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“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” – William Wordsworth, beardy-weirdy-bardy, Benedick and Beatrice, between a rock and a bard place, come on you reds, Come what may, Doubt thou the starres are fire, Humour, is not that strange?, Katherine and Petruchio, Meanwhile back at the ranch..., much ado about summat, No holds bard, No malice before or after thought, poem, Prose, Shaky Speare strikes again, Should ticklesome, So 2 guys walk into a bard, sparking off each other's clogs, Squeaky-bum time, Still shakin' Stevens, there was a star danced, titter ye must, Velvet Javelins, Well Meadowed
“Sometimes the wish to kill you is
As precious to me as the undeniable
Fantastical facets opened up by, of, and through
The circadian practice of loving and longing for
Your bone-filled bastard being — held captive as I am within
The Dickens of the fetching and fly-like labyrinth that you are,”
She said, her pupils flying like two poison-dipped darts
All over him, their heart-shaped feathers knowing the route of old.
Fast fingers flew too, adjusting her many cups;
With her he’d never know where the ball would end up.
“Murder is it? What’s your pleasure, my lamb? I’m curious,” he replied, smiling,
Deadly honest in his arrow-pocked skin, but only on that point;
Not knowing how else to be, or not to be, or notably, whether
It was even truly possible to be anything other than perplexingly vexing.
A shake of the head, and she smiled in return, hubristic teeth ablaze:
“It is an unnamed, ill-defined slaughter, my deading of you, darling.
A hazy, finger-smudged practise in practice, dear.
For when examined, pinned out, splayed and surveyed,
There’s nothing tangible to behold, be held, or be beholden to.
No evident evidence of evil, no marring malice aforethought . . .
Yet . . . I’d be lost without your enduring, beckoning presence.
Unsubstantiated. Lint that might have been felt, good and proper.”
“Still might be,” he grinned, knowing that was then and this is now —
That he’d X-rayed, Blue-rayed and sashayed his way to her heart
Möbius stylee, and would never cease the girdling of her;
Circum and scribing, as the sir comes scribing,
His path both close and remote, regardless of those
Slings and arrows, outrageous or otherwise, always, ultimately fortunate.
Perhaps he was there, balancing lightly with her
On their shared pedestal that very moment?
Perhaps they shall teeter and totter there in perpetuum,
As she squares him up — as he equal-eyes-her.
“You are loved sir, and suit well that mantle worn for others,
But know thy heart’s donned underthunders are for this miss alone.
Suited and booted I’d have you,
Weather permitting, seas of sin — not forgetting
The pleasures of sitting and petting . . . perhaps.”
“Distill my beating heart,” he crooned,
Knowing her armoury and amour to be an endless, vast stash;
Legion in nature, yes, but only deadly in its stilted, stockinged stockade;
Restrained, yet madly — never meekly nor sadly — deployed.
Velvet javelins set to lampoon his jocular jugular,
Expansive in its swaggeringly inadvertent wind-ups.
— Enter Stage Left, Cadence for Decadence:
And how we LOVE like the rippling waves of the home team’s crowd;
Roaring with blood booming in our hearts;
Fury-filled eyes raised to the rooftops;
Tears in our fists; spinning rattles, punching auspicious skies,
And devotion billowing out in Clouds
Beyond measure, for pleasured measure;
Our sacrament: savage, sacredly mental, yet treasured,
Bold in its blind and teeming throes.
This matchless field of play to be . . .
True in its word’s worth — for He and for She.
“Bone-filled bastard being” and “deadly honest in his arrow-pocked skin.” Orgasmic extremes in loving – not for me any longer, for sure – I’ll take calm seas anyday – though legitimate in love, if one were honest in the passions of youth …
Your beast drawings I’ve set eyes on would seem to go well with this piece 😉
Love to you, sweet ❤
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“Orgasmic extremes in loving” – Sounds legit – laughs a lot, but not just for the young, in fact rather more specifically for an older cast — think Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton! That’s the kind of fire going on here — Much Ado About Nothing and all that too — not easy to live with mind you, no siree, I’d prefer a quiet pint at a country pub in the sunset over the smashing of plates on the wall plus screaming followed by carpet burns that need a tub of Savlon to soothe them.
