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Young Writers Society


Hopes and Fears of a Sleeping Dragon



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Mon Mar 19, 2018 5:06 pm
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Cadi says...



I totally managed a whole month of NaPo last year - so bring it on, 2018!

30 days, 30 poems. Here goes.

Comments and feedback absolutely welcome! Liked a line? Thought a phrase landed funny? Let me know!

NaPo 2017
Last edited by Cadi on Mon Apr 02, 2018 8:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
"The fact is, I don't know where my ideas come from. Nor does any writer. The only real answer is to drink way too much coffee and buy yourself a desk that doesn't collapse when you beat your head against it." --Douglas Adams
  





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Sun Apr 01, 2018 8:44 pm
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Cadi says...



#1

Me: flat out on the laminate (supine),
pressing shoulder blades into the cold
that I might open up the ribs which have curled in on my lungs
(the fingers of a nervous fist
my whole chest around).

Me: arms wide, eyes shut,
letting the smoke curl gently up my spine and
(gently)
down again.
"The fact is, I don't know where my ideas come from. Nor does any writer. The only real answer is to drink way too much coffee and buy yourself a desk that doesn't collapse when you beat your head against it." --Douglas Adams
  





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Mon Apr 02, 2018 3:18 pm
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Cadi says...



#2 or, Emotions About Shelves

Teach me how to make a shelf.

I want to measure out space and carve up wood
and I want it to be you who shows me how to do it best
like you have shown me so many other things:
the kind of screwdriver that uses lateral force
the pressure by which a wet cloth can wipe a surface dry
and the way to make carry-handles from rope.

Spoiler! :

I want this to be longer, and to take in a whole lot of other things, but I don't seem to have it in me today. I don't think I'm getting across the volume of emotion here, but let's leave it at that for now. Tough topic, however deeply buried.
"The fact is, I don't know where my ideas come from. Nor does any writer. The only real answer is to drink way too much coffee and buy yourself a desk that doesn't collapse when you beat your head against it." --Douglas Adams
  





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Mon Apr 02, 2018 4:13 pm
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Cadi says...



#3

Between these covers, on all these sheets of cream
you'll find
one hundred and fifty days' worth of ink
for which three pens have been sacrificed.
The runes and devices,
the graphemes
of a ritual one hundred and fifty days in making
and due to continue many more.

Last October, I stood in the middle of Islington and made myself a promise:
to commit
to such a conjuration
for in the dedication of so many sigils
over three thousand, six hundred hours,
gods only know what wisdom might be uncovered.

Through knowing the name of a thing, one might gain dominion over it
and so I am naming my emotions.
"The fact is, I don't know where my ideas come from. Nor does any writer. The only real answer is to drink way too much coffee and buy yourself a desk that doesn't collapse when you beat your head against it." --Douglas Adams
  





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Mon Apr 02, 2018 4:56 pm
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Aley says...



I am loving your writing style so far. I really like how you're not being super flowery with your language but using smart words to describe what you want. Love poem #3
  





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Tue Apr 03, 2018 8:02 pm
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Cadi says...



Thanks, Aley!

#4

Hey - do you remember when
the hurricane swallowed our plans?
We dined in the river estuary
and caught the rain in our hands.

Do you recall that photograph
and the afternoon we spent
walking in coats and scarves by the lake
taking selfies as we went?

Remember all of the nights we've had
going out, or staying in;
playing new games and making up names
for more bands than you'll ever be in.

Spoiler! :
Needs a fourth verse. Can't think of one.
"The fact is, I don't know where my ideas come from. Nor does any writer. The only real answer is to drink way too much coffee and buy yourself a desk that doesn't collapse when you beat your head against it." --Douglas Adams
  





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Wed Apr 04, 2018 1:26 pm
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Demeter says...



I love number 4 omg I love it a lot. I think rhyming poetry is totally underappreciated, even when it's done super well like you did here (i.e. I didn't even notice it rhymed at first because you clearly didn't write what you wrote just so it would rhyme)!
"Your jokes are scarier than your earrings." -Twit

"14. Pretend like you would want him even if he wasn't a prince. (Yeah, right.)" -How to Make a Guy Like You - Disney Princess Style

Got YWS?
  





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Wed Apr 04, 2018 1:47 pm
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TheBlueCat says...



I adore your writing style c: 3 and 4 are my favorite. I always love a good calmly rhyming poem like 4 <33
Unofficial Blue Cat of YWS =^-^=
she/her please <3
  





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Wed Apr 04, 2018 5:28 pm
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Cadi says...



