[Certain]

Vulgar: I really liked this verse, as an open mic piece. Your balance of a deep lexicon, consistent imagery and pinpoint rhyme mechanics is unmatchable. You have the most complex style on this site. But I think your approach to this photo was paradoxically simple. The beauty of that photo comes from the nostalgia of the colorful pinwheel in contrast to the bleakness of the surroundings. That angle felt almost ignored in your devastating portrait of a world collapsed. Moreover, you did nothing to humanize the man in the mask. I prefer specificity, and your approach felt like something to address the topic of the apocalypse rather than handling the depth of the image provided. Your writing is amazing, and your verse was excellent out of context. But in a topical league, approach is everything.

Adonis: You, too, went for the more straightforward end-of-the-world approach, which was disappointing. I thought you did a better job expressing nostalgia for the world that was. Your wording isn't as clean and crisp as Vulgar's, though. For instance, "the subject's you abruptly" is an interesting concept, but the wording was unnatural. I think that holds you back a bit. More naturalist diction could allow your deeper concepts to shine. I did appreciate the poetry of a few sections and the internal references, such as bringing up the hammer twice. Some of the metaphors could have used a little more space to breath, but again, crisper wording could have solved that issue. The concept of men as gods in a world we both created and destroyed was pretty good, though again, it didn't feel as directly tied to the photo as I would have preferred. This was a very good verse, but it didn't have the creativity necessary to outshine Vulgar's immaculately tight and inventive writing.

Vote: Vulgar