Zariah

0. Eve

1. ate

2. naughty

3. ripe

4. apple

5. leaves

6. snake

7. lips

8. bit

8.5 Adam

9. turbo charge

10. manly

11. blamed

12. woman

13. sinful

Julian sat in the cold dark passageway, waiting for the footsteps to fade away. He was shivering in his short sleeved shirt, trying to keep his teeth from chattering. Here, at least he was alone and unbothered. Dinner with the family had turned into another one of his fathers “episodes”-One where he would throw anything within reach at whoever was nearby. Julian rubbed his bruised leg as he remember that he got hit with the chicken platter, but what upset him the most was the look of rage in his father’s eyes as he flipped over the dining room table.

Back to the present, Julian thought.

He was considering calling the police, but the last time his mother covered for him. Her excuse was that he had choked on something and flailed around knocking things over, and that it was not intentional.

Yeah right. Both of them make me sick. All he does is physically and emotionally abuse her and she defends him? What does he have that she so desperately needs?

He couldn’t figure out what to do for his mom. She was a complete mess. Whenever he’d ask her if he could do anything, she’s simply say, “Oh Hun, dad’s just sick. Pray to Jesus for him, and forgive him for anything that happens. The Lord will help turn him around. Besides, he has me here to help too.”

Julian rolled his eyes and clenched a fist in anger.

If only I weren’t scrawny and weak, I could fight back and show him a thing or two….

But there were other strengths he had that he just didn’t realize. He had the strength of intelligence, street smarts, and good character. He was resolved to do something about his father to free him and his mother from the continuous cycle of abuse.

His father had stormed out, most likely to a bar to cool off, and his mom had given up looking for him. Julian took the opportunity to crawl out from the crawl space under the staircase and head to his room for bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, he was quieter than usual, mostly because he was preparing to deal with the authorities. He was approaching the end of his freshman at Lyondell High, with a pristine record of no visits to any of the administrative offices. This made him nervous, since he was not sure who he could fully trust. He had two friends, Claudia and Tim, who rode the bus with him each morning. Claudia was much like him- brainy and skinny, but one of the funniest people he knew. Tim was huge. He was on the football team, but really quiet. They had all been friends since Middle school and even they didn’t know about Julian’s situation.

Tim saw the bruise on Julian’s knee and gave him an inquisitive look.

“Oh it’s nothing. You know me, I am just so clumsy. I was reaching for something on top of the fridge and knocked down the bread box. Heh…”

Usually Claudia would insert some genius quip to make light of the conversation, but this morning she wasn’t feeling her usual self.

*BAM!*

Another weekend!

A long weekend! Yipee!

In a few hours I'm off to the family bay house...

Saturday = painting 3 new rooms

Sunday=boating and bar-b-que

Monday=traffic home

then another week (short but sweet)

And next friday shall arrive!

GILF

"Gee, I love Fridays"

Zariah found some time to think up a "replacement" poem to present.

Not really excited, since it was raw and unpolished, she still made her way on stage.

"All right, I've something to share. I beg you beware...for it's a rough sketch of something I'll clean up later. But just like anime fans like to see the artists "rough sketches"...this is the equivalent in a poem I suppose...."

Zariah began to recite her words in a flow and felt the potential....

"Words you used…they pierced my heart

But I’m fighting back

I’m biting back

To show you that a wound is just a patch

A trophy scar showing who you really are

I wear it loud and proud

And hate you I do not

But I’m fighting back

You called me many things

But I know what you really meant

Words obscured to mirror hate

Since I was straight and you were bent

I was an easy target, I admit

But now I’m fighting back

If only then I’d realized your pain

Those daggers I could’ve seen as tears

Your fears and situation

With stipulation

I’d have understood

That truly you ARE good

But better late than never I suppose….

I’m biting back

To penetrate your heart

With realization

Understanding…

And concern….

Forgiveness…

And Love.

I’m fighting back with love."

She gave a slight bow and smiled. She felt good for contributing something poetry-like. Participation was one of her favorite feelings.

I'm honored that this past template was from my thread.... *blush*

Zariah was very proud of Thomas. He was really trying hard....the whole thing confused her a little...and she drifted back to the moment when Revery had whispered in her ear...

....and then she remembered that SHE was supposed to go up and read something!!

Suddenly, she forgot everything she had rehearsed.

No one had gone up next, and she felt pleading eyes from somewhere that begged her to fill the dead air.

Zariah made her way up on stage, and put on her "Performance" face.

"Good evening everyone! I hope you are enjoying the refreshments and great entertainment? Well...it turns out that the part of my memory that had rehearsed the poem I was going to share has gone on an unexpected vacation....SO...if anyone would like to jump on in---

*silence*

--that'd be great?"

Zariah blinked and looked around for the next volunteer. She then put on her famous puppy dog face with those irrisistable pleading eyes.

Well I *did* PM you...so I'm just popping in to add a belated happy birthday in addition to the on time one....

Come back and post something sometime!

Oh! And if you end up coming to DC before July 5th....LET me know, so I can see ya......

