Short verses composed for the XWP NetForum in 1998
I admit it, I am obsessed with Xena and Gabrielle; with images of darkness and light, with summer nights and starry skies. That's why I used the starry background on the main banners on these sites. The poems in this post are from another kind of star-filled night. Well, a star-filled weekend, actually. It was way back in the summer of 1998 (the summer of SAC2) on the old Universal Studios XWP NetForum when I hosted a festival of poetry called, "Xena Haiku and Any Old Verse Will Do." It was my way of getting more folks to de-lurk and discover the joy of stretching their creative muscles and opening their ears to hear the voice of the Muse. And it worked, to my unending amazement and absolute joy. So many new folks threw off their lurker cloaks and posted and so many of them were very good. Stars were born that night, I tell ya. They kept me busy as I scrambled back and forth from post to post, composing verses, reading other people's poems, and composing answering verses on the fly. It was grand! I'll never forget that weekend. And I hope that some of those folks remember it too. And that they are still listening to the voice of the Muse.
PS: I will add to this post as I discover more of the old poems. I saved most of them...only to lose them when my very first computer was stolen, the one that I posted on the forum with, the one that I built my first site with. And my second computer crashed last year. Let's hope that the third time's a charm with the current one. I don't think I wanna go through that again. Not now. Not after as much work as I've put into things at this point.
1
In the Infinite Ocean
of Universes,
where worlds upon worlds
whirl in their dance
through the Deep Night of Time.
Thou, my beloved,
my beautiful warrior,
in every one of them,
in all Places and Times,
Thou, Warrior Princess...art Mine.2
At such times as these,
I remember your knees:
how they looked,
how they felt upon my cheeks.3
I followed you beside the rushing waters,
I swam with you in the raging rivers.
There is no path I did not travel,
There is no path now that I can follow.
No night of stars to follow the morrow,
No end in sight to all this sorrow.4
I search for you, there's no one here.
Scream for you, but no one hears.
Rage at the night which took you
and left no trace.
And all my fears turn in my stomach
and laugh in my face.5
I can't bear
to breathe the air
we no longer share.