Poem by @QuillFire
Member, The Power House Creatives

They Call Him Dan

They call him Dan, who was the Man, 
The Man who said, “Enough,” 
I’ll not sit by and watch it die, 
I’ll call, the Gods, their bluff.   

I’ll use my might to flames ignite, 
Own profits, sacrifice, 
I’ll Delegate to elevate, 
Those Men who’ll pay a price.”   

And so they did as he had bid, 
Some Men, they drew their swords, 
For courage is contagious, 
As Fate all march towards.  

All shared a dream, of it a theme, 
All dreamt of what could be,  
To judge a Man by Merit, 
Not wealth nor pedigree.  

So wrote they did like Shakespeare,
And painted like Van Gogh,
And play they did like Mozart,
The high-born and the low.

They used their minds, to voices find,
Their creations, innovative,
And all did laud, as all were awed,
By power house creatives.

(Your Stanza)

Day 5

It's Day 5 of The Great @theycallmedan 20,000 STEEM Delegation Contest. 

Day 4's Best Stanza Winner

Yesterday, on Day 4, I awarded a double win to @blueeyes8960 and @manoldonchev as both entries were near flawless.

Today, I find myself in a similar situation of being unable to choose between entrants and so I'm going to throw open the wallet and hit them all.

Every once in a while, you stumble ass-backwards into an unexpected phenomenon and this Write The Next Stanza Contest has proven to be just such an instance. Because no one is following the Rules, including myself, the result is something far larger than I had anticipated: The birth of poets.

This was not my intention. But, now that it's occurring, I cannot bring myself to stop it. Poetry is not just fancy wordplay. Poetry is about articulating an idea, ideal or insight in such a way that it causes others to stop and reflect upon that which has been articulated. And THAT ... is a powerful thing.

First up is @blockurator. OK, he doesn't count. He's a professional poet. Here's the background. In yesterday's post, I included the following (which, by the way, still applies):

Before We Go Further: The hyperlinks I include in my articles are intricate parts of the stories I recount. Clicking upon them is not a suggestion ... it is mandatory. Of course, having said that ... you still have no intent of clicking on them, do you?

Well, let's see if we can't up the ante.

I have written a magical incantation ... a curse ... to befall anyone who reads this post and does not click upon the links:

Bitches and bastards, have Magic I mastered, 
Link-clinking, a choice it is not. 
Don’t screw with intent, or I’ll give you lament, 
Your genitals ... soon will they rot.  

If you don't click on my damn links, you can say goodbye to your nether-regions. And if you think I'm bluffing, ask @blockurator. There is one sorry "I was too busy" S.O.B. ... although, apparently, his wife is happy.

Within a matter of minutes, his reply:

@blockurator

One man bowed out to promote
Others unto frolic
Quill's his name, with open flame
Asked, "Geez, where are my bollocks"

He reached for pen, a fancy phallic
To see what verse incite
Lines and rhymes, a real smart alec,
But none could he recite.

Block is a fellow Power House Creative and he and I are good mates. And so, I am familiar with his writing talents. And yet, he still manages to surprise me with his literary skills.

Next up is @joeylim. Joey is a Singaporean and is also a Power House Creative. Writing poetry well, in your native language, is a difficult skill to master. Doing it in a second language boggles the mind. Poetic Verse, with a regular meter, rhythm and rhyme scheme, is about breaking the rules of prose (normal language) but in a way that the mind finds beautiful despite the errors in expectation. It is extremely easy to "get it wrong" and hence the derisionary word, doggerel, for when you do.

And yet, Joey pulled it off beautifully.

The battle fierce is not yet done -
Strain ev'ry nerve we will,
Toiling 'neath the sweltering sun,
With harp and brush and quill.

Not satisfied with one stanza (poets tend to be showoffs), Joey came up with a second:

And thus the Quill a minion gained,
An equal partnership -
In birthing words with little pain,
And stirring feelings deep.

And lastly, there is the Power House Creatives' Bulgarian Shakespeare-in-hiding, @manoldonchev. Again, a non-native of English. And yet:

And all the while their enterprise
A lesson in aesthetics
Would have to long endure to see
A world of higher ethics.

To quote our illustrious, @jaynie ... "BOOM!"

The Rules (That No One's Following)

1. Write ... One Stanza (4 lines) that semantically follows what I have already written.

2. Drop your stanza in my comments section. You may also create your own post and drop the hyperlink in your comment on my Post.

3. Go back to Yesterday's Contest Post and upvote ... at 100%, you cheap buggers ... the Winner's comment.

4. Upvote my damn post ... at 100%!!!

5. ReSteem.

6. I will apply Honor and Discretion to determine which of your Rule-Breaking entries nevertheless qualify.  

7. I am all about Meritocracy. There will be no "spreading around the Prizes to make sure everyone gets their turn." If you want to win, write the Best Stanza. If the same person wins every day, so be it.

Prize

Click the Original Contest Post for a full explanation. 

Ongoing, there will be a slight modification. So as to distribute the Power House Creatives' (SteemitBloggers) limited upvoting power amongst as many PHC Contest-related posts as possible, QuillFire will Wallet Transfer 3 STEEM to each Daily Winner of The Best Stanza. We're also hoping for lots of other Participant and PHC Member Upvoting Support on the Winner's Stanza (in their Comment of the Prior Day's Post).    

To all the Winners: I will try to Wallet Transfer during the Contest ... but I'm already struggling to hit deadlines. In the worst-case-scenario, I'll settle up with everyone at the end of the Contest.

20,000 STEEM Delegation Contest 

If you haven't dPoll voted yet, please do. The directions are directly below and it's quick and easy. 

To win, we will NEED every possible vote, including yours. Although we are second-to-none in the quality of our content, we are massively outnumbered in the quantity of our members (nevertheless, so far ... we are in First Place). We count upon ALL those who share our ethos, that: Content Shall Be Compensated Commensurate With Its Quality to support us, so that we can lead the charge to transform the blockchain into something everyone can be proud of. 

***

Lastly ... don't forget to go back and cry over my first Contest poem, Victory's Price (I remind you ... your genitals.) And ... did you remember to upvote yesterday's Winner of the Best Stanza? If not, please click on Yesterday's Contest Post and give them some love.

Quill

How To Vote

1. Click this Link 
2. When asked, Login to steemconnect
3. Select "steemitbloggers"