesters Daughter (Feb 15, 2019)

*The Bergs Just Ain’t Havin’ It (Strong Language)*

Supposedly human 
yet comprised of ice
you’ve met the type —
they’re always right
[FONT=&Verdana]
[/FONT]know-it-all glaciers 
that know very little
who can’t abide correction
thanks to egos so brittle
[FONT=&Verdana]
[/FONT]so frozen solid
whilst defending their stance
even a flamethrower 
won’t singe their pants

the birth of Google
swung wide the door
to showing such folks
they should learn more 

countless facts
laid bare to share
but provide a link
and they’ll swear it’s not there 

deaf dumb and blind
to ideas not their own
prove them wrong
and they’ll stomp on your phone

to erase proof of error
at any cost
then they’ll argue an ass
is of course a horse

for any mistake 
is clearly on you 
they can never err
so fuck-off please do

they’re allergic to logic
and freeze out the truth
while doling out ignorance
like it’s some form of loot
[FONT=&Verdana]
[/FONT]so just let them spew
their asinine shit
your time is precious
waste not one bit 
[FONT=&Verdana]
[/FONT]there’s no way to warm
pretense done up in frost
minds on the rocks defy thawing
and that’s clearly their loss.
[FONT=&Verdana]
[/FONT]Pray ye ne’er be cursed 
by the berg that’s the worst —
[FONT=&Verdana]
[/FONT]the icebound boss
whose psyche must be nursed.


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## ned (Feb 15, 2019)

*going under*

.
face up I float below
surrounded by snow-bound mountains
drifting to embrace
the lakeside village

arising through my eyes
the sun's glow
fractured and crystalized
within the frozen window


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## Chesters Daughter (Feb 15, 2019)

This challenge is now closed.


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