Actc: 2015/01: Contest Titles (2) And Info For January Challenge..... [a Contest; This Is Information And Entries For An Ongoing Poetry Contest On Ph] Poem by Bri Edwards

AS POEMS ARE SUBMITTED [by sending as a PH 'message' to me this month (January) , and, for this month's contest ONLY, until the 5th of next month (February) ] I shall submit them at the end of this ACTC 'POEM'.

POEM WRITING CONTEST:
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GENERAL information

NO entry fee; NO prize; PH members decide the winner; entries sent to Bri Edwards' PH site for January contest; DEADLINE usually the deadline for entries is the end of the month, BUT FOR THIS January contest [[since it is getting started LATE]] I am allowing entries to be submitted by the 5th of FEBRUARY, Pacific Time Zone in California, u.s.a..

I think 'ACTC' (which Brian Johnston has been using recently) stands for 'A Challenge Title Contest/Competition'. 2015/01 would normally be the year and month to submit poems to be judged.

IF I HAVE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR READERS IN THE FUTURE, I plan to POST THAT INFORMATION AT THE TOP OF THIS 'poem'.

Feel free to message me through PH.
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Due to unforeseen circumstances, this month's contest is getting started late (about ten days late!) . Brian and I apologize. SORRY! I'LL GIVE ENTRANTS until FEBRUARY 5TH TO SUBMIT POEMS. Voting will still start now and end on the 12th of February.
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VERY IMPORTANT!

VOTING period: voting can be done as soon as entry poems begin to show up at the end of this 'INFO' section. Voters CAN CHANGE THEIR VOTE UNTIL THE END OF THE VOTING PERIOD BY CASTING A NEW VOTE. [PLEASE, please, please, send me a message alerting me to a change in vote, and TRY TO NOT BURY YOUR VOTE IN A LONG COMMENT. A VOTE SHOULD BE MADE AT THE BEGINNING OF ANY COMMENT, OR EVEN BETTER, A VOTE SHOULD BE MADE IN A separate comment. ;) :) bri edwards *****************
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SUGGESTED TITLES:

1 - ‘OOPS! '

OR

2- ‘Black On White'

Both titles are my ideas; 'OOPS! ' was also a choice last month, but none of the 8 entrants chose it. oops!
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POEM CONTENT AND LENGTH:

Poem entry MUST have the 'suggested title' AND have something in the body of the poem which conceivably pertains to the wording of the suggested title ….
OR …
The title can be different, but the poem, in part at least, MUST pertain to the wording of the suggested title. The decision of whether a poem's content qualifies it for competition, rests with me, the 'CONTEST MANAGER' (also has been called 'Webmaster' when Brian Johnston came up with the idea and ran the contest from his PH site the last few months. Brian may be back at the job for March, unless someone else 'buys' the position from him. Make an offer!) ================================================= ===============
POEM LIMITATIONS:

NO MORE than two pages in length.
A poet may submit one poem with her/his name as the author. In addition, that poet may collaborate with another member in writing another poem which would have the names of two PH members affixed as co-authors.
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POEM STYLE:

ANY STYLE I GUESS. It will be nice if the majority of readers recognize it as a poem.
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OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE etc.:

Some 'language' may be grounds for disqualification, and the CONTEST MANAGER (that's me this month, but usually Brian Johnston) shall decide whether a poem is potentially offensive enough to be disqualified. In case I question the suitability of a poem, I shall do what I can to accommodate a poet, including suggesting that the poet make changes before it is made public on my site. If a poet chooses to use a word which many would find offensive, such as the infamous 'F' word, I suggest using 'f++k' (maybe F===) or something else. I would probably accept 'f++k', but don't use it 'unnecessarily'! ; we ARE all 'supposedly' over 13 years old. Try not to say anything considered racist or bigoted in any way, but I will use my (sometimes 'good') judgment in deciding what is allowable.

I can agree with Brian that a 'poem' consisting of a copy of the alphabet, and just that, would not qualify.
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'OWNERSHIP' OF POEMS SUBMITTED TO THE CONTEST MANAGER'S SITE:

Brian and I (Bri Edwards) have no interest in 'owning' or taking credit for the writing of any poem submitted by another PH member. We welcome your participation. Your submission of your poem will act as permission for us to post it on our site(s) , giving each poet credit by affixing their name to their poem. Such posting of poems may continue after the month's contest is concluded. i would, however, be willing to delete a poet's poem at the poet's request.
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POEMS WRITTEN IN OTHER LANGUAGES:

I haven't heard this subject come up, but since many PH members speak a language different than English, I would accept a poem written in another language. Hopefully the poet would supply an English translation. I would, of course, take no responsibility for the poem's content, as I only know a little Spanish and Japanese and a few words of a few other languages. Capisci? Es verdad? nyet? konnichiwa!
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POSTING OF SUBMITTED POEMS ON THE CONTEST MANAGER'S SITE:

