Parmenion

Parmenion gets quite a shock when the transformation of his clothes happens as he walks through the door. He wonders where his other clothes went to as he had bought them specially for this occasion. He muses about how he will explain to his girlfriend that her favourite piece of underwear is no longer in his custody but dismisses the thought with the positive thinking that if he wins big he can buy her some more. Parmenion quickly glances around the table. Standard maximum of ten players for a Holdem tournament. The organiser at least seems to know his stuff he thinks as he picks a seat around the table that will give him good eye contact with the present females. He notices them both furitively reading the rules. He waits patiently for Katz and Mynx to look up and gives each in turn their own wink and smile. He smiles quietly to himself feeling that poker games just aint poker games without a few girls playing. It adds a nice tempo to the table and tends to dilute a lot of the testoserone that ha had previously found playing on all male or male-only games. Parmenion looks around the rest of the table taking stock at the other players while the first hand is being dealt. He keeps his manner warm and unobtrusive and checks his cards smiling softly and he puts them back down.

Are you accepting late applications? If so count me in.

An apt description of the hormonal gender and their "need" to make complex issues out of the simplest of matters. (The above is a rudimentary generalisation )

Another enchanting work from you Regel. Thoroughly enjoyed the ambiguity but heart-felt sentiment.

They are reasonable wants to which each man and woman is entitled to. My heart would go out to any person not getting them... *hugs*

Yes, but not in a looooong time hun

As a prelude - two doves from where I come symbolise a marraige as they used to be released in times gone by at weddings as a symbolism of two joined spirits. I appreciate all comments on this piece and criticisms as it is intended for that someone very special this x-mas and is a token of my love for her... 1. You looked at me, And I saw then, The where to go, The how and when. You spoke to me, And I then saw, Your love for life, So strong, so raw. 2. You drank with me, And then I knew, A kindred spirit, And your fav'rite brew! You took from me, The words of my heart, I gladly give, While we're apart. 3. I've watched the suns and moons throughout the days, And through their eyes time passed us slowly by, Yet moments streched and lengthened with your gaze, Then time became an iris and blue eye. 4. I've talked to many people far and wide, And through their words became more than my youth, Then softly to my ear you did confide, And all my world became three words of truth. 5. I've drank on mountains high and in the glade, With lives filled with so many points of view, The inspiration of your heart mine swayed, The roads of life are better walked as two. 6. A Blue Eye, three words and memories good, Describe to me the want for two doves, A romance, a trust, to be understood, Reasons enough for our two loves. 7. I looked at you, And I now see, The way to go, The how to be. I spoke to you, And I see now, Where I must go, The when and how. 8. I drank with you, Till I was full, Both in my heart, And in my skull! I take from you, Your words of heart, That fill me up, While we're apart.

Very clever and well written

Burn some incense, Close your eyes, Allow your spirit, To fly through skies. Walk with me down beaches long, Through forests deep, Amid the throng. Speak with me, About your fears, Like we've always done, Throughout the years. Sleep soundly as our souls do walk, Dream happily, As our spirits talk.

