From: the guppy<BR>
Date: 17 January 2001<P>

angel---ha, me=fearing the wrath of the tater sack...nice explanation of the dimpled chad thing...if only the reporters could have been so concise...ha<BR>
<BR>
kev---spanglish is what happens when people believe the whole "dry heat" idea (not like a sauna, like an oven)...i blame the "wet cold" (insert (appliance created for some unknown purpose, but including freezing temps and high humidity) here) for the language, and anything else needing a convenient excuse, around here...ha...products of our environment, i say<BR>
<BR>
gup
<HR>
From: the guppy<BR>
Date: 17 January 2001<P>

gala---you're one of those writers that takes the reader places...you have a talent for hitting the senses...i like the way you use scent...it's one of our most powerful image/memory triggers (humans i mean...and other animals too...ha)...i figure that writing well enough to allow somebody to smell it is doing a pretty good job...i think a great way to hit the universal button with writing is to account for the senses...especially romance stuff...<BR>
<BR>
gup
<HR>
From: terry<BR>
Date: 17 January 2001<P>

Wow guppy~  'listener' was superb, but O2  is stunningly good!<BR>
<BR>
t.
<HR>
From: terry<BR>
Date: 17 January 2001<P>

Gala~ "your touch a sparklers ghost trail on my skin."<BR>
What a great poetic image this is. I  absolutely love this line! 'Hissing After Midnight' is  very sensuous, and i agree with guppy. You regale the reader with sensual overload...<BR>
<BR>
t. 
<HR>
From: terry<BR>
Date: 17 January 2001<P>

Boy do I need someone to edit.....Gala that is 'Kissing after Midnight'.......lol....although hissing paints quite the image too...<BR>
<BR>
terry (sorry)
<HR>
From: Galadrial<BR>
Date: 17 January 2001<P>

Gup and Terry,<BR>
<BR>
        Gentlemen, you flatter this elf...my thanks!<BR>
<BR>
                                            Gala
<HR>
From: Galadrial<BR>
Date: 17 January 2001<P>

<BR>
On second thought, the pair of you made me blush like hell---and before I even touched my coffee! Gupster, many years ago, a mentor guoted Whitman to me...something like " A true writer can make words dance, sing, make love..." you get the drift. I'm hoping that "smelling" fits in there somewhere!<BR>
<BR>
And thanks Terry...that line sprang up out of no where. My old writing prof said I was very annoying---could redeem a single mediocre poem with one line that would make you drool. I think that was a compliment...<BR>
<BR>
                                         Gala
<HR>
From: Maggie<BR>
Date: 17 January 2001<P>

Deeva,<BR>
<BR>
"Chad" Everette?  He has dimples, doesn't he?
<HR>
From: kevin urenda<BR>
Date: 17 January 2001<P>

Yes, people---!  <BR>
<BR>
(herein follows critically engaged comment...  To be critically positive is to say WHY you like something, not just THAT you like it.)<BR>
<BR>
skimming a few poems I read this morning to start my day off right, I was struck by the following:<BR>
<BR>
gup-<BR>
knowing what HEPA filtration is (I am in the field, somewhat) I found the metaphor in O2 to be concise and beautiful in its simplicity and understated tone.  There is a world within the second line of that poem that gives the poem as a whole a place to live (and breathe, no pun intended).  Excellent work.<BR>
<BR>
B.K.-<BR>
your work is at its best when it is leaner and tighter, as in "Loves Time Writers."  I judge my work the same way.  A poem ought never try to do too much, and this poem is consistent in tone and imagery.  And the image of "steal[ing]hours of beautiful light" sealed the deal for me.  Keep up the good work.<BR>
<BR>
Speaking of sealing the deal...<BR>
<BR>
Gala-<BR>
coupling what you said on the blender board with your poem this morning, I was struck with just those words.  In some ways (though you know I simply adore the way your poems caress my mind with words) your professor was right.  What you do best is seal the deal.  Even when you are not at your very best, you still seal the deal with a twist or an absolutely breathtaking line or two.  You come up with such lines consistently.  But sometimes a whole poem is elevated because of its inner consistency.  This is so with "Kissing After Midnight."  The idea of two lovers not being able to get enough of each other is the foundation of the poem.  The tactile imagery is similar to what you have written elsewhere before (e.g., "drugging kisses"), only this time it is even tighter than usual.  Though the words say much, they are understated in that they don't try to do *too* much as a whole.  That is what poetry at its BEST does.  It makes us see, taste, feel, smell more than the words seem to do individually (which, again, is something you do with remarkable consistency).  A poem creates a whole other world in our minds, and the worlds you create are places I enjoy being taken.  AND you still seal the deal.  The image of "...sparklers ghost trail..." is truly magical.  I envy someone who could be written of like that.<BR>
<BR>
k
<HR>
From: Brandy ~ [email-masked]<BR>
Date: 17 January 2001<P>

