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Gumnut Babies
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How Deep the Pool
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The Village Fete
tfawcus: I shall be taking time off from FanStory for a while. Thank you all for a decade of friendship and support. If my circumstances change, I'll be back, so this is au revoir, not adieu. |
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tfawcus: My three favorite things are eating my family and not using commas. |
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no deletions possible here! - | ||
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![]() FanStory wrote to tfawcus: Congratulations! A Cautionary Tale won the contest "Betrayal Poetry Contest" |
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Mary Vigasin - | ||
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And I'm only eleven chapters behind! Geeeez. Conratulations! - | ||
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Mike - | ||
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Such a wonderful achievement! diane - | ||
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![]() FanStory wrote to tfawcus: He Kissed Her Dear Hand finished third in the contest "Love Poem Poetry Contest" |
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![]() FanStory wrote to tfawcus: A Ticklish Problem finished third in the contest "Sunday, Monday, Doomsday..." |
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![]() FanStory wrote to tfawcus: Congratulations! The Homecoming won the contest "This Sentence Starts The Story" |
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It looks like the blue ribbon will enjoy a homecoming of its own. Well done! - | ||
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This sentence starts my congratulations to you for your first place finish! I loved this piece! Sammielwf - | ||
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tfawcus: Some reviews of my latest post, The Poppy Bleeds, disappeared into cyberspace during the recent site maintenance, so if I don't respond this evening, it means I didn't receive them. Sorry. |
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diane - | ||
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Cheers for a wonderful write! Congratulations. Sammielwf - | ||
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![]() FanStory wrote to tfawcus: Congratulations! A Hopeless Case won the contest "Rhyming Poetry Contest" |
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tfawcus: Thanks very much for all the congratulatory messages. Much appreciated. Now I shall be able to keep the loan sharks at bay! |
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Congratulations, Tony! - | ||
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FanStory wrote to tfawcus: ![]() |
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- Bill & Cathy - | ||
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You have a masterful way of expressing yourself, whether in poetry or prose! diane - | ||
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![]() FanStory wrote to tfawcus: Congratulations! The Thief of Dreams won the contest "Sonnet Poetry Contest" |
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A wonderful offering! diane - | ||
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tfawcus: "Everything you love will probably be lost, but in the end, love will return in another way." Franz Kafka |
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How do you get your long chapter titles accepted? Mine get cut off after roughly 6 words. I'm in Shanghai. So we are nearly in the same time zone. My wife and I spent two weeks in Australia. What a feast and what a discovery: How I came to visit the Art Museum Given the rain, I switched to plan B?go visit the Australian Museum of Art should it start to rain. I didn?t bother to take out and put on my raincoat since the rain had reduced to a drizzle. In a minute I was climbing the 25 steps leading to the Museum of Art. At the front desk, I asked about the current exhibit. A bright-eyed woman of 25 told me that the entire first floor exhibited the works of Janet Laurence?a naturalist who spent the last thirty years creating art that represented the patterns of trees and plants onto cloth. . . . Congee Beach Elena and I took the train and then the bus that took us right to Congee Beach. Elena adores the blue skies and the clean, blue waters. I am amazed how much the coast resembles Southern California here--stretches of rocky cliffs broken up by inlets that feature off-white sandy beaches. The flora is not like that of the CA coast, however, save for the succulent rose and occasional century plant. We take the trail that follows the cliff coast. After a half-hour of trekking, Elena announces that she cannot wait any longer to get into that marvelous water. So we change into our swim suits and edge our bodies into the cold waters. Once wet all over, however, the water hardly seems cold. A trio of dogs is swimming with their master. Beach bathers are chatting, eating, sunning on the rock shelves that line the inlet. We had the presence of mind to bring some foods and eat and sun alongside them. Nigel and Marty We resume the trail and come to another beach. Elena plunges into the water while I take a nap on the grass in the shade of a small tree. I become curious about the tides. So I ask a well-tanned muscular surfer whether he understands the tides here. In a few minutes, he is telling me about the hollowness of his heart and about his hunger to discover true love. Elena and Marty join us. Marty has been doing Yoga for 40 years and their conversation turns toward those yoga leaders that they know in common. Meanwhile, my conversation with Nigel now turns to the story of how he lost his first wife to cancer after forty years of marriage. . . . I tell Nigel about my own longing for many years to find true love. ?It takes courage to sustain and enlarge the yearning for love. I found that most men abandon the suffering that is involved and throw themselves into work, into drinking, into some addiction by way of quieting the hunger in their heart.? Then I tell him how, three years ago, just before Christmas, I was telling my Christmas angel about the longing in my heart and my angel told me not to give up for my future lover was urgently seeking me. ?If you give up the quest, Nigel, your true love will never be able to find you.? Nigel liked the idea of knowing that his true love was out there and urgently seeking him. He tells me that tears came to his eyes as he was listening to my narrative. Knowing this meant that he was not pulling all the weight and doing all the suffering ALONE. ?Your beloved is seeking you out and all you need to do is to be willing to be found.? Nigel offers white tea and chocolates to Elena and me. I use this occasion to make a toast, ?To Niguel?s true love who is out there seeking him and to my true love, Elena, who found me three years ago.? Marty is so taken with this toast that he takes out his iPhone and asks me to record the toast for some future use. Then Nigel asks about the red string around my wrist and another story unfolds. . . . To cap things off, he takes me surfing on his long and light surf board. . . . I am amazed by all this. This is not the first time this has happened. It is the third time in three days. The first time was my encounter with Fritz on the docs who shared with me the story of his16-year-old daughter who kissed him goodnight and went to bed to take her life. The second was my encounter on the tram when an Asiatic woman told me of the deep sadness of leaving her life-long friend. Something awesome is working here among these Aussies. It?s amazing! Joy in writing, Aaron - | ||
