Malaikat Maut

Many people will view this thread and apply the concepts to their physical bodies, or even their spirituality/soul. I like to consider this as it applies to the psyche. Humans build identities and classifications for things based on previous experience. It's unavoidable that we each have been "constructed" by various inputs. Social and cultural factors play a role, parenting, friends, education and so on. The point is that everyone, regardless of how free and open-minded you think you are, adopts opinions and thoughts and beliefs from someplace external to them.

My point though, is that in order to form new opinions, thoughts, and beliefs the old ones have to be broken down. Depending on the level of belief or how fundamental it is to your existence, your being, your personality; the process can be extremely painful.

Some know but most do not that my wife and I recently had our first child, a wonderful little boy. Before he was born we had this poem engraved, along with his name, on a wooden plaque which now hangs on the wall of his room. I came to find out shortly thereafter that my father also dedicated the poem to me before I was born. Not only is it a wonderful piece, it holds great meaning for me personally.

So, I've chosen to revive this thread by posting "If" by Rudyard Kipling

[quote]If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son![/quote]

I ask you to please post poetry or prose that you find to be inspiring, despairing, breathtaking, or simply worthy of being read so that others may enjoy them also.

Here are a few of my favorites:

E.E. Cummings - being to timelessness as it's to time,
[quote]
being to timelessness as it's to time,
love did no more begin than love will end:
where nothing is to breathe to stroll to swim
love is the air the ocean and the land

(do lovers suffer?all divinities
proudly descending put on deathful flesh:
are lovers glad?only their smallest joy's
a universe emerging from a wish)

love is the voice under all silences,
the hope which has no opposite in fear:
the strength so strong mere force is feebleness:
the truth more first than sun more last than star

- -do lovers love?why then to heaven with hell.
whatever sages say and fools,all's well
[/quote]

John McCrae - In Flanders Fields
[quote]
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.[/quote]

Lord Byron - When We Two Parted
[quote]
When we two parted
In silence and tears,
Half broken-hearted,
To sever for years,
Pale grew thy cheek and cold,
Colder thy kiss;
Truly that hour foretold
Sorrow to this.

The dew of the morning
Sank chill on my brow—
It felt like the warning
Of what I feel now.
Thy vows are all broken,
And light is thy fame:
I hear thy name spoken,
And share in its shame.

They name thee before me,
A knell to mine ear;
A shudder comes o'er me—
Why wert thou so dear?
They know not I knew thee,
Who knew thee too well:—
Long, long shall I rue thee
Too deeply to tell.

In secret we met—
In silence I grieve
That thy heart could forget,
Thy spirit deceive.
If I should meet thee
After long years,
How should I greet thee?—
With silence and tears.[/quote]

W.H. Auden - Funeral Blues
[quote]
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.[/quote]

Once reasoned men's appeals were lost on me
why they should life repeal for such as thee,
with fragile limbs so scarce to even bloom,
and call thee by such famed non de plume,
why one and all their heart's compassion flows
as water from their hands in your repose,
and how they rationed actions to be good
which lessened lives of men to that of wood,
but now it is in wisdom that I see
that things are sometimes more than what they seem,
and now it is in truth that I should know
that yours is but a symbol born of hope.


Edit:
Whether out of coincidence or something more, Bob began to bloom immediately after my recital of this to him. I had always thought Z was crazy...

Once reasoned men's appeals were lost on me
why they should life repeal for such as thee,
with fragile limbs so scarce to even bloom,
and call thee by such famed non de plume,
why one and all their heart's compassion flows
as water from their hands in your repose,
and how they rationed actions to be good
which lessened lives of men to that of wood,
but now it is in wisdom that I see
that things are sometimes more than what they seem,
and now it is in truth that I should know
that yours is but a symbol born of hope.


Edit:
Whether out of coincidence or something more, Bob began to bloom immediately after my recital of this to him. I had always thought Z was crazy...

[quote name='Jester' date='17 February 2010 - 06:18 PM' timestamp='1266448726' post='54652']
A player trying to revive MD is like trying to revive a person who is drowning by throwing a bucket of water at their face.


EDIT: To expand on that, I didn't mean players shouldn't try to make the game more fun. I simply meant that MD wouldn't be MD without Mur, and only Mur could "revive" the game.
[/quote]
I'd expect more wisdom from a king...and less somber from a clown.

This game [b]IS[/b] its community of players. They create their own excitement through creative quests and roleplay, and, while Mur and the AL provide a focused outlet, neither are entirely necessary for the society to peaceably operate. Player involvement and player motivation are lacking as much if not more so than the same from Mur.

Like a lily among thorns is my Peace among the young women.

How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from the hills of Golemus. Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn, coming up from the washing. Each has its twin; not one of them is alone. Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon; your mouth is lovely. Your temples behind your veil are like the halves of a pomegranate. Your neck is like Wind's Sanctuary, built with courses of stone; on it hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors. Your breasts are like two fawns, like twin fawns of a gazelle that browse among the lilies. Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will go to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of incense. You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you.

You have stolen my heart, my Queen, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. How delightful is your love, my Queen, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume more than any spice! Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride; milk and honey are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Marble Dale.

