Poem, Frost in the Valley

The sun begins to fade beneath the edge of the sky,
As a wicked chill crosses the plain.
Talons of cold touch my neck as I wonder why,
The sky had dropped the rain.

It was the dawn of spring, or so they say,
But I felt nothing but cold,
Winter grasped the world it its silver tray,
My bones creaked as if old.

 A mist creeped over the valley locked in chill,
With frost over the glass.
I scraped and scraped clean my window sill,
But it just came back.

My arms grew tired, my limbs worn out,
Untill I looked to the sky.
"Where is the god damn spring you lout?
Its too damn cold... why?"

Mother nature only laughed and laughed,
and sent a cool breeze near.
Her quiet voice carried within the draft,
"Just be patient, dear."

Poetry, On the Roof.

The night moved with the grace of light fingers,
playing with my hair soft as a lover.
It's touch was light but it didn't linger,
Its moved like a taunt that lasted forever.

Its left a gentle chill that robbed me of sleep,
My mind was tired, my limbs were heavy.
My betraying eyes closed I couldn't keep.
Sleep eluded me no matter the levy.

The roof was open with a hard cement floor,
Sharp edges stabbed at the sky like a knife.
But it held a secret I alone knew more
Up here, the sounds echoed away the strife.

The wooden guitar was light, strung with gut,
Its twang was heaven and its notes crisp.
The notes from my soul flowed and cut,
The music from my soul flowed like a wisp.

The sleepy city heard my song from far above,
But none spoke up, no one screamed for quiet,
For one perfect moment, the air was beloved,
Only the silence once shattered dared to riot.

With a song ended the silence reigned,
I put it down and felt the sleepy night,
The restlessness had gone and drained,
And I closed my eyes to the sight.

Poetry Challenge, Random Words

This particular challenge was annoying on my levels. It has to be written in Iambic Pentameter. In other words, every line have to be five groups, first word unstressed, second work stressed. And I had to do this with words chosen not by me. The words had be to be used so that if its more than two syllables, they fit into the rhythm. Its enough to make your ears bleed!

I broke the 'feet' up with symbols, so you know where the pauses are. This is the last time I take your advice, Leslie.

With thanks to James, Angi, Jessica, and (grudgingly) Leslie...

I walked | and sang | a stu|pid song,

Marked | by a | quiescent | quandary,
Should | I buy | the Jiving | Jabber | wocky
So nicely | priced | at Richt | ley's Retail?

I bought | and grasped | it giggling,
I drove | it past | the ditz | y drivers,
To her | place near | the tall | fir tree,

I ate | too many | calor | ies,
My pain | in chest | was genu | ine
My heart | had died | from a | soda | can

Okay, not my best work. What do you think?

Immortality

I submitted a short story to www.eastoftheweb.com and hogglepot.com. I hope they will be kind enough to publish it. Email says their turn around time is five months. I hope its faster.

I'm very proud of it, but man is it hard to do my job and write these things. Work has become SUPER busy. Insane during for an economic depression for a travel agent to go crazy from overwork. It could just be they are keeping us short staffed at Travelocity, but somehow, I doubt that.

Work put me right in front of my supervisor's desk. She has a nice Line of Sight to my computer screen. Its almost as if they know me... errr... I mean don't trust me... yeah, that's it.

Working on a second one now. I will probably have five or six churned out before the end of summer. Frankly, I would have more if not for the afore mentioned work issue, and the release of several cool videogames. Mass Effect 3 is not good for my productivity nor is Yakuza: Dead Souls. Thankfully, the only good things coming out this summer are the Witcher 2 and Max Payne. Bone dry for gamers, and the lack of distraction should make me more productive.

My weekly writer's group (Hi, guys! I know you come here...) keeps on telling me I need to master poetry. Not that I disagree, but I wish they would let me write about less depressing things. So far we've covered addiction, alcoholism, death, and homosexuality. I didn't put up the one on abortion because, frankly, it depressed me to write. I seriously don't know how I fit in with them. They will kill me for saying this (except Sam), but they all look like the cliche struggling artists. just imagine five artist stereotypes, then toss in me-an overweight cheerful guy. Now put them in a circle. Which of these things is not like the other? But I can tell my writing has improved, so its helping. Guys, you are helping me a lot, thank you. When my first book gets published, i'll let you all fight over who gets to be the first person I thank.

