advice sought two times
and, with thought, freely given
returned with contempt.

a moment captured
in gentle eloquence
the poet smiles

ah ha! says the monk
the poet bows gracefully
hiding a sly smile

birds sing, children play
a monk does chores in silence
what does he not know

"sweet dreams" she purrs
I roll over and tremble
thoughts of losing her

dime store lovers
a bin of trinkets
gifts to be treasured

even in unveiled sadness
her beauty incites tears
I cry twice

a confirmed recluse
his own shadow annoys him
tooooooo louddddd

Hi folks. Please don't forget to put (August contest ) next to title and to hit contest button at bottom of submission page. Thanks......stan PS also don't forget to Enter lol

Niklas Djurle, Konrad ...

Spartacus Suite No.2 : Adagio of Spartacus & Phrygia ... - YouTube

▶ 5:31
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdi3Fjc02to
Feb 17, 2017 - Uploaded by Lawrence Foster - Topic
Provided to YouTube by Warner Music Group Spartacus Suite No.2 : Adagio of Spartacus & Phrygia ...

contrary to common belief
poets are not
sad overly sensitive high strung creatures,
but rather quite hard, and raw, and real

facing head on:

the pitiful
the loathsome
the wicked
the sordid
as well as the
the exquisite
the inexplicable
and phantasmagoric

tough guys, (and the broads too)
taking heat
for opinions
anathema to
any and all
prevailing tides

Kerouac, Bukowski
Whitman, or Tapper.
they ain't no push-overs,

Hello everyone, If there is any confusion about how to join our awesome workshops or contests, please see the below instructions for help or feel free to reach out to any advocates or the contest hosts or workshop leaders for assistance.

Finding/Joining Workshops

The August contest parameters have been posted. I think this should be fun and a good challenge especially for those who seldom use rhyme. Remember these contests are supposed to be for fun so don't be afraid to enter........stan

It's no mean thing to have the wherewithal to release our work to the world for review, praise, and criticism. It's even tougher to request folks give you honest feedback. Seriously, that is a world class nerve jangling decision.

We create the work, pouring our heart and soul into the words and images. We refine and trim and expand until we think it's ready, and we release it into the wild and stand back, hoping for the best.

The best is not unfocused praise.

The best is not knee-jerk criticism.

Hi folks, as some of you may recall, I won the May contest with my Spring sonnet.
Pugalist has kindly forwarded me my prize voucher and I thought I'd share with you what I bought.
Two books:
Birthday Letters by Ted Hughes
The Collected Poems of Sylvia Plath
Some wonderful reading there I'm sure you'll agree.
What can I say, thanks, I'm really chuffed.
Jxx

I admit, I do not understand why anyone would participate in a poetry workshop and eschew thorough critique. When I see such a request, it translates to:

"Tell me I am pretty."

And I ignore it. All of our work should be important to us, if not n subject matter, then in competency of construction and only a thorough critique will add value and aid us in improving as poets.

I understand it may be frightening to open your work to criticism. But safe art is rarely of any lasting consequence.