How beautiful your sandaled feet, O prince’s Daughter! Your graceful legs are like jewels, the work of an artist’s hands. Your navel is a rounded goblet that never lacks blended wine. Your waist is a mound of wheat encircled by lilies. Your breasts are like two fawns, like twin fawns of a gazelle. Your neck is like the Oak Tower. Your eyes are the pools of dark water by the gate of Necrovion. Your nose is like Wind's Sanctuary looking toward the desert. Your head crowns you like Mount Kelle'tha. Your hair is like royal tapestry; the king is held captive by its tresses. How beautiful you are and how pleasing, my love, with your delights! Your stature is like that of the palm, and your breasts like clusters of fruit. I said, “I will climb the palm tree; I will take hold of its fruit.”

May your breasts be like clusters of grapes on the vine, the fragrance of your breath like apples, and your mouth like the best wine.

__________________

A plagiarized version of The Song of Solomon. I could have written something original, but the rules don't specify and this is such a wonderful blend of humor and romance.

Every now and again I'll tell my wife that her hair is like a flock of goats...it's in the Bible gentlemen, I suggest you try this and see how it goes.

I dedicate this to that lovely green fingered elfin lady, Sharahad.


My love your beauty makes me blind
Poor wording all I seem to find
The roses and the violets too,
Do make a mockery of you.
For skies of night,
Flowers gold,
Clouds of comforting white,
Could never match the stunning hue
Of your cloak
Worn so tight

If that cloak wears its thread too thin
My jealousy be sated!
The wind it gets to touch your skin
It's own desires abated
I remain in suffering just longing for your vision
An arrow to my heart my love, a terminal incision

Your hands are like fine tapestries
Your lips a work of art
Your imbibed skills do far outweigh
The irish drinking chart

I plead to you oh softest flower
My begging hear it by the hour:
"Whenever it gets rainy
Come under my umberella,
And if it does get rainy
Will you call me your fella?"

Yes you
You beautiful love bird
You
You glowing daffodil
You
You luxury yacht.
I'll sail you to the moon and back
My steering hits the spot?

When skies they break a blackened curse
Will you conceed to be my nurse?
When watercolour scene prevails
Will you conceed to hoist my sails?

A prayer I give, and listen well
For only once I'll kiss and tell;
I thank the creator up above
For sending such a heartfelt love
I thank the demons down below
For the velvet tipping show

But hark, I hear you cry;
How dare I speak of whispering eye?
How could I claim of love so bold,
Yet dally in the nectar's fold?

My love, my love, my lovely love
They go together hand in glove
Forgive my eyes, my stare, my sight...
But meet me do, by sweet moonlight.


Z

Like a lily among thorns is my Peace among the young women.

How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from the hills of Golemus. Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn, coming up from the washing. Each has its twin; not one of them is alone. Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon; your mouth is lovely. Your temples behind your veil are like the halves of a pomegranate. Your neck is like Wind's Sanctuary, built with courses of stone; on it hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors. Your breasts are like two fawns, like twin fawns of a gazelle that browse among the lilies. Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will go to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of incense. You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you.

You have stolen my heart, my Queen, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. How delightful is your love, my Queen, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume more than any spice! Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride; milk and honey are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Marble Dale.

How beautiful your sandaled feet, O prince’s Daughter! Your graceful legs are like jewels, the work of an artist’s hands. Your navel is a rounded goblet that never lacks blended wine. Your waist is a mound of wheat encircled by lilies. Your breasts are like two fawns, like twin fawns of a gazelle. Your neck is like the Oak Tower. Your eyes are the pools of dark water by the gate of Necrovion. Your nose is like Wind's Sanctuary looking toward the desert. Your head crowns you like Mount Kelle'tha. Your hair is like royal tapestry; the king is held captive by its tresses. How beautiful you are and how pleasing, my love, with your delights! Your stature is like that of the palm, and your breasts like clusters of fruit. I said, “I will climb the palm tree; I will take hold of its fruit.”

May your breasts be like clusters of grapes on the vine, the fragrance of your breath like apples, and your mouth like the best wine.

__________________

A plagiarized version of The Song of Solomon. I could have written something original, but the rules don't specify and this is such a wonderful blend of humor and romance.

Every now and again I'll tell my wife that her hair is like a flock of goats...it's in the Bible gentlemen, I suggest you try this and see how it goes.

Valentines Day is coming up, so this seems seasonally appropriate.

I've always believed that love is an action. This, of course, stands in stark contrast to the popular Western philosophy of subjectivism and modern culture on the whole.

My belief is that "Love isn't in the falling, it's in the staying." Anyone can fall in love and then out of love. That's not what I'm talking about here. It seems to me that true love - unconditional and committed love - takes action and conscious decision.

So, what do you believe?

Is love an action? Do you choose to love and to remain committed, to work on and invest in the relationship lest it die?

OR

Is love a whimsical and almost random emotion, susceptible to wanton and dramatic changes independent of our conscious or even subconscious input?


From personal experience, I choose to love my wife each day. It takes a great deal of effort to maintain a loving relationship, and we both can feel it when one of us isn't holding up their end of the bargain. Many people disagree, however...

Valentines Day is coming up, so this seems seasonally appropriate.

I've always believed that love is an action. This, of course, stands in stark contrast to the popular Western philosophy of subjectivism and modern culture on the whole.

My belief is that "Love isn't in the falling, it's in the staying." Anyone can fall in love and then out of love. That's not what I'm talking about here. It seems to me that true love - unconditional and committed love - takes action and conscious decision.

