Vanidar

This Journal Post is jointly Showcase and Introspective.  I decided to go back through my deviations, and find out what of my poems had performed the best on receiving Favorites.  It's a slightly imperfect metric, based off of how well my poems are advertised, but the good ones certainly have taken off.  The following list has one exempted, and I'll explain that below.  I've also put a few additional comments on why I think these have taken off.

My most favorited poems are:
1. fav.me/d4h7rpg On His Smile - 12  
2. fav.me/d2ej8lo A Graffiti Promise - 10
3. vanidar.deviantart.com/art/She… She Has Not Asked - 8
4. fav.me/d4z44md On How We Interact - 6
5. fav.me/d30la4l I'm Really Glad You're Ill - 5
5. fav.me/d4nj54l The Last Leaf of Winter - 5

Ironically, my true #1 favorite "To The Servant of Evil" fav.me/d4d32zg (with 13 favorites) is popular mostly based, I feel, on advertising.  While I did put actual content and effort into it, most of the favorites come from the fact that I based it off of a Vocaloid song, which has a rabid following(ok, maybe they don't Froth at the mouth quite so much.)  It's still a good poem, though.

#1) "On His Smile"
This poem's popularity took me by surprise. I hadn't realized until just how much audience sympathy I garnered with "On His Smile", a poem which, I think, well describes an emotional response.  It's decidedly on the happy end of the poem spectrum, and I think it well deserves being my most favorited.
On His SmileWhen she sees his smile,
A magma joy blossoms within her.
For his smile is of her crafting,
and it is her warm, prided longing
to caress the work of her own hands
that seeks to pull her heated, beating heart
from its place at the corners of her eyes,
out from the upturned edges of her lips,
through the very extremities of her tingling fingers,
and into a beautiful gift.
Just for him.
To keep him warm.
For his joy draws from somewhere
very near the base of her love;
and she could not stand to lose it.

#2) "A Graffiti Promise"
My #2 most liked poem came into being as actual graffiti.  I 'tagged' a chalk board with poetic fervor after a college class. (The teacher stopped what they were doing and just watched, intrigued. It was brilliant.)  The consensus seems to be that it's strength is how potently effective it is in getting it's message across.
A Graffiti PromiseEvery breath you spend in me
is an investment in the poem
I will craft wholly of your breaths
so that when I am breathless of desire,
you will know why you loved me.

#3) "She Has Not Asked"
"She Has Not Asked" is a potent poem of longing.  I use slightly archaic modes of getting the message across, and it's a good indication of what flavor my poetry has attained, in the direction it has been headed since I started writing.  Commentators have universally indicated being too stunned for words, likely due to an exceptionally strong concluding stanza.
She Has Not AskedYou've tendered me two questions
I've long wanted Her to ask.
I cannot refuse to answer those,
Since it's my burden if nobody knows
The full sum I would give,
   for Her confidence and love?
Every resource my heart has.
You pose a good query.
What, even,
   is guarded from Her already?
But what, even,
   do I guard from you?!
There is no corner of my heart lock'd;
Nor door that I would not admit Her through.
but oh!  The blessing it would be
to entrust with Her the key.
To give Her rooms to lock;
Cherished belongings to reserve;
A safe abode She could preserve;
That would never be opened to vandals,
no nor to living saints again.

#4) "On How We Interact"
This poem may be headed for great things, as it is the youngest poem on the list, just over a month old.  "On How we Interact" dissects a relationship that has come to be dominated by a gradually revealed aftermath.  The formatting really carries the piece.
On how we InteractI don't mean to treat you like a friend
I don't mean to view you like a foe.
I don't like to balance all your words,
I don't enjoy calculating my replies,
or maintaining an, honestly, filtered facade.
I'm sorry that I rationalized.
I'm sorry that I entrusted her to you.
I paid the price, my trust was shattered.
I paid the price, I let you wound me.
She paid the price, and now she's gone.
I can't trust myself
to treat with you unguarded.
I can't trust you at all.

#5) Tie #1 - "I'm Really Glad You're Ill"
I'm glad to report that a piece of feel good humor made the list.  It's not a very serious poem, I could drive trucks through its gaps in syntax, but it'll get along with you ok for all of that.  "I'm Really Glad You're Ill" taught me a lesson about what happens when a poet runs out of words - he has to hurry to the store and get some more!
I'm really glad you're illI'm really happy you are ill;
…Except your brain has gone caput,
the room will not keep still
and you can't feel your foot.
Sure, you do not feel your best,
But you'll soon get all the finest soups,
Delivered at my personal behest,
Straight from world class chicken coops!
Your gape mouthed stare enthralls me.
For as long until your fever breaks,
I feel like I can see your thoughts
Just by peeking while your eye dilates.
As you're buried under blankets,
Shivering, and forced to moan,
I beg you, think just briefly,
Of the benefits to your muscle tone.
You've saved a trip to the sauna,
I see by your sweat-laden, grimy face,
Just imagine how well this 'sickness',
Your caramel skin exfoliates!
You've even gotten a thoughtful poem,
From yours truly, to show I care,
And lastly, may I, just briefly, add:
"Keep your grubby germs over there!"

