Well, I've signed up on sound cloud and on the verge of trying it out. Does anybody have a preference for which of my poems they'd like to hear?

First let me say there were no losers. All who entered did their best and it shows up in the level of their entries.
But there can only be one announced winner and this month it is Judyanne for her heart touching poem "Doors". I hope you will all join me in congratulating her and take the time to read her entry below.

DOORS by judyanne

BECAUSE

Because
I have known despair
I value hope

Because
I have tasted frustration
I value fulfillment

Because
I have been lonely
I value love * Leonard Nimoy left this plane today

Live long and prosper in the undiscovered country fellow poet

This blog is meant for posting only of the pastoral workshop blogs. All are welcome to read but please don't comment until a poem is listed as completed. I'll begin by posting the beginning of my shop poem. All should do the same and as each person is assigned a poem to continue, please do so in the comment section which goes with each beginning. This is being done in an attempt to keep all these shop poems in one place and easy to find

I recall there was a spoken word shop a while back. At that time my deteriorating comp had lost all audio capability so I paid it little heed. But now i have this new comp which I suspect is capable of allowing me to do a spoken word poem and thus make all here cringe at hearing my true voice lol. But I need somebody to tell me how this is done as I'm, as all here are aware, a Luddite when it comes to new things having to do with this magic box.............stan

UPDATE: PLEASE VIEW THE OFFICIAL CONTEST PAGE:
https://www.neopoet.com/contest/february-2015-contest
BE SURE TO UPDATE YOUR ENTRY SO THAT YOU HAVE ENTERED IT INTO OUR CONTEST (similar to entering a poem into a workshop -- you will see a dedicated "contest" section in the poem edit page where you can select the February 2015 contest)

This is a test to see if many folks are interested in there being periodic contests here. This is Not an official contest, just one run solely by me. The winner will receive one slightly chipped quartz Indian arrowhead (likely of Cherokee origin), one southeastern wild turkey feather and one handwritten poem of mine (Winner's choice)
Rules :
Form--- any form but if not rhyming it better at least have strong poetic devices
Subject---I want a pastoral poem with a secondary level
Length------no more than 34 lines

Our stock in trade. For what is poetry without words? In prose we build plain buildings be they simple shelters of high rises. But in poetry we construct monuments to human thought. Thus using the Right word is perhaps much more important than in any other written form. I am considering renewing a "Perfect Word' workshop. If anybody is interest just say so here and feel free to also post a small comment on your opinion of the power of the right word instead of just an OK one.
"two roads diverged in a yellow wood"...or.....A road forked in the autumn forest?

I developed a form of poetry called "morphing" poetry. In it one changes the form of the poem from one to another to mirror the poem's content. For example one could change from free form to rhyming. It appears to be going over pretty well. (If you want to see a sample you can look up my "Widow's Retreat")

The above title and following words are copied from a column written by Suzanne Fields :

The other day a teacher of a ninth grade English class at an elite private school in the nation's capital asked students who had transferred from public schools to list the poets they had studied. Several hands shot up eager to tell.When one of them said "Langston Hughes", the other hands went quickly down. Langston Hughes, a distinguished black poet well worth reading, was never the less the only poet they knew.