So, what do you believe?

Is love an action? Do you choose to love and to remain committed, to work on and invest in the relationship lest it die?

OR

Is love a whimsical and almost random emotion, susceptible to wanton and dramatic changes independent of our conscious or even subconscious input?


From personal experience, I choose to love my wife each day. It takes a great deal of effort to maintain a loving relationship, and we both can feel it when one of us isn't holding up their end of the bargain. Many people disagree, however...

Feel free to ignore, critique, or enjoy these as you wish. Publicly or silently - I wouldn't be posting them if I were afraid of criticism. Some of these were written for (or by) my character in MD, others were written for or about my wife, and still more are fictional works that don't apply to either. I'm always looking to grow as a writer, and one of the finest ways is to seek the opinions of readers. So, any and all comments will be considered as beneficial.

[quote]I’ll never forget how we found this place;
tall ships, soft kiss,
and we sailed away
in a state of grace.
Now when the stars reflect,
in your emerald eyes,
I know it’s ours to protect
from a world full of lies.
And as we stand at the precipice
of our new existance
the Earth sets
behind
the horizon of innocence,
and we're alone,
apart from resistance,
to hold in our hearts the wonder
that this is home.[/quote]

[quote]“Pick up the pace”, I hear you say the ten-thousandth time,
so I sprint a minute until we’re side-by-side.
You check our time and speak of here and now,
and, though your voice is like a dream to me,
I’m intent on watching as these
yellow lines blur with white clouds;
turning tight rounds as they spiral out
from where the sky meets the ground.
And, as you tell me everything you need,
I wonder what we'll see when we reach the end.
Will the earth bend and continue on again
or abruptly stop?
“Don’t look back”, I think as I catch my breath,
and up ahead I can’t help but watch
as your hair sways at its shoulder length
in unison with the golden rays
of the sun as it rises on the horizon.
I run till I’ve caught up again
and maintain my thoughts:
perhaps, if we move fast enough,
impetus will stay with us
and we’ll keep a straight line.
And we’ll blur with white clouds
as we go hurtling out
and leave this place behind.
Then I hear, “pick up the pace have you heard me talking”,
and I reply, “I’m hurt and tired but don't stop walking”.[/quote]

[quote]in the silence of night
it was early June
as we said goodbye
i touched your face
so pristine
in the pale moonlight
and your grace
made me feel
that you’re too perfect to be mine
i’m sorry
i don’t remember what we said
just your silhouette
against a bed of stars
and life will never be as pretty
as it was just then
just before the world turned red
in the taillight of your car
but even if
the emerald in your eyes
no longer shines
i’ll see you as you were
not as you are
you’ll always be that moonlit girl to me
as if the clock had stopped at four[/quote]

[quote]
I once was lost in lonesome woods with scarcely any care,
and without any awareness of my true state of affairs,
though now I wonder how it was that fate had found me there in the first place.
With fetid trees and frozen lakes reflecting boughs so barren,
in retrospect it seems such a dreadful location
that I can’t imagine why I tarried.
As if I were waiting, not really in anticipation,
more like for the turn of a millennium,
which is something that comes upon us though it’s nothing that we race toward.
Then, as I remember, it was mid December
when I first paid attention to what I imagine had always been there.
A chime, the simple ring of bells,
had wafted round my barren dell on a breeze.
So pleasing was its melody, and also so sublime,
that I fell into dreams about its meaning.
It became my goal, my sole aspiration,
to find its source of origin and make it mine.
However, as I walked and witnessed
that those woods had underwent a subtle change,
I too was touched and altered
by the timbre which those ringing chimes maintained, and so I dallied.
Oh, for sunny Saturdays in June,
those bells fell round like fife and lute,
and on the fifth, once placid pools became like falling waters.
No longer holding images of barren woods but keeping them at bay,
harboring my hopes and rushing all I find appalling far away.
How such a nuance made so much difference I may never know,
but I’m grateful it was made. [/quote]

[quote]
Angel, let me touch your hair,
and brush it from your eyes.
Angel, let me linger there
in moon and starlit skies.

Angel, let me see your face
such beauty does beguile.
Angel, let me free the grace
held captive in your smile.

Angel, let me know your fear,
and I will whisper mine.
Angel, let us never care
for moments left behind.

Angel, let me take your hand,
and never shall we part.
Angel, let us never stand
but journey with our hearts.

Angel, let me comfort you,
and you may do the same.
Angel, let us never rue
the course that we maintain.
[/quote]

[quote]The way you linger,
like a vapor, on my skin
it makes me sick.
And, as I breath you in,
the sin of it abhors me
and leaves my
moral sensibilities
undone.
Am I the only one
of us
still feeling all alone
because
I don’t think I can take more solitude.
I can’t fake this squalid love for you -
who’d let your veins
for moments in the sun.
And even as it set
once and for all,
while playwrights screamed
for curtain call,
I’m certain
that you’d fail to glean
the meaning from it all.

