*** Visual IRC '97 channel #AFD_poetry log, created 9/16/1998 9:30:45 PM

 [DH]    ok  for our first poem of the evening one of mine  from a trip 20 years ago about a place I
found :>
 [DH]   this is called Time's Lost Land
 [DH] T TIME'S LOST LAND
 [DH]   (CARLSBAD CAVERNS)
 [DH]   800 feet beneath the sands
 [DH]    lies a faerie realm
 [DH]   that time has lost.
 [DH]   With arching chambers
 [DH]    and bottomless pits
 [DH]    and a cast hidden by 
 [DH]    stone carved curtains.
 [DH]   
 [DH]   800 feet beneath the land
 [DH]    lies a faerie realm
 [DH]   where giants stalk
 [DH]   past ice-stone falls
 [DH]   While flaming stone columns
 [DH]    support the fourfold levels 
 [DH]    of an enchanter's dream.
 [DH]   
 [DH]   800 feet beneath the ground
 [DH]    lies a faerie realm
 [DH]   that time has lost
 [DH]   but I have found.
 [DH]   end :>

 [DH]   hmmmm everyone scrolling back to read?
  * Shadow-Dancer applauds!!
 <Shadow-Dancer>   I was just getting you the traditional cave-crawler's  Thermos of hot coffee, DH
:)
  * SongFire nods approval...very pretty.
  * Havoc_TR grins and applauds. :)
 <Havoc_TR>   Means a lot more to me since I was there.  :)
[18:48:56]  * Havoc_TR brings his Carlsbad Cavern "canned bat" over so that HE can enjoy the
poem too. :)
 [DH]   oh? you visited Carlsbad Havoc?
 [DH]   rotfl
 <Havoc_TR>   Yes, I did, on my last trip out to Arizona.
 <Havoc_TR>   On the way.
 [DH]   ahhhh
 [DH]    ok   then your up next :>
 [DH]    let us know what we will be seeing :>
 <Havoc_TR>   Well, a little poem about having the house to myself for the weekend.  It's called
"Manly Things."
 <Havoc_TR>   Manly Things
 <Havoc_TR>   Now I can enjoy doing Manly Things.
 <Havoc_TR>   I can eat meat and no greens
 <Havoc_TR>   Drink beer and whiskey
 <Havoc_TR>   I can smoke cigars on the deck
 <Havoc_TR>   And nobody to complain of the smell.
 <Havoc_TR>   I could go shooting or fishing.
 <Havoc_TR>   I could hunt or go to the bar
 <Havoc_TR>   Or hang around town if I wanted
 <Havoc_TR>   I can pee with the bathroom door open
 <Havoc_TR>   I can watch the TV shows I like all night
 <Havoc_TR>   I can play the music I like
 <Havoc_TR>   Play it as loud as I want
 <Havoc_TR>   To fill the terrible silence...
 <Havoc_TR>   end