Poets are to send their poem via PH 'message' to the manager's (my) PH INBOX. Brian generally would wait until the first day of the following month to post all of the entries. I PLAN TO POST THE ENTRIES AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE TO ME.
***************** This month ONLY, I shall accept submissions until February 5th due to getting this month's contest started LATE. ***********
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READER COMMENTS:

Readers of the manager's 'Poem' are encouraged to make comments on anything I write and on any poem or poems which are submitted.
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VOTING and COMMENTING on the POEMS SUBMITTED BY POETS FOR THE CONTEST:

Voting in the past has been done during the first 12 days of the month following the month when submissions are accepted. But, since I plan to post poems as they arrive, voting can be done throughout January and (for now at least) until the end of the 12th of February, Pacific Time Zone time in the u.s.a.

Readers are encouraged to enjoy (or not) the poems, one and all, and to vote for their favorite, using whatever criteria they choose, though attention to poetic skills is encouraged by me. Hopefully, readers will not vote for a poem simply because they feel sorry for the poet, or they dislike the other POETS (!) , or they prefer humorous poems over love poems, or haiku over limericks or some other 'kind' of poetry, or because one poem has rhyming and one doesn't, etc. etc.

Remember that poets are supposed to be allowed some leeway in how they use the (English, etc.) language and how they present things as being factual even though they aren't sometimes.

*************DO NOT VOTE FOR MORE THAN ONE POEM.************

[If a member votes for more than one poem, the last vote cast should be the one which is counted by the manager. If you accidentally vote for a poem and don't want that vote to count, or you change your mind (perhaps you vote before all the entries are posted and then you see one later which you like better) BE SURE TO CAST A NEW VOTE. I shall try to keep track, but if you change your vote, it would be helpful if you SEND ME A MESSAGE TO ALERT ME TO A NEW VOTE BY YOU. Thanks.]
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HAVE FUN! (or not) :)

This contest is not meant to be a burden to anyone, and, in fact, besides being meant as a CHALLENGE, it is meant to be a fun outlet for members and a way to perhaps find a wider audience for the entrants' poems.
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VOLUNTEERING TO BE 'CONTEST MANAGER':

Brian Johnston will probably step back into the shoes of 'contest manager' aka 'webmaster' for the next month's contest, unless he wants me to do it again, or unless ANOTHER MEMBER VOLUNTEERS TO DO THE JOB and Brian accepts that member's offer of help. Please send a PH message to either Brian or me (Bri Edwards) if you are INTERESTED IN BEING 'contest manager' aka 'Webmaster' for a month. 
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MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION:

Late entries (after February 5th but before February12th) may be posted on a separate 'poem' beginning with 'ACTC', at the discretion of Brian and me.
The same may be true for poems submitted JUST for fun, if the poets do NOT want them to be part of the 'contest', and for poems which are longer than two pages in length.

Poets are encouraged to post their poems also on their OWN PH PAGES IN THEIR POEM LISTS.
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PREVIOUS MONTHS' CHALLENGE CONTESTS:

Some record of previous contests should be available on Brian Johnston's PH site, most recently in 'poems' starting with 'ACTC'. I think previous contests have each had less than 10
entries.
December's contest had 8 (eight entries) and may be viewed on my site (Bri Edwards) at my 'poem' starting ACTC 2014/12……'.================================ ==================
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POEMS: [to be sent to Bri Edwards for me to add below]:

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1. by BRI EDWARDS (someone has to 'start the ball rolling'!) :



Black On White. BINGO!

When God had created fishes for the Sea,
but not yet the roots of Mankind's family tree,
He proceeded to make insects and reptilians,
including snakes, which flicked tongues from their grins.

Amphibians and birds He did make next,
and microbes which sometimes, Man, have vexed.
But with mammals He at times was stumped.
Should camels be one, or two, OR three-humped? ?

He made horses. [Perhaps someday men would ride? ]
He even made one version with a horn on its head (not its side) .
But with His color schemes He was not satisfied.
He wanted a more modern look for one horse's hide.

He thought long and hard about His horse-color plan.
He'd done solid colors already, as He would do for Man.
'How would a 'checkered-board look' look? ' He thought.
For several seconds His churning mind was fraught ……
with circles, triangles, and random splotches of pastels.
[He'd not yet dealt with other issues: sounds and smells! ]

He decided He needed input, so He asked the Sun and Moon;
the latter at Midnight and the former at Noon ……,
when they'd be most active and perhaps more alert.
It might not help His decision-making …. but it couldn't hurt.

The Moon said 'golden crescents upon a pure black background'.
The Sun: 'orange globes on blue, AND white streaks SHOULD abound'.

'Streaks? ' thought God, and His mind churned more.
Finally He decided upon, not crescents or globes, but STRIPES galore!
'Pastels? ' NO, He'd used pastels enough for His 'Unicorn' [sic].
To White and Gray or Black, OR all three ……….. He would stick.

