The Zodiac Poetry Slam' Entries - $25 Best Written Poem Contest - post below by midnight, MONDAY 4 Oct. See contest rules

9/28/2017

Contest Rules
1) Post by Midnight Monday 2 October.
2) Does not have to mention the zodiac, however, you will have an advantage if you do.
3) Must have performed during the 'The Zodiac Poetry Slam' event, either in the slam, sacrificial spot, or the open mic.
4) You must come in person to the 26 Octover Poetry Slam to collect your prize.
5) All forms and styles acceptable. Note: We are looking for work that performs well on the page.

Jedidiah

9/28/2017 07:06:54 am

At your grandmother's deathbed she will surrounded by animals.

Your dad, the rabbit. He picks you up at 1am and asks you how was your day. He steps on the accelerator. Every time he drives he looks like he's trying to run away. Your mother tells him to slow down. And he looks like he wishes he could run away.

Your aunt, the snake. You watch her coiled around your grandmother. The night before, she was there. Asking nai nai if she'd rather die by the bite of chemo or the constriction of cancer. She knows it is not her fault. But she cannot understand how it was not her fault.

Your uncle, the rooster. Starts the day by delivering it to God. He knows all things have been decided before time existed. But he knows that nai nai is not ready to die. And he knows he'd rather her here than in paradise. And he spontaneously reminds us, that she is in a better place. But his arms have not let go of her cold body.

Your sister, the mouse. Cowers in a corner. The entire night, she doesn't move an inch. Her eyes grow red like a scalp scratched too often. The world must seem too big to her. She's just old enough to buy any cancer-causing product on the market. But not old enough to understand what comes after.

Your mom, the sheep. Amongst all our last words, she reminds us there is no use crying over a spilt soul. But simultaneously can't stop calling us over to hold her one more time.

And you, the pig. Wondering how you fit into all of this. You inch towards her body. And risk a touch. Warmth. After hours of us trying to pour the life she had given us back into her body. Her limp limbs had turned warm. And for a moment, we could almost believe she had never left us.

Riqi Hanzrudyn

9/28/2017 11:02:50 am

First Day of JC Simulator

It's your first day in GJC
the G stands for Generic
the J stands for join JC
Just cuz you don't know what to do
the C stands for can't go to name brand
So you have to settle for G, Generic

You walk in
and a forcibly perky senior pops up
Amidst the cult-like chants of
"Welcome to GJC!"
And dopamine induced
"Good morning!"
She strikes up a conversation
"Hi I'm your senior! Welcome to GJC,
By the way, what's your Zodiac sign?
I bet its a Libra, you look like a Libra
I can tell these kind of things usually"

You're overwhelmed and the scene pauses
Do you
A) tell her that you're actually a pisces
B) tell her off on how horoscopes are a bunch of baloney

You chose A!
you spineless human being
You indulge in her fantasy world
Now you have gained one "friend"!
She will remember that

"Oh wow I can't believe I was wrong!
Anyways you can head to the auditorium
Thats where the freshies are to assemble"

Do you wish to rewind time
And choose the other option?

You chose B!
You cold, unforgiving monster
Couldn't you have entertained her?
She is shooting you mean looks
She will remember that

"Umm okay. You can go to the auditorium"
Her tone is now of spite
And as you walk away
You hear her eyes roll in their sockets

You're in the auditorium
You see faces
you've never seen before
Wearing uniforms
You've never seen before

There's one that's all white like PAP
There's one that's baby blue like the sea
There's one that's just a dress
There's one that blends in with the rest

This one guy comes up to you
And says
"Hey bro do you want some contra?"
Oblivious to the fact he's in a school
Or maybe used to being in a school
That doesn't care or doesn't want to

Do you
A) politely decline this young entrepreneur
B) violently object this criminal and threaten to report him
You chose A!
Congratulations on taking the high road
(For once)
He shrugs and digs his hands into his pockets
And walks away
He will probably forget that

Do you wish to go back and choose again?

You chose B!
Congratulations on finally having a backbone
He shrugs and digs his hands into his pockets
And walks away
He will probably forget that

One national anthem,
A boring talk by the principal,
A cringey movie made by students later,
You finally get released for lunch

You're with your orientation group
They're slowly breaking the ice
Chit-chatting and joking around
You hear a topic that somehow
You are a total expert in

Do you
A) open up and share some fun facts about said topic
B) keep your mouth shut because nobody wants to hear some weird facts

You chose A!
It starts off pretty nicely
Your knowledge on the topic
impresses your peers
However, it quickly gets old
When they realise that's the only thing you're good at
They slowly drift away from you
And things grow icy

Do you wish for a do-over?

You chose B!
It starts off pretty nicely
You listen intently to your peers
And do chime in once in awhile
But as your peers bond,
You're left out of the loop
One week later, you find out
They've got a new chat group
Without you

By now you would've realised
That no matter what you chose,
Things ended up the same
You go where you need to
While others do too

Life isn't a telltale game
So stop strategically selecting
Every aspect of it
Live it how you would
Be it with good deeds or sinister sins
with more losses than wins
with a rickshaw or a range rover
Because everybody has a game over

Riqi Hanzrudyn

9/28/2017 11:04:54 am

A Ghibli melody
Sings out to me
For me
From me
Like a letter going
Dear Riqi,
Yet also ending with
Love, Riqi

"Do you love, Riqi?"
She asks awaiting a reply
Of course I did,
I loved her the moment she said hi

What a strange thing to ask a stranger
A stranger thing to us was that
We were there in bed together
And I would somehow be okay with that
I wouldn't have to know
That she loved me back
just that she didn't mind me

"Hi I'm Riqi!
Swipe right if you like movies
By Anderson or Ghibli
And love poetry
And wouldn't mind an fwb,
Maybe?"
Dot. Dot. Dot.