Ali~ Thank you for 'I Cannot Cry' sometimes it feels wrong not to cry, but if you can't then maybe it wasn't as perfect as you thought.<BR>
<BR>
Gala~ I think that all woman struggle with the label "Bitch"  whether they know it now...or years from now.  Although, something that I've learned...I'm a good person and those who preceive to call me a bitch...are those who never really knew me.<BR>
<BR>
Brandy
<HR>
From: me aka niki<BR>
Date: 17 January 2001<P>

<BR>
2 Brandy~ " I can not Cry"<BR>
I loved it<BR>
I felt like that once<BR>
It just didn't hit me that he was gone<BR>
But for months to come after that<BR>
I started missing him and I would just have these emotional stebacks everytime I talked about it or saw him<BR>
It's getting better now<BR>
Because Time has  helped me to get thru it<BR>
But once again gr8 poem<BR>
Says so much truth...
<HR>
From: Galadrial (blushing furiously)<BR>
Date: 17 January 2001<P>

Thanks Kev....<BR>
<BR>
Did you guys call each other up or something?<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
                                           Gala
<HR>
From: Brandy ~ [email-masked]<BR>
Date: 17 January 2001<P>

Amy Chandler~ '*Changes*' made me think of a love that I lost and how I wish that it had ended up.  Very beutiful!<BR>
<BR>
Gala~ 'Kissing After Midnite' so descriptive and unbelievable, you really are a true artist!<BR>
<BR>
Elaina~ 'Someday' is what everyone that hopes to find love and has lost love will someday realize.  I lost my fiance and you put into words what I felt and still feel.  'Unspoken Words' is exactly what I feel about someone if I fall in love with them...I could never tell them for fear of getting hurt again.  These are both wonderful works!<BR>
<BR>
Keep smiling,<BR>
Brandy
<HR>
From: Brandy ~ [email-masked]<BR>
Date: 17 January 2001<P>

me aka niki~ Thank you!!  Its beginning to feel like a trend these days.  This was the most recent and most difficult.  I let my heart go too quickly and he ran away with it.  Thank you again.<BR>
<BR>
Brandy
<HR>
From: slug<BR>
Date: 17 January 2001<P>

guppy - as always - your submissions are wonderful. interesting imagry...to snort someone. hm. (and i'm just curious - what DID you eat?)<BR>
<BR>
and<BR>
<BR>
Gala - kissing after midnight - you just described my favorite part of the night.
<HR>
From: Elaina<BR>
Date: 17 January 2001<P>

Brandy~ Thank you so much.  However, I'm not sure if it's that kind of love.  If you know what I mean. Sometimes I feel I'm in love with him and other times I'm not quite sure and I've come to realize if you have to question the thought then you're really not.  I love him I know that, but I'm not in love with him and I hope he understand that. Thank you, you made my day.<BR>
<BR>
xoxo<BR>
elaina
<HR>
From: Brandy ~ [email-masked]<BR>
Date: 17 January 2001<P>

