Post by Master of Tacos on Feb 9, 2022 14:19:20 GMT -5
Welcome to the February Poet Laureate Contest, with poems centered on determination. Below are the poems I received. Anyone may vote in this contest, and the poem with the most votes earns its author the title of Poet Laureate! Remember, you still should NOT share the authorship of any entry with anyone but Wille-Harlia until the contest is over. Voting will be open until 12 A.M. GMT on February 16.
Please give the poets their due courtesy and read over all the poems before voting.
Good luck to everyone, and may the best poem win!
Entry #1
Untitled
While drifting through the future
On seas of swirling time,
Just follow where your heart leads
To a beat of strong resign.
For life is a bound vessel
Moored next a foggy shore.
Into the mist we all must sail,
Not anchored anymore.
Attest to your commitment
The essence of your drive.
Each gain upon the goal you seek
Gives hope to all that strive.
While drifting through the future
On seas of swirling time,
Just follow where your heart leads
To a beat of strong resign.
For life is a bound vessel
Moored next a foggy shore.
Into the mist we all must sail,
Not anchored anymore.
Attest to your commitment
The essence of your drive.
Each gain upon the goal you seek
Gives hope to all that strive.
Entry #2
Bleeding Hearts
Put on a smile, forced as it may be
Chin up, shoulders back, spine straight
Draw on your reservoir of secret strength
Marble statue, resolute
The past is a painful blur, better buried
But your mistakes, ever vengeful wraiths,
Constantly haunt you, second shadow
An immeasurable burden on your soul
With your own hurtful words echoing round
Collapse behind closed doors, and
cry into a cold, pitiless pillow
Strip yourself bare, bleeding heart
Enduring more than you can every day
Too afraid to face tomorrow’s dawn
You join the wake, bound for endless sea
Cursed with fractured sight, a broken mirror
Solemn, we stare with aching regret, for
we are all walking corpses
Like pale ghosts, we too, depart, unflinching
Steadfast, with dogged resolve
Soldier on, the fallen angels who can
Though compassion is distant
Never falter, never waver, stand tall
Forever marching onward
Put on a smile, forced as it may be
Chin up, shoulders back, spine straight
Draw on your reservoir of secret strength
Marble statue, resolute
The past is a painful blur, better buried
But your mistakes, ever vengeful wraiths,
Constantly haunt you, second shadow
An immeasurable burden on your soul
With your own hurtful words echoing round
Collapse behind closed doors, and
cry into a cold, pitiless pillow
Strip yourself bare, bleeding heart
Enduring more than you can every day
Too afraid to face tomorrow’s dawn
You join the wake, bound for endless sea
Cursed with fractured sight, a broken mirror
Solemn, we stare with aching regret, for
we are all walking corpses
Like pale ghosts, we too, depart, unflinching
Steadfast, with dogged resolve
Soldier on, the fallen angels who can
Though compassion is distant
Never falter, never waver, stand tall
Forever marching onward
Entry #3
Determined
Though it seems there are choices,
And crossroads ahead,
There is really just one path:
The one that you’ll tread.
There is virtue in striving,
But try as you might,
Fair roads often end darkly
And dark ones end bright.
It’s not to say one need not
Walk with intent,
But you’ll go where you’re going
In any event.
So why fret at the futures
You can’t really see?
By all means be determined,
You’re determined to be.
Though it seems there are choices,
And crossroads ahead,
There is really just one path:
The one that you’ll tread.
There is virtue in striving,
But try as you might,
Fair roads often end darkly
And dark ones end bright.
It’s not to say one need not
Walk with intent,
But you’ll go where you’re going
In any event.
So why fret at the futures
You can’t really see?
By all means be determined,
You’re determined to be.
Entry #4
Renewed Strength
I'm battered and adrift, alone
Upon the roiling sea.
Great walls of water, crashing down,
With fury, malice, glee.
In darkness, blind, my soul cried out,
The storm, it did not care.
And bludgeoned, bloody, strength now failed,
I'm filled with bleak despair.
As hopeless as a man can be,
Disaster o'er me looms.
The fires of Hell are beckoning,
I smell their smoke and fumes.
My thoughts turn to the God I love,
My beacon in the night.
His words they lift, encourage me,
And give me strength to fight.
Determined now to carry on,
My hope restored anew.
Uncaring what the future holds,
His grace will see me through.
I'm battered and adrift, alone
Upon the roiling sea.
Great walls of water, crashing down,
With fury, malice, glee.
In darkness, blind, my soul cried out,
The storm, it did not care.
And bludgeoned, bloody, strength now failed,
I'm filled with bleak despair.
As hopeless as a man can be,
Disaster o'er me looms.
The fires of Hell are beckoning,
I smell their smoke and fumes.
My thoughts turn to the God I love,
My beacon in the night.
His words they lift, encourage me,
And give me strength to fight.
Determined now to carry on,
My hope restored anew.
Uncaring what the future holds,
His grace will see me through.