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![]() FanStory wrote to tfawcus: Congratulations! Beyond the Wit of Daylight Hours is the new Poem of the Month! |
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But your novel about the French letter is great, too. Well done, my friend! Robert - | ||
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Melissa - | ||
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No place to go but Up Up and Away. - | ||
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![]() Congratulations on your second place finish, Tony. - | ||
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Alx - | ||
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Alx - | ||
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Alx - | ||
Rock On, dude! ![]() | ||
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![]() FanStory wrote to tfawcus: Tilting at Windmills finished third in the contest "Faith Poetry Contest" |
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Alx - | ||
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![]() FanStory wrote to tfawcus: Brindled Thoughts finished second in the contest "Free Verse Poetry Contest" |
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Smiles All Around! diane - | ||
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An exceptional poetic offering! diane - | ||
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![]() FanStory wrote to tfawcus: Congratulations! The Seven-Tined Stag won the contest "Acrostic Poetry Contest" |
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a true ambassador of the art. Love to see respect and skill slap me in the face as I read a poem. You seem to slap me silly most every time I have the initial pleasure of reading your poems; so the slap is due remittance for that pleasure. your friend, tom - | ||
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![]() FanStory wrote to tfawcus: Bookend Scholarship finished second in the contest "Sonnet Poetry Contest" |
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Alex - | ||
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![]() FanStory wrote to tfawcus: Forget Me Not finished first in the contest "Write a Crown of Heroic Sonnets " |
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![]() Congratulations on your placement in the Faith Poetry Contest, Tony - | ||
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~Dean ![]() | ||
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~patty~ - | ||
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~ Connie - | ||
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A beutiful write. Best wishes - | ||
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![]() glitter-graphics.com Congratulations too! - | ||
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My how the moth has risen in esteem. Wonderful sonnet! RS - | ||
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![]() FanStory wrote to tfawcus: There's a Dog in My Bath finished second in the contest "Acrostic Poetry Contest" |
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Bravo - | ||
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Best wishes - | ||
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![]() FanStory wrote to tfawcus: A Halloween Surprise finished third in the contest "Halloween Poetry Contest" |
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Well done! ~Dean - | ||
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Nan:)) - | ||
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![]() FanStory wrote to tfawcus: Congratulations! The Song Thrush won the contest "Share A Story In A Poem" |
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And so hard on the heels of that Triolet win. You're on a roll, my friend. Rose. - | ||
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tfawcus: Those of you who were kind enough to review The Song Thrush, may be interested to know that a superb reading of the ballad by Pantygynt has now been added to the post. Many thanks, both to him and to Ciliverde, who converted the reading to an .mp3 sound file for me. Thanks also to Robyn Corum, who suggested it. |
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~Dean - | ||
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![]() Tony, you KNOW you're one of my very favorite poets (of all time)... very well deserved my friend. >^^< - | ||
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So well deserved. The honour is yours, and well earned. Hugs - Lovi xoxo - | ||
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God bless! Steve - | ||
Hugs, Shari - | ||
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![]() FanStory wrote to tfawcus: Congratulations! This House of Stone won the contest "Blank Verse Poetry Contest" |
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Cat - | ||
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~Dean - | ||
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Well done. - | ||
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![]() tfawcus: I have found much poetry in a life of flying, teaching and farming. Most of it has been kept within but a few fragments have escaped onto the printed page. When all else is done, only the poetry survives. It is that which defines us. |
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Ten poets participated in this contest and presented the most wonderful blank verse poetry I've read in quite some time. The entries included blank verse sonnets, quatrains and epic narratives. All are distinctive, creative and worthy of the winners' circle. Thanks to all who participated and to those in the FanStory community who took the time to read and review all ten entries and participate in the voting. I wold encourage anyone interested in reading superb verse to read the entries. -Ray contest sponsor - | ||
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