# Grand Challenge Voting Thread



## Harper J. Cole

This is the poll to determine the *People's Choice* winner for our April Grand Invitational Poetry Challenge

You can find the poll at the top of this page, and refresh your memory of the entries by checking out this thread

*IMPORTANT !!
*
You must vote for *exactly* *3* poems ... *3* shall be the number of your voting and the number of your voting shall be *3*. You must not vote for 4, neither may you vote for only 2.

 Once you have voted for your *3* favourite poems, simply click submit.

This poll closes on May 1st, at 18:08 GMT.

Thank you for supporting National Poetry Month!


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## Phil Istine

Subliminal advertising for a mobile phone network.


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## -xXx-

3 pick difficulty: 10/10
commitment to completion before deadline: 10/10

_*slinks to unseen spaces to post-process images*_


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## escorial

voted..it say's you already voted...i just did now and have not before...?


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## PiP

Is anyone else experiencing a problem choosing just *3* poems?


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## Hairball

PiP said:


> Is anyone else experiencing a problem choosing just *3* poems?



Yes, and it ain't fair!!


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## -xXx-

did it.
it was hard.
i think, ultimately, that's the point.
poets, indeed!

*yeah, you*
*vote yet?*


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## aj47

I voted.  I had a favorite.  But then .... it became more difficult.


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## Hairball

I'm no poet, but danggit, I liked all of them. This is just torture!


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## PiP

Come on guys and gals...even our non-poets MUST have a favourite


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## Phil Istine

Hey, it closes on the 30th.
What's the hurry?


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## PiP

*laughing* Out of sight out of mind!


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## escorial

View attachment 13250


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## Aquilo

That was such a tough choice. Great entries all around, though.


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## Phil Istine

So I just scored them all out of 100 and voted before I changed my mind  .
That's not as flippant as it sounds. because I rely heavily on first (gut) feelings; they are usually right.


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## Phil Istine

PiP said:


> Is anyone else experiencing a problem choosing just *3* poems?



Yes.


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## escorial

Phil Istine said:


> So I just scored them all out of 100 and voted before I changed my mind  .
> That's not as flippant as it sounds. because I rely heavily on first (gut) feelings; they are usually right.




i so admire that way of thinking.......


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## Nellie

I voted, but it was't an easy choice. Like Phil, I rely on my gut instinct.


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## aj47

The whole point is to pick what *you* believe are the best.  Not try to guess what other people will pick.  

We won't know which entries got your votes. It's all about being true to your sense of what is the highest quality.


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## Phil Istine

One problem I can have with poetry is that I sometimes (often?) don't understand what a poem is about.  I realise that a good poem can target more than one level, but sometimes I just don't get it, even though I'm capable of writing that way myself on a good day.

So my first question to myself is about whether I understand what a poem is about or what it might be about.
Then I look at the language used such as (slant/internal) rhyme, possible meter, production of imagery and cleverness of word play - such as whether a word has been used that may be read more than one way (and whether it is appropriate).
But overall, it's about any feelings that may be induced by a poem.
Sometimes, there may be feelings but the technical stuff will appear to be not quite as I would understand it.

Hey, I'm no expert.  Apart from the odd limerick and the occasional rude rhyme, I'd never written a poem in my life until a year or so ago.
It's fun.


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## midnightpoet

Phil Istine said:


> One problem I can have with poetry is that I sometimes (often?) don't understand what a poem is about.  I realise that a good poem can target more than one level, but sometimes I just don't get it, even though I'm capable of writing that way myself on a good day.
> 
> So my first question to myself is about whether I understand what a poem is about or what it might be about.
> Then I look at the language used such as (slant/internal) rhyme, possible meter, production of imagery and cleverness of word play - such as whether a word has been used that may be read more than one way (and whether it is appropriate).
> But overall, it's about any feelings that may be induced by a poem.
> Sometimes, there may be feelings but the technical stuff will appear to be not quite as I would understand it.
> 
> Hey, I'm no expert.  Apart from the odd limerick and the occasional rude rhyme, I'd never written a poem in my life until a year or so ago.
> It's fun.