She had almost recovered from two intense emotional hits- the hilarious amusement of Mynx's "special friends"...and the concern for Thomas and his...er...lack of grace...she could really sympathize, being clumsy herself, but...he was a mess. Zariah would do everything she possibly could to help him maintain as much dignity as he could....

Just as she had begun to relax about everything....Thomas proceeded to make a complete mess. Sighing, Zariah just shook her head as she watched as Peredhil fixed that one. She caught his eye and gave an apologetic smile and aided Thomas to his bearings again. She glanced around and still saw no sight of Revery, so she proceeded to bring out a cart of appetizers for distribution.

She made her way to toward the doors where she saw some others arrive. Again, that nervous uncertainty hit the pit of her tummy as she remembered that she’d have to perform something soon….

Zariah had prepared for this day for a couple weeks now. She had ordered all kinds of food from the best Chefs in the realm. She had considered using the catering service that was at the Valentine's Ball, but decided to hire a staff of her own to make things a different experience.

A bit concerned with all that she had to do, she put two particular people in charge of food service: The head waiter, a new member whom Zariah was eager to befriend and the head waitress a familiar face around the Pen Keep.

After gathering the lists and checking off all the supplies for the big event, Zariah scurried to her room to rehearse the poem she was going to read later at the Slam. She was honored to also be hostess to the guests and greet at the door.

After cleaning up and putting on an attractive black party dress, Zariah headed back to the Cabaret room to finalize decorations and see to what Revery might need.

Another Friday has arrived.

Has this week been super long for anybody else??

1) Lady Celes Crusader

2) kitty

3) pouncing

4) Vlad

5) mysterious

6) socks

7) Broom (on a broom ride)

The Mighty Pen Keep

9) Gwai’s Wiggly Cabbage Patch

10) interesting

11) balls of yarn

12) smiling

13) toy mouse

14) milk

15) Laetitia Casta

16) shawl

17) bugs

18) Black

19) shoulders

20) fruit

*yey!*

The thread begins May 22nd.

Is there any particularday of the week this is starting?

(Just need to know so I can prep Zariah for reading apoem and so she can prep the staff....)

I think it's really cute!

That's all I can really say, since i don't know German.

It's another Friday!

I just had a potluck lunch with my co-workers....one of our last few memories togerther before I leave in June.

*sigh*

Only 4 more hours until I leave from work and head to my family's Bay House for the weekend.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend!

Congrats a LOT!!!

?

p

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t

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m

o

t

t

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b

m

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r

f

r

O

Aww! Happy Birthday!

I hope you have some fun!

*Hugs*

Thanks for being you!

Happy Birthday, Tzimfemme!

LOL no not insulting each other. But I guess you could do that if you wanted to...it's not nice though.

What is poetry slam?

Simply put, poetry slam is the competitive art of performance poetry. It puts a dual emphasis on writing and performance, encouraging poets to focus on what they're saying and how they're saying it.

A poetry slam is an event in which poets perform their work and are judged by members of the audience. Typically, the host or another organizer select the judges, who are instructed to give numerical scores (on a zero to 10 or one to 10 scale) based on the poet's content and performance.

An example of rules/faq/etc.

PSI-Poetry Slam

Sorry rev...if you want to add/correct this in any way...let me know...

But don’t you see?

It’s not a poem.

Just a plea of words

Put into “stanza” shape.

No rhyme

Or Rhythm

Lacking creativity

And terminology

I just keep holding on….

Something keeps me driving forward.

The desire to feel proud of myself once again-

To wrap myself in a blanket of warmth and satisfaction.

In one way or another, I bear my soul

Although through writing, it feels productive.

Now, I bear this burden of separation

WHERE is that burst, that substance, that energy?

At least I haven’t given up hope….

"When life gives you lemons, throw them at someone." -bumper sticker

Brianna looked at her list again, rereading what was written. She had to find those items and think about a few things. Looking around, to make sure she was alone, Brianna made her way into the bush. A ray was hitting something shiny on the ground ahead. It was a coin! She tucked it in her pocket and began looking for a large leaf. As she stumbled upon a tattered cloth, she was reminded of that disgusting pair of underwear. Grabbing a stick, she prodded and moved the cloth to the side. Underneath was a pinecone and two socks.

“Does this belong to someone? Or was it planted?” Brianna looked around to make sure it wasn;t a trap. She tucked the items in her pocket and kept walking.

A little while later, she made her way to the beach, and sank down in the sand. She closed her eys for a few moments and enjoyed the warmth. When she opened her eyes, she barely glanced up and saw Zak in the water. She got up to go speak with him, but tripped over something hard. Looking down, she saw it was a brown pinecone. Brianna picked it up, in a moment of heat and was about to throw it when something hit her in the face. She looked up and saw a bird had just flown over her with a real treat.

Grossed out, she took off her shoes and put the pinecone inside one of them and walked herself into the water to rinse off. She walked out of the water and discovered seaweed inbetween two of her toes. As she bent over to pick it up, she also found that the sand there had clear grains. She grabbed a pinch and the seaweed and headed back to her shoes. Tucking all away, she put on her shoes again and headed back to camp.