POETRY CONTEST WINNERS!
March 15th, 2003
Here we have it again! Furtopia's second Poetry Contest and I was REALLY impressed with the creativity and heartfelt poems submitted this time around. Two of our staff are out on hiatus leaving four of us to do the voting but, we shall include their comments on this page when they have returned.
With that said lets get onto the awards and comments we have all been anxious to hear. Each staff was allowed to choose three (3) poems. Scoring a poem on a scale from 1 - 10. It was not easy with so many great poems and my sincere thanks go to everyone who posted their poetry to be read and shared with the Furry community. First Place: 25 points is: Something is diffrent today
COMMENTS:
Benjamin - I get the feeling from this poem that it's about furry fans found and
befriended. They stand proud as their animal representatives, with a purpose that sets them apart from the folks that they walk amongst in everyday lives.
Kada-Ru - I think this is how most of furrydom lives. Unnoticed. Same with a lot of our real animals.
WhiteShepherd - BearPaw has taken something that has no words and given "feeling" to what it is to find furry. This one brings back some wonderful memories.
"Something Different" by Bear Paw
Somethings changed since yesterday.
Although it seems a million years ago,
Knowing now has opend the world up so.
Walking along the same old street,
no more the grey mass's of shuffling feet.
For now faces colourful emerge form the crowd.
A wolf a lion over there a fox stands proud.
These faces now known and who know mine.
They have shown that life's still fine.
We have shared each other's innermost view's
Something the rest usualy wont choose.
The crowds oblivious still slip on by,
vknowing nothing not seeing us animals pass by.
Second Place: 20 points is:
"Beast Behind the Glasss" by Dexter, you know, the fox
Beast behind the glass
Sharpened claws and searching eyes
Trap me through the glass
A sidelong glance was all it took
To freeze me as I passed
A frightened fox cowers in
The trap with jaws of steel
The maw of death, the blood of life
The strike to an even keel
I lock the eyes of this creature wild
And know they are my own
In forest green and river mild
I sniff and find my home
And still I stare into these eyes
As I have done before
Searching my reflection
In eyes that me explore
Who am I you untamed thing
And what blood do we share
How are man and beast so bound
With shackles made of air
It smiles softly as a friend
And I smile back
It welcomes me to come with him
And run among the pack
The grass, the earth, the sun and stars
The footfalls in the breeze
They call to me, but my heart
Is scared to leave the trees
I slowly turn and leave him there
With a deft deflection
And think about the things I saw
In my own reflection
COMMENTS:
Son of Earth - I was drawn to this piece, because it spoke to me personally. Everyone wrote some great stuff. It's hard to pick so few out of so many. Keep up the great work.
WhiteShepherd - The sureal dream like state really had a strong pull on me. It seems forever he's touching this kindered soul in spirit yet he is bound in action to the past of his flesh.
Something that he deals with in sight of his own reflection.
Every morning, I look in the mirror and see that wolf that lives inside of me. Sometimes he
frightens me, too.
Third Place: 18 points is:
"Grey Wolf" by Akela
There he is again, shuffling
down the sidewalk out my window.
He slows, then stops,
pulling a pen and a small notebook
from his left coat pocket.
I make the decision, and finally
head outside to join him.
He is surprised, but smiles,
and says my company is welcome.
We begin to walk, and his paw catches
momentarily on his left coat pocket
as he puts away the notebook.
I ask him what the notebook is for,
and he smiles, chuckles, and
tells me he’s a poet.
Really, I say, I’ve just begun
to try my paw at writing myself.
But I realize that noise is his right coat pocket,
chinking with every other step.
Before I can ask, we stop
and I receive my answer. He pulls three pennies
from his right coat pocket
and flips them onto the driveway of a run-down house.
Presents for the cubs, he says.
We continue on, chink, step, chink, step,
then stop,
and again he flips three pennies
from his right coat pocket
onto another driveway of another dingy house.
I smile and ask him why he does this.
It was a whim one day, he says,
and she saw me do it,
and that’s why we fell in love.
Chink, step, chink, step,
past the nice houses, stopping at the weathered ones.
Chink, step, chink, step,
and I finally work up the nerve
to ask him who she is.
He smiles and looks down,
silent,
and we continue down the road
by the park, to the tree
with a small white cross planted in its shade.
We stop
and he looks heavenward.
This is where she died, he says,
run off the road, in a car accident,
four years ago.
We were married for fifty-one years.
I smile and look down,
and after a few moments,
we turn to go.
Chink, step, chink, step.
I accompany him from his pilgrimage,
past my house, all the way back to his.
I tell him I’ll come and visit,
and he smiles and says, That’s alright.
I turn to go
and place my paws in my pockets
as I begin to return home.
My left paw catches
momentarily, but my right discovers
three forgotten pennies.
Continuing along, on a whim, I stop
and flip the three pennies
onto the driveway of a run-down house.
Across the road, she stops,
and her eyes meet mine.
COMMENTS:
Kada-Ru - I felt there was a lot of emotion there that was carried on and I could see someone following in his footsteps.
Son of Earth - I'm always drawn to very personal work, and this seems like the author is having a conversation with himself.
Other poems that were chosen.
"Alpha & Omega" by Akela
Thunder?
COMMENTS:
Benjamin - It certainly adds to the image that inspired it. Good job. "My Dream" by KitCoon
I dream above the ragged earth,
COMMENTS:
Kada-Ru - For me, if we don't have dreams we don't have anything. "Razor Retribution!" by Sumarra
Something's different, not the same.