First He tried white stripes on black …..on his sketching pad,
but it wasn't quit the exact vision that God had had.
The next step seemed obvious, and He drew black stripes on white,
and THIS TIME what He saw (on his paper) seemed oh so RIGHT.

(January 17, 2015)
Bri Edwards




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2. by BRIAN JOHNSTON (it's about time!) :



Black On White

Seems black on white is not absurd
Unless to reading you're inured.
Black softens white in photograph
Can give it depth that makes you laugh.
And Black's shade for reflective core, (1)
When temperatures begin to soar
Black ying, white yang, design you see
And God's plan for eternity.

While white on black is racist's art
Inversion that can't live in heart.
Yes, light seems death to black outlook,
Until you read God's storybook,
What we call light (this seems absurd)
Reduced to heat, God's final Word,
This heat the last trace of a race
To spread God's Word through all of space.


(January 25,2015)
Brian Johnston

Poet's Notes:

(1) A ‘white' skin is reflective of all light, a ‘black' skin much less so, a ‘red' skin reflects mostly red light and so on.

One of the funniest Oxymoron's in the English language is surely the calling of people whose skin color is not white ‘Colored People.' It is Caucasians in fact that should be called ‘Colored' if anyone should. A black skin really is like shade itself the absence of light, the absence of color. Caucasians might most properly be called colored because white light contains all colors, not just red, orange, yellow, green, or blue.




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3. by DIANE HINE (another continent heard from) :



Black on White and briefly Red

Ivan Denisovich breakfasts on skilly; a
black cabbage and fish broth, and cold
porridge made from yellow grass.
Little bones litter the table and floor.
It's -27°C.
Off to the building-site!

Sentences shuffle across the page;
capitalized guards and lowercase zeks.
Perhaps a remote bird looks on;
a gatherer maybe, Siberian jay?
or scavenger, Carrion Crow?
or some other airy reader.

The watch are whited out neck to ankle
like tommy gun-toting sheep.
Ivan filches roofing-felt, fixes a stove-pipe,
lies low and stands tall.
He stops for oatmeal porridge at 1.00 p.m.
so I do too, in solidarity.

We begin the afternoon stretch…
He chips ice. I suck ice.
He lays slag-blocks. I lie about.
We both get hungry. I lay a table.
Ivan's moon is rosy and made of stars
but it's still blazing daylight here.

He expects skilly again for supper.
I'm toying with the idea of poached salmon, Chinese five
-spice, snow peas……
I lay the book aside.
Ivan Denisovich will last another day;
Heck, he'll probably live forever.

(January 27, 2015)
Diane Hine




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4. by ABEKAH EMMANUEL (yet another continent heard from!) :



Oops!

What a world in which we live now? Oops!
Many atrocities are being committed, but no one brings them to the books.
You heard about those crooks,
And how they shot innocent souls
And left them in piteous blood pools,
You read about the man, who cooked,
And joyfully poisoned his brother's food,
Oops! The world now seems to be proud
Of committing great and endless taboos.
We all complain of change in the world
But the ultimate question is who?
My soul weeps, but I don't my hope loose
For just as the sun gives way for the moon,
So shall one day, the world will have a new look.

(January 31,2015)
Abekah Emmanuel


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5. by DARLENE WALSH (she calls this a 'sestina') :


Black On White



The words were black sitting starkly on white
They stared back at me as I read what I wrote
But what did they really say, I wish I knew
The words came from my head as I wrote them down
And I thought they made sense but now I frown
Because put all together they look like a maze

I was writing about summer grass and fall maze
The colors of spring and winter in snow white
The sun had risen brightly washing away moon's frown
And it inspired me to write the words that I wrote
I thought of the four seasons and had put it down
Onto paper using words that I thought I knew

I went back to my yard that I thought I knew
But it had all changed like walking a maze
I looked up to the sky blue and then back down
In a pond I saw stars in black sky with moon white
The sun was sitting high in the sky as I wrote
Yet up there I also saw night and the moon's frown

The thought confused me and made my face frown
And I tried hard to think of places I knew
When I was young and the words were new that I wrote
They were words of sadness, fear and life was a maze
My friend Death gave me thoughts of black, not white
And sadly knew that soon I would be six feet down

The painful days were long and I felt very down
And my false friends smiles made me frown
Life sat gray in the clouds instead of white
A secret I kept that no one else knew
Each day was like walking lost in a maze
There was only sadness in all I wrote

But then one day I realized all was wrong in what I wrote
Life was good and should be going up rather than down
I began to see things in a light that lifted the maze
And even in the night's sky the moon lost it's frown
All my devils faded away leaving behind something I knew
Life new to me, not black but a dazzling white

It took long to grow out of that sad maze of a frown
But from that moment I no longer wanted to be down but I knew
Words I wrote would always now be black on white

(January 31, 2015)
Darlene Walsh
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6.? ? come on folks; give it up. i mean your poem! ! ! :) bri