Comment from Pearl Edwards

Excellent

I must admit I cheated and looked on the reviews. Good little history lesson in your Acrostic for this word Craig, I'll be googling him later.
cheers
valda

 Comment Written 24-Jul-2018

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reply by the author on 24-Jul-2018

His life story is a most fascinating and quite sad one, Valda. Many thanks for reviewing :) Craig

Comment from Bill Schott

Excellent

This acrostic poem, One More Enigma, presented with the vertical theme word STEGANOGRAM, reminds us of the contribution of Alan Turing. I see his name encoded there.
Turing played a pivotal role in cracking intercepted coded messages that enabled the Allies to defeat the Nazis in many crucial engagements, including the Battle of the Atlantic, and in so doing helped win the war. It has been estimated that this work shortened the war in Europe by more than two years and saved over fourteen million lives.
(Wikipedia)

 Comment Written 20-Jul-2018

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reply by the author on 20-Jul-2018

And a fine reward he got for his efforts. Many thanks, Bill - Craig

Comment from Ulla

Excellent

Hi Craig, a most interesting acrostic you've written here. I like the word and I have yet again learned something new. The name Alan Turing meant something to me but I didn't know why or how, so I looked him up and then some of it fell into place. But I have not been able to solve the puzzle you've set us. It's amazing though that to be gay was a criminal offence as late as 1966 in Britain. Yes, I do have an English Law degree which I obtained back in 1998 as a mature student. I would love to know what the puzzle is. All the best. Ulla:))

 Comment Written 19-Jul-2018

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reply by the author on 19-Jul-2018

Oh, the puzzle was just to find the letters (most managed that), and tie it in with the story; which I think you've done pretty well. Yes, he was a hero who quite literally helped to win a war, and yet he was treated abysmally. His feat of cryptology in cracking Enigma is the tie-in with the word of the day. Well done on the law degree, btw. I considered that myself, but when I saw the amount (and nature) of the reading one of my friends had to do, I decided I'd never make it. That was back in the mid 70s. Cheers, Craig

Comment from closetpoetjester

Excellent

Hey Craig
I loved this one as it had both an air of mystery and familiarity for me all at the same time.
The reason it has particular meaning for me?? I took Shorthand at school and absolutely loved it. I wanted to be a court stenographer for a short time and then realised it probably WAS a dying trade so swapped it for a more constructive subject...although I think court stenographers are still around, but anyway, point is, it was so cool especially for those that just knew the code or how to crack it so to speak. Some peeps just thrive on that. It would certainly pique my interest.I am a keen sherlock holmes and love any kind of who dunnit and am first on the virtual scene with my prognosis haha albeit it slightly incorrect on occasions. I sometimes do the express diagnosis haha as a result of having to multitask as a result of being a woman LOL

Anyway back to the shorthand...I can STILL remember how to write my name and a few sentences but I found it a delight to study found it an absolute breeze (I think the artistic background helped as they are just little squiggles strokes and dots in particular locations)
but anyway was sorry to have to let it go. With that said, my first boss when he found out I took shorthand had me take a couple of letters down just to be novel I think haha.
I'm sure he liked the sound of his own voice haha
Anyway that didnt last long.

Great poem about a clever code buster who was at the top of his game.
Unfortunately he did not have his A game on that night by way of having his wits about him.

You rock mate!

Cheers P

 Comment Written 17-Jul-2018

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reply by the author on 17-Jul-2018

Don't the court stenographers mostly use some sort of machine, Phillippa? Or maybe I've just seen too many Perry Mason reruns. My mother learned shorthand as a young woman, and she showed me once what it looked like - made no sense to me lol I think it takes a particular sort of mind to be good at things like that.

Thanks for the terrific review,
Craig

reply by closetpoetjester on 17-Jul-2018

Hey there! Yeah I think it would be a stenography machine but of course you still need to know all the little bells and whistles.

I type like I talk.
Flat out LOL
So I MAY have been in the running.


Dammit.
I may have missed my calling in life haha



NOT

Comment from BeasPeas

Excellent

Hi Craig. I remember seeing the movie about the invention of the enigma machine and how hard the team worked to solve breaking the German code during the second world war. Your acrostic is well done. It concerns an important time in history and the brilliance of those to solve the problem under such pressure. Marilyn

 Comment Written 17-Jul-2018

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reply by the author on 17-Jul-2018

Thanks very much for the lovely review, Marilyn. It certainly was a crucial time in history, and the breaking of the enigma code was a big turning point for the allies. Cheers, Craig

Comment from strandregs

Excellent

good going Craig
He invented the first computer, names I can't remember,
first stage dementia , I call it.
It's easier to call everybody George, which I do,
When I forget that I'll just call , you... :-))Z.