Probably.
Hahahahahaha.
And yes, the teeth of the wolf, that’s in here for sure, well spotted misses.
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Oh yes, meant young as in immature. Nothing in it for me, never was. But a chacun a son gout. Alors. ❤
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Brava Esme❣❣
Val joins in the adoring crowd standing in their feet and applauding madly 😄
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You like it! Hurrah! Thank you so much Val, it took some time to perfect this one, but I think/hope it was worth the effort.
Esme curtsying and catching flowers with a tear in her eye upon the Cloud
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Still clapping 👏👏and waving 👐
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❤ sent from esme upon her Cloud
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I’m perpetually delighted when something you’ve written forces me to slow down and think…to enjoy the words and images they evoke! Such a delight!
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I’m chuffed to bits you think so — writing is like sculpture at times — at its best when enjoyed from a multitude angles.
Thank you very muchly for your words! – beams a huge smile out
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Esmee,
You have surpassed me. I feel the undercurrents herein, past experience, present danger. Writ as wit, I relate to the receiving end of the endless armory. Truth be told you have extended your wings, reached a higher plane. Far above and beyond my earth dwelling self as every beautiful cloud being should be.
Xxx
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This is beyond good news sir. Thank you!! Such a beautifully written comment too Steve, and one that truly boosts this Cloud dancer/penner higher and higher. I don’t think everyone will like the piece, but those who do I hope will love it. Huge appreciation for telling me your thoughts — hurrah! ❤
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Let me take a linear approach, Esme, and begin in saying what a wonderful title you’ve chosen for this piece. So memorable and evocative, to me at least, of that searing, spearing — my own faint echo of your superb alliterations — love that pierces our core with no more than a well-directed word, a moment of understanding, of intimacy, that yes, as you say, may be sardonic, yet carries with it a knowing tenderness attached. So for me, a wonderful title, made complete sense of in the closing stanza.
And again you nail it with, “Your bone-filled bastard being”, for who amongst us infuriates quite so much as those we are closest to? He knows, of course, and as you indicate with the smile he emits, that this is all a venom offered in love, and even then, a consequence of his own perplexingly enigmatic self, which she can only ever fail to identify as anything else. And so she smiles herself. [I hope I’m reading this broadly correctly?]
“Lint that might have been felt” — a wonderful line, its own cleverness punctured “good and proper” straight after delivery. The Möbius Strip imagery is its equal, yet now in observational cleverness, the ‘girdling’ you mention of love’s tendrils wrapping themselves around one’s world.
But what’s this, is she spoken for — “that mantle worn for others”? Is her tormentor, her secret Romeo, never to hold his beloved Capulet-in-the-sky? Is he only ever to be an underthunderer, her “vast stash” of amour never to be fully savoured? A tragedy!
The cadence is quite superb, and rolls along in its own momentum perfectly, the shift in tone providing a joyous conclusion to our star-crossed lovers’ tale.
Many congratulations, Esme, truly. I think this has to go down as one of your finest. And that, is setting it amongst some very stiff competition. Yes, many congratulations indeed. Hariod
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The title was clear to me from the second the bones of the beast were sketched out actually, I’m really very pleased you’ve picked up on it, though I must admit I thought it might not be ideal at one point and wavered. It was the right choice in the end methinks. – nods
“Lint that might have been felt” – a wonderful line” – The first to appear and my favourite of the lot actually!
[I hope I’m reading this broadly correctly?] – I find the most perplexing people rarely have an inkling of the depth of confusion and gnashing of teeth wreaked, but I think this one knows, yes, I don’t think he can do anything about it but smile mind you – falls about. Poetry isn’t easy to pin down, so I generally say take what you want in armfuls; if it happens to be the original theme ’tis all good, if it isn’t then the reader has created another side to the piece which is also great, but I shall clarify one point -the mantle is his and the ‘underthunders’ are his heart, nay his soul’s pants, and they are hers possession-wise, the rest of the world can have that mantle and make do with what’s left. Hahahahahaha.