 [DH]   ROTFL its supposed to be sorta sad  I know  but its so damned true :>
  * Shadow-Dancer grins a bit, and applauds :)
 [DH]   Well done HTR :>
 <Havoc_TR>   Thank you.  :)
 <Shadow-Dancer>   What's the old comment?? "Can't live with 'em, and can't live without 'em" ?
 [DH]    and now lets see what the dancer has dredged up for us :>
  * Shadow-Dancer !eeeps!
 <SongFire>   me notes that she's felt much that way on occasion, HTR...
 [DH]   works both ways eh hun?
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Well....since you wanted happy ones....one about my Beloved, perhaps?
 <SongFire>   yep...grin...
 <Havoc_TR>   You smoke cigars, SongFire?  :)
 [DH]   sounds good :>
 <SongFire>   nope...but I have other, just as disgusting habits...
 * Shadow-Dancer nods, and begins to recite..
 <Shadow-Dancer>   The Winds of Heaven
 <Shadow-Dancer>   (To my Beloved)
 <Shadow-Dancer>   .
 <Shadow-Dancer>   The winds of the heavens blow between us
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Lifting us to the Dance.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   We soar and sail with full hearts.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   We glide and bank with glad souls.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Barely touching
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Lest we stall our flight.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   .
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Fly too close
 <Shadow-Dancer>   We would take away the wind
 <Shadow-Dancer>   From each others' wings.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   .
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Fly too close
 <Shadow-Dancer>   We would block the others' view
 <Shadow-Dancer>   And freeze the flow of the Dance.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   .
 <Shadow-Dancer>   The winds of the heavens blow between us
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Holding us but lightly
 <Shadow-Dancer>   We move with confident grace.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   We move in our own patterns,
 <Shadow-Dancer>   The same patterns,
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Intricate and free.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   .
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Fly too close
 <Shadow-Dancer>   We would steal the beauty
 <Shadow-Dancer>   From each others' Dance.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   .
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Fly too close
 <Shadow-Dancer>   We would lose the fluid grace,
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Grace which makes the dancers free.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   .
 <Shadow-Dancer>   The winds of the heavens blow between us
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Touching us but gently
 <Shadow-Dancer>   We dance in the same pattern.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   We dance together with Joy.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Our souls merging,
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Separate but joined.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   .
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Together
 <Shadow-Dancer>   We leave room for others
 <Shadow-Dancer>   To share in our dance.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   .
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Together
 <Shadow-Dancer>   We would find in each other
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Those things that make us complete.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   .
 <Shadow-Dancer>   The winds of the heavens blow between us
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Bringing us together.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   We join in mind and spirit
 <Shadow-Dancer>   We join in heart and soul.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Becoming One
 <Shadow-Dancer>   A composite self.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   .
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Together
 <Shadow-Dancer>   We weave a new pattern
 <Shadow-Dancer>   From the threads of Fate.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   .
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Together
 <Shadow-Dancer>   We will Dance forever
 <Shadow-Dancer>   On the winds of the Heavens.
  * Shadow-Dancer falls silent, and hides...
 [DH]   don't hide :> thats  wonderful :>
  * Havoc_TR applauds! :)
 [DH]     you  might want to send a copy to dragondazd and wy :>
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Thank you, DH....:)
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Oh?
 <Havoc_TR>   (So much for THAT idea)
 [DH]   yeah they just got engaged RL  last night in #AFD :>
 <Havoc_TR>   Coolness!
 [DH]   my granddaughter is getting engaged  :/ <G>
 <Shadow-Dancer>   !!!
 <Havoc_TR>   I dare not wish them luck, because my wishes seem cursed sometimes, but.. :)
 [DH]   well they have met in RL so that si a start :>
 <Shadow-Dancer>   DH: Congratulations.
 [DH]   ok I guess that means its my turn again :>
  * Shadow-Dancer notes that every pair that he's done poetry for has broken up :(
 [DH]    I think I 'll keep to the romance line - more or less :> 
 [DH]    hold on :>
 [DH]   ok here we flood again :>

 [DH]   T HE CAT
 [DH]   
 [DH]   Like a cat -
 [DH]    my lady is always free to go
 [DH]    or spend her time with me.
 [DH]   A woman warrior -
 [DH]    with the mind and soul
 [DH]    as well as body.
 [DH]   
 [DH]   A huntress -
 [DH]    seeking worlds
 [DH]    and stalking futures.
 [DH]   A lady -
 [DH]   knowing and seeking 
 [DH]    only the joys of life
 [DH]   who understands the art of living
 [DH]    and seeks the best
 [DH]    refusing the incompetent;
 [DH]
 [DH]   And like a cat -
 [DH]    choosing to spend her time
 [DH]    with me.
 [DH]   end

