Loki Wyrd

nail and skull

meet upon the side of a barn

For the raccoon's to look upon

with hungry eyes

To wonder how

such a shriveled glory

came to be altar

to their worship

With a laundry basket

over my head;

jeans faded & ink-blotted;

nervously, scattered-about-the-room

eyes. see

the noise

splashed upon the ceilings and walls

And

All of it falls away

As gravity becomes

my one object; focus

Hairy & unappetizingly-dressed

as it is.

In a circumference

no bigger

than my forehead

Vacuum-sealed for freshness.

When I opened it today,

It was still good!

This will be my thread to post revised versions of old poems. Some might not closely resemble their original form--happily. Most will likely still be works in progress, or deemed not worth the effort to further alter.

Here I sit

A frog am I

Fairly quick

But not too sly

Thinking on days of yore

Like yesterday

And the day before

I do recall the water fair

And being placed

in little girls' hair

But now

I'm among the blades of grass

Tall and long

And hard to pass

But I can leap into the clouds

I fly far with each and every bound

In the distance I do hear

A startling sound, quite severe

Beneath my feet the earth begins to shake

My strong legs begin to quake

As I can feel the force draw nigh

My heart grows still

Darkness takes the sky

I flee the only way I know

In a panic

As fast as I can go

But the beast, it still does gain

Hopping faster

My muscles strain

Before I know it

I am in the open

Not my last regret

I'm hoping

But the beast turns

And I am safe! at long last

I always knew

Nothing could touch me

I'm just too fast

Stepping through the doorway

And all I see is everything

stretched

out

on a canvas

where time

is felt like texture

and the colors

convey particles of my being

Shapes are defined

by their surroundings

bound by a debris

of interaction

Now Perspective means

that

when

I

approach

there will be more to see

I walk through a door

Warm, sweaty air

Rushes through my hair

Silence whispering despair

Tread upon in Stygian tremor

Reverberating until

My footsteps rout

Their rise and fall mount

Evil draws near:

Brutal destruction

Of all I hold dear.

The door slams shut

Sound bounding off the walls

That constrain me

And the stink of its breath pervades

Looking into the eyes of the depraved

No solace for my soul

Save for the collective space

Your whole existence is feeding

On those who feel trapped

But I see

Slowly you eat yourself

Now that your bones have snapped

And skin drapes over you like so many garments

I see that you are but a construct of mine

To be cast aside

Into some forgotten corner

Into some forgotten time

Some of you may actually remember this one. From back when I had little poetry background.

Sunshine and butterflies

Rainbows and flowers

I wonder if

If today will bring rain showers

Rain in your hair

Rain in your eyes

Things walking the street

Things in disguise

Nothing to worry over

No need to fret

They'll be stealing away children

All the children you've met

"Calm your pretty head

Never you mind

It's only a matter

A matter of time

They always come

And they will come soon

To take you away

Away with the monsoon"

The clouds begin to clear

And the children are missing

But never you mind where

For the birds sing, carefree

No more rainshowers

Only sunshine, and butterflies

Rainbows and flowers

My thoughts on this matter:

Each person who wants to be involved should make one post with links to what they feel is their best poems of the year (what they want voted on)

AND

write-ins, submitted by the readers,

then voting can take place to decide which is the "best" one or two poems for each writer. The selected poems then can be gathered together in one place as an anthology of Pen Poetry for the year.

Dear Ozymandias,

It is my understanding that you have amassed forces along the East and Northern regions of my province. I had not anticipated you sending me laborers--my understanding was that you were against my orchards. Thank you! whatever your reasoning may be, it's good to know we can always turn to each other in times of hardship. You, Sir, are a noble soul. In consideration of your qualities, I shall turn to the soil. Where masses of past intruders and indigenous folk alike are buried. And where the true strength of my lands lie. The decomposing masses shall rise up to allow room for your kind addition to our rich heritage and soil. Down to the very microbes, my country is united in integrating your presence into our own. Soon I will walk your lands, fertilize your vineyards with the blood and bone meal of your populace. We shall rejoice in your halls, my friend!

Best Wishes!

Loki Wyrd

Jason: Both reaching out to new members and reinvigorating old membership should be our goal. They go together: new members bring fresh voices and energy; old members will participate more with more ruckus about. And I think we all can recognize the importance of senior member involvement--the depth of experience they bring to the community.

The idea of connecting the Pen community outside of the forums is a great one I'd like to see continue to develop. I haven't been on IRC in a long time, but maybe I'll come visit. Though I may be an unstable presence.

I'm excited to hear of more activities we can launch within the forums. A large event like the festivals of past would be a perfect way to showcase the potential of our creativity. I think the revival tent Peredhil earlier suggested would be an apposite theme. I'd be happy to help coordinate efforts if others are interested.

