A C T C - 2014/11 Poem Hunter - Final Votes Comments

congratulations Brian on a contest run to its end without too much corruption this month (that i know of) . i'm persevering in my attempt to fill your noble [did Abekah use noble, below, also? ], though somewhat odiferous/odoriferous shoes, by running (get it? shoes...running) the December Challenge contest. i'm still waiting for my first bribe to arrive. do i have to declare it on my income tax return as income? bri :) there are, if i recall correctly, five entries so far on my ACTC poem page for this month's contest. i just started writing my poem today. p.s. maybe Abekah delayed his vote for you since you failed to give him any votes! ? no, he would not do that.

Final Vote Tally Darlene Walsh - Total Votes 1 Brian Johnston Diane Hine - Total Votes 2 Darlene Walsh Bri Edwards Brian Johnston - Total Votes 0 Abekah Emmanuel (Note: Abekah's vote arrived just 1 minute after the deadline.)

Once again, my warm greetings all colleagues honorable members of this majestic house. It has been another season of tough and interesting 'Olympic poetry' with blockbuster poems bubbling joyfully on this page. May our contest live long to see its grand inauguration., Live long Contest! Now I shall proceed, with utmost care and attention, cast my vote as a card bearing member of this noble party, while I remain neutral in 'matters of consequence', I shall apologise for not able to present a scholarly analysed version of all the poems here as my senior colleagues have beautifully done. I therefore wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to all commentators for their time and energy used in writting such awesome comments. Haven read all the poems to the best of my understanding, I vote for Brian Johnston for disintegrating the title into nice pieces....I was touched by his poem...congrats!

Well Darlene gets my vote this month. She tackled the issue of smallness not being key to the quality or meaningfullness to the recipient the best I thought. - - - - - - - - - - - - - Bri's contribution got off to a rocky start by writing a photographic snapshot of a single gift on a day when he got up on the wrong side of the bed it seems but then almost redeemed himself with acknowledging the thoughtfulness of a glass of water. What is missing for me is the recognition that small gifts can also be pivotal in changing a life for the better. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Diane's poem was also more limited in scope I felt than the Title implied, but it was clever and suggested a duplicity in gift giving where one gift sets up an expectation that another gift might be coming. (If it doesn't come does that mean the receiver has disappointed the giver and that the gift was conditional) . But I missed as I did with Bri's poem a sense of a small gift being life changing. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Abekah's poem went in the opposite direction. I did not understand who or what this line referred to... For we are nothing but mere dreams In the mind of man's long fearful enemy. (is the enemy fearful of man or is man afraid of this enemy and who or what is the enemy?) but Abekah's expression of obligation to the giver seems to negate the smallness of the gift. Being there for another, should not be an effort that demands reciprocation (payback to the giver) from the receiver, but surely a gift that instead inspires us to 'Pay It Forward.'

Another month already, where DOES the time go. Well, here's my comments and vote for 'Small Gifts: Contributing To Other's Happiness! ' Bri Edwards It's usually to really difficult to give a gift for someone's happiness when you're in a 'bitchy mood', but if you succeed, it's probably a wonderful gift. And as you wrote, a small gift such as just a little drink of water, can bring happiness when given with thought and caring. A very thoughtful poem on what sounds like a grumpy day, I think it is a nice gift. Oh, and nice rhyming too :) Brian Johnston I'm not familiar with the term 'servant gift', I did some searching and I couldn't find anything definitive, but I believe from what I did find that it's a simple, small gift given to someone you know but not very well? Receiving (giving?) a kiss that is not followed by a slap is probably good? A touch of a hand, just being there, other small gift's that may actually be special to the receiver I had a bit of trouble following a few paragraphs, but including a thought of God in all your gifts, both big and small is very good. Diane Hine The gift's were small, but I couldn't tell if they gave happiness or not. He sounded content for any small gift, small expectations, but it didn't sound like happiness. But I think the first line 'What's in it for me? ' hints that there is more to what is included than just the small gift. What is it in these small gifts that keeps him content? Hope for the future or satisfaction with what he already has? A watch fob would be a very nice small gift. The ribbon fob and 'pocket' would be hints to a watch fob for the next gift? Maybe we will find out if he really gets a watch fob next month with the next contest, about futures history? Abekah Emmanuel To leave such a final gift would be very nice. But I think to leave such a gift until the the end of your is probably not safe, it would be far more likely that there would be no chance to leave such a gift at the end (even if it is your dream) . It would be much better to leave the same gift in small pieces every day, after each dream, and not wait to give all the thankyous to be saved for the end. My vote goes to Diane.