Good to see such an interesting question from you and hop you are well my dear! (Its spelt closer to Achillies or something) Firstly, the reason I think many humans fear death is because of our very natures. During the agricultural revolution approximately 8000 BC man took his fate out of the hands of the gods and placed it firmly in his own hands. While man used to rely on a hunter-gatherer and partial agriculturalist's way of living, the revolution was a time when man began to produce more food than he had population, to support an ever growing population. The more food that was produced, the more the population grew because of the food surplus and the lack of need to keep the population low, unlike their ancestors. The more the population grew the more food they needed to produce and so the expansion and planting grew and grew. In fact the Semites, partial agriculturalists and hunter-gatherers saw this happening among their brothers on the fertile crescent, about where the middle-east is now and they told a story about it, wondering why their brothers of the North and West sought to live against the laws of life. The agriculturalists continued expanding with their population and where they needed more room they often killed their brothers for their land to grow more crops on. The book the Semites wrote was the first version of the bible. The agri-revolutionists were represented by Cain and they represeted themselves with Abel. Thus you have the lead up of Cain killing Abel, which was basically a propaghanda story for the Semite peoples to keep their way of life, living within the laws of nature and trusting their faith to the gods and not to take destiny into their own hands like Cain. The reason I refer to this is because of its relevance to how we think in this day and age. Our culture whispers in our ear daily that we are "Masters of our own Destiny". From the day we are born we are taught that although we share this world with other species, they are non-sentient (self-aware) and that we are. We are taught that we are somehow different to these other creatures. We forget that there have been many many ages of various species being the dominant life-forms on the planet, reptiles, insects, mammals, fish etc... We declared war on everything within nature, we killed off the predators which would hunt our prey and the prey which would eat our crops. These are examples of our own self-proclaimed "mainfet destiny". We feel humans have been destined to rule this world and perhaps more. This is the arrogance that our Culture whispers in our ear. This is why we seek to control our lives and our deaths. This is why many people fear death. We see ourselves being somehat removed from the circle of life and cannot accept that this is inevitable for all creatures. This was certainly the case for me when I was younger because I knew no better. The more I learned of life and experience (and there is still much to know!), the more I saw through the veil that our common society and culture pulls over our eyes and the more accepting I became of the fact that we are all of us a part of nature and subject to its laws regardless of whether we live in cities and regardeless of how much we seek to remove ourselves from the rest of this world around us. I understand completely why you would want to be remembered by the world and if you want that badly, then you will achieve it. Everything is possible for one whose heart is strong enough. You may wonder at this point about what talents you have that could make this happen. Talents can also be learned no matter how old you are - don't forget that. For me, like Peredhil, it is enough that I make impacts within my circles and am remembered (hopefully) fondly by them. I keep records to pass down through the generations of my family to come and will also encourage my family to do the same so that we might know all of our ancestors in years to come. *hugs* PS: To Peredhil, I think remembering Hitler is a positive thing. As long as we keep such a horrible memory fresh it is less likely that we will ever again allow such a thing to come to pass IMHO.

Your ability to place the right amount of weight in words and catch the heart of the reader to make him empathise with your writing never ceases to amaze me. This is another excellent work Wren and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I blessed myself afterwards hoping that such a fate will never befall someone I love, and to sympathise with those to whom it has happened, known, and unknown to me.

Re-vamped version which I forgot to post. Won me a poetry competition in Ireland for it and a huge thanks to Peredhil for his input and help in getting the best from the poem possible. *hugs* A traveller through time he is, With dreams upon his sleeve, A smile upon his face he has, But why? Some can't perceive. And rising with each break of day, He wakes to kiss the dawn, While others rush about the place, He plans to mow the lawn. No wind or rain, just birds and bees, Spring's scent is in the air, While others type he plucks the weeds, And smiles without a care. A traveller through time he is, Fantasising as a child, Of fighting dragons in his sleep, And driving maidens wild! Then rising with each break of day, To school he walked and ran, A place to go away from home... One day he'd be a man. No wind or rain, just birds and bees, As he gazed into the sky, Vowing that he'd rule the world, Or learn the reason why! A traveller through time he is, The young man once a boy, His secret dreams kept to himself, Like childhood's fav'rite toy. Yet rising with each break of day, His childhood dreams dispersed, The years did pass, in work and love, His time became immersed. No wind or rain, just birds and bees, They snuggled in the hay, Each kiss awoke its own warm dream, And so he bade her stay. A traveller through time he is, His child upon his knee, Spins grand tales of gallant knights, Who set fair maidens free! Now rising with each break of dawn, He smothers in embrace, His lover or his dawn-kissed child, While smiles enfold his face. No wind or rain, just birds and bees, With green knees pressed on grass, With quiet smiles he knows himself... All good things came to pass.

Now I really feel like Autumn is upon us!! Would you be so kind as to write one for every season? Perhaps a commision to do so is in order Excellent work Finnius!