Again, the hierarchy concern was mostly in regards to newer members not being able to see potentially active forums in the inner sanctum (and the place seeming empty). But if we can stimulate enough activity in the tavern of the quill, it's not such a concern.

I can certainly get on board with the boobs suggestion.

Some ideas that I had...

A 2010 Pen Poetry Anthology

War Declaration (Contest?)

An addition to the Piazza of Portaits, where you can post other aspects of your character, such as your home/land. Maybe this already exists?

I thought it would be beneficial to have a thread focused specifically on various events/stories/initiatives that we can start to make it easy for people to get more active within the community. The important part is not only that we brainstorm, but also that we consider how we can go about getting started, and maybe figure out some timelines.

I'm working on putting up a revival tent, for any that need to be housed away from the cruelties of the world; or possibly to house various cruelties of our own.

Newcombated, I think.

And I like where you're going with your idea! At some point I certainly intend to work on something a bit more lyrical (and long).

You make me laugh. =)

I particularly liked your first poem--though I didn't get any laughs from it. To show you how much I like it, I will make some recommendations...

To begin with, the first line strikes me as out of place, or maybe incomplete. What is it that's swift as a forest empty of sound? I think that's what's confusing to me. Overall I feel you could use some work on your transitions, making sure there is a connection that can quickly be made so the mind can jump effortlessly as it reads.

Let these hands slip

Over you and quilted blessings mesh against your ear. ----- consider "Over you: quilted blessings mesh against ear."

The tree is over my head, breaking shadows here ----- The tree is over my head--can you think of another way of phrasing this?

And there; I'm tired and the workings of my heart

Prove futile, stunted from the start.

My only suggestion on the 3rd stanza is that I would like "hill" to be hillside, even though it makes the rhyme a bit more complex.

Some of what I really like about this poem include your "quilted blessings," "stunted from the start," and your last two lines. You seem to have a knack for grabbing ahold of unique ways of phrase, continue to cultivate this and you'll do well.

The keen sense of the abused

stage a survival.

Hollowing moments that echo

breed in the tapping

silences of your smell.

Peredhil: I will see what I can muster.

Ozymandias: I appreciate all the work you've put in. Thank you!

Oh, and I look forward to the challenge of your blustering. =)

I don't own any children or wives yet

I'm far behind

in life, and who needs love?

when gloves are found much easier

and keep hands warm in winter

Sensitive to the cold touch

of your hands, and pull

of your rotting flesh. Crawling

The hair on my arm stands

to support the leaning pressure

of your fetid odor:

A spider's slow ascension slanting along my spine.

You make me tingle.

In a breath
  a wind enters
to leave footprints
  in mud paths

  Breathe out
to establish pattern
	Casting the waste
of an abused mind

Edit: The original version of this poem left a bad taste in my mouth. I think it shows more merit now; I refuse to have the previous version on record. If I find out anyone remembers the original, I shall find you...

This winter break I'll have some time. If the mood strikes me, I will let you know.

In conjunction with a campaign to revive old membership, it would be great if we have a number of participatory activities going on within the active membership. That's not so much my specialty, but I know a lot of you have been involved in (or currently are involved in) a lot of neat writing ventures. Let me know what's going on, so we can let the others know! And what events would people like to see? Let's get them started: No time like the present.

Hmm...I would like to be involved in a collection of Pennite poetry...anyone up for a Best of 2010 Poetry Anthology?

Also, maybe a war declaration contest? My favorite part of Archmage always used to be declaring war on other guilds. So a Pennite could choose a person, place, or thing to declare war on and then write up their best declaration they can muster. Something like this has probably been done before, but I would participate this time if anyone else is game...

First step will be to compile a list of inactive members with a history of participation, then if current active members will volunteer for the duties of splitting up the list we'd be off to a great start. My goal will be by the New Year to have that list complete and everyone on it to be contacted.

I feel that it would be most meaningful to receive an email from a member that you have a (good) history with. Perhaps mention old posts of theirs you enjoyed or writing events you'd like for them to participate in.

*edit: Thank you, Zool. I'm looking forward to doing a lot of winter break reading and writing.

I'd be happy to help. However, I will wait until after finals week--next week. =)

My biggest complaint with hierarchy is not that one person is ranked higher than another, rather that as a new member there are a number of forums that are not accessible to them (I think, right?--I don't pay much attention outside the Tavern of the Quill). If a good deal of activity takes place within these forums then what a new member may see is very little activity within the forums, where I think they would be more engaged by seeing more activity, more stories and discussions that they can participate in.

Is there a discussion thread brainstorming how to increase active membership at the Pen? I would start by contacting old members, and letting them know that we'd like to see them back. If someone would have emailed me, the time between my visits would have been greatly decreased.

Thanks for the support. =) I'm sure I've written lyrics...poetry first struck me thanks to Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, so it seems if anything I've drifted away from the tendency. I do love music, and the idea of being part of it. How would you suggest going about collaborating?