  * Havoc_TR applauds! :)
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Bravo!!
 <SongFire>   I like that one a lot.
 [DH]   now if the lady would only show and chose to be with me :>
 <Shadow-Dancer>   *very* well done :)
  * SongFire chuckles.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   ....oO(Amen, Brother DH!! <>G<>)
 [DH]   ok up next
  * Shadow-Dancer sympathizes in silence :/
 <Havoc_TR>   Hope that for you too, DH.  :)
 [DH]    a new poetess in the bunch :>
 [DH]    poetess
 [DH]    SongFire with a poem she has been working on :>
  * Shadow-Dancer perks up!
 <SongFire>   thanks, DH...
 <SongFire>   I'm about to break the romance chain, so bear with me.
 [DH]   ok

 <SongFire>   Humanity is not a birthright, but a gift...
 <SongFire>   A learning to see, to touch, to hear,
 <SongFire>   Beyond the limitations of our senses;
 <SongFire>   A reaching out, though afraid of rejection;
 <SongFire>   A learning to conquer the fear of another's touch.
 <SongFire>   It is a song, sweeter for the sorrow it sings of;
 <SongFire>   A flight, a learning to forget that we have no wings...
 <SongFire>   It is a walk into darkness,
 <SongFire>   For we are the light-bearers;
 <SongFire>   A lighting of stars, though we know they burn out too soon...
 <SongFire>   It is the perfection of an art,
 <SongFire>   A craft that could never be complete
 <SongFire>   Had we a thousand times our short lifespan
 <SongFire>   To spend in the crafting;
 <SongFire>   A seizing upon the time we do have,
 <SongFire>   For our days are all too few.
 <SongFire>   It is a way of living, a way of seeing,
 <SongFire>   An heirloom of great value,
 <SongFire>   A gift beyond measure or price;
 <SongFire>   A learning to transcend,
 <SongFire>   The ability to forget that we are mortal.
 <SongFire>   end.

 [DH]   nice
 <Havoc_TR>   Very nice.
  * Havoc_TR applauds!
 [DH]    /me huggles SongFire  welcome to the dragonleague of poets hun :>
  * Shadow-Dancer applauds!!!!
 [DH]   of poets :.
 <SongFire>   thank you...I wasn't sure how a poem in praise of humanity would go over...
 [DH]   hun have you ever read Zelazny's Roadmarks?
 [DH]   aww we all have humans we value hun   they go over very well :>
 <SongFire>   no, can't say I've had that pleasure.
 [DH]   it will seem very different in the reading  but you will find a resonance with that poem I
think :>
 <SongFire>   hmm?
 [DH]   trust me on it hun  find the book and read it then reread that poem :>
 <SongFire>   will do...
 [DH]    ok  up next
 [DH]   (hmmm I wonder who runs and hides fastest? ) <G>
 [DH]   this time I think we will reverse the order and have dancer read first :>
 [DH]    shadow-dancer :>
  * DH turns the spotlight on dancer as he tries to hide :>
  * Shadow-Dancer looks innocent (O)_(O)
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Ahhh, well...if you insist...
 [DH]   yeah right <G>
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Well....a group-related question, in poem form, perhaps?
  * Shadow-Dancer takes the stage, and recites..