Still I need to feel
that burning in my lungs -
it keeps me young.
I know I'll miss this
once it's gone.
I've learned to suffer
from
your culture of
pretentiousness.
Though trite,
the lesson always was that
ignorance is bliss.[/quote]

[quote]
it's a good thing we Americans
have singsongy voices
'cause you talk a lot
and if not for inflection
it'd be more of an annoyance
than it is
don't get me wrong see
my hope was
we could enjoy the same music
but since we don't
could you perhaps
please
let me dance for a moment?[/quote]

[quote]
I recall when first we met
eyes wept in silent sadness
wrapped so delicate in tears
like sheer blankets flowing over mirrors
showing me only my own soul
and yet
they hold a fire no tear can hope to smother
as embers of the purest coal
caressed in flame's ethereal glow
they rest until the blowing wind
of memory are roused within
and then
they're left not discarded but restrained
in consciousness contained in wisdom
known to those of greater age.
Some believe I've seen the secrets of the heart
but in yours I read a tale I've never known
my own.[/quote]

[quote]
There is beauty in mortality.
A casual urgency
in the knowledge that all of this will one day pass away,
and that we exist in brevity.

It's such a simple irony.
Our only certainty
is an unknown end, which grants us both a reckless need
and peace in our fragility.

Our course is through obscurity.
Such grand facility
of the illusion of purpose that all of those among us
seek to leave a legacy.

However...

There is nothing in eternity.
A final vanity
in the foresight that nothing fades, that all is free of change,
and remains in grand stability.

It's such a dreadful tragedy.
To see with clarity
that our every action, and that each decision, merely delivers us
closer to inevitablity.

The cursed move through infinity.
Such flawed divinity
removes all purpose, and shatters all illusion,
leaving only true calamity.[/quote]

Feel free to ignore, critique, or enjoy these as you wish. Publicly or silently - I wouldn't be posting them if I were afraid of criticism. Some of these were written for (or by) my character in MD, others were written for or about my wife, and still more are fictional works that don't apply to either. I'm always looking to grow as a writer, and one of the finest ways is to seek the opinions of readers. So, any and all comments will be considered as beneficial.

[quote]I’ll never forget how we found this place;
tall ships, soft kiss,
and we sailed away
in a state of grace.
Now when the stars reflect,
in your emerald eyes,
I know it’s ours to protect
from a world full of lies.
And as we stand at the precipice
of our new existance
the Earth sets
behind
the horizon of innocence,
and we're alone,
apart from resistance,
to hold in our hearts the wonder
that this is home.[/quote]

[quote]“Pick up the pace”, I hear you say the ten-thousandth time,
so I sprint a minute until we’re side-by-side.
You check our time and speak of here and now,
and, though your voice is like a dream to me,
I’m intent on watching as these
yellow lines blur with white clouds;
turning tight rounds as they spiral out
from where the sky meets the ground.
And, as you tell me everything you need,
I wonder what we'll see when we reach the end.
Will the earth bend and continue on again
or abruptly stop?
“Don’t look back”, I think as I catch my breath,
and up ahead I can’t help but watch
as your hair sways at its shoulder length
in unison with the golden rays
of the sun as it rises on the horizon.
I run till I’ve caught up again
and maintain my thoughts:
perhaps, if we move fast enough,
impetus will stay with us
and we’ll keep a straight line.
And we’ll blur with white clouds
as we go hurtling out
and leave this place behind.
Then I hear, “pick up the pace have you heard me talking”,
and I reply, “I’m hurt and tired but don't stop walking”.[/quote]

[quote]in the silence of night
it was early June
as we said goodbye
i touched your face
so pristine
in the pale moonlight
and your grace
made me feel
that you’re too perfect to be mine
i’m sorry
i don’t remember what we said
just your silhouette
against a bed of stars
and life will never be as pretty
as it was just then
just before the world turned red
in the taillight of your car
but even if
the emerald in your eyes
no longer shines
i’ll see you as you were
not as you are
you’ll always be that moonlit girl to me
as if the clock had stopped at four[/quote]

[quote]
I once was lost in lonesome woods with scarcely any care,
and without any awareness of my true state of affairs,
though now I wonder how it was that fate had found me there in the first place.
With fetid trees and frozen lakes reflecting boughs so barren,
in retrospect it seems such a dreadful location
that I can’t imagine why I tarried.
As if I were waiting, not really in anticipation,
more like for the turn of a millennium,
which is something that comes upon us though it’s nothing that we race toward.
Then, as I remember, it was mid December
when I first paid attention to what I imagine had always been there.
A chime, the simple ring of bells,
had wafted round my barren dell on a breeze.
So pleasing was its melody, and also so sublime,
that I fell into dreams about its meaning.
It became my goal, my sole aspiration,
to find its source of origin and make it mine.
However, as I walked and witnessed
that those woods had underwent a subtle change,
I too was touched and altered
by the timbre which those ringing chimes maintained, and so I dallied.
Oh, for sunny Saturdays in June,
those bells fell round like fife and lute,
and on the fifth, once placid pools became like falling waters.
No longer holding images of barren woods but keeping them at bay,
harboring my hopes and rushing all I find appalling far away.
How such a nuance made so much difference I may never know,
but I’m grateful it was made. [/quote]

[quote]
Angel, let me touch your hair,
and brush it from your eyes.
Angel, let me linger there
in moon and starlit skies.

Angel, let me see your face
such beauty does beguile.
Angel, let me free the grace
held captive in your smile.

Angel, let me know your fear,
and I will whisper mine.
Angel, let us never care
for moments left behind.