Elaina~ I do know what you're saying.  I've been in the situation myself.  I'm at the point now that I'm looking for a long term relationship that will hopefully turn to marriage.  And if I have to ask myself if I'm really in love or not, then for me its not working.  I think that he'll understand if you tell him like you just told me.<BR>
<BR>
Brandy
<HR>
From: Maggie<BR>
Date: 17 January 2001<P>

Great discussion board......<BR>
<BR>
http://underwire.msn.com/underwire/community/mcBBS/adult/BBSlist.asp?b=1009&p=1&s=0
<HR>
From: Ali<BR>
Date: 17 January 2001<P>

Niki~ 'Time Heals'...love it.  =)<BR>
<BR>
Elaina~ 'Someday' was really great...very wistful.<BR>
<BR>
Gala~ 'Kissing After Midnight' was amazing...I think I'm speechless, I'm in such awe.<BR>
<BR>
Love and dreams, Ali
<HR>
From: Elaina<BR>
Date: 17 January 2001<P>

Ali~ Thank you.<BR>
<BR>
Brandy~ Thanks I know he will.  Fortunatly things like this don't really affect my future, I'm only 16 and MARRIAGE is hopefully not coming up too soon.<BR>
<BR>
xoxo<BR>
elaina
<HR>
From: me aka niki<BR>
Date: 17 January 2001<P>

 2 Ali~ "self-Impossed"<BR>
OH my God....I truly love this poem<BR>
It says everything what I believe in and I do<BR>
The putting on a happy face and acting as though your strong and don't care<BR>
But in reality I'm dying from the inside and crying for help<BR>
"I want to believe<BR>
That I'm wrong<BR>
I want to believe<BR>
That what he said <BR>
Was true<BR>
I fancy that he had<BR>
Good reason<BR>
To do what he did..."<BR>
I prayed to God and wished upon every falling star that he would come back with reasons and apologizes that are true and make sense so that I could forgive him<BR>
And the last part I find the best<BR>
"I'm almost afraid<BR>
No, I am afraid<BR>
That you'll show up<BR>
Tomorrow<BR>
And turn my life<BR>
Completly inside-out<BR>
For it is only partially<BR>
Upside down<BR>
Today...<BR>
That you'll tell me<BR>
Everything<BR>
That I want <BR>
So badly to hear<BR>
Regardless of the fact<BR>
That it<BR>
Might not<BR>
Be true<BR>
And I'm weak<BR>
Right now<BR>
Have been<BR>
Since you left<BR>
And I just don't know<BR>
Exactly what<BR>
I'd do<BR>
I don't know if I can<BR>
Believe anything<BR>
That you say<BR>
Or more correctly <BR>
If I should<BR>
Because the world calls you<BR>
A liar<BR>
And that is something<BR>
I'm pressed to believe...<BR>
But the world does not<BR>
Know you<BR>
As I do...<BR>
But, there's an interesting<BR>
Possibility<BR>
Which is that, perhaps<BR>
I truly<BR>
Don't know you<BR>
At all..." <BR>
When that idea struck me<BR>
That I knew somebody that wasn't realy him<BR>
That his act was just fake, everything we did, talked about was just not true <BR>
It was all build on a fondation of lies<BR>
That Just killed me<BR>
And still does and always will<BR>
Great poem, love it<BR>
=)
<HR>
From: me aka niki<BR>
Date: 17 January 2001<P>

<BR>
 2 Alaina~ "someday" I liked that one<BR>
My best friend once told me<BR>
WHen I called her up in tears<BR>
Because he had left me<BR>
She said something like this<BR>
" someday He'll regret what he has done, When your going to get all the best guys, he's going to be jeaulous And going to come back like a Fool, He didn't know what he had and what he threw away, your worth much more then him, he's an asshole, not even that cute, forget him, he's not worth it..."<BR>
Love the poem
<HR>