COMMENTS:
Son of Earth - It made me laugh. I'm not sure if that was the intention, but I
was amused. "The Great God Pan" by Heavy_Horse
by C. Alan Loewen
COMMENTS:
Benjamin - Nice work. Perhaps I'm biased, since I enjoy the classical Pagan themes as well. This sort of poem would appeal to some furs, and plenty of non-furs as well, of course. Perhaps you could get some stronger feedback from people who have more knowledge of the Earth religions? "Night Flight" by Lycan Taris T wolf
Night Flight
COMMENTS:
WhiteShepherd - This poem expresses freedom the way so many furs dream. He takes words and paints such a beautiful picture. Don't forget there are more comments to be added once the rest of the staff has returned to vote! You can see all the great poems in this contest in Poetry Corner in the Furtopia Forums.
No,
a slamming door
and angry voices from inside
Voices?
No,
just one, screaming
and a whimper
a mournful howl
a cry
Peering in, they peer back to me
Those eyes
Cornered, embryonic,
clutching and wronged.
I don't want to hear it!
Pitiful but not, they strain out towards me
Those eyes
Pained and violated, vilified but not seen
or heard
She shrinks heavenward
While he ascends to hell
But I am paralyzed
Those eyes
Roaring silence, detestably accompanied solitude
I don't care!
And darkness appears
And thunder?
No,
a slamming door
But still, I can see them
I know them
Those eyes
I hope beyond the seas,
Waters deep, and glittering blue,
They hold no call for me.
I reach beyond the mountain tops,
Through the dark’ning mirror of night,
Over snow and star-capped ice,
I see with truer sight.
'Dreams die hard' The old one said,
And it was truth that he did speak.
'Let the young, the pure of heart,
Fly past water, snow, and peak!'
I wish upon a golden star,
I know where destiny must lie,
A dream, a hope, a single prayer,
And stretched before me is the sky!
A higher calling than the waves,
To see the heavens as more than a sign,
To touch; to know the clouds above...
To call all dreams mine!
Us dragons woke to find a change.
DaEvil Bunny and his gangs,
Have gone and stole our precious fangs!
Rage and shock have rocked the lairs,
To find those sneaky rabbits and hares,
Have dared to tamper with our teeth.
Perhaps they need to learn our heat!
Some may think it's time to stew,
A furry cottontail or two.
Some may think that we should bite,
But that would just not be right.
Dragons! Dragons! Gather Now!
The time to battle is nigh.
We cannot, will not, ever allow,
This crime to slip on by.
DaEvilBunny and his crew,
Will learn to keep their paws,
Hopping fast as they can do,
Away from dragon claws.
When next he thinks to try to slip,
Into our private homes.
A small reminder I will clip,
Upon his furry nose.
The Dragons will not hold a pose,
While Bunnies loft a prize.
We'll use our voice like a hose,
To wash off his disguise.
Then like the fiend he really is,
The crowds will see him bare.
The truth of him, we see tis,
A rat beneath the hare.
Exit our peaceful homes!
Leave and don't come back!
We'll beat them in the lofty Domes,
And never pause attack.
We'll bellow smoke and firey soot.
And show a nasty face.
With voices raised we'll gladly put,
The bunnies in their place.
So get up Dragons! Show your stuff!
We'll Dance and sing 'till late.
With our noise, our huff and puff,
We'll keep the bunnies awake.
Then as they drift and fall asleep,
A clipper shall arise,
To clip those cottontails and keep,
Them as a fuzzy prize.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
The night echoed
A choir of crickets
Accented by an
Aroma of earth.
The moon washed
The forest clean.
She ignored my protests
Against the chill,
The night, this vigil
Among the trees.
"Do you believe in
Wonder?" she asked.
I easily lie.
"I lack imagination."
Her eyes reflected the
Moon. She said, "In my
Eighth year, I saw him
Among the trees, clothed
In autumn leaves; hair
Red as autumn apples; eyes
Like autumn frost."
"We should be home," I
Laughed, "with gossip
And friends. Forget this
Forest, forget these dreams."
I left her standing
Encompassed by
Trees and moonlight.
We found her fused
Into the bark of an oak,
Taken in a wooden embrace,
A gentle smile on her lips.
I stand on the edge of a cliff
The wind blows through the canyon
and up to ruffel my fur as I raise my head to the sky.
The full moon throws of it's warm light
I smile and turn my back to the cliffs edge
I fold my arms in front of me
and fall backwards.
Down I fall into the blackness of the night
until the right moment
I unfurl my wings and catch the wind
that was once, only moving my fur
which now picks me up on it's back
and carries me into the sky.
I spread my wings full
and soar towards the moon
riding on the back of the wind
like the birds, I am now being held
by natures hand, as she holds me tight
making sure I never fall out of her grasp.
I turn and fly out over the trees,
looking down to see what animals I can see
a few lone birds see me and take off,
they join me and together we take the night sky.
Oh, how nice the wind feels
as it smooths out my fur
and rubs along my wings
how free I feel, not being held to the earth.
I thank the birds that joined me
for my night of release, and joy
I return back to the cliff, where I started
and land in a little cloud of dust, that picks up
as my wings slow my fall.
I turn around and fold my wings back in
I look up at the moon and smile
thanking it for providing me
with the light needed to make my fly
I walk into the forest, and wait for the next night
when nature is willing to pick me up,
and once again, deliver me to the skies.