Aah, thank you, Dems & Cat! So glad you liked it!

#5

Once, after the end,
I cast off my melancholy blanket and went
into town
searching for sunlight to smile at;
the train was nose-to-tail and door-to-door
with people
(none of them were you)
(none of them cared like you)
(none of them cared - like you)
and there in the hot press of strange bodies
I collapsed:
an old tower block, foundations blasted out.

On the platform,
in the rubble that remained of my fleeting cheer,
unknown hands sat me up
and poured me water
I couldn't swallow;
the stream washed me back to sorrowful sheets
and everything was bathed
in tears.
"The fact is, I don't know where my ideas come from. Nor does any writer. The only real answer is to drink way too much coffee and buy yourself a desk that doesn't collapse when you beat your head against it." --Douglas Adams
  





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Thu Apr 05, 2018 6:05 pm
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Cadi says...



#6 or, "All the People That'll Mean Something"

number one is a whirlwind in rainbow Doc Martens
who knocks down the walls if they're in the wrong place
defender of difference and self-definition
stretches horizons with a smile on their face

if you're after a bard, number two's a good option
with many a tale and a song to their name
listens to listeners, no telling quite repeated
knows the world would be dull if we all were the same

number three comes in later, a little more time spent
learning what's good and what's bad for the health
challenges the badthoughts, a peddler of reason
gives causes to notice being down on oneself

Spoiler! :

If you fancy a tune to sing this one to, try Mark Knopfler's Sands of Nevada
"The fact is, I don't know where my ideas come from. Nor does any writer. The only real answer is to drink way too much coffee and buy yourself a desk that doesn't collapse when you beat your head against it." --Douglas Adams
  





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Fri Apr 06, 2018 10:11 pm
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Cadi says...



#7

You started to forget
before I learnt to remember.

(Your door key
your handbag
your passport.

Your neighbours
your address
your grandson's name.)

A hundred miles and a decade away
I'm scared I've forgotten you.
"The fact is, I don't know where my ideas come from. Nor does any writer. The only real answer is to drink way too much coffee and buy yourself a desk that doesn't collapse when you beat your head against it." --Douglas Adams
  





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Sat Apr 07, 2018 1:35 am
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alliyah says...



Cadi you have so much variety here! I like that you're not afraid to play with sentence structure a little or add in a parenthetical thought - that keeps the poetry really fresh and interesting.

Both #1 and #5 I could just feel the story and those very specific emotions you described. Also enjoyed this great progression you did:
(none of them were you)
(none of them cared like you)
(none of them cared - like you)


And I've also gotta echo Aley your word choice is unexpected and interesting all the time! #3 is a fabulous example of that.
you should know i am a time traveler &
there is no season as achingly temporary as now
but i have promised to return
  





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Sat Apr 07, 2018 12:06 pm
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Cadi says...



Thank you so much, alliyah! I'm so glad you like that progression, I thought I was being a bit self-indulgent leaving it in, because I wasn't convinced it worked, but I liked it, haha :D

#8

it's like this:
ciabatta dough is all but liquid
pooling in your hands
and over the work-surface
dry-flour-coated
but clingy inside

Spoiler! :

A quick one today, because I'm cooking an excessive amount of food for some friends to eat this evening. Yes, including ciabatta!
"The fact is, I don't know where my ideas come from. Nor does any writer. The only real answer is to drink way too much coffee and buy yourself a desk that doesn't collapse when you beat your head against it." --Douglas Adams
  





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Sat Apr 07, 2018 1:24 pm
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StellaThomas says...



I'm really adoring so many of your poems here, Cadi. I love your imagery - you're using simple household things and it's really evocative and special, and every poem seems so tight and put together.
"Stella. You were in my dream the other night. And everyone called you Princess." -Lauren2010
  





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Sun Apr 08, 2018 1:28 pm
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Cadi says...



Thank you, Stella! ^_^

#9

I walked across Hampstead Heath in the rain
and though it was light and fine, just drizzle,
it washed out the tension from my shoulders.
Every long stride up Parliament Hill
stretched my calves and opened my chest,
soaked serenity into my jeans.
"The fact is, I don't know where my ideas come from. Nor does any writer. The only real answer is to drink way too much coffee and buy yourself a desk that doesn't collapse when you beat your head against it." --Douglas Adams
  








If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man.
— Mark Twain