Tragedy.Yes, almost always tragedy here, laced with humour mind, and part and parcel of every kind of love we experience at some point or another, hence its enduring fascination in the arts and upon the Cloud.
My bestest piece eh?! Wow, well one always hopes their latest efforts are the best ever produced, so as to feel progress is occurring, a rising line of sight and all that, and also for all the praise and flowers thrown laughs, but is quite serious too, but to have it actually expressed by a reader, and such a fine writer to boot is a huge compliment Hariod, and I am seriously honoured you think it to be the case. ❤ – bows low smiling broadly
I best not write any more now in case they aren’t as good. Hahahahaha.
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A Message Hereby Recorded to Esme (the Enchantress):
I’ve been away, hither and yon, in recent days but have tuned in here–and am very glad I did–to discover this masterful piece drifting past through the sky. I say masterful sincerely, because this piece possessed throughout–not merely in this line or that–a certain intermingling of suggestion, effect and imagery that encroached from all sides at once to make plain something inexplicable, and vice versa. Where it seemed plain, upon further inspection it dissembled into a delicate weave of the invisible, and where it seemed merely to suggest–well, as I approached for a closer look it struck me over the head with a hammer. When this occurs, and when I go back to try and discover precisely when and where it occurred, but cannot quite pin it down, then I know there is, moving through the words, an irreducible light that springs from all points of the work at once.
This is mastery. And it is always a delight to behold.
Thank you for this lovely work, my friend!
Michael
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This is so kind of you Michael, and to be honest, rather needed boost-wise. I’m blown away with the West Wind at your thoughts on it all, really, almost speechless in fact. (Only almost, this is Esme.) By all the Gods and medium sized dogs, thank you! I’ve orated the piece many times both along the path when writing and then after completion and I think I could pull it off at the Globe – centre stage, or more-like hidden in the rafters, me being a shy sort ‘an all. then again . . .I’ll not be booed offstage all cabbaged hahahaha.
“Where it seemed plain, upon further inspection it dissembled into a delicate weave of the invisible, and where it seemed merely to suggest–well, as I approached for a closer look it struck me over the head with a hammer. ” I hope your head is ok now – laughs – There are levels within, yes, it twists and turns much as the play that (partly) inspired it does – Much Ado About Nothing – which I had not long since watched again afore penning. Not that Esme claims to be a Shakespeare in the making mind you hahahaha. No, she’s too unique to ape the bard – there’s only one Esme – laughs some more and recommends it as football chant – It was going into the book regardless of its reception here, but your words (and a few other fine followers) have given a boost to its production values.
Chuffed to bits here Michael, and I thank you once again for the time and effort put into what was clearly more than one reading of my words, and the thought put into your feedback. It’s literally priceless.
Esme the Enchantress and Empress of the known and unknown universe giving Michael a huge hug and so many sticky buns only his head can be seen upon the Cloud
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I have to agree with others here, that this piece is true literary brilliance. It’s poetry and prose combined, and it is so aesthetically beautiful that I find myself treating it much more like art, in no need of interpretation, but simply to be appreciated for its own sake. The other writers that you have exposed me to (although I prefer to see you exposed ;)), that you say inspire you to be better, I would say you have reached that pinnacle with this piece. I wish I could say I could get to this stage of writing myself, but I fear that it’s not possible. All I can do is sigh and recognize true talent for what it is. 🙂 I at least know enough to know that. 🙂 It’s interesting that you mention in your comments about the witty banter between Beatrice and Benedict for there was a certain element in your characters exchanged that reminded me of that quality dialogue I enjoy so much.
I know there is no real prize for this piece, but I would like to personally offer you the Swarn Award for excellence in writing. It is beautiful smooth glass, about 6 inches long, cylindrical and guaranteed not to just sit on your shelf. I believe in awards that have use. It also comes with a free bike ride with Salman Rushdie, and a hot air balloon ride with Pierce Brosnan. And every other Thursday for a year, an attractive chef will come to your house and cook you dinner.
