Ontarah• Show poetry

I am an avid lover of literature of all sorts particularly fantasy and sci-fi. I am even an aspiring fantasy author. I'm currently working on an epic fantasy trilogy called Azure. You can check out the prologue over at storywrite if you like. I'm approximately two thirds of the way done. While I don't consider myself to be much more than a middling writer of narratives or poetry, I enjoy writing both and believe I have a vibrant imagination. My writing gives a chance to release my imagination and my feelings in ways I can't seem to manage through any other media. I can express more in poetry than any other way. My ambition is to attempt to at least try to get some novels published some day, but if not, I am content with the liberation my writing gives me now.

For those that are curious my username Ontarah is from another fantasy book I hope to write when I am done with Azure. It is a title used for one member of an elite order of priests called the Surunai. They serve a Brahma like diety that is a part of all things and there are only ever nine of them. New priests literally recieve the reincarnated souls of former ones. Each of the nine has a specific function and title and the Ontarah is one of them. For more information on this you can check out an epic of mine called Torn: The Lay of Elahir.

Here is a very good poem that Analexii wrote inspired by Torn: http://allpoetry.com/poem/show/2761066

I'm also Dixie through and through. I'm from the rural South and Texas at that, in short a redneck, and proud of it. I grew up hunting deer, shooting cans off of fence posts, riding 4 wheelers a lot, and running barefoot through the woods, and contrary to popular belief that does not make me inbred, ignorant, or a "cowboy" whose solution to everything is "kill it!" This poem pretty much sums up my thoughts on the matter: http://allpoetry.com/poem/2765176

My favorite poets are Ogden Nash and William Blake.
My favorite things in a poem are cool use of sounds so things like alliteration, assonance, and consonance.
I also have a soft spot for complicated but smooth rhyme schemes.
My poetry tends to fall into one of three categories: fantasy narrative, deep and philosophical spiritual poems, and poems about the laments of being intensely introverted. I use TONS of allusions to mythology, fantasy, and the Middle Ages.

The mellow knells of Poe's black bells
The flowing strains of Poison Trees
Alone of poems are what can quell
The lust for song that dwells in me

Pretty much sums up my thoughts on free verse vs form or unrhymed vs rhyme.
I don't like acrostics. I don't know why. They get on my nerves though I've had to write some before, grrr.
I also can't stand sappy poems so if you're here looking for stuff about kittens, kids, unending love, and best friends forever type stuff, you won't find it.
Also if anyone else mentions Ginsberg to me I think I'll puke. I have nothing against the guy, but there are other good poets out there. Sheesh. Ginsberg did this and Ginsberg did that. Great, move on. I never heard of the guy before I got on this site. Give me Shakespeare and Poe anyday.

Some stuff about me:
I love video games especially games made by the developers Bioware, Insomniac, Naughty Dog, Obsidian Entertainment, Ensemble, and the late Black Isle *sniff*.
My favorite books include The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Watership Down, anything by Tad Williams, and the Dark Elf Series by R. A. Salvatore.
My favorite characters are the drow Drizzt Do'Urden and Nightcrawler from X-men comics.
Some awesome bands/artists: The Beatles, CCR, Green Day, System of a Down, Aerosmith, Bowling for Soup, Wheatus, Enigma, The Sacred Spirits, John Denver, Tanya Tucker, Enya, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, The Eagles, dcTalk, Third Day, Jars of Clay, Audio Adrenaline and more...
Old stuff mostly, I know. Who says a twenty year old can't listen to old stuff?

Beyond that the most important thing about me is my faith. I have a lot of problems with it however. I have never found it easy to believe in God and I often have the desire to shake my fist at him and ask why he doesn't answer me or why so much in the Bible makes no sense and on and on. My religion is an interesting blend of science and fantasy. That's one of the reasons I like fantasy so much. It helps me to believe in the fanciful or the downright irrational in the cold, hard face of science and many of the logical arguments of atheism. Hopefully, I will overcome my doubts one day, but until then at least it inspires me to write lots of poems.

This is really handy site for looking up new poetry forms or terms: http://www.poetryrenewal.com/forms/menu.shtml


Be forewarned. Some of my poems have a tendency to get long.