# The SDMB Poetry Sweatshop, Jan. 2010 - Anthology thread. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 17, 2010, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327 "2010-01-17T16:58:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2010, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/1 "2010-01-17T16:58:20Z")
The January 2010 edition of the SDMB Poetry Sweatshop is drawing to a close, and once again, I am very impressed with the talents of the participants. As of the posting of this thread, any new interested poets will have one hour to submit a poem. **Le Ministre de l’au-delà, In Winnipeg, maserschmidt, freckafree, Elendil’s Heir, mauxlicious, AppallingGael, Half Man Half Wit, The Hamster King** - I have already received your poems. At the end of the hour, I will establish a poll in which members will have 48 hours to vote for their favourite poem. Now that there is only one hour until the end of the Sweatshop, I can reveal the three words, which are - **Conquering** (from the Random Word Generator (Plus)) **Painting** (from Roget’s Thesaurus, 574.5 from a 12-sided die) **Crony** (from The Concise Oxford English Dictionary, p. 276, tenth word, also derived with a 12-sided die. One of these days, I have to find my 20-sided die…) I will start to cut and paste the poems I have already received via e-mail. Any new entries can be posted here, or e-mailed to me. Best of luck to everyone! ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/2 "2010-01-17T17:00:08Z")
That painting above the bar - that’s my old crony Graeme; a shout, after last call, conquering death. - Le Ministre de l’au-delà ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/3 "2010-01-17T17:01:40Z")
Before the war, he tried his hand at painting – a great artist, he thought he was, with landscapes and buildings and flowers, a rose here, a cathedral there, an occasional mountain lake in watercolors and oils… even a Madonna and Child. Did he paint to forget? Did he paint to soothe the resentment of having a cruel father now dead, and the loss of a saintly mother? “Amateurish”, they sniffed, but he painted on for himself, for the tourists, to create beauty to make a living to earn his keep to find acceptance. And then the war intervened and he learned about the obscenity of destruction of landscapes and buildings and flowers, a rose here, a cathedral there, an occasional mountain lake in blood and rubble… even a Madonna and Child. Gassed in the trenches and wounded at the Somme he became resolute and bitter, withdrawn with only a crony or two and took the ultimate defeat personally, feeling stabbed in the back, and now thriving on the need for revenge. He would think on this and brood long hours about it before heading out and conquering Europe… - In Winnipeg ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/4 "2010-01-17T17:04:23Z")
The sound of the sea through the window, And the high rectangle of sunlight, are all that remain: The bright piece of the sky he eagerly clings to As his sight fails, his fingers agitating against the coverlet. The bells in the Catalan town below begin to sound slowly. Someone’s baptism or funeral has started, Or perhaps just a counting of the conquering And dwindling hours left to him. His eyes fall to the painting of the calm woman In the blue mantle, crony child at her breast. _Salve regina, Mater misericordiae_, he whispers fiercely. The woman nods once, slowly, but the bells do not stop. - maserschmidt ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/5 "2010-01-17T17:06:54Z")
I’m ready to take the first step. Conquering all the old fears Doesn’t really seem possible As I am surrounded by reminders. Conquering all the old fears Though fear has been my constant crony? As I am surrounded by reminders, So am I lulled by the familiar. Though fear has been my constant crony, It is time for painting a new path. So am I lulled by the familiar? The new path painted obscures the old. It is time for painting a new path. Washing the old fears with soft brushes, The new path painted obscures the old. A pentimento remains as guide and trap. Washing the old fears with soft brushes Doesn’t really seem possible. A pentimento remains as guide and trap. I’m ready to take the next step. - freckafree ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/6 "2010-01-17T17:08:09Z")
Cortes was not a humble lord and, though his men were few, he brought low a mighty empire, conquering with sword and cross. He swept across their ancient city, painting the stones crimson with blood, no crony but damnation at his side. Smiling, his eyes wild in the heat, he taught the Aztecs a new form of sacrifice. - Elendil’s Heir ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2010, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/7 "2010-01-17T17:09:17Z")
I will confess in MPSIMS one day that I formulated a pragmatic strategy to win a poetry contest. It’s not an all out conquering like Alexander the Great, but I Scotch Taped word bubbles while painting the score on the dry erase board. When this timer finally expires I’ll be glad to step back momentarily, and no longer be a crony. - mauxlicious ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/8 "2010-01-17T17:10:27Z")
Ever the erstwhile, conquering hero Shedding tears and hair in equal measure; Ambition tossed aside, plans rent asunder, Defeat frozen in place, his face a painting of a thousand unsaid words, And still they look to him, from King to crony, To lead and settle, to rule and follow. Such is his gift, such is his fate; A birthright and heirloom in spite of his history, In spite of his soul and body and place. - Cuckoorex ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/9 "2010-01-17T17:11:57Z")
