Psimon

Tornado

********************

I am Tornado. I come when you call me.

I come whirling down at your cry.

I am Tornado. My surname is Whirlwind.

I come on black wings from the sky

My sister Lightning, in letters of splendour,

emblazons my name on the sky

My brother Thunder, he reads the inscriptions,

announcing my name as I fly.

I am Tornado! I bring liberation.

Don't flee from me, children of Earth.

I come for the people of poverty's nation.

I swirl down to bring them new birth.

My black velvet wings I'll wrap tightly round you.

I come whirling down at your cry.

No more worship of things when Tornado has found you.

I bear you up, free, to the sky.

******************

It's actually about a black dragon... but the piece was inspired by a storm

Not "crappy" at all!! An excellent piece

Suggestions??

I'm a fan of rhythm (and storms) myself, so I have added some ideas (in bold). These are only some suggestions, so please dump them like yesterday's sweaty socks if they don't fit what you had in mind...

I saw once a rainstorm

wild in all its glory

like poetry in free-form

such a different story

A roaring path

pounding through the air

A kind of wrath

lies unclouded there

A writhing horror

proud and strong

a rainstorms fury

... like a song

(or perhaps : "Nature's song" for the last line?)

Again, a VERY cool work.

Well done!

Makes me wish we had a storm here now so I could watch...

The Path

*********************

Journey, long and arduous,

many stones o'er which to stumble,

is considered perilous.

Demands one to be humble

lest pride come 'fore the fall.

Yet one musn't grumble.

For trees, fair and tall,

along the way make traveler's treasure.

Amongst the fallen, dappled all

lie moments, gold of pleasure.

Journeyman, toiled and heavy-burdened

can pause to take it's measure.

When at last the corner's turned,

hearth 'n' home within your sight, friend

take joy that you've returned.

*************

Not sure if I've got this one right, particularly that last stanza (sounds like EEE to me)

I think I'm getting cramp in my writing muscle though... stretching me further than I've ever done before, all these challenges

Still...

no pain, no gain

no left standing in the rain

no listening to lost love's last refrain

no riding upon the last night train

oh no! not this guy again?!

What a pain!

Peace

******************************

Woodland still beneath the moon

Branch extends in love

Ocean calm before the storm

reflecting all above

Sleeping still beneath my gaze

I look upon in love

They know my thought, my heart's desire

As they remain above

Together we have been these years

Challenged to rise above

Sometimes it's hard to keep the peace

For all we've shared in love

Well now you've made me blush...

Thank you for your comments... You've made a happy man very old... er, I mean, an old man very happy

I must admit I seem to be bursting with them at the moment. Or perhaps I've just taken the time to sit down and write. As for the quality of the work... well...

To share my thought process... hmmmmmm..... well......

Thinas, as ever my dark-elf friend, you've nailed it.

It is about a man so consumed by desire for something (in this case my thoughts were more along the lines of illicit drugs - not dissimilar to Gollum's craving/addiction), so consumed by it that he has lost all he had - family, possessions.. everything.

And now he is alone and bitter and broken.

Such a happy tale, neh?

Thank you again... Your acceptance of my offerings makes me very happy indeed

Gone...

****************************

You never can go home again

regain what has been lost

Be anything but alone, my friend

as you stop and count the cost

What once was yours is now no more

take pause, consider this

What once you prized you now abhor

the fruit of sustained bliss

Those times you counted 'mongst your best

the rest had turned to dust

And now you've stopped to take your rest

yet naught you hold but rust

'What wasted time and wasted life!'

they cried at your demise

'What lovely children, faithful wife'

If just you'd been more wise!

Not to blame

***********************

You ran a yellow light

He ran a red

no blame on you tonight

two women dead

The fear that you felt as

you waited to hear

You prayed as you knelt and

hoped comfort was near

The other is charged with it,

sure to go down.

But could you have changed a bit

if only you'd known.

A momentary lapse of reason (aka. Rage)

****************************

Her flesh could not withstand

the pounding of his fists.

The wounds would raise demands,

"How could it come to this!?"

The red behind his eyes truly

did destroy his sight

But still the tears flowed freely

as she lay still this night

He had no recollections,

Twas like a pure white page.

Still he bore the consequence

of his all-consuming rage.

This is an old one of mine ( not sure if I've posted before, but here 'tis )

Pride

********************************

The trees that whispered in the evening

gave little respite to those in mourning.

As the body was gently lowered,

all eyes to heaven were raised.

"Leave me alone!" she screamed to the demons that came

and as she brandished her righteousness, they went.

But they crept only so far, it was a mistake

The demons of her sins followed her, so correct.

Climbing the steps, buying her way to the gate

she reached her hand in hope and prayer.

Carefully, the gatekeeper searched his tome

but could not find her name written there.

"I'm sorry, my child" he softly spoke

"You must go with them", this last most grave.

