Firstly, a huge thank you to everyone who participated in Edition One!

We were so excited for this contest and you guys did not disappoint. You all submitted such wonderful pieces!

Bear in mind, while this edition has ended, there will be plenty more to satisfy those poetry itches in the future.

Currently, the second edition is OPEN with a little twist. So it will be a little different than the last one. Please check it out if you'd like to enter!

Now, without further ado;

🥈 SECOND PLACE 🥈

Sky is on fire by KanhaiyakiSakhi9112

Title: 3/5

Content: 5/5

Imagery: 5/5

Flow: 5/5

Vocabulary: 4/5

Originality: 5/5

Creativity: 5/5

Grammar: 5/5

Adherence to the prompt: 5/5

Total: 42/45

Review by Ansha_Writes: When I read your poem , just 1 word came to my mind: 'mind-blowing'. Yes, that's true, my mind indeed blew up. I was looking for this kind of poem only. The flow is really good, however I'd advise the use of new words more. It will give a more philosophic taste. The title could've been something else, it would then have added the final touches to a good painting

Sticker:

🥇 FIRST PLACE 🥇

home ? by with-love-rose

Title: 4/5

Content: 5/5

Imagery: 5/5

Flow: 5/5

Vocabulary: 5/5

Originality: 4.5/5

Creativity: 5/5

Grammar: 4.5/5

Adherence to prompt: 5/5

Total: 43/45

Review by footnoteofhappiness: I actually really love the way you incorporated the prompt into your piece - it is smooth and flows well. Your poem in its entirety is written well and I quite enjoyed it. There were some small little errors due to grammar but other than that, this is a great piece.

Sticker:

Below is our runner up!

We wanted to shine a light on your fantastic piece as well! Well done!

🏅 RUNNER UP 🏅

Where Heaven Meets Hell by Read-aholic2006

Title: 5/5

Content: 5/5

Imagery: 5/5

Flow: 4.5/5

Vocabulary: 4/5

Originality: 4/5

Creativity: 4.5/5

Grammar: 4.5/5

Adherence to prompt: 5/5

Total: 41.5/45

Review by footnoteofhappiness: Your poem was raw and powerful, evoking emotions. I also really love the way you incorporated the prompt in that last stanza - incredible! I just recommend a little editing to polish the poem up a little more.

Sticker:

✮ ✮ ✮

Congratulations to all of our winners! Stay tuned for your prizes to roll out shortly.

Below are the rest of the participants and their scores. Thank you all for giving us a chance to read your poems.

We hope you can use the feedback as a way to improve and inspire you to create more. Some masterpieces just need a little polishing.

✿ Nature's Rage by Rising-Queen

Title: 3/5

Content: 5/5

Imagery: 4/5

Flow: 5/5

Vocabulary: 3/5

Originality: 5/5

Creativity: 4/5

Grammar: 5/5

Adherence to the prompt: 4/5

Total: 38/45

Review by Ansha_Writes: I expected a more philosophic title. The imagery & concept are great. The poem shows how humans have been torturing Nature and destroying it. However, I felt that the phase 'sky is on fire' could have been shown more elaborately like first showing the coming of various Natural disasters which are destroying & causing harm to mankind. For eg - coming of tsunamis, typhoons, heavy lighting etc. According to my idea if you'd shown 'heavy thunderstorm' then the phrase would have been more suitable. You have conveyed all these but within a short manner, it would look really good if you could have elaborated it a bit.

Rest everything is okay, however I would advise you to add new words. It would add decorations to your already prepared tasty cake.

✿ The Sky is on Fire by thattouchofpoetry

Title: 3/5

Content: 5/5

Imagery: 5/5

Flow: 4/5

Vocabulary: 4/5

Originality: 4/5

Creativity: 4.5/5

Grammar: 4.5/5

Adherence to prompt: 4/5

Total: 38/45

Review by footnoteofhappiness: Firstly, I thought your poem was beautiful and I enjoyed reading it. However, I think it could benefit from a slightly better title as the current one lacks originality. I also like how the prompt has been used as the last words - it hits differently.

✿ Forever, Yet Not by Aravis-Brightspell

Title: 5/5

Content: 5/5

Imagery: 5/5

Flow: 5/5

Vocabulary: 3/5

Originality: 5/5

Creativity: 4/5

Grammar: 5/5

Adherence to the prompt: 3/5

Total: 40/45

Review by Ansha_Writes: The writing, everything is fabulous. I really liked the flow of the poem. The poem can truly express the feelings of a one-sided-lover when he/she is looking at his/her love. That person loves the other person unconditionally, without that person's acknowledgement. The beauty in these lines expresses these emotions really well. But when I read the last lines, my eyes welled up, because that person's lover is no more. The poem started with a cheery, desiring, dreamy atmosphere but ended with reality.

However, the phrase 'the sky is on fire' could have been used more meaningfully.

✮ ✮ ✮

And, that's a wrap for Edition #1.

Looking forward to reading all of your incredible pieces in the next one!

Lots of love,
~ HWC Cheerful Contest team 🌻