my (BRI's) VOTE: GOES TO....................DIANE HINE. :) bri and, ok, DIANE, you have split your vote among the other four contestants. i'm not sure how legal it is to DO that, but 'no matter'. if you should change your mind, you can CHANGE your vote by the end of the 12th, California (Pacific time zone) time in the u.s.a. and VOTE FOR JUST ME! ! bri :)

SOME OBSERVATIONS AND COMMENTS about the poems and the contest: =========================== =========================== BRI EDWARDS............ heading the pack, like the dog he is! and what a pack we have this month. all regulars and i'm glad to see them again. a little new blood might be nice, but old blood (of quality, as we do have) is quite satisfactory. BUT, a few more poems would be nice, SO IF ANY of you readers are, or could contact, someone who is interested in joining us, PLEASE DO. thanks. i shall be directing the December 'contest', so i hope to see everybody returning to submit poems to be judged in early January, and to leave comments at any time, AND to vote (preferably giving reasons for your vote) once all of the December poems are posted on my (Bri Edward's) site. i believe i will be choosing the TITLE FOR DECEMBER, with Brian's help, of course! i plan to follow Brian's lead, and submit any pertinent material concerning the December Challenge, including the challenging title, in a POEM beginning with the ACTC [i'm still not sure what that means! a challenging title contest? ? ? ] as for MY POEM poem, above, it is a mere trifle, scribbled on the back of my hand while i was playing handball at the gym. it is probably not worth commenting on, or voting for. [the four asterisks **** which end my title are referenced, i believe, in my poet's note on my poem's page, on my PH site.] :) bri now i shall make a few 'preliminary' comments on the other poems. BUT i reserve my voting, and more extensive comments (?) for a later date. ============================ ============================ BRIAN JOHNSTON.................. [i plan to give Brian a rest, of sorts, in December and early January. we felt he could use the time to wrap our holiday gifts and take them to the U.S. Post Office to mail. also, he may need time to recover from his usual tipsy New Year's Eve reveling/partying.] Brian's Poem: NO, I CAN'T hear it. a little louder, please! I'M a Good receiver! i'll send ya my address. bri :) ===================== ====================== DIANE HINE.................. well, someone could think of an original title! AND it IS allowed, since you stuck to the BJ-suggested title's spirit in the body of your poem, and used some wording reminiscent of the title. FOB OFF...........what Bri found out: fob off verb Definition of FOB OFF transitive verb 1 : to put off with a trick, excuse, or inferior substitute 2 : to pass or offer (something spurious) as genuine 3 : to put aside [now fob off what once they would have welcomed eagerly — Walter Lippmann] Examples of FOB OFF [people who try to fob off to charities broken-down furniture that is fit only for the junkyard] First Known Use of FOB OFF 1597 ================================ ========================= DARLENE WALSH.................. MAD HATTER...........what Bri found out: a character in Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. The Mad Hatter, who wears a tall hat, holds a tea party with Alice, the March Hare and the Dormouse. The expression ‘as mad as a hatter’, meaning completely crazy, was already common when Carroll wrote the book. ======================= ====================== ABEKAH EMMANUEL.................. i've sent Abekah a little note about one word he used, i believe in error. :) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I pray I will be able to accomplish my last dream: To thank all those who contributed towards my life, And to give them a befitting farewell. ........... .......some who would receive a befitting farewell from ME, would receive a kick in the keister! (the definition of keister used, is that of a body part usually not see; i HAVE seen one recently, but i may not have heard the word for decades!) ======================================= until next time i visit with itchy fingers............ :) :) bri edwards p.s. PH seems to be having some problems (for me and others) recently. but i'm glad i sent my comment(s) , just completed, to Microsoft Word in case PH loses my comment before it gets submitted successfully! SO GIVE YOURSELVES PLENTY OF TIME TO WRITE AND SUBMIT ANY POEMS, MAKE COMMENTS, AND VOTE, since you may not always be able to access a page on PH when you want to. : ( bri :) december 1,2014

gee, BJ, if no one else leaves a comment soon, i may be forced to comment on the poet's note of yours, which i haven't stooped to read yet. bri :)