To pick one poem from the rest.

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I have to steel myself for this part of hosting.  Each poem has it's points.  Trying to keep personalities and friendships out and yet maintaining my natural preferences and prejudices while still being open to the novel is a bit of  a balancing act.  With technical skills accounted for, and if the rules are abided, then it simply defaults to what I like.  Unfortunately or not I usually like them all, so even that doesn't make it easy.  Often there are more poems I really like than possible positions in the winners circles.  This time four will be chosen, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th... which will be a huge tie.

You just have to love the variety.  From the mundane to the quintessentially esoteric.  The eclectic nature of it fills so many of the voids.  Intellectually, it is like me casting out a sound theme and then mapping with the reverberations as a bat of wing at night sees.  I see, I do.  Actually, this is how I think, so it... is a great joy to be plugged into extra outlets beyond my own senses.  We are all blind unto ourselves.  Secrets were kept from me that you posses, and... just perhaps... the opposite.  Wonderful, splendid...  I do indeed see.  And more, I watch as you craft your words.  Some, as with me, seem to craft them in microseconds.  Others struggle.  But the words were created through struggle, now or then.  Always, nothing is free.  I see so much in this contest.

But there can be only one.  In that choosing I see how much else in life comes down to picking one.  One automobile (in my economic stratus), one group of activities at a time, one set of my goals to work on, one woman, one God.  I have tried to split things out and up.  Even youth and vigor could not overcome the failure of that.  No amount of strength will do.  The humility of it, however, when acknowledged, is far stronger than all the strength I once held, which was mightily impressive, especially when coupled with my brothers.  Each has it's purpose, I suppose.  As noted, there can be only one, and so here is the list.

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1st foam (the series)

First I smacked it good..
Then I squeezed it with both hands.
It rose! ..Then swooshed off .. •_•

I smacked it again..
Firm hands embraced it. It rose...
Then a wobbled flop..

Several days later..

My caressing hands 
embraced the smooth silkiness
of my first clay pot.

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2nd serendipity

Annual gamble;
When to plant? Too soon may frost.
Too late frost certain.

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3rd becca

a smile, touch, whisper
oceans misty fingers caress
little moments lost

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5th

The rest of you!

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Okay, so I didn't do it exactly right, or possibly technically how I said I would.  But I most certainly didn't cheat.  I just didn't do what was expected.  It was the triple-shot of the stuff that really did catch... something for me.  I don't know what it was.  Just, yeah.  Don't try it next time, my tastes have changed!  You'll have to... use some other trigger, or brute force... or fudge, with walnuts...  Urhm...  :p

I would like to say I thought about it so much I have a headache.  But... these things don't give me headaches.  Now, I did think about these for several days.  I argue for and against.  I move various poems through the lists.  I rearrange the top slots.  I deserve a headache, save that I enjoy doing it, mostly.  Thank you all for submitting!

I always feel better when I am done.

The Hunger

The dance was de-

lectable.  To the left, right-

I found the one.  Three?