Wednesday, May 29, 2013

I Do NOT Love Judging . . .



"Aquatic Life " Haiku Monday Winners

Thank you all for the lovely turn out on a holiday.
I almost suggested we take a sabbatical but am glad I did not.
I particularly appreciate those of you who wrote very personal Memorial Day haiku. Please accept my thanks for the contributions
to our freedom  by those you have memorialized in poetry.

Welcome to new player Miss Angie!
 Who wrote three great haiku inspired by her travels last Summer. 
She posted some of her photographs so stop by to enjoy them.

Also welcome to new player Michael
whose blog I was unable to access.
If you had great visuals
sorry I missed them.

Our top three this week are:
Show: Becca
Place: Rafael
Win:   Foamy

In truth this was closer than close.

Becca cleverly brought two concepts together 
Smile, Freedom at last
 these final five syllables in her aquatic haiku
remind us freedom is essential to all.
The smiling, soaring dolphin  seeking freedom's air
was a great visual.

My favorite lines were from Rafa
Summer's sav'ry scent
Seasoned fresh by God
These are so very  beautiful

but
Foamy wrote my joy with these lines

dewey morning walk
sunkissed mist rises off Pond

I start most days, barefoot, outside, 
when the sun first calls the birds to song
and
kisses the garden into color 
but 
I enjoy this with tea.


Ultimately 
It was Foamy's tribute to her
 Dad
which won the day.

They called him The Kid
A gunner in The Big Red
At heart, a fisher.

This says everything doesn't it?




Thank you to all players.
Congratulations to all winners.
Foamy,
 I look forward to your game!



15 comments:

darkfoam said...

Oh! Wow! thank you!!! It's really hard to judge these since they are all so good!
I almost gave up on entering since I typed these in our 95 rusted ford pickup truck which was the only place I barely got reception while camping in the deep woods this weekend.
Thanks for hosting whirl traveling! You did a great job and I enjoyed everybody's contributions very much.

darkfoam said...

I'll post a theme towards the end of the week.

Rebecca said...

congrats to foamy and wow i'm so thrilled to have placed with Rafa and Foamy what an honor

Rafael said...

Congrats FOAM!!! You always dazzle me with your phrasing and imagery. Fishy couldn't have gone wrong with either of your two...you'd a won regardless of theme!!!

So glad you hosted this past weekend, Fishy. It was a small turnout, but what wonderful poems had by all....LOVED!

Blessings and thanks for your kind words...

Rafa

fishy said...

Foam,
Your testimonial tells me you really wanted to write these haiku. So glad you did and congratulations again.

Becca,
They are always contenders for sure but no doubt they are equally honored to share the trifecta with you.

Rafa,
you know judging is subjective...the thing for me that was the tinniest issue ever was the 7 syllable line with
"water's aqua" in there... it just did not sound right in my ear and aqua means water so "water's water" was a tad off for me. Brilliant offering as always. So delighted you played.

Doom said...

Not always a pleasant task, judging, but... an honor that is passed to the next. Thank you for the challenge, fishy.

Congratulations to all. I learn every time. But special congratulations to you, foam! I think that haiku does say it all, about our men at arms anyway. They are men first, free men. They choose, even the hard choices.

And I can't wait to see what your mind will work up as the theme and rules!

darkfoam said...

Thanks all! A post with the new theme will be up tomorrow, Friday.

Rafael said...

Fishy--

Poetry, in its purest form, comes from the combination of heart and soul working as one to create a sense of emotion...done right and WOW, spontaneous combustion!!! When I'm struggling to pick at a phrase or thought, and the perfect word strikes me, it's like a blessing from God. In judging, that's what I'm looking for, something that strikes me... magical (be it tickle or tear, matters not). So kudos, again to Foamy, for reaching out and touching you in a special way. There is no better feeling, than knowing you've somehow moved someone.

When choosing "...water's aqua life", I worried you may not get it, yet you hit IT right on the head; BAM!!! Aqua's life is water...born from water, lives and breaths water, in essence, eats water, for like us, it is what it eats. Yet, "life" is the key ingredient to the line... sweet water sweetening that which it bears. It's this symbiotic relationship, seasoned by God's savory scents, that sustains us, both physically and spiritually. Walking amongst this beauty feeds our soul. Reaching in, grabbing at His offerings, feeds our flesh. Combined, we are not only sweetened, but find ourselves that much closer to God, Himself. Perhaps too far a reach, if not up inside my head (a blessing in itself, mind you), but that was the intent of the double wording.

Sorry for the dissertation, but based on your commentary, thought you might be interested in why I chose that particular phrasing. I played with the idea of using the word "offerings", as it had a softer tone than the more staccato "aqua", but felt it lost the original intent of the message.

Anywho...gotta go, but wonderful job of hosting, as you're always quite the thought provocateur, with your themes.

SMILES--

Rafa

P.S. I'll gladly stand in trifecta with Becca any ol' day!!!

fishy said...

Doom,
Sometimes I think we should play Haiku Monday with a host introduced topic, with participants making the rounds to all the individual blogs and visuals with interactive commentary from all players and a roulette for who hosts next. What d you think? What does everybody think?

Foam,
it's sure to be good :-)

Rafa,
Thanks for the back story!
I really enjoyed your analysis and your commitment to speaking your heart in just 17 syllables. Well done Rafa, well done.

darkfoam said...

Fishy,
Roulette sounds fine by me.

Doom said...

Oh, I think that would be grand, fishy! I try to visit pages, for sure. Some don't have blogs, like Michael, so the host could just be the catchall for those though. Would hate to see some of the non-bloggers be excluded.

But ideally? That is the ideal.

fishy said...

Doom.
Players without blogs could play via the host blog as is done now.

Karl said...

Good evening Fishy,

My apologies for not attending the pool party. I was underway and making way for the weekend's festivities, when you posted the topic and did not come back online until after the deadline for posting. Still you had quality rather than quantity.

Congratulations Foam on your win!

Atta-boys to Becca and Rafa for place and show.

BlazngScarlet said...

YAY! Fantastic haiku all the way around ... but Foamy, you really nailed it! :D

Congrats to all!

Aunty Belle said...

Foamy tug my heart too wif' her fisherman soldier...

Nicely done, Fishy.