I agree with my companions above in that the idea for this poem is an excellent one which provides you with the opportunity to paint a picture different from usual description. Because of the theme of the poem as opened in the first line, it sets a tone for the rest of the poem in that any description you make regarding the world as seen through the eyes of a dead man would carry far more weight to the words than that of a normal poem. This extra added weights allows for a much deeper sympathy and empathy from the reader to discover many of the common things which they take for granted. It is the kind of poem which can so easily change the perceptions of a reader in the immediate aftermath of reading the poem. Such an excellent idea I feel, though it was well protrayed, has the potential for greatness. By that I mean, a power to affect readers and make them actually feel and appreciate being alive. I'll try catch you on IRC and talk more with you about it. *hugs*

Next time you see her. smile at her. If she smiles back, go talk to her about the weather, current events - "Did you hear about...?" "What do you think about it...?" Talking never hurts and though your poem is a fine way of expressing how you felt about her smile, one must also bear in mind that sometimes the hearts of many poets lie with people they never express their words or thoughts to, which in my opinion is a tragic shame. Take W.B. Yeats and Maude Gonne for instance... *hugs*

She asks aloud for saving, She needs a helping hand, He helps to give her solace, On her own two feet she'll stand. She dwells upon the memories, Of when life got her down, He speaks of futures brighter, And turns around her frown. She tries to think of happiness, She tries to feel alive, He gives her hope, his words caress, And so he helps her strive. She feels that life's a game to win, She lost before begun, He shows her all that she can be, And somehow makes it fun. And yet she wonders why he helps, Why does he take the time? To help her through her troubled times, To help her through her prime. Though some, they may not listen, They're not among these halls, We love all of our poets, For without you, this place falls. Take heart, we care and good feelings and times are just a few well placed words away... *bows to Peredhil* hope I wasn't trodding on your feet by taking over your response old friend.

People in glass houses should never throw stones... This is what I took from this insightful little poem, and a very apt message it is. Bravo!

LMAO! Aye - a good (and funny) description of sibling rivalry.

As Mira says, welcome to The Pen. This was a fantastic poem which kept me enthralled throughout! Nine versus comprising of nine lines each and a structure that you stuck to very well. I compliment you on your ability to tell the tale of the poet within the framework that you set for yourself. Moreover, on managing to keep for the most part the rythym of the poem together to make it completely readable throughout. Sometimes such strict schemes can cause a degradation in the poem as it nears its end but in this case you managed it admirably! There were a few lines where I thought perhaps a refrasing of the line with the same content would help the poem to flow even better but to be perfectly honest I quite enjoyed it as is and therefore ain't gonna post my minor suggestions unless of course you wish to hear them. I thoroughly look forward to reading more of your poetry, excellent job! Thank you or sharing and keep writing.

An excellent poem Shadow! Reminds me of what that American comedian Carlin said when reflecting on the nature of man and how very different man is in modern day society in comparison with his society post-agricultural revolution. Loved it!

Kind of like the protagonist of the poem is lost in "happy thoughts" about the surrounding nature and then at the end gets snapped back to reality?

Very much enjoyed this poem until I got to the end. It was soundly written with excellent description in my humble opinion until the last four lines when I was left wondering to myself - what the hec was that all about? The first, second and half the third stanza sucked me in and I thought it was excellent, make no mistake. I am one of those people however that likes a poem to have a point or at least a conclusion similar to the subject matter described. I think perhaps I may be too stupid to make a subtle or obvious connection Care to enlighten a poor fool like me as to what I missed?

I ain't a religious lad but if all prayers were written with such finesse and brilliance I might become a convert!! Bravo!

I know very little about styles of poetry so I cannot comment in that regard. I felt the tale was about fishermen/fishing village? I could be completely off but I thought it was a very good way of super-imposing the movement of the tides in and out over the monotony of such an occupation that is dependent almost wholly on the forces of nature. I felt it very interesting that you personified the sun which seemed to take delight in inflicting further misery upon those poor folk. As I say, I cannot comment on the style, but I can on what I liked and I enjoyed this poem. Thank you for sharing.

Minor adjustment for double "he" I am so glad you redone this work and posted it again because I missed it first time round what with not being active enough on these boards. I thoroughly enjoyed this poem which brought back tales of Odin, Thor and most Norse mythology to mind. As my eyes danced across the words I was picturing the scene. I really enjoy poems that can provoke the imagination of the person reading. Bravo! What a read!