WD Poetic Form Challenge: Ottava Rima Winner
Another WD Poetic Form Challenge is just around the corner. But in the meantime, here are the results of the Writer’s Digest Poetic Form Challenge for the ottava rima. And…
Another WD Poetic Form Challenge is just around the corner. But in the meantime, here are the results of the Writer’s Digest Poetic Form Challenge for the ottava rima. And since there were so many excellent poems, I also selected a Top 10 list.
Here is the winning ottava rima:
Returning, by William Preston
A piece of me is always turning there,
to my old home, the place where I was born;
I'm drawn to something glowing in the air,
the same way sunshine beckons growing corn.
I feel it in each city, town, or square
where strangers make me feel a bit forlorn:
some similarity of street or face
that takes me back to where I knew my place.
I haven't seen the house for many years
and all the neighbors now have passed away;
it seems to be a recipe for tears:
the sentiments that limn a bygone day.
But when you smile, you banish all arrears
and fears, and hold the strangeness far at bay,
and bid me learn, no matter where I roam,
that folks are folks, and they will point me home.
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Congratulations, William! The musicality of the poem, as well as the sentimental nostalgia, really sang to me.
Here’s my Top 10 list:
- Returning, by William Preston
- Time Off, by Rosemary Nissen-Wade
- Country Music, by Jane Shlensky
- The Hawk, by Maria Grace
- The Wedding Guest, by Tracy Davidson
- Do We Still Pretend the Stars Are Holes?, by JR Simmang
- Keeping the Seasons, by Taylor Graham
- Iris, by RJ Clarken
- Innocent Ignorance, by Tati-Williams
- Sometimes the Truth Hurts, by Connie Peters
Congratulations to everyone in the Top 10! And to everyone who wrote ottava rima!
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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer’s Digest Writing Community, which means he maintains this blog, edits a couple Market Books (Poet’s Market and Writer’s Market), writes a poetry column for Writer’s Digest magazine, leads online education, speaks around the country on publishing and poetry, and a lot of other fun writing-related stuff.
He loves learning new (to him) poetic forms and trying out new poetic challenges. He is also the author of Solving the World’s Problems.
Follow him on Twitter @RobertLeeBrewer.
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Find more poetic posts here:
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