A girl from Lorraine on a pony Confided her dreams to a crony– “Inspiring a painting. If not, then a sainting But nobody’s conquering Joanie.” - AppallingGael ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/10 "2010-01-17T17:13:03Z")
Like a map, your body lies and my hands, conquering charting, tracing lines and contours getting lost The moon shines her gentle light less to lighten than to hide lovers in intimate shadows getting lost A romance of streetlights and the song of the city rain pouring on hapless souls getting lost I am the night embracing you I am the rain caressing you I am the moon watching you Trembling fingers on cold stone façades lonely, so lonely now, lonely lonely on cold stone façades searching you I come to you through the streets painting your picture onto the city with silent footsteps searching you Knife, my old crony in the back of my jeans singing a Moonlight Serenade searching you I am the cold stone holding you I am the knife kissing you I am your lover I have found you - Half Man Half Wit ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/11 "2010-01-17T17:14:23Z")
Not a crone but crony, Not a witch but wise, She wanders in the willows With sadness in her eyes. She rides a ragged pony. She wears a ragged gown. She paints her face with coal dust, And painting, paints a frown. There is no child to hold her. There is no child to hold. He’s gone to down to the river Where dreams are bought and sold. They’ve bought and sold her sadness, And conquered all her dreams And, conquering, undone her, Like a gown with ragged seams. For nothing seems to matter When your heart’s been blacked away, Not a smudge of coal dust, Nor the willows, nor the day. Nor a crone but crony, Nor a witch but wise, For her heart has gone to tatters, And her truths have turned to lies. - The Hamster King ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/12 "2010-01-17T17:15:32Z")
When the conquering rush ebbs and the last clash of battle drifts loud and brash into the night air, I hide the shaking hands of a coward. No Ozymandias am I, nor Napoleon triumphant in a museum’s painting nor Stonewall Jackson cast in marble on some southern battlefield. I have never had a crony–only friends made of soft flesh like pulp spirits fragile as aluminum foil bayonets held close and more dear than myself and shivering, like me, until morning. - Angel of the Lord ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/13 "2010-01-17T17:16:45Z")
Silence, though meager, has conquering might For in its emptiness, creation blooms; Bereft of cacophony, thoughts take flight That greedy chaos would quickly consume. But unmolested in quiet and peace That dribble of color that stains the mind Will burst forth, and seek there its sweet release A masterpiece painting therein to find. Ah, noiselessness, crony of dreams and thought Its sweet embrace comforts, helps words to flow Till poetry gathers and prose is wrought; The writer relaxes amidst its glow. But who has silence, when six children play? Alas, not I, and thus my rhyme’s delay! - Woeg ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/14 "2010-01-17T18:18:21Z")
And there, the poll is established. One caution - because all of the poems were e-mailed to me, then cut and pasted into the anthology, they are all in threads posted by me. Please look carefully at the author’s name at the bottom of each poem - at first glance, it may appear that I am the author of all of these poems. I most certainly am not - I have neither the talent nor the versatility displayed in the Anthology. Admittedly, it is difficult to choose between such excellent and varied works. However, please, do read them all, ponder and vote - I’ve deliberately phrased the question as ‘favourite’ so that, even if the reader feels they know nothing about poetry, the poem that ‘struck’ the reader the most can still be called ‘favourite’. Best wishes and my congratulations to all our poets. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2010, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/15 "2010-01-17T21:50:55Z")
Excellent poems, everyone! A very tough choice! [shameless plug] And any of you who haven’t submitted some of your work to _teemings_ – I hope you will. teemings at gmail dot com. [/sp] ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/16 "2010-01-18T17:49:24Z")
I must say I’m a bit surprised at the lack of responses and votes, considering the overall quality of the submissions; on the other hand, I haven’t yet been able to decide on a favourite, as well, so perhaps it’s just that tough a choice. Anyway, perhaps two days of voting is a bit excessively short? Nevertheless, consider this a free bump – those poems certainly deserve to be read! ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/17 "2010-01-18T19:42:26Z")
Yes I agree, these are fantastic and it’s very hard to pick just one to vote for! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/18 "2010-01-19T00:33:22Z")
Come on, people, cast votes! I slaved for like MONTHS on that poem! 😃 Take five minute and vote! ---
**Author:** ![Woeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Woeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Woeg)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/19 "2010-01-19T04:45:16Z")
I am seriously, seriously impressed with the quality of poets here - awesome work, everyone. I honestly feel my own attempt feels not quite up to par with what the rest of ya have put together. I am proud to be part of the company, though! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327/20 "2010-01-19T12:41:40Z")
I am also greatly impressed - this is quite a batch! If you can write these kinds of poems in an hour, what can you do in a lifetime…? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-jan-2010-anthology-thread/525327.md?page=2)