I missed last week's session, but I did speak to a few of them on Skype. I was told (ORDERED!) to put up this little tidbit I apparently said in the very first group meeting:

We don't achieve immortality by what we do, but by what we leave behind. -J.T. Perk, 3/12/12

I put a date on it, so if it gets quoted, I'll know the date I wrote it down. Expect more poetry next week.

Also, I joined a weekly D&D group. By sheer fact that I am the oldest, I've played the most D&D, AND I have the most dice, I volunteered to be DM. How the hell did that happen? Poor gamers have no idea what they are in for. Oh well.

This week is gonna be nice, so I am going to trike everyday (trikes are cool). Today I overdid it a bit, but I chalk that up to laziness the past week. My goal is to get my way to work with my trike by fall. Not easy with the hills around here, but I enjoy riding so much I don't really care.

Once the short story gets published, assuming it ever does, I'll put a link up here. Thanks for reading!

Insane pic of the day:

Behold! Neil Gaiman inside the (10th Doctor's) TARDIS. Cool Meets Awesome.

Poetry, An Ode to Dove.

Stars in the sky, that wheel away,
My lover's hand leaves, she cannot stay.
I reach out with sadness, but offer a smile,
I beg for her to stay a while.

She shakes her head, and smiles back,
"Sorry, hun, the sky is black.
I must get home, I must not be late,
There is much to do, much on my plate."

I stand up from the grass and hold out my hand,
"Let me take you home, It will be grand,
To walk with you under the stars, so high above."
Her smile grabs my heart, its fits like a glove.

But her head she shakes, it takes my hope away,
"Sorry my love, but not today."
She holds out her arms, she holds me tight.
I grasp with love, I cannot fight.

Her smile begs for the kiss, her lips are sweet,
I am lost in the moment, The ground leaves my feet.
I hold her hand as we walk, words of sorrow escape,
Time apart we cannot tolerate, we can't abate.

We talk of the next time we shall meet,
My house, your house, or on the street?
"Call me about this later, lets not talk now,
Our day was over so fast, I know not how."

The car is red, I hold the door for her to enter,
she turns over the engine, I lose my center.
Being apart from her makes me lose my calm,
He smile fixes my soul, brings it calm.

The window rolls down, she sticks out her head,
then she says words that fill me with dread,
"We have to tell them, they need to know,
no matter the cost, no matter the blow."

"We can't hide this any longer, we will lose ourselves,
we can't keep our love hidden on shelves.
we owe it to our families, they need the truth,
We are not children, we are not youth."

My heart is twisted, but she is right.
this will not be pleasant, this will be a fight.
My hands rattle and shake, my heart flutters,
but the words I say next, I do not sputter.

"Then tomorrow we do this, you and me,
We will stand together, we shall see."
She smiles and nods, then drives away,
I stand alone in the moonlit gray.

The night comes swiftly, I do not tarry,
Dinner is ready, but I am wary.
Mom and dad don't get it, but they soon will,
My beloved will not fit their holy bill.

The table is set, the players in place,
when the doorbell rings, my heart begins to race.
I open the door, and she is there.
The doubt fades away, I can breathe air.

I put my arm around her, I announce her name,
I hope to god, they will not blame.
"Mom and dad, this is my soulmate, my love,
her name is Audrey, but I call her Dove."

I smile, ever hopeful they are fair,
but only silence hangs in the air.
Mom and dad are stunned, their jaws drop,
For a moment, I fear their hearts have stopped.

Defiant I challenge, proud I stand,
My mouth opens, it gets out of hand.
"Well, mom and dad, what do you say?
Our guest has come to meet your gaze."

My mom finds courage first, her voice a flutter,
He mouth starts to move, her words a sputter.
"We just don't know what to say, or what to do,
we didn't know you were like this, its all new."

I stand firm, with her gentle hand in mine.
together we will stand the test of time.
She is Audrey, the hand to my glove,
and I am Susan, her one true love.