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Open Poetry #24
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Japan
| Open Poetry #24 |
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Japan |
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Ratleader
since 2003-01-23
Posts 7026Visiting Earth on a Guest Pass 
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Japan Must it be ever Flowers, drops within dewdrops, White petals falling? What then of concrete causeways, Rays of steel that rise Unstinting to the new sky? Does the steel not sing? Will hard bright wings not bear us To the country of the gods? Ed Ratledge aka "Ratleader" |
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| © Copyright 2003 Ed Ratledge - All Rights Reserved | |||
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
Welcome to Passions, Ed. I have an idea that you are going to enjoy it here. Please, check your e-mail for a special greeting! Karilea |
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winston Member
since 2002-12-19
Posts 204NW of Eden |
There's a certain danger in living somewhere mostly made of steel and bricks. I guess that's why some country folks say urban people "live dangerously".  Thanks. It's amazing I won. I was running against peace, prosperity, & incumbency. --G. "DUBYA" BUSH. June 14, 2001. Unaware of rolling TV camera. [This message has been edited by winston (01-24-2003 12:19 PM).] |
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Enchantress Member Empyrean
since 2001-08-14
Posts 35113Canada eh. |
 Much enjoyed your entrance post! I look forward to seeing more of your work. ~Hugs & Smiles, Nancy~ |
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Nightshade
since 2001-08-31
Posts 13962just out of reach |
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passing shadows Member Empyrean
since 1999-08-26
Posts 45577displaced |
OKAY! How do ya'll get those neat pictures on here? I wanna know! Well, I can't do it right now, but I can welcome you to passions, Rat...I love the first post! |
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Martie
Moderator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049California |
Ratleader...It is in the way you see, not the place that you be..(sorry about the forced rhyme) Welcome to Passions! |
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nakdthoughts Member Laureate
since 2000-10-29
Posts 19200Between the Lines |
does the steel not sing...I have heard it moan many times  M |
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Poet deVine
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-26
Posts 22612Hurricane Alley |
Welcome to the family! Maybe you could tell us why you chose your member name..it sure is unique!! I enjoyed your poem and look forward to more from you.  |
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Mistletoe Angel
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816Portland, Oregon |
  Yay! Oh Ed, this is such a wonderful debut, sweet friend, I have never been to Japan but I am so deeply inspired and moved by their spirituality and art and wisdom they express in their art and culture, this is a celebration to the land of the rising sun, I LOVE IT! Welcome to Passions, sweet Ed, may you be inspired by all of us here as we will all be inspired by your lovely words! I can't wait to read more of your lovely words, sweet friend, we all love you so much! You have such a beautiful heart, sweet Ed, thank you for sharing!  May love and light always shine upon you! Love, Noah Eaton "Underneath your clothes there's an endless story..." |
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SEA
Moderator
Member Seraphic
since 2000-01-18
Posts 22676with you |
hi, and welcome  enjoyed your first post. I lived in Okinawa for two years.... |
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Ratleader
since 2003-01-23
Posts 7026Visiting Earth on a Guest Pass |
WOW! I go off to mow the lawn, and when I come back there are a bazillion happys waiting for me! I like this place! Lemme do the answers as best I can remember the comments..... ....steel sings all right, especially if it's a sword (I confess, it's a reference), but also in any other object with innate beauty and usefulness. I heard some steel going squeak-squeak-squeak last night, gotta get a new mattress....oops, I'm thinking nakedthoughts again.... Yes, it is in the way you see -- and a modern city can be beautiful enough and welcoming enough to write choka about, if only we would. Ah yes, the nick.... eons ago a friend told me how to set up my very first E-mail account. In the same conversation he asked if the "-ledge" in my name referred to a wall, or if it might have been "liege" as in "lord"... Ratlord@somethingorother.com was too much, but Ratleader had a nice ring, and lasted beyond the mail service's lifespan. Eventually I fessed-up that the name means "Redwater," but I ain't using that one, ever! Japanese poetry, along with most of its old art and culture, are fascinating to me. That's a common response, I suppose, and it's based in part on the fact that they've become as romanticized as Camelot. Part of my own interest stems from my impression that in a thousand years or so, my ancestral Scottish and British clans would likely have evolved into something similar to the Samaurai society, had the Romans, etc. not arrived to snap 'em out of it. Similar place + similar ecological niche = similar creatures... |
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Nan
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-20
Posts 21191Cape Cod Massachusetts USA |
 ...I might just enjoy reading some more of your work... But - don't tell everyone here how much I gravitate to formatted verse, all righty? And - How is it that you have a lawn to mow when half the world is in a deep freeze? Waft every crest upon your destined sea Embrace the Wave of Serendipity Lest its elusive arcane ecstasy Refurl with sail for all eternity Nancy Ness [This message has been edited by Nan (01-24-2003 08:40 PM).] |
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Seymour Tabin Member Empyrean
since 1999-07-07
Posts 31720Tamarac Fla |
