I meant to write "homely" - there are typos in my work, to say the least :P >.< I try to avoid them, though   and please check out my work! Sometimes the lack of feedback makes me feel inadequate :( but I'm a writer so I get over it :P :)

Again, thank you for taking the time to do this. You really don't know how much it means to me. I would love to discuss this more with you some time! (Maybe when my forum thread is finally posted....) What I love about poems, is that they can be interpreted in so many different ways. Your amazing insights and perspectives helped me learn more about my poem! You pointed out things that I didn't notice, adding another layer of depth. Above all, you found meaning in it–which means I have done my job as a writer. Not only are you are you the first person to do the challenge, but I can tell that you put a lot of thought into your answers. I really admire you :) I think I will change the challenge. I won't judge based on "correctness," because in poetry there are no right or wrong answers. I will judge based on how much effort and thought was put into the answer. You definitely went above and beyond, and for that you will be rewarded. :)

Holy buckets of joy :) Thank you soooo much!! I loved reading your comments. I am ecstatic that you actually took the time to do the challenge! I will not give everything away as of now, but I will disclose which of your ideas correspond with mine. To start off, you are definitely right on "the Madonna" being the virgin Mary. I tried to portray her as a mother figure. You are the first person to figure that out! She is in the void, which is an indistinct/nothing place, as you said. Yes, the blanket is warm, fuzzy, and "homey," and she is knitting the cosmos embedded with stars.

To begin, this is a very complex poem.   "Cradled in the Void The Madonna is rocking Forwards and backwards" The virgin Mary (Madonna) is the mother of Jesus, so on one level this gives me an image of a mother cradling not just her son (Jesus) but also the other children of God. She's cradled in the void, so she is someplace indistinct - opposite of a star. She's not in the light but portrays her love in the background, the nothingness.  "Knitting a blanket Sapphire blue and strewn with pearls Back and Forth, always"   A blanket gives a homely feeling in accordance with the first stanza. In the convensional sense "knitting a blanket" means to create something warm and fuzzy and cozy, although this particular blanket is strewn with pearls. No pearl is a perfect sphere, unless it is a fake pearl (but these are not fake pearls). This saphire blue blanket could be the cosmos and the children of God the imperfect pearls embedded within it (a pearl also looks like a star).    I failed to find the "back and forth" idiom you were looking for, but to me the back and forth of weaving seems to come to mind (note that if you're looking for genuine audience feedback, you cannot guide their studies and prior knowledge upon reading the poem). This fits in with the knitting of a blanket but also describes the ups and downs of life as we go through it (since Madonna/Mary is stringing us the pearls together). This is mythologically similar to that of the Fates in Greek mythology, which compares fate to creating thread (up and down as opposed to back and forth).    This is my first reaction to the poem. I'll have to do more research if I wish to analyse further, although I don't want to risk over-analysing. You have my compliments on a very complex poem! :)

While I think that this is a great poem, I don't think that you should limit such complexity in a poem to a couple haikus. Nice poem, though. :D

Whoever wins the challenge described in "the author's comments" box gets feedback on 30 of their articles!

This is the most ambitious and complex poem I have ever composed, and so I urge you to take a few minutes to analyze it. Below are some guiding suggestions to help you decipher its deeper meaning. The Author's Hints and Tips: •Watch for metaphors (there are a lot) and intentionally capitalized words/words with multiple meanings •Creation •Reference Genesis Ch. 1 (New King James Version) •"The Madonna" in religious context •The idiom "back and forth" as described under definition 45.2 of the word "back" on dictionary.com Challenge: I really stretched myself in writing this poem, and so I challenge you to stretch yourself in reading it. If you feel that you have made out the storyline or have identified metaphors, please share them with me on my Writer's Workshop thread entitled "The 'Infinite Cosmos' Challenge: Decoding a Metaphoric Enigma." I am experimenting with a new style of writing, so your responses will help me gage how the poem's meaning is being perceived. The person who most correctly answers the question "What does this poem mean?" in their post will be rewarded!! In case you were wondering, the person who wins the challenge will receive my comments, ratings, and feedback on up to 30 articles. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this. I can't wait to hear what you all have to say! (Honestly, your feedback means the world to me!) Happy decrypting!