Post by Master of Tacos on Oct 24, 2022 17:52:08 GMT -5
After a week of voting, with 5 out of a total of 16 votes, in a very, very close vote, we have ourselves a winner for the October 2022 Poet Laureate Contest.
Join me in congratulating Liberdon on their victory with Reaching for Eden as well as commiserating Aersoldorf (Perfection Found), The Union Empire (The Perfect), and Donnee (The Perfect One and the Id)!
Reaching for Eden
Gaze at all you have conquered, brazen king,
—The gilded gold, the coveted throne—
Look down at those who were once your equals—
Now reduced to your craven subjects
And ask yourself—was it all worth your fall?
For although you live surrounded by people,
You’ve never been more alone in life
Stranded—at the top of your own success,
—You own the world but still feel lacking
Lying awake ev’ry night with fresh regrets
Your “glorious” reign is tenuous at best
And you fear what each new day might bring
For ev’ry peasant is a sickly green
Wanting nothing more than to tear down
Them whom they have long raised up in loud esteem
You wither daily under mounting pressure
—Challenges you never wished to face
And beg your whitewashed ceiling for mercy
But we’re all mere servants of the crown
And even you, dear king, are not truly free
The luster of greatness has dimmed in your eyes
And you see—too late—the ugly rot
Inherent to power and perfection
Oh why, oh why?—you scream at the walls
—Why would anyone ever wish to be king?
All the while, I, your better half,—the queen,
Lie hidden behind your blinding light—
Mourning our sorry ascent to glory
Never blaming, though, your mistakes—for
It was my damnable silence that doomed us
And as I gaze at all we have conquered,
—Our empty palace, our hollow hearts—
I realize that we’re equally barren
For what is there to aspire to—
When you have already reached Eden?
The Poet Laureate Contest will be back in February, so keep up the creativity, Islanders!
After a week of voting, with 5 out of a total of 16 votes, in a very, very close vote, we have ourselves a winner for the October 2022 Poet Laureate Contest.
Join me in congratulating Liberdon on their victory with Reaching for Eden as well as commiserating Aersoldorf (Perfection Found), The Union Empire (The Perfect), and Donnee (The Perfect One and the Id)!
Reaching for Eden
Gaze at all you have conquered, brazen king,
—The gilded gold, the coveted throne—
Look down at those who were once your equals—
Now reduced to your craven subjects
And ask yourself—was it all worth your fall?
For although you live surrounded by people,
You’ve never been more alone in life
Stranded—at the top of your own success,
—You own the world but still feel lacking
Lying awake ev’ry night with fresh regrets
Your “glorious” reign is tenuous at best
And you fear what each new day might bring
For ev’ry peasant is a sickly green
Wanting nothing more than to tear down
Them whom they have long raised up in loud esteem
You wither daily under mounting pressure
—Challenges you never wished to face
And beg your whitewashed ceiling for mercy
But we’re all mere servants of the crown
And even you, dear king, are not truly free
The luster of greatness has dimmed in your eyes
And you see—too late—the ugly rot
Inherent to power and perfection
Oh why, oh why?—you scream at the walls
—Why would anyone ever wish to be king?
All the while, I, your better half,—the queen,
Lie hidden behind your blinding light—
Mourning our sorry ascent to glory
Never blaming, though, your mistakes—for
It was my damnable silence that doomed us
And as I gaze at all we have conquered,
—Our empty palace, our hollow hearts—
I realize that we’re equally barren
For what is there to aspire to—
When you have already reached Eden?
The Poet Laureate Contest will be back in February, so keep up the creativity, Islanders!
, Either way, I thought Reaching for Eden was fantastic!
