The exercise:
I'm back once again, safe and sound and with a fridge full of fresh veggies. Yum.
The starter for today is: the competition.
Mine:
So Protagonize is having its second poetry tournament and I, after much hesitation, decided to sign up. I was quite excited to see resident contributors g2 and Greg (or Gee Gee, as I've just decided to collectively call them - actually, I think I might spell that Gigi instead... anyway) also signed up.
I was less excited to see that I was paired up against Greg in the very first round.
Initially, anyway. Now I'm kind of looking forward to it. And at least one of us is guaranteed to go on to the second round, so that's definitely good.
I'll be posting my entry shortly, without having read Greg's first. Because I know I'd just want to scrap mine and start over if I did.
So Greg, good luck and we'll see what the judges have to say. I suspect that we'll be making their decision very difficult.
So how was the weekend then, apart from obtaining fresh vegetables? I shall be reading your entry shortly, and then I shall undoubtedly spend the rest of the day being mean to people because I feel outclassed :(
ReplyDeleteStill, maybe in the next competition I won't be pitched against you until after the first round!
The competition
At a beauty pageant in black and white,
There are twelve women arrayed across the stage,
I am Isobel, third from the left,
The only one with lips of carmine red.
The hall is hazy with the mist,
That rises from the forgotten night,
We girls turn and strut to show ourselves,
In all our mandatory poses.
This dress was meant for a thinner woman,
With fuller curves and better height,
It does not flatter me, and I recognize
That I'm no competition for these girls.
But I carry on, disregarding,
The catcalls that exemplify my plight,
I will not leave this stage unnoticed,
I'm going hope with my pride intact.
Gigi, huh? I did the g-squared thing so I could avoid the whole Gigi thing. But, y'know how it goes with best-laid schemes, mice, and men...
ReplyDeleteIf the one Gi doesn't mind the collective name, then I guess this other Gi shouldn't either.
- - - - -
I looked over the draw sheet, biting my lip in utmost concentration. These were good matchups, I thought, it'll make things interesting. Ifound my own name about halfway down the list. I knew my opponent pretty well, the round looked pretty even. I nodded, satisfied, and continued down the sheet.
And then I reached the bottom.
The paper slipped from my fingers, as if gravity had asked to see the
draw himself. I quickly scooped it up and looked at it again,
struggling to keep my mouth closed.
The last matchup of the first round was between two poetic
heavyweights, a clash of titans, the mythologically-inclined might
say. Not only that, but they were extremely good friends, too.
"Are you kidding?!" I couldn't help but laugh. "Thats a final
round matchup, and a legendary one at that!" I cried. But after I
let the idea sink in, I continued, "Well, at least this tourney'll be entertaining from the get-go, I suppose."
- - - - -
Based on a true train of thought.
Greg - t'was good. A bit too busy, but that's the way it goes I suppose.
ReplyDeleteAnd hah. No outclassing seems to have transpired. I'll shoot you some proper feedback later.
Love the message in your poem. Though I suspect that should be 'home' in your final line.
g2 - :)
I'm not sure we qualify as poetic heavyweights, but I think we might have brought out the best in each other on this occasion. Thank you for the kind words though.
And good luck against Moon! I think you two are pretty evenly matched as well.
Also: you, in a poetry tournament? My, my. That frenzy did wonders for you :)