WD Poetic Form Challenge: Magic 9 Winner
Here are the results of the Writer’s Digest Poetic Form Challenge for the magic 9. More than 50 poems made the original cut, then 22 made the next cut, so…
Here are the results of the Writer’s Digest Poetic Form Challenge for the magic 9. More than 50 poems made the original cut, then 22 made the next cut, so it was once again a (good) challenge getting down to a Top 10 list and eventual winner.
Here is the winner:
Fireflies, by Jane Shlensky
We run barefoot in the twilight
carrying jars as the first cicada sings.
Fireflies take to velvet night
like embers of fallen stars, floating
and flitting green, their flight
like souls carrying lanterns.
We bear witness, examining their bright
flash in our darkness, learning some things
carry within them their own light.
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Congratulations, Jane! The combination of nostalgia, rhymes, and meaning made this poem, for me, a tiny masterpiece.
Here’s a complete look at my Top 10 list:
- Fireflies, by Jane Shlensky
- Rehab, by Tracy Davidson
- Once Again, the Haiku, by ely the eel
- Silver, by Nancy Posey
- A Birder's Conundrum, by William Preston
- The Other Side of the Road, by Taylor Graham
- A Fishy Tale, by Tracy Davidson
- Cricket, by timphilippart
- your poem, by Jacqueline Hellandback
- The Cage, by Connie Peters
Congratulations to everyone in the Top 10! And to everyone who wrote a magic 9!
Participate in the ovillejo challenge through June 30. Click to continue.
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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community, which means he maintains this blog, edits a couple Market Books (Poet’s Market and Writer’s Market), writes a poetry column for Writer’s Digest magazine, leads online education, speaks around the country on publishing and poetry, and a lot of other fun writing-related stuff.
He loves learning new (to him) poetic forms and trying out new poetic challenges. He is also the author of Solving the World’s Problems.
Follow him on Twitter @RobertLeeBrewer.
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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.