The Wordsmith's Forge

 Lord of the Rings.

This poem came out of the May 1, 2012 Poetry Fishbowl.  It was inspired by a prompt from siege -- actually a bit of whimsy on my part, since the free reading day came right before the fishbowl, and the Hero's Deck turned up Patience and the Craftsman for me.  Hee!  This poem has been sponsored by janetmiles.

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Thanks to a donation from janetmiles there are 3 new verses in "Storm Wrack."  Our paladins sit down to take care of their gear (ever notice how rarely  this crucial detail appears in most stories?) and discuss theology.

My article "Trout" is now visible to registered readers on the Torn World site, part of the "Fish of the North" set.

If you like this article and want to see more like it, please consider sending me credits or karma through Torn World's crowdfunding options.  Not a Torn World member, but still want to support the work? I have a permanent PayPal button on my LJ profile page.

Thanks to a donation from laffingkat, you have new verses to enjoy...

"Peach Blossom Spring Village" is now complete.  Meet the flower arranger of the village, and find out who this robot becomes!  (This is the last of the extant poems in this series.)

There are also 2 new verses in "Storm Wrack."  Johan jumps into the discussion of how someone becomes a paladin. 
(When this poem is complete, that will unlock two new ones from the May 1, 2012 fishbowl -- "Uneasy Things" and "Swimming Against the Tide" -- or you can pick something else from Path of the Paladins if you prefer.  There are several unpublished poems there, as mentioned on the Serial Poetry page.)

This poem came out of the May 1, 2012 Poetry Fishbowl.  It was inspired by prompts from kelkyag, siliconshaman, and the_vulture.  It belongs to the series Sort Of Heroes, which you can explore further on the Serial Poetry page.  (... aaaand I just realized that while this little story arc begins with "Call to Duty," which is published, two of the characters are only introduced explicitly in "A Catalog of Flaws," which isn't yet.  *headdesk*)  It has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette.

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This poem came from the May 1, 2012 Poetry Fishbowl.  It was inspired by prompts from janetmiles, the_vulture, and kelkyag.  It was sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette.  This poem belongs to the series Sort Of Heroes, which you can explore further on the Serial Poetry page.

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This poem came out of the May 1, 2012 Poetry Fishbowl.  It was inspired by a prompt from siliconshaman.  It has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette.

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This poem is from the May 1, 2012 Poetry Fishbowl.  It was inspired by a prompt from rix_scaedu.  It has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette.  You can read more about the villanelle form online.

I will do what evil must be done.
When all is over, cast the blame on me.
I am to be hated.  I'm the one.

Aliens, invited, overrun
Earth with halfbreed offspring.  You will see.
I will do what evil must be done.

I will drive them out with bomb and gun,
Kill them all, and set our planet free.
I am to be hated.  I'm the one.

Name me as Earth's loyal-wayward son.
Innocent and guilty, land and sea --
I will do what evil must be done.

Rainbow blood will wash my hands, and run,
Leaving Earth for just humanity.
I am to be hated.  I'm the one

Buying our survival from the sun,
Deaths to set our bleeding people free.
I will do what evil must be done.
I am to be hated.  I'm the one.

This poem came out of the May 1, 2012 Poetry Fishbowl.  It was inspired by a prompt from laffingkat and, as noted, a famous slogan from war protests.  It has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette.

He had joined the military
expecting to become a hero
and save democracy.

What he learned was that
becoming a soldier did not
automatically make anyone a hero
and that the army was not a democracy.

Nor was it possible, he realized,
to raise the level of freedom in a nation
just by dropping platoons of soldiers into it
like pebbles into a pitcher
of not-quite-enough water.

There was nothing particularly valorous or patriotic
about hiding belly-down in the drab yellow sand
or shooting pubescent boys because they might  have a gun.
The fighting wore away at his ideals the way
the sand got into his boots and scraped through his skin.
The blisters on his feet eventually healed,
and his soul grew its own callous protection
against what he had seen and could never unsee.

He began to understand the protest banner:
Killing for peace is like fucking for virginity.
There is no chastity in a whorehouse.
There is no peace on a battlefield.

Between tours of duty, he went home,
and hit his girlfriend when she argued with him.
After she left him, he listened to the loud silence of the house
and discovered that there was no peace off the battlefield either,
that he had forgotten how to live in peace
even when it was all around him.

Only when deployment came and combat reclaimed him
did he feel at home again, caught in the chatter of gunfire.
Then he knew what truly came from the constant state of war.

The end does not justify the means.
The means determine the end.

This poem came out of the May 1, 2012 Poetry Fishbowl.  It was inspired by a prompt from Stephen Laird, referring to the comic book and movie V for Vendetta.  (I really should have remembered this character when asked for anti-villain examples, along with Magneto.)  It has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette.

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This poem is from the May 1, 2012 Poetry Fishbowl.  It was inspired by a prompt from Dreamwidth user jjhunter.  It has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette.

Sometimes care  is spelled N-O.

     No, you can't run with scissors.
     No, you can't eat cake for breakfast.
     No, you're not ready to do without a babysitter.
     No, you're not ready to drive.
     No, you can't date someone the family hasn't even met.
     No, you can't quit school without a diploma.

Sometimes the line between hero and villain
is blurred by a river of tears.

The May 1, 2012 Poetry Fishbowl met the $200 goal for a free epic poem.  It also met the $300 goal for a half-price sale in one series, so I'm going to split the series and put the ones with just one available epic here and the busier ones in the sale poll.

Everyone is eligible to vote in this poll.  I will keep this poll open until at least Saturday evening.  If there's a clear winner then, I'll close it; otherwise I may leave it open longer.

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The May 1, 2012 Poetry Fishbowl met the $300 goal for a half-price poetry sale.  It will run from Monday, May 14 through Sunday, May 20 (or until the available poetry has all sold out).  There is also a free epic poll running, so I've put the series with just one available epic there and the busier ones here.

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Because "Storm Wrack" has just been completed by another donation, this poll has been cancelled and another general fund poll will be opened instead.  Sorry for the hassle, but hey, you get more poetry!

Here begins the generally sponsored poetry poll for the May 1, 2012 Poetry Fishbowl.  You have $63 to spend.  There will be a followup poll if necessary, depending how this one goes.  I will keep this poll open at least until Saturday evening.  If there's a clear winner then, I'll close it; otherwise I may leave it open longer.  Your options at this point are listed below...

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