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By all the Gods that’s a good review Swarn!
“It’s poetry and prose combined, and it is so aesthetically beautiful that I find myself treating it much more like art” – Thank you, thank you, thank you. The other writers you mention have almost all fled the scene of the crime it seems, sadly enough, for the present at least, but I’ll gladly fill in for them, understudy-like and give it my best, though I’m not convinced there’s been any surpassing of their talent on my part. No siree. Everyone writes so very differently, including yourself Swarn, who, for instance, can write articles in the social commentary vein with such wit and sharposity (troposhere word) your point flies across perfectly succinctly. Esme is pants at that. But your poetry is great too! It’s an ideal medium for cutting to the chase is poetry. That combination you speak of above is something I’ve echoed from Shakespeare’s elegant and swift badminton-style banter, yes, (Shaky, though much maligned by some, has inspired a huge amount of fine literature Esme believes – adjusts her ruff) Beatrice and Benedick are the perfect players in such verbal sport, though another two are just as fitting an inspiration here,(minus the romantic curve)— the titular couple in Tom Stoppard’s — ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead’. The film is well worth a watch if you are a word and language lover, for the dialogue is tres clever and in one scene the two leads literally stand on either side of a badminton net and ‘play’ — scoring points for oral smartypantness in a nutshell. Tickled me no end, and another influence that has stayed with me for many eyars. Also, Gary Oldman and Tim Roth are the lead actors so everyone’s a winner there I’d say laughs.
A prize! A prize no less! I’m honoured in more ways than forty two here Swarn, though I’d like to swap Salman Rushdie for Eddie Izzard, leave Pierce Bronson with an Elderly aunt whilst I fly off with Gary Oldman (coincidence? Yes actually hahahaha), and I’ll also have to amend the chef with the pearly whites (and whatever else might have been) on display, and instead I’ll have a fantastic vegan chef who can have a face like a bag of spanners if he or she likes, and will cook said dinner once every other year on a Thursday (Esme’s favourite and most auspicious day as it happens) for twenty of her bestest and most favoured blogopshere friends. If you’re very, very good, you can be one of them. Hahahahaha. How’s that? Deal? — spits on her palm and holds it out
The award – “It is beautiful smooth glass, about 6 inches long, cylindrical and guaranteed not to just sit on your shelf.” – Filthy child! – gives him a hug then sends him straight to the naughty step to think about what he did here today and pegs it with the award in her satchel.
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Wow…get’s an award and then complains about the prizes. lol
Thank you for your kind words in return. I wasn’t trying to be self-deprecating really. I’ve come to appreciate my strengths in writing, but I read something like this and it just takes my breath away both in it’s beauty and cleverness that I wish I could do it. It’s not like pole vaulting…it’s words…I know words…I know what they mean…I should be able to do this. lol Maybe I will one day…after all you are much older than I am. ducks
My observation in your skill also just comes from observing your writing through your archives and what you’ve produced here, and the improvement is tangible. Whether or not you’ve surpassed those that inspire you is perhaps less relevant than the fact that you’ve honed your skill to a sharpness that could slice Parmesan.
I have indeed seen Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead. The dialogue and acting IS marvelous.
How should I dress for this dinner. Something formal, but easily removed if the moment strikes? 😉
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“Wow…get’s an award and then complains about the prizes. lol” – I know, it’s outrageous when you think about it, I never get prizes normally either. I usually present them, like The Cloudies, now I know why – falls about for some time
I’m glad you’ve seen the film! I must feature it in a post soon. Early in both their careers and great actors, but they had excellent material to work with too.
Hearing I’ve improved is really important. H tells me this too, and I’m really grateful for the feedback. I used to be very sloppy, I know this from taking pieces and trying to get them in order for the book. But I wasn’t writing a book back then. I was repeatedly throwing poor sonmi (as she was in those days) off a cliff with no clue as to whether there was a safety net, parachute strapped to her back, or paddling pool at the bottom. It was all very Wile.E.Coyote in many ways… and still she falls, but there are people cheering at the bottom now, which is wonderful, and very unexpected. (I might use some of that at the end of the book reading back, hahahaha).
