This was the first post after: This was the first post after a long hiatus between 2012 and 2022. Before that is hard to remember as well.
After reading it again, I realise that it has become a self-fulfilling prophecy in itself.
Strange how everything changes and yet remains the same for the most part as well.
Perhaps the more peopled our poems are the more they stand a chance at perpetuity.
Let's see what another revisit will reveal several years tomorrow form today.
A stirring and honorable: A stirring and honorable tribute that perfectly captures my own gratitude for his gift: the ability to make us forget our struggles for a while and just laugh. Nice work!
This is so much more than a: This is so much more than a tragic story of star crossed lovers. It has layers of rapture, agony, rage and a human face put on a shameful moment in history.
Written in the margins is a powerful commentary on injustice. And what is more unjust than the joys of love pulverized, annihilated, by senseless, demonic hate? Bringing the real tragedy to life against a backdrop of sweeping, historical disaster was expertly accomplished in the narration.
Without any unnecessary description, no burdensome explanation, we hear the story through the weary, pain-scarred voice of the old settler, shrewdly juxtaposed with angelic classical music in the background. When his lasting trauma (his aversion to music) is revealed, this detail becomes grimly poignant.
The story itself is a masterclass in vibrant, impactful compression. I felt the full spectrum of emotions like a storm that begins with soft, intoxicating winds and ends with utter destruction. So much lived. So much lost.
Congratulations on another milestone!
It is a pleasure to be back in: It is a pleasure to be back in your gallery of daringly novel and relatable visions. Always on the vanguard of innovative ways to express the joys, frustrations and torments of our human journey, you sculpt art out of life. Each poem I read is one of the following: an eye-opener, a thrilling surprise, a cryptic treasure map, a psychotropic dream, a multifaceted gem–Sometimes all of them in one compact creation.
Here you composed a stirring and pensive statement on the ephemeral nature of academia. But, fortunately, as redbrick wisely explained: “Your thoughts are not confined to certificates or classrooms . . .“
Often your notes on a poem are as sharp as the poem itself. I was really tripping on: “Bro if Poetry Didn't Balance me...
Seriously…”
If I wasn’t so insanely busy, I would camp out here for hours and bear witness to a valuable work in progress. Please continue to be a poetic Prometheus, always reaching for cosmic fire.
My greatest respect.
As are your visits much: As are your visits much appreciated and muse-spiring. Continuing to sup and share of this rarity is something that opens and paves for generations after
It’s always a privilege when: It’s always a privilege when you show up and leave such amazing footprints. Huge respect and endless gratitude, blazing wordsmith.
And thanks for using my: And thanks for using my screen-name in your reply. While it may seem like a small detail, it is an important one to me. Your use of it is a mark of our continuing friendship.
Oh I would love to see you: Oh I would love to see you write a novel a la Stanislaw Lem! Take a pick: The Astronauts (1951) – not strictly nautical, but follows an expedition to Venus, mirroring the structure of sea voyages into the unknown. The Magellanic Cloud (1955) – A story about humanity’s first interstellar journey that parallels historical maritime exploration. Solaris (1961) – set in space, the novel’s themes of isolation, living in ocean-like entity on Solaris evoking strong nautical imagery. The Invincible (1964) – a spaceship encountering an enigmatic force on a distant planet, reminiscent of naval expeditions encountering mysterious phenomena. Tales of Pirx the Pilot (1961) – A collection of stories about a space pilot, which could be seen as a futuristic take on seafaring adventures. mmm...