In despair, turning, she saw the evil ones

her body, mind and soul to crave.

The tears she wept as they took her away

fell from the heavens in soft ready deluge,

and she begged the question, "Why am I _?"

They replied earnestly, "From your sins there is no refuge"

"But what sin? I am without blemish!"

"Why, pride, my lovely. Or did you truly think

that for all your prayers, works, 'RELIGION'

to this you could not sink?"

It came to pass that in defeat she fell to rest,

her soul abiding with all the 'Good folk' 'round,

in a place of darkness, solitude, pain and loss.

The echo of her screams such a sorrowful sound.

The rhythym's a bit skewed on that old, dusty thing....

Hey, I was just starting out when I wrote it

Or, if you prefer a new piece...

A momentary lapse of reason (aka. Rage)

****************************

Her flesh could not withstand

the pounding of his fists.

The wounds would raise demands,

"How could it come to this!?"

The red behind his eyes truly

did destroy his sight

But still the tears flowed freely

as she lay still this night

He had no recollections,

Twas like a pure white page.

Still he bore the consequence

of his all-consuming rage.

Fantasy is like the holiday you really, really look forward to, only to discover that, once you've been immersed in the 'holiday' for a long, long time, you're actually quite relieved to be back 'home' in the real world.

Or is it the other way around....???

I forget!

Breathe

*****************

Take moment from your busy world

pause, gaze at leaden sky

Watch the clouds go 'cross and swirl

stretch forth before your eye

Rest a while beneath the trees

wonderous ages they have seen

And lay awhile upon the leaves

breathe in the life so clean

(I need at least a C for this assignment to pass this semester... Please, please, please... )

BTW... At last! A happy poem! Yay!!

Dark clouds

************************

Dark clouds break the blue sky

fields move with shadows above

wind sweeps the green before it

as I ponder the meaning of love

We talk too seldom you say

when we do, just don't feel right

I'm too tired or you're too tired

ships passing soft in the night

I am, at times, not 'lovable'

difficult, stubborn, obtuse

You can, at times, be more or less

but we can, in the end, call a truce

The 'feelings' of love, they are tidal

sometimes ebb, other times flow

but 'to love' is a conscious decision

that we make every day as we go.

Just another day

*************************

Just another day.

Just like any other.

Just never find the words to say

why I can't stay longer.

It's just another day

It's just another sunrise

It's just the bright sun's rays

shining light on my cold eyes.

Pity it's just the last day

pity it's just the end.

Pity it's just the only way

my short life can't defend.

Take pity. It's the only day

I spend upon this earth.

Take pity. It's the only day

I share my love, my birth.

***********************

It sure didn't end up a happy piece tho...

My Prison

*******************

Walls, black as space

offer up no light.

No light upon my face

So far from home

yet no distance passed.

No distance, still alone

Chill, a fever,

grips my aching heart.

Aching forever, forever

No release. No,

not for my kind, no.

The prison in my mind.

Such beautiful, poignant words...

such talent, profound.

A wonderful piece, Lady Ayshela, simply wonderful.

Thank you for allowing us to share in it.

My dear Lady Ayshela, I thoroughly recommend 'playing' both at once, such as the dark and grey elf blood that courses through my own humble flesh. There is, of course, no 'uncleanliness' in any elven blood. We are pure in all ways. I cannot speak for those other races...

*Bows low then hears the occassional cough and stifled guffaw from the peasantry gathered around his magnificent personage. He deigns to cast black looks at the rabble even though they do not deserve such attention. He is, as ever, most benevolent*

As for some of Brute's comments... one mustn't forget the primary advantage of having at least one dwarf in any adventuring group.

They're awfully useful for sport at taverns.

There is one game in particular where they excel, indeed they are prerequisite to the very sport itself!

Well done yet again, Brute. Never have I so looked forward to class.

Quatrains (usually ABAB) are my preferred scheme.

Definitely easier (for me too) to strike that balance between Rhyme and meter

I must make time to read more of what others are posting though. It would almost certainly expand my creative horizons.

I will find you

************************************

No matter the distance between us

nor the years that may pass on by

I'll not rest until I have seen you

and heard your sweet voice ere I die.

Though the miles may cause me to stumble

the hours cause my bones to seek rest

I will stay the course, remain humble

heart measured and weighed by the test.

And as I take rest in your gaze then,

dress my wounds and lay my head down

I'll smile and remember the days when

we strolled hand in hand through the town.

Desert Rose

*********************************

Colour sharp as thorns, so clear.

No blemish, mark nor tint

Shape as slender as the flame

in eyes of steel, a hint.

Visage pure and true, no mask

Eyes cold, she faced the sands.

Just one lie would break her heart

betrayal in his hands.

They conquered many lands as one

She craves him, love unbound.

Alone she stands as sunlight fades

alone... her hope unwound.