Angel, let me take your hand,
and never shall we part.
Angel, let us never stand
but journey with our hearts.

Angel, let me comfort you,
and you may do the same.
Angel, let us never rue
the course that we maintain.
[/quote]

[quote]The way you linger,
like a vapor, on my skin
it makes me sick.
And, as I breath you in,
the sin of it abhors me
and leaves my
moral sensibilities
undone.
Am I the only one
of us
still feeling all alone
because
I don’t think I can take more solitude.
I can’t fake this squalid love for you -
who’d let your veins
for moments in the sun.
And even as it set
once and for all,
while playwrights screamed
for curtain call,
I’m certain
that you’d fail to glean
the meaning from it all.

Still I need to feel
that burning in my lungs -
it keeps me young.
I know I'll miss this
once it's gone.
I've learned to suffer
from
your culture of
pretentiousness.
Though trite,
the lesson always was that
ignorance is bliss.[/quote]

[quote]
it's a good thing we Americans
have singsongy voices
'cause you talk a lot
and if not for inflection
it'd be more of an annoyance
than it is
don't get me wrong see
my hope was
we could enjoy the same music
but since we don't
could you perhaps
please
let me dance for a moment?[/quote]

[quote]
I recall when first we met
eyes wept in silent sadness
wrapped so delicate in tears
like sheer blankets flowing over mirrors
showing me only my own soul
and yet
they hold a fire no tear can hope to smother
as embers of the purest coal
caressed in flame's ethereal glow
they rest until the blowing wind
of memory are roused within
and then
they're left not discarded but restrained
in consciousness contained in wisdom
known to those of greater age.
Some believe I've seen the secrets of the heart
but in yours I read a tale I've never known
my own.[/quote]

[quote]
There is beauty in mortality.
A casual urgency
in the knowledge that all of this will one day pass away,
and that we exist in brevity.

It's such a simple irony.
Our only certainty
is an unknown end, which grants us both a reckless need
and peace in our fragility.

Our course is through obscurity.
Such grand facility
of the illusion of purpose that all of those among us
seek to leave a legacy.

However...

There is nothing in eternity.
A final vanity
in the foresight that nothing fades, that all is free of change,
and remains in grand stability.

It's such a dreadful tragedy.
To see with clarity
that our every action, and that each decision, merely delivers us
closer to inevitablity.

The cursed move through infinity.
Such flawed divinity
removes all purpose, and shatters all illusion,
leaving only true calamity.[/quote]

Feel free to ignore, critique, or enjoy these as you wish. Publicly or silently - I wouldn't be posting them if I were afraid of criticism. Some of these were written for (or by) my character in MD, others were written for or about my wife, and still more are fictional works that don't apply to either. I'm always looking to grow as a writer, and one of the finest ways is to seek the opinions of readers. So, any and all comments will be considered as beneficial.

[quote]I’ll never forget how we found this place;
tall ships, soft kiss,
and we sailed away
in a state of grace.
Now when the stars reflect,
in your emerald eyes,
I know it’s ours to protect
from a world full of lies.
And as we stand at the precipice
of our new existance
the Earth sets
behind
the horizon of innocence,
and we're alone,
apart from resistance,
to hold in our hearts the wonder
that this is home.[/quote]

[quote]“Pick up the pace”, I hear you say the ten-thousandth time,
so I sprint a minute until we’re side-by-side.
You check our time and speak of here and now,
and, though your voice is like a dream to me,
I’m intent on watching as these
yellow lines blur with white clouds;
turning tight rounds as they spiral out
from where the sky meets the ground.
And, as you tell me everything you need,
I wonder what we'll see when we reach the end.
Will the earth bend and continue on again
or abruptly stop?
“Don’t look back”, I think as I catch my breath,
and up ahead I can’t help but watch
as your hair sways at its shoulder length
in unison with the golden rays
of the sun as it rises on the horizon.
I run till I’ve caught up again
and maintain my thoughts:
perhaps, if we move fast enough,
impetus will stay with us
and we’ll keep a straight line.
And we’ll blur with white clouds
as we go hurtling out
and leave this place behind.
Then I hear, “pick up the pace have you heard me talking”,
and I reply, “I’m hurt and tired but don't stop walking”.[/quote]

[quote]in the silence of night
it was early June
as we said goodbye
i touched your face
so pristine
in the pale moonlight
and your grace
made me feel
that you’re too perfect to be mine
i’m sorry
i don’t remember what we said
just your silhouette
against a bed of stars
and life will never be as pretty
as it was just then
just before the world turned red
in the taillight of your car
but even if
the emerald in your eyes
no longer shines
i’ll see you as you were
not as you are
you’ll always be that moonlit girl to me
as if the clock had stopped at four[/quote]

[quote]
I once was lost in lonesome woods with scarcely any care,
and without any awareness of my true state of affairs,
though now I wonder how it was that fate had found me there in the first place.
With fetid trees and frozen lakes reflecting boughs so barren,
in retrospect it seems such a dreadful location
that I can’t imagine why I tarried.
As if I were waiting, not really in anticipation,
more like for the turn of a millennium,
which is something that comes upon us though it’s nothing that we race toward.
Then, as I remember, it was mid December
when I first paid attention to what I imagine had always been there.
A chime, the simple ring of bells,
had wafted round my barren dell on a breeze.
So pleasing was its melody, and also so sublime,
that I fell into dreams about its meaning.
It became my goal, my sole aspiration,
to find its source of origin and make it mine.
However, as I walked and witnessed
that those woods had underwent a subtle change,
I too was touched and altered
by the timbre which those ringing chimes maintained, and so I dallied.
Oh, for sunny Saturdays in June,
those bells fell round like fife and lute,
and on the fifth, once placid pools became like falling waters.
No longer holding images of barren woods but keeping them at bay,
harboring my hopes and rushing all I find appalling far away.
How such a nuance made so much difference I may never know,
but I’m grateful it was made. [/quote]

[quote]
Angel, let me touch your hair,
and brush it from your eyes.
Angel, let me linger there
in moon and starlit skies.