Don't feel bad, Phil - I've been writing and reading poetry for over 50 years and it's still difficult for me to figure the meaning; after all, you're basically trying to read someone else's mind. :-D


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## PiP

midnightpoet said:


> you're basically trying to read someone else's mind. :-D



I'm relieved someone else has trouble. 'The Times' newspaper cryptic crossword is sometimes easier


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## aj47

Yeah, that's why I feel like a failure when people don't understand my writing  *Writing--all writing--should be about communication with the future.*  That's one of it's main purposes. Taking a thought or idea and encoding it in a way that it can be accessed minutes, hours, days, weeks, years, later.  Whether it's a simple shopping list that you need to take to the grocer's or instructions on how to bake a cake or a love poem, the point is to communicate to your future self or to another person.

Now, this is most assuredly *not* a rant against nonsense.  Internally-consistent nonsense, like Dr. Seuss, Shel Silverstein, or Darkkin *does* communicate ideas coherently. But there is vast difference between *nonsense* and *not making sense*.  And it's not-making sense that I'm railing against.  If you don't intend to communicate cogently, why in the heck are you writing in the first place?


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## midnightpoet

Sometimes I think my old brain is just failing me, but then like Annie says, some poets (and writers) aren't communicating their ideas coherently.  I suspect some are being deliberately incoherent and are laughing their heads off at some of the professional critiques (i feel that way about some "modern art":-D).


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## Darkkin

The key to figuring out if something makes no sense or is true nonsense is twofold.  Read it aloud and apply logic to it:  How do the basic characteristics, the definition of the words together work within the line?  Read for context.  As a literal translator, this is something I learned to do early on.  Do I miss a lot of meaning, more than likely, but I can spot an issue with context.   During a critique call out the line in question.  If the poet can support their line with logic, chances are the line is true nonsense.  But all too often we run into cases where words are missing, a piece is slapdash, or severely overwritten to the point of obscurity.

I specialize in the absurd, and I know it is absurd on a literal level.  But there is also a good deal of logic that is applied to my own work.  Cycles within nature, timelines, cause and effect...Nothing just is.  There is always a reason behind it.  A bigger picture...While it might be an affront to modern poetry standards, it can and does support its own weight by logic's standards.  Its sole function is to allow for escape, even if it is for a few minutes.  To open a door to great horizons of lost and improbable things.

It is one of the most critical components of writing that is too often overlooked.  What is the function of the piece?  A book, a poem?  Every time, I write, I read, or critique.  That is the first question I ask.  It is a determining factor in overall perception and reception of a piece.

Just some thoughts.

- D. and T.


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## Harper J. Cole

I've done my voting. Congratulations to all voters so far, as everyone has cast the correct number of votes (this is rare, apparently)!

While I can't reveal the current scores, I can say that every entry has at least one vote, which is nice. I think that three votes works best. 8)


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## Phil Istine

HarperCole said:


> I've done my voting. Congratulations to all voters so far, as everyone has cast the correct number of votes (this is rare, apparently)!
> 
> While I can't reveal the current scores, I can say that every entry has at least one vote, which is nice. I think that three votes works best. 8)



Good to hear that every poem has at least one vote.  I'm not surprised because I didn't feel that any of the offerings were going to have a runaway win, nor did I feel that any would have a big struggle to acquire votes.


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## aj47

Phil Istine said:


> Good to hear that every poem has at least one vote.  I'm not surprised because I didn't feel that any of the offerings were going to have a runaway win, nor did I feel that any would have a big struggle to acquire votes.



This.


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## PiP

All the poems are of a high standard.  Tough call to choose your three favourites... please keep the votes coming in, it's close...


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## Darkkin

It was a tough choice between the challenge poems, I will agree.  A very good showing forum poets can be proud of.  =D>


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## am_hammy

Tough tough choices I've had to make. Excellent entries all around. Super excited to see the end results ^_^


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## Schrody

This banner reminds me of Queen's album cover.


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## PiP

Schrody said:


> This banner reminds me of Queen's album cover.


have you voted? The votes are sooooo close every vote counts...
:cocksure:


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## PiP

Hey guys and gals...you are running out of time to cast your votes! Remember you have 3 votes and you must use all 3. Not 2, not 1 but 3...


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## Harper J. Cole

Last call for votes! This poll closes in less than two hours ...


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## Phil Istine

I see it was a tie for first place.  What happens about that?


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## Harper J. Cole

Stand by for a tiebreaker poll ...


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## Phil Istine

HarperCole said:


> Stand by for a tiebreaker poll ...



Same sort of thing as the prose tie break I'm guessing?


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## aj47

That would have been my guess as well.


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## Harper J. Cole

Yes, I'll try to get it up this evening.


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