Of course I can never write anything else ever again now.
“How should I dress for this dinner. Something formal, but easily removed if the moment strikes?” – Swarn you young smoothie you, and to an old lady like me as well. Hahahahaha. –throws the duck back at him with three geese and a wombat to boot.
Thank you. Sincerely.
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The wit in this Esme* is bested only by its lacustrine lyricism, which reminds one of a mirrory lake, reflecting cloud and color (mostly azure with streaks of greige).
*Having acquired a taste for nonce words in my formative years (around the time Edo was crisped oh-so scintillatingly by Mount Fuji’s ash), I am on this lively forum coining the word ‘Esme’ to mean any sort of ebullient poem written while seated upon a small patch of gossamer cloud.
Furthermore, I am in complete agreement with cirrocumulus Hariod and cirrostratus Swarn, as your piece may be the best thing ever written, with the possible exception of some bits by Milton: you see, today’s poet is at a disadvantage–there was in Milton’s day a Viagra for words–now it has been repurposed by Pfizer for another sort of ecstasy, which pales by comparison. Not to put too fine a point on it, today’s Pfizer-philter may cause predilections which last for more than four hours, requiring immediate medical attention.
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Esme reads this comment several times and her smile extends wider every time, in fact she’s in real danger of developing a ‘flip-top head‘
Dear Prospero, it is SO good to have you back here on the Cloud again – hugs him tight And such words have you gifted, and all for Esme, whose name will now be used far and wide, up and down, in and out I imagine- (best not to see Esme’s imaginings as they can be a tad gaudy) when people pen ebullient poems upon gossamer clouds! I’m thrilled to tiny bits that you enjoyed the poem/prosey thing . . . the ‘Esme’! Hahahaha. But I am, and may retire here and now from writing knowing I’ll go out on a wondrous high. – beams
I would write more here and now, however Esme has sprained her right wrist,(nothing dodgy folks, get a grip – (not a grip of anything dodgy, not until you get home anyway) ’twas a cycling accident) and broken a wee rib so is typing one handed with the other in a splint. But be assured my dear Mage, that I appreciate you taking the time and care spent on what is a truly marvellous review that honours me immensely. x
Your last line – hahahahahaha.
Ps – “Having acquired a taste for nonce words” – In the UK (bunch of deviants the lot of them) ‘nonce’ means This – if anyone infers anything along those lines I shall see them off sharpish, for you are as a God to my people.
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The prodigal son returns to the cloud, next to Esme, with tales of reptile dysfunction, known as RD by those whose scaly stars are waning.
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http://www.cartoonmuseum.org/explore/collection/image?view=image&format=raw&type=img&id=121
Hahahahahaha.
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With Cialis still on the mind, I forgot to ask about your mishap also requiring urgent medical attention. Falling from a cloud can be painful.
(thank you for the reptilian cartoon: even chameleons have problems!)
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Thank you for asking Prospero, it turns out juggling sticky buns on a unicycle isn’t as easy as the handbook made out, however Esme is taking every painkiller known to man, woman, Pangolin and Tardigrade, and though the drugs don’t ease said pain very much, they most certainly have her giving a miniscule amount of figs on the subject, whilst she enjoys the Cloudy wallpaper in great detail.
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What a fun read! Seems like something a grown-up Lewis Carroll would have written. Thanks for the joy!
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You’re very welcome! A grown up Lewis Carroll, hahahaha, thank you, any comparison with the great man is an honour. I’m a fan of his, and Edward Lear, and also Roald Dhal of course, they influence the less tragic, more quirky side of pieces that appear. I’m not meaning to blow my own trumpet (nor anyone else’s it’s not that kind of party – falls about), but I think you might like this one too –
https://sonmicloud.wordpress.com/2015/07/22/king-of-mothropolis-or-the-mythical-myopic-mothman-mythos/
My Mothman! Hahahahaha.
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