Angel, let me see your face
such beauty does beguile.
Angel, let me free the grace
held captive in your smile.

Angel, let me know your fear,
and I will whisper mine.
Angel, let us never care
for moments left behind.

Angel, let me take your hand,
and never shall we part.
Angel, let us never stand
but journey with our hearts.

Angel, let me comfort you,
and you may do the same.
Angel, let us never rue
the course that we maintain.
[/quote]

[quote]The way you linger,
like a vapor, on my skin
it makes me sick.
And, as I breath you in,
the sin of it abhors me
and leaves my
moral sensibilities
undone.
Am I the only one
of us
still feeling all alone
because
I don’t think I can take more solitude.
I can’t fake this squalid love for you -
who’d let your veins
for moments in the sun.
And even as it set
once and for all,
while playwrights screamed
for curtain call,
I’m certain
that you’d fail to glean
the meaning from it all.

Still I need to feel
that burning in my lungs -
it keeps me young.
I know I'll miss this
once it's gone.
I've learned to suffer
from
your culture of
pretentiousness.
Though trite,
the lesson always was that
ignorance is bliss.[/quote]

[quote]
it's a good thing we Americans
have singsongy voices
'cause you talk a lot
and if not for inflection
it'd be more of an annoyance
than it is
don't get me wrong see
my hope was
we could enjoy the same music
but since we don't
could you perhaps
please
let me dance for a moment?[/quote]

[quote]
I recall when first we met
eyes wept in silent sadness
wrapped so delicate in tears
like sheer blankets flowing over mirrors
showing me only my own soul
and yet
they hold a fire no tear can hope to smother
as embers of the purest coal
caressed in flame's ethereal glow
they rest until the blowing wind
of memory are roused within
and then
they're left not discarded but restrained
in consciousness contained in wisdom
known to those of greater age.
Some believe I've seen the secrets of the heart
but in yours I read a tale I've never known
my own.[/quote]

[quote]
There is beauty in mortality.
A casual urgency
in the knowledge that all of this will one day pass away,
and that we exist in brevity.

It's such a simple irony.
Our only certainty
is an unknown end, which grants us both a reckless need
and peace in our fragility.

Our course is through obscurity.
Such grand facility
of the illusion of purpose that all of those among us
seek to leave a legacy.

However...

There is nothing in eternity.
A final vanity
in the foresight that nothing fades, that all is free of change,
and remains in grand stability.

It's such a dreadful tragedy.
To see with clarity
that our every action, and that each decision, merely delivers us
closer to inevitablity.

The cursed move through infinity.
Such flawed divinity
removes all purpose, and shatters all illusion,
leaving only true calamity.[/quote]

[quote name='Aysun' timestamp='1292653008' post='75654']
I did NOT quote incorrectly, Jester changed his stance multiple times to end in the final result. That he cannot state a solid opinion on things isn't something I can control. I have blamed no one for any 'mistake' considering I do not see what 'mistake' you're talking about- could you be clearer if you'd like it addressed?
[/quote]
It is still you who decided to quote him when he was talking about WP codes. You can't come in here two weeks later and say 'oh but jester actually said something different and i wanted to talk about that.' Not only do you try that, you're also stating that it is our fault for not understanding what this topic is about and you say it is jesters' fault that you couldn't quote him right. If he did make a more bold statement and you read it, why did you have to quote a less bold one? You yourself said you have screencaps and everything.

[quote]
With regards to your points, they miss the actual points completely. King is not a free license to abandon the responsibilities of a monarch once you get the crown or even later on down the road, being nice or bad has nothing to do with Necrovion to begin with so that point is in itself pointless, and yes it is a Monarchy- too bad it isn't run like one.
[/quote]
Well, first we had the subject of this thread be 'kings not sponsoring codes to rebels', when the majority agreed that they can, you decided to change the topic into 'jester is banning rebels from all citizen quests regardless of sponsor'. Since that point is failing to gain support, you wish to change the topic into 'jester is a bad monarch'?
Is Jester running necrovion as a monarch? He didn't host elections, so actually yes he is.
Is punishing rebels the same as abondoning your responsibilities as a monarch? I'd say it is quite the opposite.
Is Necrovion being a nice or bad place relevant to what you expect of its monarch? Yes it is. A monarch can be benevolent or oppressive and egotistical. There is nothing in the word monarch that implies the king to be a nice person. If you look at the history of Necrovion, its kings have from the beginning paid more attention to their own goals than to what happens to their citizens.

