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Michael

Moderator

Member Rara Avis

since 1999-08-13

Posts 7666
California

0 posted 2001-04-27 06:44 AM

SHELL OF THE MAN

I walk this long and lonely hall
Of faded faces past,
And can't help being reminded
That nothing good can last.
Once vivid with splendor and shine,
I swore God touched this place;
Now, vaguely can to mem'ry call
An image of such grace...

... That thunderous visage come to life
Before my waking eyes;
She shook me to my very core
With cold, seductive lies.
... Or thousands by thousands more,
The hands that reached to me;
Raising me to a place in life
No man should ever be.

How gaudy, then, must I have been
To feign such sure acclaim
As genuine, when all in life
Before me but brought shame.
I stand to pay my homage now
To Grief, to Shame, to Plight.
Offering all emotion left
To the eternal night.

Shell of the man I used to be,
I stand, passion's bereft.
I've faced the Darkness, true and deep,
But, lo, there never slept...
Still, if in shadow now may see,
By eyes upon the wall,
The truest of sorrows to reap
Was believing at all.

Michael Anderson

But dreams of those who dream as I,
Aspiringly, are damned and die.

EAP

Nan

Administrator

Member Seraphic

since 1999-05-20

Posts 21191
Cape Cod Massachusetts USA

1 posted 2001-04-27 07:15 AM

"Bereft of passion"... a sad place to be, my friend... Knowing you, though - it would be a very temporary state...

This is an exceptional piece of work - as all of your poetry is...

Balladeer

Administrator

Member Empyrean

since 1999-06-05

Posts 25505
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA

2 posted 2001-04-27 07:54 AM

I can relate, Michael...many people have held me up to their ear to see if they could hear the ocean

Janet Marie
Member Laureate

since 2000-01-22

Posts 18554

3 posted 2001-04-27 08:15 AM

Once vivid with splendor and shine,
I swore God touched this place;
Now, vaguely can to mem'ry call
An image of such grace...

=======================
The hands that reached to me;
Raising me to a place in life
No man should ever be.

How gaudy, then, must I have been
To feign such sure acclaim
As genuine, when all in life
Before me but brought shame.
I stand to pay my homage now
To Grief, to Shame, to Plight.
Offering all emotion left
To the eternal night.

Shell of the man I used to be,
I stand, passion's bereft.
I've faced the Darkness, true and deep,
But, lo, there never slept...
Still, if in shadow now may see,
By eyes upon the wall,
The truest of sorrows to reap
Was believing at all.
===========================

Oh sweet poet how you satisfy my craving for
words...
for rhyme divine ... for pure unabashed emote...
for emotions expressed with such honest, sincerety of heart and soul.
Your poetry saturates splendily...
and as always your words and expressions impress and then touch me deeply.
So very nice to read you this morn M,
youre always missed and thought of.

Though my soul may sit in darkness,
It will arise in perfect light.
For I have loved the stars too fondly ...
To be fearful of the night.

Corinne
Member Ascendant

since 1999-10-28

Posts 5167
state of confusion

4 posted 2001-04-27 11:07 AM

Was beginning to wonder about you, been a while since you have posted.

Still darkness haunts you,
sending you a wish for peace.

Corinne

Coco
Junior Member

since 2001-01-28

Posts 48

5 posted 2001-04-27 12:39 PM

Michael, your poetry leaves this reader struggling for words to convey just how magnificent your writing is and the following verse I quote from your poem just seemed to tug at my heart today...

"Still, if in shadow now may see, By eyes upon the wall, The truest of sorrows to reap, Was believing at all."

Hugs2uPoetFriend

Interloper

Member Rara Avis

since 2000-11-06

Posts 8369
Deep in the heart

6 posted 2001-04-27 01:30 PM

Glad you never slept there. In fact, friend, pick up your pace

Well done!

Live for love. Without love, you don't live.

OLIAS
Senior Member

since 2000-06-20

Posts 1090
Pearl city Iowa

7 posted 2001-04-27 02:05 PM

With such words and insight a shell you can never be your cup runs over with talent

Regards,
Olias.

Mysteria

Member Laureate

since 2001-03-07

Posts 18328
British Columbia, Canada

8 posted 2001-04-27 02:09 PM

I hear you! The sadest part is having believed it all, and I hope you come to terms that your honestly counted for something and still does. What a gifted young poet you are, and I am sorry I did not discover you long before this. Much enjoyed.

Please visit me at my new homepage:
http://www.mysteria-poetry.cityslide.com/contents/contents/cfm/451673

Elizabeth

Moderator

Member Ascendant

since 1999-06-07

Posts 6871
Minnesota

9 posted 2001-04-27 10:35 PM

Well, Michael....this is truly a sad place to be....but if you're a shell of who you used to be, you can only grow back into your full self.

Michael

Moderator

Member Rara Avis

since 1999-08-13

Posts 7666
California

10 posted 2001-04-27 11:06 PM

I apologize for not having time to address each of you personally, but thank you all for the kind replies.

Michael

Poet deVine

Administrator

Member Seraphic

since 1999-05-26

Posts 22612
Hurricane Alley

11 posted 2001-04-27 11:28 PM

This is magnificent. You are truly a poet. It's so nice to read you again.

Acies

Moderator

Member Rara Avis

since 2000-06-07

Posts 7665
Twilight Zone

12 posted 2001-04-27 11:34 PM

This is the reason why I do believe I don't belong in Open. My work don't deserve to be in the same forum as yours. I do thank you for showing me what the future holds for me as I continue to try to progress with my writing. Thanks for sharing

"So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this give life to thee." W.S.

Dopey Dope

Moderator

Member Patricius

since 2000-08-30

Posts 11132
San Juan, Puerto Rico

13 posted 2001-04-27 11:35 PM

Wow, this truly is a wonderful poem. I enjoyed it greatly. Wowish...left me in awe.

I was born myself, raised myself, and will continue to be myself. The world will just have to adjust.

I'm in love with my shadow
I admire it daily

Sunshine

Administrator

Member Empyrean

since 1999-06-25

Posts 63354
Listening to every heart

14 posted 2001-04-27 11:38 PM

Once again you wash us up on the shore of life...hoping that one will pick us up, take us home, and listen....

excellent, Michael...

Irish Rose
Member Patricius

since 2000-04-06

Posts 10263

15 posted 2001-04-28 09:36 AM

Darkness can be terrifying....I enjoyed this very much

Kathleen Blake

"When red-haired girls scamper like roses over the rain-green grass,
and the sun drips honey."
Laurie Lee

VAS
Member Rara Avis

since 2000-11-16

Posts 7450
Oregon

16 posted 2001-04-28 10:03 AM

Certainly great to see you and your poetry drop by Michael. Vivid depiction!

Linc

Senior Member

since 2001-03-07

Posts 552
The Backstreet Boy

17 posted 2001-04-28 03:56 PM

Hey,

Absolutaly superb

great, outstanding. Until your next

-- Linc

"Once you reach your original goal it seems that the journey was your real accomplishment."

suthern

Member Seraphic

since 1999-07-29

Posts 20723
Louisiana

18 posted 2001-04-29 04:30 PM

Perhaps it's simply my own state of wishing, but the first few lines remind me so much of PIP and old days. *S* This had my attention from the first words, Michael... It is a privilege to read such excellence. (But I must argue... *G* you've always been a man of substance who writes with great passion! *S*)

Joyce Johnson

Member Rara Avis

since 2001-03-10

Posts 9912
Washington State

19 posted 2001-04-29 04:34 PM

There's not much I can add to the other replys, but it is easy to see that you are a gifted poet and I will be watching for more of your work. Joyce

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