 <Shadow-Dancer>   --- What Pleases a Dragon?
 <Shadow-Dancer>   .
 <Shadow-Dancer>   I scream my rage
 <Shadow-Dancer>   And heaven answers,
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Storm-clouds build and the tempests roar.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   I ply my Art
 <Shadow-Dancer>   And spirits tremble
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Power is mine over Death, and more.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   .
 <Shadow-Dancer>   I hone my claws
 <Shadow-Dancer>   And champions quaver
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Fear-chill fills their hearts with ice.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   I show my teeth
 <Shadow-Dancer>   And kingdoms crumble
 <Shadow-Dancer>   No man has witnessed my anger twice.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   .
 <Shadow-Dancer>   My lair is vast,
 <Shadow-Dancer>   And filled with treasure
 <Shadow-Dancer>   The fruits of all my work are here.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   What things, you ask,
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Might please a Dragon?
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Enter and learn, if you do not fear.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   .
 <Shadow-Dancer>   My gold is piled
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Beyond my counting,
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Gems are strewn like shards of glass.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Bright silver flows,
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Like argent rivers
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Through plains of emeralds, spread like grass.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   .
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Great works of art
 <Shadow-Dancer>   And priceless relics
 <Shadow-Dancer>   More wealth than I can squander.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Books of wisdom
 <Shadow-Dancer>   By thousands of men,
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Strange philosophies to ponder.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   .
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Ignore them all
 <Shadow-Dancer>   They are but trinkets
 <Shadow-Dancer>   To please the eye and the mind.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Here are the things
 <Shadow-Dancer>   That mean most to me,
 <Shadow-Dancer>   In these guest-chambers for my kind.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   .
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Here are my friends
 <Shadow-Dancer>   They are dragons all
 <Shadow-Dancer>   They mean more to me than wealth.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   And there is One
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Quartered deep below
 <Shadow-Dancer>   She who means more than hoard or health.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   .
 <Shadow-Dancer>   She is my mate,
 <Shadow-Dancer>   The half of my soul
 <Shadow-Dancer>   The finest part of my life.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   What pleases me
 <Shadow-Dancer>   You did ask before?
 <Shadow-Dancer>   My answer? My friends and my wife.
 <Shadow-Dancer>   .
 <Shadow-Dancer>   --End

  * Shadow-Dancer demonstrates his trademark fast-fade
  * Havoc_TR applauds! :)
  * DH demonstrates the advantages of size and  and
 [DH]     size change and longarms shadow back up on stage for his
 [DH]     bow :>
 [DH]   ok 
 [DH]    our next to last poem tonight is havoc's :>
  * Shadow-Dancer takes the rather 'stern' hint, and bows :)
 [DH]    what has the poetraptor got for us next?
  * Havoc_TR trots up?
 <Havoc_TR>   Well, I don't know, because I have two ready.  Which would you have, a trite but
true dream that I really did have one night, or some incoherent manic raving?  :)
 [DH]   ok
 [DH]   the dream :>
 <Havoc_TR>   OK.  (rustles through papers)
 
<Havoc_TR>   Dreams
 <Havoc_TR>   *
 <Havoc_TR>   Again we meet.
 <Havoc_TR>   After we parted (that long ago?)
 <Havoc_TR>   My old friend died
 <Havoc_TR>   Some other person wears his face,
 <Havoc_TR>   Now pauses and reflects.
 <Havoc_TR>   *
 <Havoc_TR>   Our dreams went off on different paths.
 <Havoc_TR>   Our lives were dreams.  We were children.
 <Havoc_TR>   My life is dreams.
 <Havoc_TR>   I'm still a child.
 <Havoc_TR>   But not the child I was.
 <Havoc_TR>   *
 <Havoc_TR>   end

