Young Writers Society

It started when one of my friends told me that she liked non-rhyming poems better than she liked rhyming poems. A couple of days later, this other person I knew experienced a small fire in her apartment. Inspired by that, I wrote this poem; one rhymed and the other did not. After I reread them, I realized that they connected to one another in a way that could expanded and explored. This is the first of those explorations. 

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To the reader of this poem: 

I would recommend that you read the non-rhyming section first, and then the rhyming section second (in the order below). Then, reread the first section for some probable revelations.

Secondly, some questions. Which do you prefer? Rhyming or non-rhyming poems? Answer in the comments below. Also let me know what you think about this format. I call it a tandem poem. Is this something that already exists? Does it enhance the storytelling? Answer this also in the comments. 

Without further ado, onto the actual poem.

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Of All the Raindrops

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Unrhymed Section

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Lightning struck me when you died.

My heart stopped and I fell to the floor,

No life in my body,

No will in my soul.

~

We had met in nowhere.

In some chat room somewhere.

Half a world apart, and yet

We knew one another.

~

Our spirits were that of water,

Unready for a world of fire,

Where mercy is a myth,

And justice is a lie.

~

Where all we have is life,

And not enough of living.

With way too much surviving,

And not enough success.

~

But I held your hand,

And I didn't know your face,

But we knew each other's' shoulder,

We knew each other's pain.

~

And I think I loved you.

I know you loved me back.

But the world was too big,

And the fires were way too hot. 

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We could only defend ourselves against the fire.

We could one listen to one another in the flame.

We could only be apart.

We could only stand together.

~

But you were only mortal,

So then you had to die.

Lightning struck the building,

And fire ate it up.

~

Our paradise protected you.

It was made to withstand flame.

It shielded you with moments,

Precious extra time.

~

You called me in those seconds,

To see my tear-streaked face.

So I could hear your pain.

So I could feel your love.

~

And then the heat ripped through your door,

And the fire ate your flesh.

It cooked it to a crisp,

And froze your beating heart.

~

Lightning struck me when you died.

It froze my heart too.

It made the sky angry,

And it made the clouds cry blue.

~

Why, why, why of all the raindrops do you fall?

Of all the nothings to spill into less,

Why were you dispelled?

And why am I cursed to stay?

~

Once more I have nothing,

Except this twisting pain.

But I have free will also,

And the power to end what started.

~

I stand in the rain,

But I want to fall like the raindrops.

I want to fall like my tears,

And be together like we were in those moments.

~

But your absence was like a specter,

Halting my lethal thoughts,

Not with a touch but with a whisper,

And some fire from your death.

~

A fragment of you passed then into my very soul.

It possessed me and controlled me,

And in the burning flames of life,

I did not want to die.

~

I wanted to live for you.

~

Your spirit it is my fuel.

Your life it is my memory.

Your death is now my life.

Your love is now my hope.

...

Rhymed Section

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One unruly rainy day,

As the pine trees swoon and sway,

As the thunder shrieks above,

And as I watch the fleeting dove,

~

As I stand within the dark

As the clouds begin to spark

As I look up to the sky

Why'd you have to die?

~

Someplace beyond the crowd,

Within the rapture of the shroud,

That's where we had met,

It's a day I won't forget.

~

In a world that moves too fast,

Where nice guys finish last,

Where justice is a lie,

As I prepared to wave goodbye.

~

You had come and found me,

You had set me free.

We were half a world apart,

But this was just the start.

~

We were friends,

Both pushed out to our ends.

And then we were more.

As the fires they ate and bit and tore.

~

As the shield to keep the world out,

Gave out.

As the walls that we put down,

Burned down.

~

And the home in which you lived,

It cracked and groaned and gived,

As the columns broke and falled,

As your door it tried to stall,

~

And then you called and cried.

I could finally see your eyes,

You spoke and then you died,

And the fires ringed and dried

~

You.

And I was faced with something new.

Once more I turned to stone.

Once more I was alone.

~

I don't want to be this way.

So on this bitter rainy day,

I look up to the stars.

Why must you be so far?

~

Why,

Of all the raindrops in the sky,

Do you fall so far from grace

That I can never see your face?

~

That I can never feel your sweet embrace?

Now that you've been erased,

From this this world of ours,

And remain as a skeleton among the flowers.

~

I don't want to live in this world anymore.

This place that I so abhor.

And so I make the plan,

To cut short my last stand.

~

To accept death with open arms,

And dodge my worldly harms.

But something from you halts,

A beam from the heavens assaults,

~

As that lightning strikes the ground,

And injects with the profound,

As light arcs through my veins,

And ends my sorrow's reign,

~

My heart stops.

My body drops.

My arms give up and spread.

For that second I am dead.

~

But it wakes me from my dread,

My spirit goes full speed ahead,

And in that moment I'm alive,

In that moment I wish to strive,

~

To the stars.

~

This life may not be easy,

This taste has left me queasy,

So from the darkness we must rise,

And soar into the skies.