Around the World

**************************

Around the world in twenty days

around my head the music plays

Around the office see the light

around the garden, sparrow's flight

Around the block we did talk

around the bend as we walk

Around we go one more time

around and round to catch the rhyme

The tall, two-tone elf slips into class. Late as always...

~ Now I know what I was doing wrong for all those years!! ~

He hangs his head in shame, muttering to himself

"If only I'd known... oh, if only I'd known. All those wasted hours, weeks... years!!"

His shoulders begin to shudder; years of frustrated ambition breaking free, spilling silent sobs from his slender throat.

OOC: Well done Brute! A very entertaining read

This is a wonderful piece!

A lovely description of one's perceptions of another's reality...

I totally agree with Ayshela & reverie's comments.

Awesome.

Goodbye to the days...

********************************

Cold morn, mist drifting on the lake

saw my love her last breath take.

Chilled to the bone, she felt no more

cracked my heart at it's very core.

Twas such as this, the time she passed

my true love laid to rest at last.

The pain no more held her tight

sweet bliss, toward beckoning light.

And now she's gone, I am alone

to trudge the miles to what was home.

With but a memory of her smile

to warm my heart against the miles.

I know she rests on soft, white wings

amongst the cherubim she sings.

The day will come that we shall be

as once we were, she with me...

DOH!!! I've been caught out!

ACK! *runs to the window, looks carefully out to the street below, expecting the black cars to pull up at any moment*

I was *trying* to do each letter individually, yes... *hangs head in shame and begins to sob uncontrollably* I'm such... *sob* a failure... *sniff*

*raises head to check if everyone is catching this award-winning moment of theatre. As usual, they are not!*

PS. Conversion was based on ASCII

Part 5

*******************

The Grey elves had planned this ambush for months. A coalition of local and distant tribes had been formed with the aim of capturing Ar’Kelur, the most hated Drow in the known world, and destroying his elite army of raiders. Now, at last, that task was accomplished.

They arrived at the village to tumultuous applause and fanfare. The crowds had come from many miles away in anticipation of this victory, hidden carefully from view until the raiders had taken the bait, kidnapping the brave warrior who had volunteered for the mission of posing as the village Elder. The trap had been elaborate, but perfectly executed.

The ‘Elder’ had filled that role for weeks before the raiders had scouted the village. Real communication had been carried out using a simple code of everyday words and phrases, seemingly innocuous remarks that would be heard in any village, in any province, in any kingdom. The warriors of almost a dozen villages had been united under the common banner of freedom from the fear of the raiders’ attacks, the mourning and lamentations of the women having been a familiar sound to their ears for too long. Those villages that had not yet been attacked had contributed the majority of warriors to this combined force, those villages who had been hit with but a handful of surviving warriors each. But they had all fought fiercely.

The plan had been the brainchild of the true Elder of Orrian’Tanuri, Er’Genthani. He had known it was only a matter of time before the feared raiders attacked his village. He could not bear the thought of the foul Drow capturing his only daughter, Ai’Genthani, to be used as their plaything till they grew tired of her and slew her in an orgy of bloodletting upon the altar to their filthy, demon-goddess, Lolth. So he had sent emissaries to the other villages as quickly as he was able. The resulting inter-clan meetings had, at times, been heated affairs, the arguments raging into the night and the following morning, till at last the parties were all in agreement. The result was an inter-clan treaty, an agreement of military cooperation, of information and spell sharing. New trade arrangements had been made, even some new friendships.

One friendship in particular had come to the attention of several of the Elders gathered. Ar’Gorthani, the son of the Elder of a large clan, had begun to court Ai’Genthani. All concerned – parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles, approved of the relationship. There was even talk of marriage, but that was years away. First would come the betrothal ceremony, then three years of engagement before the wedding preparations would even begin. The wedding preparations would take another two years…

But that was all in the unknown future. For now, the main focus was the prisoner.

He was hauled into the village centre, slung beneath the pole. Children hung back in fear, not trusting that the monster of their mothers’ bedtime stories was actually dead or unconscious, afraid that he would jump up, grab them all and rip their hearts from their chests, eating the still beating organ before their dying eyes, as some of the older boys had told them Drow behaved.

The young men, too young to fight, yet too old to stand with their mothers, stood boldly, hands at their hips, defiant in the face of their unconscious racial nemesis. The young women caught their collective breath behind their pale hands, their hearts racing with fear and fascination at this frightening warrior, so deadly, so strong, so… beautiful!

How could the enemy of their race be such a beautiful creature? It defied reason. It dazzled the senses. It angered the men to see the young maidens look upon their vanquished enemy in this way!

A general hubbub began to move around the crowd. Words were spoken in the ears of mothers who had also seen those looks. Mothers’ hands gripped daughters’ arms and they were led away with scolding tones ringing in their reddening ears.