Finally we got a top 5 :)
I posted them here again for you convenience.


"The Secret Life Of Children" by Contestant Number 1

The kids are hunched over fires
Laughter licking it’s way along the ground
And up the crumbling walls
Faded marks of war smeared beneath eyes
Rosy cheeks, dry, cracked lips
Dirt sits comfortably beneath bitten fingernails
Bony arms and legs jutting out
In primitive, animal, angles

The kids see everything
Crouched behind the bushes
With their shining eyes and willing ears
Adult secrets no longer whispered behind closed doors
But declared as undeniable, unremarkable truths
Gathering in worn, forgotten lots
Creating cities made of talk, and touch, and joy
Seeing all but seen by few

The kids disperse
Mother’s calls crawl along the breeze
Urging weary soldiers home
Wordless goodbyes, a wave, and a nod
Feet thumping along paths and pavement
Carrying them from battle, from play, from companions
Cleaned and dressed, sent to bed
Left to dream of glorious tomorrows


Our World by Contestant Number 4

You turn on the TV and what do you see?
Another bomb in Iraq, another hurricane in the Caribbean Sea.
Children are dying, houses are flooded.
People just stare, all of them cold-blooded.

Another fire in California, another tsunami swept the coast of Bali.
Another attack in India, another dead child in Mali.
While you stare at the screen and eat your food,
Isn’t your feast a little bit rude?

Breaking news announce the civil war in Sudan.
Tell me, Presidents, Ministers, what is your plan?
“Free Tibet” banners are burned on the beach.
Tell me, what happened to the freedom of speech?

Radars will be put in Poland and the Czech Republic,
Dear officials, do you care to know the opinion of the public?
Cuban news try to hide distress
Whatever happened to the freedom of press?

The world is dying, poverty on every street,
Yet you walk around with Gucci on your feet.
People have no food or water,
Every second a mother loses a daughter.

As the deadly clock ticks by
People around the world die.
How can you sleep knowing your aid
Could’ve saved another person from Death’s blade…?


Apart by Contestant Number 15

She said, “If I didn’t know your name,
“I’d call you home.”

When he touches her hand, it is not butterflies
that make her ashamed of her chipped nail polish,
and she has no inclination of heaven or angels…
Between the secret glances…
In the negative space before they touch…
In the hidden limbo between Midnight and Morning…
It simply Is.

But then, Sunday screams quick as lightening
She's shattered in shambles (feed the fire)
His hunt is hindered, haplessly haunted (point of no return)
by lullabies of a cartoon masquerade

“I love you”
And as I do
I love to lie to you

A man can learn that a woman is a dungeon
in which he’d be glad to drown.
And a woman can learn that a man is a hero
who will always let her down.

“Don’t be afraid, Daddy’s coming home,”
As soon as the alcohol rots my bones.

Her grass can’t be greener if I scorch it black
And then, it won’t grow back again.

This is the lament of the ugly duckling
Who never became a swan
This is the revenge of the ugly duckling
Who always played the pawn

… But in the negatives of Polaroids, you’ll still remain the same…


Confessions of a Rock by Contestant Number 31

I sit here, unmoving, in this lovely dull park.
The passersby react to me as they might the
homeless: they may glance at me when they think I am not
looking...
but I am forever looking.
It is not impolite for me to stare.
I see imperfections, acts that they wish to hide:
The garbage tossed casually into the water,
the exchange of money and white powder
between strangers,
and one night, even the loss of innocence...
and life.

Her screams will haunt me forever.

But of all the ugliness that takes place here,
beauty surrounds it and, while the seasons change,
I remain the same.
And at the end of the day I am content to be
just a statue
on a pedestal
in a park.


Untitled by Contestant Number 39

One day
Centuries from now
They will find our bodies
Long since dead,
Long since forgotten
Buried together
Under the same blue sky,
Under the same green grass

And when they find our bodies
They won't know what colour our skin was
our bones are grey
They won't know if we were beautiful
our faces will rot
They won't know if we were thin or fat
our flesh will not remain
They won't know in which gods we found our faith
they will not know our minds

And when they find our bodies
Our petty wars and hollow causes
will exist only as the tales of a distant time,
Our fleeting words of hope and fear
will be lost to the earth and the rising sea,
And all the things that forced us
to draw lines,
to fight eachother,
to stand apart,
Shall fade to dust
And the centuries past
will unite us.


Now, let's vote!

Ah, beautiful, beautiful choices, thank you fine judges! I will vote eventually, oh yes.

And I am still working on that "prize." Believe it or not, knowing the top five helps. :o)

Wow. I really had trouble choosing between 'Our World', 'Apart', and 'The Secret Life of Children'. They're all so wonderful. :)

well in my comment, but I don't actually know what should I pick to. My brother will pick it, he choose 'The Secret Life of Children'. well I wonder know that who made these.

All very nice but this one gets my vote.
Well done, guys!

Brilliant pieces! Well-done to the Judges. They must of had a really hard time choosing but these final five are great!! I really enjoyed Contestant No.39's "Untitled". But they're all really well written!=)

I absolutely love this poem, I can't put my finger on why but it's beautiful.
Also, my poem is there but I didn't vote for it.. I assume that's not allowed. 'Apart' by Number 15 is better anyway!

I don't know wether or not it is not allowed, but it is classy of you not to vote for yourself. I respect you for that!

^^^ What Sappp said.

You can vote for whoever you want, but it IS classy to vote for someone else's. Also, keep in mind that I am all-knowing, and know who authored which poem, so at least ONE person will know if you vote for yourself ;o)

And I know that you did not, rohosoho. LOL!

POETS: Keep an eye out for a message from me. ;o)

I am really impressed by these. I especially liked the Confessions of a Rock as well as the Children poem.

Apologies to the Rock author (b/c I really liked it too and wish I could give 2 votes), but I am in a childhood-contemplating mood today (my kid's birthday!), so I found the Children poem especially poignant.

But all around great stuff from all the contestants!

Amazing poems! They were all beautiful, but I liked Untitled the best because it's something I think about quite often :) All of them were great to read.

I retract that statement. Apparently I can't read well tonight. :)

OK I chose one. That was so unbelievably hard, y'all have no idea. I mainly chose Secret Life of Children because of the sophisticated use of word choice. Since I loved the themes in all of them, an the structures were all different, but creative, it came down to who said what they had to say in the most effective way possible.

That's not to say that the other poems weren't effective! Oh, gosh, I love them all, really, I do, but it was a tie breaker for me between all the poems.

Bravo, young poets, bravo!

(and check your mail, young poets!)

i had a hard time choosing between "Our World" and "Confessions of a Rock" but i ended up with #31. but all of them are great!!

"Apart" is just so beautiful and... so damn true. No matter how many times I've read it, I still want to read it again <3
Next to this one I liked "Confessions of a Rock" and the untitled one the best. But I think "Apart" is really special.

Untitled was amazing. While it speaks of our remains, it gives a certain feeling of hope because of the last two lines:
"And the centuries past
will unite us."
Thanks so much for sharing!

I would've liked it even better without the "rock" in the title, but this one clearly stands out to me in its form.

All were truly fantastic!
"Untitled" was the one that stood out the most to me..though i wish it had a title ;)

maybe its childish but i love rhyme and i just absolutely adore this poem. cinders,do we ever get 2 find out which is yours?!?

All identities will be revealed when the votes are in, m'dear.

I love this poem so much, I only WISH I could write this good. I mean, I've been told I write pretty well, but this is just the bees knees! Well done Contestant Number 4, well done.

awesomeness. ; >