#5) Tie #2 - "The Last Leaf of Winter"
This is the best of my 'storytelling' poems.  I expect you'll look back fondly on the stronger than nostalgic feeling elicited through strong imagery in "The Last Leaf of Winter".
The Last Leaf of WinterI remember you like a cypress would
frozen in a still, timeless breeze,
with barren boughs frigid against the sky;
only the last leaf of winter
tenaciously clinging to memory;
and my roots delven beneath the earth,
dreaming of warmth and nourishment and light.
My only memory is of your face,
setting on the horizon like the autumn sun,
beaming for just an instant, then blushing red,
disappearing hotly against my shoulder as
your dark hair obscured you from me.  
Night's curly tendrils.
and a single droplet
of the coming storm
slid from your cheek and boiled
against my collarbone.
I love you like I remember the heat,
imprinted in my outermost ring,
A late autumn sunset's memory shone
upon the last leaf until spring.

This was a fun look for me, and I hope you enjoy it too, especially if you haven't had a chance to examine these premier poems.

Lastly, just three honorable mentions that I think are exceptionally worthy of more attention.
# fav.me/dgehk6 ", Love" - a old poem that contains a hidden title, which I've yet to see someone crack.
# vanidar.deviantart.com/art/Eve… "Every Time" - I've disabled comments on this poem, and I think that's discouraged favorites, too.  I've received the most face-to-face comments on this outside of deviant art, in person.  I'm proud of it.
# vanidar.deviantart.com/art/Hea… "Heart's Thief" - A little emotional distress poured into an impassioned plea marked the dawning of any real skill I have as a poet.

Feel free to explore my gallery.  Other things I've written speak to different people and in different ways, and a few more I'd mark as equally good to the ones on this list.  Thanks for dropping by, and sticking around

Stolen from ... who stole it from somebody else.... who stole it from someone else... you get the picture

Meme Rules:
1->You must post these rules.
2->Each person must post 10 things about themselves on their journal.
3->Answer the questions the tagger set for you, and create ten new questions for the people you tag to answer.
4->Go to their pages and tell them you have tagged her/him.
5->Is right out.
6->No tag backs.
7->Nothing in the tagging section about "you are tagged if you're reading this." You have to tag 10 people.  Unless you don't.


Kitty's questions:

1. HI THAR 8D
HELLO!

2. Do you like doing memes like this one?
Exceptionally much so.

3. Do you play any musical instruments?
Yes! The Trumpet, French Horn and Piano!  None of them well at this point.

4. Quick!! What's the opposite of a spider??
Um! Um um um! um um um um um um.... Antelope!

... I panicked.

5. What's better, cats or dogs?
Cats.  But only barely.

6. Cake or pie?
Stop asking tough questions!  Pie.  If only because more varieties of pie are really tasty, compared to only a few types of cake.

7. If you had just one wish, what would it be?
I... would wish to hear from myself way in the future, a brief summary of the second best and the worst decision I'd made over my lifetime.

8. Are you as bored as me right now??
I don't know.  I don't tend to get bored, and this is entertaining.  I'm more lonely (as someone Skypes me to make me feel better)

9. What's your favorite kind of candy?
Milky Way!   Then Reeses, then Almond Joy.

10. Is mayonnaise an instrument?
ROFL.  Only in case of dire dry-sandwitch-and-I-want-to-be-singing-itis.

~~~ Now Ten questions for a hypothetical watcher!

1. If you could be one musician, or be world famous for singing one song, who would you be?

2. What is a totally silly fear you have? (Leave blank if your ~worst~ silly fear is expressing a fear of expressing silly fears)

3. How many times did you read question 2 before you got it right?  If you gave up, why do you hate maracas?

4. But seriously, what is up with maracas?

5. How long has it been since you either told a lie or broke a promise that you wish you hadn't?

6. If I were to invade your dreams with the goal of placing a thought deep enough in your subconscious you thought you'd come up with it yourself, what would be the password to the safe?

7. How are these questions so far?  Would you kindly rate them?

8. Do you know anyone who talks too much?

9. What are the last three flavors of ice cream you've enjoyed?

10. Would you come over and bake cupcakes?

~~
Go ahead and answer in a comment, or make your own journal if you like

Lighting up the brown bark sky?
Carving silver tendrils through
distant forests, never pondering why.

yeah, that was about two minutes of effort.  More importantly:

Meteor shower starts... now!

abcnews.go.com/Technology/quad…

Je ne connais pas la raison je demands cette question toujours.  Souvent, c'est que je dois écrire.  Maintenant, j'ai fatigue, et j'ai beaucoup d'idées qui sont firme dans ma tête.

Pardon me.  Sometimes, I guess I think in French when thinking in English might get too messy.   I wonder if I have any genuine french speaking readers?

Hot cocoa, anyone?



,.,
C~~~~