Ratleader Welcome and enjoyed your write. |
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paladin
since 2001-08-05
Posts 930Pensacola,Fl. |
Welcome to passions.I enjoyed your post.I will be looking for more. paladin |
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Ratleader
since 2003-01-23
Posts 7026Visiting Earth on a Guest Pass |
Hi, Nan -- Heh-heh, 'tis formatted, ye know.... just count them perfect syllables....5-7-5-7-5-7-5-7-7.....It don't get no better'n that....if I'm writing it, that is.... Perhaps I'll make a project of converting you into a free verse person.....perhaps I'll also break my habit of overusing the period key.....or not.,,,,,;;; One of the chief joys of living in Southern California is that you get to whine about having to mow your lawn in January! I escaped from Missouri once upon a corporate downsizing, after I'd gotten in enough slush time to last out my life.... |
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Eromyna Member
since 2002-11-29
Posts 306Pheonix, AZ, USA |
Ooo. Intriguing! "I don't need to scream for you to deem me aggravation." |
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Andrew Scott Member Elite
since 1999-06-24
Posts 2558Redlands,CA,USA |
Yo Ratleader. Enjoyed the write and your view of Japan. A+ for style. Welcome to PIP. ----- Side step: One of my favorite sayings: "We'll chase them like rats across the tundra." Lead on! |
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garysgirl
since 2002-09-29
Posts 19237Florida, USA |
Well, Mr. Ed...... you have certainly made a big impression on me...with both your poetry, and your knowledge of it. I love the way you responded to your replies almost as much as I liked your poem. I also love these Japanes verses (I call them that because I still don't know exactly how to determine which is "Senryu", "Haiku", or "Choka".) I love to try to write them in the syllable form they're supposed to be in, though. A lot can be said in few words. As you can see, I tend to get long-winded sometimes....... Anyway, welcome to Passions In Poetry. I'm sure you will love it here. ~Ethel....garysgirl~ [This message has been edited by garysgirl (01-25-2003 12:42 AM).] |
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Janet Marie Member Laureate
since 2000-01-22
Posts 18554 |
From one who has yet to escape from MO to the ocean...Welcome to Poetry Land!! So nice to have you here with us. I look forward to reading more of your insightful work and reply banter. Well done poet sir jm I was reborn on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay |
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Charisma
since 2000-09-30
Posts 5906lost in blue pages |
Welcome to passions, enjoyed your first post very much. Charisma |
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Ratleader
since 2003-01-23
Posts 7026Visiting Earth on a Guest Pass |
Heh-Heh-Heh..... Ten minutes from Disneyland, ten minutes from the beach that the song "Surf City" was written about.... A guy from Gladstone, Mo. could do worse.... Looks like it's going to be a "Santa Ana day" today, where it starts off cool and calm, then a mild chinook wind comes down off the mountains and suddenly it's crystal clear, 75-80 degrees, and maybe 5% humidity.... I'll take it! |
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Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia |
Welcome to these steel blue columns of poetry. I liked the juxtaposition of your gentle flower petals and the mighty steel beams. Both can inspire, as your poem proves. Chinooks, Devil Winds and Santa Anas...I love the way they move air masses, pushing the cold and fog away as if they were merely a down blanket. |
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Ratleader
since 2003-01-23
Posts 7026Visiting Earth on a Guest Pass |
Thank you, Midnite -- you just helped me make a decision. I've been bragging about the place where I live, so I'll repent by posting something I wrote a while back, about the Santa Ana River....which is Cement River in the poem (and in reality).... Now to find that baby, give it a coat of wax and post it...... ------------------------------ |
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Martie
Moderator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049California |
hi again, Ratleader...you must live in Southern California...what a beauiful morning it is, indeed! |
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CMGrimm Senior Member
since 2000-02-14
Posts 685USA |
great post Ratleader. Also very interesting responses...i too have a period key problem...perhaps i'll try to break the nasty habit as well...maybe not. Anyway...welcome to PIP. Chris Never be a carbon copy of anybody...make your own impressions. - ANON. |
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Sandpiper Senior Member
since 2002-06-15
Posts 738land of flora and fauna |
Enjoyed!!! WELCOME!! "And it was at that age...Poetry arrived in search of me...And something started in my soul." |
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suthern
since 1999-07-29
Posts 20723Louisiana |
I don't experience awe often, but four years ago, you literally silenced me with your talent. *S* As I'm sure you noticed, I eventually decided that incredibly gifted didn't mean arrogant and you wouldn't bite... or even sneer if my comments seemed inadequate or stupid... and I haven't hushed since. LOL For this poem and all that followed... thank you. Happy 4th anniversary... and here's to the next 40 or so. *G* (Well, yes... I AM greedy! LOL) |
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Enchantress Member Empyrean
since 2001-08-14
Posts 35113Canada eh. |
...WOW!!... And here we are four years later... Happy PiP Anniversary Ed!  |
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Ratleader
since 2003-01-23
Posts 7026Visiting Earth on a Guest Pass |
Well, Suthern gal, lots of things change....but from the start you have been the person who understands my poetry better than anyone in this place. We seem to resonate at the same frequency, on levels that don't always show. ~~(¸¸¸¸ºº> ~~(¸¸¸¸ºº> ~~(¸¸ ¸¸ºº> ~~~(¸¸ER¸¸ºº> |
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