 <Havoc_TR>   A dream
 <Havoc_TR>   Last night I had a dream that made me weep.
 <Havoc_TR>   I searched across the world.
 <Havoc_TR>   In foreign lands,
 <Havoc_TR>   I sought and found the Great Lama.
 <Havoc_TR>   When we met, I asked for truth.
 <Havoc_TR>   He listened to me speak as he sat there
 <Havoc_TR>   So calmly, in his robes of yellow-orange.
 <Havoc_TR>   why do you ask this thing of me?
 <Havoc_TR>   I have no truth to give to you.
 <Havoc_TR>   No more than any other has.
 <Havoc_TR>   If you want truth, go find it out
 <Havoc_TR>   Among your fellow men.
 <Havoc_TR>   And when you find it, bring it back
 <Havoc_TR>   To me, here where I wait.
 <Havoc_TR>   And so I walked out in the world.
 <Havoc_TR>   I walked among the people, watching
 <Havoc_TR>   Wandering the world.
 <Havoc_TR>   I watched them buy, I watched them sell
 <Havoc_TR>   And kill and heal, and love and hate.
 <Havoc_TR>   Where I could help them, I gave help.
 <Havoc_TR>   The years went past.  Then, tired and old
 <Havoc_TR>   Leaning on a stick, I walked
 <Havoc_TR>   To see the Lama once again.
 <Havoc_TR>   I rested on a bench there in the room
 <Havoc_TR>   Where he met those who came to speak to him
 <Havoc_TR>   And there were others seeking truth
 <Havoc_TR>   And businessmen and tourists, curious
 <Havoc_TR>   Leaders, simple people, waiting there
 <Havoc_TR>   In incense-scented dusk.
 <Havoc_TR>   I felt great need to speak, because
 <Havoc_TR>   I knew my death was close at hand.
 <Havoc_TR>   So sitting there upon my bench
 <Havoc_TR>   In my dark corner of the room
 <Havoc_TR>   I whispered, but it sounded loud
 <Havoc_TR>   As if it were a cry:
 <Havoc_TR>   "In all the world there is nothing so important as this:
 <Havoc_TR>   That we be kind to each other."
 <Havoc_TR>   And the Great Lama came to me, embraced me
 <Havoc_TR>   And I slept.
 <Havoc_TR>   end

 <Havoc_TR>   oops.. two for the price of one..
 [DH]    its ok :>
 [DH]    both were great :>
 [DH]    and  go well together :>
 <Havoc_TR>   I just have to remember my file names, is all.
  * SongFire agrees whole-heartedly.
 [DH]   think about a transition line HTR and join them together :>
 <Havoc_TR>   That will be a stretch!  But I'll think on it.
 [DH]    and now before  we end 3 things :>
 [DH]   1) the #AFD poetry site is at: http://www.dragonlogic.com/afd-poetry/
  * Shadow-Dancer nods, awestruck
 [DH]    2) the original poetry readings page is at : http://www.dragonlogic.com/DH/poetry.html
 [DH]    and it has links to the more recent readings that Bookwyrm has been running and posting
 [DH]    and third and last - 1 last poem of mine
 [DH]   yeah I'll sneak a third one in  but then I've been away :>
 [DH]    this one goes out to all the ladies here and in #AFD :>
 [DH]    its called 

 [DH]   WATERMELON TOURMALINE

 [DH]   A kiss is like -
 [DH]   A sudden splash of sun 
 [DH]   thru a watermelon tourmaline.
 [DH]   Tasting of the sun-drenched 
 [DH]    fresh-sweet colors
 [DH]   and
 [DH]   feeling of the sharp-edged front
 [DH]    and smooth-rough sides.
 [DH]   With wine rich colors-
 [DH]    deeper than the tongue can reach.
 [DH]   
 [DH]   A kiss is like -
 [DH]   a watermelon tourmaline
 [DH]    with a strong colorful rind
 [DH]    protecting the deep-sweet richness within
 [DH]   and
 [DH]    with its many facets
 [DH]    each reflecting their subtle gleamings

 [DH]    like a love made jewel.
 [DH]   end

  * Havoc_TR applauds. :)
  * SongFire blushes...she's never actually *analyzed* a kiss that deeply...
 <Shadow-Dancer>   Bravo, DH!
 [DH]   you want one to work on analyzing hun?
 [DH]    <EG>
 <SongFire>   thanks, DH...but I think Lue will oblige...
 [DH]   yep he will be happy to :>
 [DH]    show him the poem and tell you need a sample to test it against <EG>
 [DH]   sample
 <Havoc_TR>   I'm going to sign off now, I'm getting very drowsy here.
 <Havoc_TR>   Thanks!
 [DH]   ok HTR  thanks for showing up :>
 [DH]    see you next week :>
 <Havoc_TR>   If I can.  Later.  :)
 [DH]   ok all done for this week :>