[quote name='Amoran Kalamanira Kol' timestamp='1292477390' post='75561']
The chest looks a bit, ah.. how to put this, too large [/quote]

That's a bad thing?!

[quote name='Atrumist' timestamp='1289337070' post='71773']
So you are against about how is she called in this situation, or you are against with how or why is she accused of? False or ambiguously?
[/quote]
The actions of a king or a leader should never be, and are never, observed at face value. The fact that Pample may or may not have been plotting treason is absolutely important. However, the related facts aren't open for discussion and neither will they be determined within this thread. What we can glean from it, however, is a sense of Jester's capacity for diplomacy and his abilities to lead and to unify a nation of people.

So, let's look into that shall we?

[quote name='Jester' timestamp='1289204916' post='71683']
This experiment did not work.[/quote]
Right out of the gates something as important as the appointment and inauguration of a king's equal is likened to a rash and hastily conducted experiment. At least he apologizes for it...

[quote name='Jester' timestamp='1289204916' post='71683']It was my fault for treating pamplemousse like an equal. I did not realize that pamplemousse was the kind of person that is manipulated easily.[/quote]
Well, which is it then? The king's fault for making such a poor decision or Pample's fault for taking advantage? What began as an appropriate admission of failure quickly became a platform for cowardly ad hominem attacks.

[quote]Since I was not controlling her, keith decided to. He turned her against me with almost no effort at all.[/quote]
Once again, this seems like an excellent opportunity to admit wrong and prove to Necrovion that you've learned from the mistake. Why weren't you controlling your own queen? If you couldn't or weren't willing to lead such a powerful and prominent figure, why should anyone assume you could govern a kingdom?

[quote]pample is far too weak to be a queen or any type of leadership position.

I had high hopes for her, and she trashed them because keith moon told to her to.[/quote]
And it concludes with more slander and ad hominem. Nothing of the future. Nothing of repairing damage done or the glory that is yet to belong to such a deserving people. Only embarrassment.

This could be too limiting, Jester. Some players, Seb for instance, have two very distinct characters and do well to keep their roles seperate. I could easily see a case where a player legitimately desires for one character to rebel while the other(s) could remain neutral or even actively involved in the land.

I do, however, agree that some manner of controls should be in place to limit personal bias and abuse.

^ Welcome to the thread and to the forums. Great first post.

[quote name='Kafuuka' timestamp='1292274985' post='75387']
A purely physical definition of red is not as simple as you think. The emission spectrum of an object is among others dependent on the temperature of the object. A photon might experience a redness shift while traveling etc. Of course, you could make that 'colour x under conditions y and at timespace xyzt'.[/quote]

But those physics would only really come into play when discussing certain objects. It would have no discernible relevancy in everyday conversation. For instance, the color of my shirt is in no observable way impacted by the weather conditions of how fast I can run/drive/fly. Any topics being discussed that would require such accuracy would certainly be done so under the assumption that both parties know enough about them to, at least partially, understand radiation emissions.

[quote]Time and again you are forgetting the word 'recently' and using self-fulling prophecies. "How about you go and explain me something you don't know?" That is the basically what you are asking us to do. It is not because we do not know it, that something does not exist. As a realist I think you agree to that. However, now that we have given a clear example of something that used to be unknown, you say 'aha but it is known now', whereas my point was that something which was once not known, exists, and certainly that leaves room for things not being known now.
[/quote]

I don't disagree. However, the context of the language portion of the discussion (as we're also debating objective reality/philosophical realism) is that a conversation can be had wherein some or all interpretation would be removed. I don't deny that there are entities and concepts that are unknown to us, but only that we would not be discussing them in any meaningful way. Though even the unknown can be communicated, especially within a single conversation. My entire argument was that terms can be defined and presuppositions established in a way that allows two (or more) individuals to discuss things with no need for interpretation. I could define an entire hypothesis or contingency as simply, "X". Any time I typed "X" in the conversation, you would know precisely what it is that I was talking about.

There will always be colloquialisms and language will always be changing as a function of culture and society, but words can be given absolute (or close enough to it) meaning in order to exchange information. That's all I'm saying.

This could be too limiting, Jester. Some players, Seb for instance, have two very distinct characters and do well to keep their roles seperate. I could easily see a case where a player legitimately desires for one character to rebel while the other(s) could remain neutral or even actively involved in the land.

I do, however, agree that some manner of controls should be in place to limit personal bias and abuse.

^ Welcome to the thread and to the forums. Great first post.

[quote name='Kafuuka' timestamp='1292274985' post='75387']
A purely physical definition of red is not as simple as you think. The emission spectrum of an object is among others dependent on the temperature of the object. A photon might experience a redness shift while traveling etc. Of course, you could make that 'colour x under conditions y and at timespace xyzt'.[/quote]

But those physics would only really come into play when discussing certain objects. It would have no discernible relevancy in everyday conversation. For instance, the color of my shirt is in no observable way impacted by the weather conditions of how fast I can run/drive/fly. Any topics being discussed that would require such accuracy would certainly be done so under the assumption that both parties know enough about them to, at least partially, understand radiation emissions.

