no.stupid.answers

You may know An8thg as the fearless leader of our Vandal Patrol program.  Her dedicated squad removes many thousands of inappropriate answers each week!

The poem below is based on an actual experience she had while wandering the downtown streets of her hometown working on a poetry/photography project.  She had stumbled upon an older home with fantastic architecture that she wanted to photograph for the project.  As she approached the home to take the shot, an entire group of homeless men came crawling out from underneath the house and running past her.   The rest of the story, as it happened, is below.

[If you would like your original poetry profiled on this blog, please e-mail it to poetry @ wikianswers.com (no spaces) and include your WikiAnswers username!]

Dignity Under the Front Porch of Despair, by An8thg

They feared her
for a split second
her paled skin
clean and sweet

They feared her
gathering what little they had
and running
but she continued on
without a word
just a smile

‘Do you mind if we watch TV here?’ he asked
gathering his dignity
and oversized clothes
both from round his feet

‘I don’t live there.’
she answered
‘I don’t care.’

He stood for a moment
watching her
and she him
two worlds
separated
by just one paycheck
and a bottle of soap

He curled up
back under the porch
scurrying
like roaches to darkness
and she followed him
and she feared him
his dark skin
pasty from long, cold nights
gums bleeding
smile vacant

‘May I take your picture?’ she asked
treading
ever so lightly

‘No ma’am, I’m too dirty.’

You may have happened across Sophie200’s last contribution to the Poetry Cafe, Wait for me. It was so great we’re welcoming back Sophie for an encore.

When it comes to answering on Answers.com you’ll often find her in the Hamsters section. Sophie wishes she had an unusual hobby like trainspotting or skydiving but, alas, she does not. But don’t think that makes her easy to understand. She’s complicated to decode, just like the essence of her poems. One of her favorites is published below.

[If you would like your original poetry profiled on this blog, please e-mail it to poetry @ wikianswers.com (no spaces) and include your WikiAnswers username!]

My Voice, by Sophie200

Flood in the light to block out the dark,
break down the walls that guard the heart.

Reveal the secrets to cover the lies,
identity drowning in the tears of my eyes.

Innocence gone at the flick of a switch,
To love or to hate - I can’t decide which.

Imagination glows fiery and alight,
Passion lives in me, gone is the night.

You make me laugh, you make me smile,
time spent with you, seems so worthwhile.

True love kicks the heart and tears at the soul,
Finally motivation, I’m left with a goal.

To live or to die is not a hard choice,
when happiness speaks out love is my only voice.

The results of the 3rd Annual WAmmy Awards (our official WikiAnswers awards show) are in! The winners and their acceptance speeches are now on Answers.com.

But keep in mind the following is just a small sampling of all the awards that have been presented to various users for excellence in contributing. Look for one of these award badges on a bio page near you and feel free to congratulate the contributor for their efforts!

Without further ado we hereby present the winners in our “Best Answer” categories:

• JoyceP became the first repeat winner of the coveted Answer of the Year award this year for her answer to “What are the signs of child abuse and how can you help the abused child to overcome the harm it has caused?” She also took home the WAmmy for Best Advice Answer to “How do you explain to young children that their parents are getting divorced to make the transition as easy on them as possible?”
• Doditov snagged the WAmmy for Best How-To Answer with her response to “How do you potty-train a 3-year old boy?”
• Dick Harfield walked away with the award for Best Researched Answer. His award-winning answer addressed the question “Why do scientists think Earth is 4.5 billion years old?”

Way to go everyone and good luck in next year’s competition!

One of our newest contributors, Timwilson jaxpoet, makes a contribution to the Poetry Cafe this week.  He explained that the inspiration behind this poem was that Winter always depressed him (and many others too) with the short days and bitter cold.  Everything outside was losing its life.

But after listening to Sting’s new CD “If On A Winter’s Night” he said it finally dawned on him (after 45 years on the planet) that God created it this way for a reason. His belief is that we, as humans, need to slow down once in awhile but that we never do.  “Winter is designed to force us to do just that, turn towards the indoors where it’s warm, by the fire or in the kitchen and to turn inward also, where our warmest thoughts live and dwell, in our hearts and souls” Tim reasons.

Tim is seeking a publisher both for the poems and a series of old-fashioned fairy tales he has written (and continues to write).  You can contact him on his Answers.com message board.

[If you would like your original poetry profiled on this blog, please e-mail it to poetry @ wikianswers.com (no spaces) and include your WikiAnswers username!]

Untitled, by Tim Wilson

Autumn’s twilight gently falls,
as winter whispers, icy breath.

Soft lullaby for earth now calls,
upon the season’s gentle death.

Gone the leaves and harvest moon
As winter brings much needed rest,

Sings her melancholy tune,
lays all to sleep upon Earth’s breast.

Rest good Earth now slumber deep,
Do not be troubled and forlorn.

Dream the promise you must keep,
The flowering of your spring be born.

Smokey420 is already a bronze contributor on Answers.com after joining only 2 months ago.  He is a 17-year old high school student and wide receiver/free safety for his school football team.  He says he enjoys meeting new people because it is always a surprise to see what new people are about.

But make no bones about it girls…  He is “taken.”  He explains that his girlfriend is “the most amazing and caring girl [he has] ever met.”  She actually wrote the following poem, our spotlighted poem in the Poetry Cafe this week, for him…

[If you would like your original poetry profiled on this blog, please e-mail it to poetry @ wikianswers.com (no spaces) and include your WikiAnswers username!]

Unititled, by Smokey420

Is with him
that I feel alive
I feel light and
everything’s right.

Is with him
that I dream of
the only who stops my heart
and with a kiss make it start.

Is with him
when the world stops,
and when everything is slow
is when I want him more.

Is with him
that I breath deep
taking in
the touch of him.

Is with him
I visualize my life
going on hand by hand
taking steps one by one.

Is with him
that I only laugh,
he is the one that makes me cry
the one I want for my own.

Is with him
that I feel I don’t need a thing
he makes me feel safe
cause I know he will stay.

Is with him
that my dreams come true,
he is all I need
the only one I pray to be with.

Our holiday poet Mike 2 is back in the Poetry Cafe by popular demand with this poem about the new year 2010.  It’s hard to believe we’re in a new decade already!  How time flies when you’re having fun wiki’ing.

[If you would like your original poetry profiled on this blog, please e-mail it to poetry @ wikianswers.com (no spaces) and include your WikiAnswers username!]

Happy New Year, by Mike 2

Happy new year, to one and all
Just seems like a moment, since the start of the Fall

09 has gone, now 10 is here
Let’s raise the roof, and have some cheer

A new year is a time of hope
Better things to come, and that’s no joke

May the new one for you, bring a better start
This wish comes to you, right from my heart

May two thousand and ten, be a be a year to remember
It won’t be long before its December

We welcome Mike 2 back again to write about the Answers Summit.  As you can gather below, a great time was had by all!

[If you would like your original poetry profiled on this blog, please e-mail it to poetry @ wikianswers.com (no spaces) and include your WikiAnswers username!]

The Answers Summit, by Mike 2

The Answers Summit was just brill
To come from England was such a thrill

Pirates and Ninjas were out in force
Wikiholics are we, it was par for the course

Likeminded people who care for the site
The Georgia Aquarium was a brilliant night

Bruce took the mike, he sang Mack the Knife
Better singing I’ve never heard in my life

To get to the Summit, it was such a pleasure
Meeting my friends is something I’ll treasure