Comment from John Ciarmello

Excellent

I'm not usually lost when it comes to another's post, but this one has taken me off the beaten path to somewhere undiscovered, at least for me.

You seem to be super happy with the results, and that, of course, is all that counts.

I wish you much success with the contest. Best, JohnC

 Comment Written 16-Mar-2024

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reply by the author on 16-Mar-2024

Thanks John for the kind words! Yes, this one was pretty out there, even for me.

Comment from Sanku

Excellent

I feel this is a bit irreverent .I amnot a Christian .but still i expected a reverential piece ..Anyway it was unique and totally on an unexpected line all the best

 Comment Written 16-Mar-2024

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reply by the author on 16-Mar-2024

Thanks for not dinging me on stars! Yep, it's edgy. Fortunately Christians have 2000 years of being made fun of and they have developed tough skin, which is to their credit, and I can't allow my friends to get too soft ; )

Comment from Chloe Tully

Average

Great writing and wonderful use of detailing each letter. I loved the writing over it was good keep writing the wonderful work and o can't wait to see what else you write
Chloe

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 Comment Written 16-Mar-2024

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reply by the author on 16-Mar-2024

Thanks Chloe for the kind words

Comment from royowen

Excellent

Of course, Esther must have been one beautiful girl, but more than that, she was going to do God's business in saving the Jews, this is a great post, and a winner in my book, well done, good luck, blessings Roy

 Comment Written 16-Mar-2024

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reply by the author on 16-Mar-2024

Thanks very much Roy! The story of Esther is a good one for sure, and still celebrated today I think in Israel.

Comment from Julie Helms

Excellent

Xerxes' lively underwear is priceless!
I'm not sure if you might have a problem with this entry as the poem is supposed to be about faith. But then again that's a pretty nebulous concept.
Very creative and best of luck!

 Comment Written 15-Mar-2024

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reply by the author on 16-Mar-2024

Thanks Julie! Good question. The faith is exhibited in the stories referenced in the acrostic (Jael and Esther use seduction to save their people, whereas the two symbolic sisters referenced in Ezekiel 23 use their power to stray from purpose). It is interesting that all four women invoked are seducing men foreign to their race and religion, reflecting the Jewish tradition of ancestry as being inherited from the mothers, not the fathers, despite how are the genealogies are written.

Of course my piece itself does not differentiate or contrast the intent of the different women, so it is more of a literal "Bible acrostic" about all the spicy OT passages my brothers and I were reading during long sermons, since my dad made us sit through them instead of attending Sunday school with the rest of the kids. The moral of the story for us was, don't let anyone else make your faith boring to you : )

reply by Julie Helms on 16-Mar-2024

You make a great case for the faith connection. You might consider putting that aspect in your author notes so some won't feel you're just doing Bible porn.
Just as counterpoint to your Jewish seductresses, also consider Ruth and Rahab, both gentiles in the line of Jesus.
Nice chatting! :-)

reply by the author on 16-Mar-2024

Good idea! Thanks, I added it to the notes. Also don't forget about Tamar!

Comment from Jonathan Page

Exceptional

Woah! That is one way to take a prompt and make it your b**ch. A very creative, frisky, and innovative poem. Great work! I also like the one-sentence summary, which aptly prefaces the ironically irreverent tone.

 Comment Written 15-Mar-2024

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reply by the author on 16-Mar-2024

Thanks Jonathan for the vote of confidence! To make it even more edgy, I came up with the last of it in the shower. Haha

Comment from jake cosmos aller

Excellent

I loved this acrostic poem about sexual attractiness of Jewish woman I like the ancient references to Chaladeans, Asssryians, and Zeres underwear contrasted with Only fan reference.

 Comment Written 15-Mar-2024

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reply by the author on 15-Mar-2024

Thanks and glad you enjoyed! (Hopefully not TOO much). The original AI pics were so intense that I had to tone them down.

Comment from Saki the Artist

Good

Ban
It
Because
Lewd
Excerpts!

I totally get this sentiment. Christian parents want to ban all kinds of books from school reading lists, but the Bible has more adultery, violence, and Rated R stuff than all of the others combined.

That being said, I think you might've gone a liiiitle overboard. This is beyond not-PC. But that's my opinion, and you're clearly here to push boundaries and establish a new norm.

Grammar edits: you have extra spaces before the punctuations (after "Esther", "Ezekiel", "Chaldeans", and "Assyrians"). If this is to increase visibility of the punctuations, then that's fine. But for the sake of consistency, you should then also add a space after "Irresistible".

Giving 4 stars instead of 5 on a technicality, because the prompt says, "Write an acrostic poem about faith. Any word may be used." I think it was meant to be a single word.

 Comment Written 15-Mar-2024

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reply by the author on 15-Mar-2024

I was wondering if anyone would notice the space discrepancy. Fixed! Added a space after "Bangin" too. Yeah you're technically correct with the contest rules as written, since it implies a singular word. I doubt the CEC will disqualify this and the other eight entries using multiple words, as traditionally that has been done in acrostic contests, except for the 2D acrostic contests which are much more rigid. As for the content controversy, maybe you're right. This is an experimental piece so I appreciate all feedback that gives me a general sense of perceived social acceptability. Thank you!

reply by Saki the Artist on 16-Mar-2024

Comment from davisr (Rhonda)

Excellent

Hi Mystery Poet.
I think I can safely say this is the first Christian birds and bees acrostic I've ever read, lol, but it is tasteful and clever.

Best of luck in the contest,
Rhonda

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 Comment Written 15-Mar-2024

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reply by the author on 15-Mar-2024

Thanks Rhonda, and I am glad you found it tasteful, haha. Guess I will find out soon what the consensus on that is : )

reply by davisr (Rhonda) on 15-Mar-2024

Lol, you never know!!