[quote]Time and again you are forgetting the word 'recently' and using self-fulling prophecies. "How about you go and explain me something you don't know?" That is the basically what you are asking us to do. It is not because we do not know it, that something does not exist. As a realist I think you agree to that. However, now that we have given a clear example of something that used to be unknown, you say 'aha but it is known now', whereas my point was that something which was once not known, exists, and certainly that leaves room for things not being known now.
[/quote]

I don't disagree. However, the context of the language portion of the discussion (as we're also debating objective reality/philosophical realism) is that a conversation can be had wherein some or all interpretation would be removed. I don't deny that there are entities and concepts that are unknown to us, but only that we would not be discussing them in any meaningful way. Though even the unknown can be communicated, especially within a single conversation. My entire argument was that terms can be defined and presuppositions established in a way that allows two (or more) individuals to discuss things with no need for interpretation. I could define an entire hypothesis or contingency as simply, "X". Any time I typed "X" in the conversation, you would know precisely what it is that I was talking about.

There will always be colloquialisms and language will always be changing as a function of culture and society, but words can be given absolute (or close enough to it) meaning in order to exchange information. That's all I'm saying.

This may be going off on a tangent, but all this talk of red has me thinking of synaesthesia. Red may or may not be objectively the same for everyone, but if some people experience certain letters, numbers, musical sounds, etc. as more "red" than others, while other people don't have the same automatic association, then that suggests to me that human experience can vary a great deal.

Veering slightly closer to being on topic…

From what little I know of neurons and their connections, experience, association, and context are pretty important. Even if we are talking about the exact same type of chair, I might associate that chair with constantly stubbing my toe, you with a favourite relative who owned a similar piece of furniture. And my concept of "chair" might have been shaped over my lifetime (through exposure to usage of the word in particular contexts, etc) to be closer to "utilitarian object", yours to "a piece of decor that makes a statement about the owner's personality", maybe. This seems to lend weight to language being far more subjective than it would seem on a quick glance through a dictionary.

All that being said...

We all live in the same world; we all spend a heck of a lot of time dealing with conspecifics to whom we need to communicate a variety of meanings, sometimes with great urgency; under these circumstances we kind of have to be pretty good at wielding language as a blunt instrument, getting our intended meanings across "well enough" to serve our needs.

Does it matter if your fundamental experience of certain words or concepts is different from mine? Perhaps, if it leads one of us to make connections or act in a way that the other feels is bizarre, unpredictable, or inappropriate - or during the moment when our conversation hits a snag, when we realize that we're not talking about the same thing, and that we need to "recalibrate" or at the very least figure out where the misunderstanding came from.

That is, I think it doesn't matter if our interpretations are different, unless we notice that there's a difference. And then the very fact that we notice such a thing means our understanding of the word shifts slightly; from there we can seek to expand our own understanding to the point where our different interpretations are brought close enough that the difference doesn't functionally/practically matter anymore. (Or, if that's not possible, then we can at least refine our mental model of the other person's understanding through analysis of further mismatches.)

If those moments of realization never come, we could be blissfully unaware that we're misunderstanding each other. We could all be doing exactly that, right now. But if you can go an entire lifetime *meaning* something different, interpreting things in your own idiosyncratic way, but it never *matters* enough for anyone to notice… is the difference in interpretation relevant? I'm having trouble thinking of an example where it would be, but you guys seem to be far better read than me on topics such as these…


(By the way, hello, I think this is my first post in the forum

[quote name='Rhaegar Targaryen' timestamp='1292056533' post='75126']
Malaikat Maut said how God DOES have feelings, but on much more complex level than us... And where did you got that, Malaikat?[/quote]

There are many many examples. The book of Jeremiah is perhaps my favorite. Throughout much of the book God speaks through the prophet with intense emotion, and compares Himself to Israel's husband.

Jeremiah 3:14 “Return, faithless people,” declares the LORD, “for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion. 15 Then I will give you shepherds [b]after my own heart[/b], who will lead you with knowledge and understanding....19 “‘How gladly would I treat you like my children and give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.’ I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me. 20 But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you, Israel, have been unfaithful to me,” declares the LORD.

Exodus 20:4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a [b]jealous God[/b].

John 11:33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, [b]he was deeply moved[/b] in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. 35 [b]Jesus wept[/b].

[quote name='Rhaegar Targaryen' timestamp='1292056533' post='75126']
Malaikat Maut said how God DOES have feelings, but on much more complex level than us... And where did you got that, Malaikat?[/quote]

There are many many examples. The book of Jeremiah is perhaps my favorite. Throughout much of the book God speaks through the prophet with intense emotion, and compares Himself to Israel's husband.

Jeremiah 3:14 “Return, faithless people,” declares the LORD, “for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion. 15 Then I will give you shepherds [b]after my own heart[/b], who will lead you with knowledge and understanding....19 “‘How gladly would I treat you like my children and give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.’ I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me. 20 But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you, Israel, have been unfaithful to me,” declares the LORD.

Exodus 20:4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a [b]jealous God[/b].

John 11:33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, [b]he was deeply moved[/b] in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. 35 [b]Jesus wept[/b].

[quote name='Fyrd Argentus' timestamp='1288713671' post='71340']
My mustache is older (33) than the average MD player, so I'm gonna pass on this one... though I have bought 3 copies of the Big Book on prostate cancer and given/loaned them all out.
[/quote]
I'd say your mustache is older than the average...mustache. 33? I don't know whether to commend you, commit you, or recommend a nice shampoo/conditioner blend.