 Comment Written 17-Jul-2018

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reply by the author on 17-Jul-2018

Thanks for the fantastic comments, George ;-) Most appreciated, as always.

Comment from Gloria ....

Excellent

Boy that's one awkward looking contraption, but very handy by the sounds of things. I'd never heard of Alan Turing before so that was an interesting little fact finding mission.

So I never solved the puzzle but here are my stabs in the dark.
1. It means - burnt by stigma until knighted globally. I just ciphered on that.

2. level ole mole eoeoeo - now this one is a bit of mystery, but that was using Morse Code based on the positioning of the letter in the sentence and matching it up with its respective dot or dash. A bit of code and ciphering.

3. I did an Alex Jones, which happens to be my personal favourite - Gloria will win the lottery and buy an island in the Mediterranean and write novels in the sand every night and wonder why they're gone by morning.

So, how'd I do? LOL. Great fun, Craig and the mixed metre works very well.

Gloria

 Comment Written 17-Jul-2018

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reply by the author on 17-Jul-2018

1. Absolutely spot on.

2. I think you might be overthinking it a bit ;-)

3. I hope she will remember who her friends are, and how much they love mediterranean islands.

Many thanks for the wonderful response, Gloria. Cheers,

Craig

Comment from Y. M. Roger

Excellent

Wonderful!! :) Do I get extra points for knowing who Alan Turing is without having to look him up? lol Okay, so the fact that I am a physicist/programmer might have helped.....
Seriously, though, this is an awesome work you have here -- much thought and planning went into the product and it shows! :) :) :)

Thank you again for sharing..

 Comment Written 17-Jul-2018

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reply by the author on 17-Jul-2018

Thank you very much for the lovely comments. And absolutely extra points for knowing who he is. Apart from being a programmer myself, AI was my specialist area of study, so it goes without saying I knew of him long before "The Imitation Game" - which is a fine movie, I think. Most grateful, Craig.

Comment from --Turtle.

Excellent

Hey, Craig, I read your acrostic and learned a few new things... Overall, I'm still feeling a bit rusty for reviewing poetry, but I enjoy the reading.

What I liked, you wove the theme of steganogram into this acrostic and inside the acrostic is the secondary theme of Mr. Turing... who also carries a strong theme of coded messages, also in an acrostic form... but the second acrostic is coded through the acrostic, thus tying in the theme double fold.


One day* they found him dead inside his room
Great was the loss to humankind that day*
(wondered if the first day might be able to be morn?

One morn they found him...?

Not sure, the reason I pulled it forward was when I got to the 'that day' I felt the echo, and looked up at play to make sure it wasn't day... so I'd sensed the echo of just hearing 'day' in my mind... and I figured time wasn't so important. day... morn... eve, Not sure if the one syllable for one syllable change works or not...

Also appreciated the sense of people who do for others, and the thanks they get. Those offering service still get hosed and belittled for things like who they love, who they worship. Some days the world is topsy turvy. The ruthless are praised, and the selfless are shunned.

Hand to forehead, there's the real enigma.

 Comment Written 17-Jul-2018

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reply by the author on 17-Jul-2018

Thanks for the fantastic comments and catching that duplication, Turtle. I do that a fair bit, but usually catch it. This one snuck through, so I'm glad you spotted it. Most grateful, Craig

Comment from Jannypan (Jan)

Excellent

This is a great acrostic, Craig. I like the way you gave readers a code in your lines. Alan Turing was a 'codebreaker' during WW1. He helped decipher German message etc. that helped the allies in their fight against the Nazis. What a clever way tom pay tribute to him or at least inform the public. There was a movie about this/him several years ago that received much praise. I know he was harassed because he was gay. Your acrostic is in great form with a perfect picture to accompany it. Thanks for sharing. Jan

 Comment Written 17-Jul-2018

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reply by the author on 17-Jul-2018

Yes, I thought that was a very good movie, Jan. Not only harassed, he had to undergo chemical castration. What a nice way to treat a hero. Anyway, your comments are much appreciated. Craig