Nobody wants to be wrong
Especially online
Even on sites like Tinder,
OkCupid or Grindr
Err
I'm still not sure

Not sure is the reason
You're not very popular
If you were more decisive,
You'll get more hits
Hits on me from
The other side of the table
I blush
And tears of embarrassment
Starts rolling
Rolling up my cheekbone hills
And then down the dimples
Of my smiles
I'm high Up on Poppy Hill

And As the Wind Rises I dream

The view from up here is pretty
Everything is rose tinted
Even imperial japan seems
Forgivable

Let's fast forward
To when I become sure
And I have this person
Lying next to me
Yes it's a fantasy

"Are you sure you're ready?"
One of us asks
"No, no"
"Okay"
They reluctantly sigh
After taking a drag of air
We were left complete yet bare

There is Whispers of The Heart
As I seek to be
Spirited Away
By my Princess Mononoke
We'd be like Howl
With a Moving Castle
Castle in The Sky
We'd be drunk and high
On
Well it's not exactly love
It's the opposite of loneliness

I'm not a perfectionist
I face the facts, and the reality is
It won't be mindblowing
Though she won't mind blowing

But yes.
It might not be good.
I might not like it.
But I want to look back someday
To that future day
Be it tomorrow or today
Like it was Only Yesterday

Nicole Carmen

9/28/2017 08:42:28 pm

Ah Ma, Paper Thin Predictions Picture The Perfect

Ah Ma,

You said monkeys were magnetic,
Curious and athletic,
Versatile and lively,
Loveable and funny,
Fast learners and crafty,
A little bit haughty, and very, very naughty.
That which you said, was accurate we knew
And that which you said, reflected my character so true.
But that which you said, didn’t cover what everyday I would feel
As that which you said, left out the depression that in this monkey of a person had been instilled.
It didn’t cover that domesticated pain
Encaging self-loathing despair within my brain
Whipping my heart each minute like a chain:
"Worthless...
Clueless...
Powerless...
Useless...
Animals like you should be slain…"

Ah ma,

You said I was a monkey,
According to my Chinese Zodiac,
Which would be an accurate reflection of me
And my life my sheng chen ba zi would reflect.
You said it was all written, what was meant to be
And each day wrote a little in a little book to help me believe that.
Indeed you and that little book allowed me to see
That on paper everything would all be perfect.
In the records that document my credentials, accomplishments and rights,
In the photographs of my experiences with family and friends in my life,
And in the words of good you would pen in the little book for me -
I would have a future as bright can be.
Each day, they predicted right, nothing I need I would lack
But they did not reflect my blue soul inked in depression’s black.
Where the world was my oyster
That was clammed forever shut
For against the monster of men in myself, this monkey had no good skills or art.
And you’d wonder
How could a monkey birthed by the beautiful Mother Nature
Evolve to something so terrible
It would turn its back to its mother, its home, its world
Claiming it had no choice but to engage in harming its roots and mutilating its future.

Ah ma,

You said that your predictions though in riddles, were always right
Provided I figured them out
And the words in the little book that you wrote that night
Told of the only prediction I needed to know about:
“You can’t control what happens to you,
Or what you feel for that matter,
But you can control how you react to them,
For the worse or the better.
A big change is coming,
Will you fight or will you settle?
If you choose not to choose at all,
Instead of wild or domesticated, you’ll be cattle.”
Your prediction this time told the least of all time
And about my future it left me in the blind.
But I figured the value of the fortune was told in a mime
To show that the future was not on the pages, but in these hands of mine.
Hands I could choose,
How they would be used,
Whether to rip the skin off beautiful beasts within me,
Whether to train both my own monster and man for animal therapy,
Whether to create alternatives to lab testing I imposed in the name of progress,
Wool or fur a coat to don was my choice for my hands to dress.

Ah ma,

You said …
No more, for you were dead.
But with the words of wisdom from your head,
This monkey, and hopefully some of the other zodiacs culture made,
Will leave enlightened writings in history of men in your stead.
And you know, when you died
It was the first time out aloud I cried
Not because I couldn’t control the despair I was feeling,
But because I could control the darkness within me as a human being.

Picture The Perfect Paper Thin Predictions, Ah Ma

Priyanka

10/2/2017 08:30:44 am

How do you start a poem from scratch?
you look up and try to steal magic
From an inky sky.
You remember the stories
Kept safe in the far reaches of your mind.
You go to the terrace
With your journal and pen,
And no you are not alone
There are stars gazing back.
As you swirl sugar in coffee
Your own muted thoughts
Form a new ripple.
Are they real?
The stars which rule our life
The stars like a broken trail
You try to search
The brightest of them all
And maybe you see a mesh
Trying to read us,we the poets.
It's a different journey
To write about stars
Under an amethyst sky
And to find the stories lost
The myths the legends
When we know we are elemental
When we know we are made of
Earth,fire,water and air.
How do you start a poem from scratch?

The Zodiac Poetry Slam' Entries - $25 Best Written Poem Contest - post below by midnight, MONDAY 4 Oct. See contest rules

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