Comment from BLACKTITANIUM86

Excellent

This was definitely a contest winner. For,
your poem was filled with substance. And
touched the heart and soul of the reader.
Nice. Keep Writing. And try not to forget to
stop by to talk. Either way, Stay Connected

 Comment Written 26-Feb-2022

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reply by the author on 04-Mar-2022

I'm so sorry I haven't responded until now. Thank you for your very kind review. This was certainly a surprise.

Comment from Bill Schott

Excellent

I really like this poem. It follows the standards that you outlined in the notes, and presents a message of acceptance of life's variables, which give each day a measure of intrigue.
I was going to give it a four though, simply because the other participants followed the guidelines and produced fourteen-lined Shakespearean sonnets, as per the challenge instructions.
Then, with only two actual reviews, it seems that readers voted for your poem without comment. That suggests blind voting by personal fans.
Since I don't really know that, I guess you can live with a five, that would be a six except for my cynical suspicians.

 Comment Written 16-Jan-2022

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reply by the author on 16-Jan-2022

Thank you for the stars, Mr. Schott! I love sonnets and Rosarian sonnets don?t get enough "airplay." I know what you?re saying about the contest rules, and I almost didn?t post my entry. But darn it, I thought. Why should Shakspearian sonnets have all the fun all the time? So, I read very closely. Since the contest instructions, by giving an example of a sonnet variant below the example of the Shakespearian sonnet, didn?t specifically state the entry had to be an English sonnet, I took a chance and went with the Rosarian form. A Rosarian is a sonnet with 14 lines and has a strict rhyme scheme. Those three qualities precisely match the contest?s only specific instructions.
But please help me understand about judging and voting. When I entered the contest, there were seven or eight other entries. As I recall, they all followed the (perhaps vague) rules of the contest. Some of the meter on a few wasn?t as precise as it maybe should have been, but the meter was not specified in the rules. Where did all the other entries go? There were only three poems by voting time.
As for voting, I get the feeling you?re suggesting that I have fans who voted for me, which also suggests a conspiracy to solicit votes. I hear what you?re saying about people voting but not commenting. I don?t have an explanation for that, and that practice, it seems to me, defeats the whole purpose of the site. As far as I know, I have no fans. (sigh) I?ve been away from the site for many, many months and I?m just newly back. I?m very interested in what people think about the quality of the writing in the work they read, and not just comments about the content. I?m always trying to use poetic tools in my work, things like alliteration, enjambment, varying meter for effect, internal rhymes. I tried to refine the rhyme scheme of this Rosarian sonnet using aabcc ddbee fbbf, because I?ve found that second rhyme is weak and often goes unnoticed. Win or lose, I?m more interested in improving my writing, and having people comment about whether those tools are effective or even noticed is valuable to me.
How hard would it be to require people to comment to submit their vote? After (and only after) a comment is typed, two buttons could become active: "Save Comment Only" and "Save Comment and Vote." If you don?t comment, the button to vote doesn?t become active. It?d be easy to code. I hate that the current situation leads to conspiracy theories. I can understand how it makes you wonder what the heck is going on, and I wonder too. Do you understand how voting and judging work? I surely don?t.
Again, thank you for reading and taking the time to comment, Mr. Schott.

reply by Bill Schott on 16-Jan-2022

I really don?t understand the process of voting. There is a way to require reviewing in order to vote on the site*s contests. For instance, you have to read all entrants in order to vote for any one.
Sorry to imply any impropriety. I will bump your review to a six. Happy day.

Comment from Reso22

Excellent

Amazing read! Thank you for sharing! Dance the dance of life with no fear or hesitation to live because soon enough we all get a curtain call. Good stuff. Bravo!

 Comment Written 09-Jan-2022

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reply by the author on 09-Jan-2022

Thank you for reading and commenting, and for the rating. Your review reminds me of a line from the movie "Moonstruck" when Rose tells her husband, "I just want you to know no matter what you do, you're gonna die, just like everybody else." Thank you again for your review.

Comment from Carol Clark2

Exceptional

Love your sonnet! I appreciate the notes on the Rosarian sonnet, as it is a new form to me. You've done it well. I like the enjambment, and the imagery of the dance with its syncopated steps. Great rhymes and steady meter. Best wishes in the contest. Blessings. Carol

 Comment Written 09-Jan-2022

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reply by the author on 09-Jan-2022

Thank you so much for the beautiful stars. It makes me want to dance! I came across the Rosarian in 2004 when I was a moderator on a long-gone poetry board. I had always thought it was invented by Bruce Henderson (a fellow moderator) but Jose Reyes may have been the first. Bruce is from Australia, Jose is from the Phillippines. I lean to Bruce; his screen name at the time was Diamond Rose.

reply by Carol Clark2 on 10-Jan-2022

It's an interesting sonnet form, a bit different from the classical forms.