The distant mirage of fading memory
has left me with a crooked smile
while bellicose laughter
skates across my face
landing with a thump
on the floor beside my feet
Tonight has been a revelry of dark tales
told in dimly lit rooms with heavy curtains
dusty shelves filled with old books
thick stories of men and women
countries and governments
politics and love
Cigar smoke and plum wine fragrance
mix with anticipation
a bead of sweat
hesitates on furrowed brow
slipping quickly down rough cheek
falling silently
to the braided oval carpet
covering the hard wood floor
Now comes the time to tell a story
read from the book with lock and key
opened on this special occasion
as ticking from the walnut clock
approaches the hour of ten
my hand trembles for an instant
not knowing what the future holds
or what the past has hidden
For nothing is the way it seems
when reading from the Book of Dreams
I hesitate to tell this tale
so please forgive my stutter
as I have taken on the task
that makes a strong heart flutter
these pages are like fragile wings
they crack and almost crumble
carefully I read of things
that cause brave men to stumble
not out of fear or lust or greed
nor passion for their homes
more simply for a verse, indeed
a book of simple poems
For nothing is the way it seems
when reading from the Book of Dreams
Alas, the story now unfolds
and jumps up from the page
I read sweet things
as poets sing
of envy, love, and rage
while pomegranate fantasies
poets love to borrow
sometimes end in ecstasy
but often end in sorrow
The images of written words
have taken on new life
as history and human kind
intertwine with strife
love and hate, war and peace
great mysteries foretold
all from the mind of poets
whose grief and joy are sold
for pennies on the dollar
the cost of pen and ink
waiting for the reader
to laugh, or cry, or think
Nothing is the way it seems
when reading from the Book of Dreams
Author notes
Written November 30th, 2000 by phattkat
What did you think
Comments
1 - 38 of 38
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What I like about AP (along with the myriad things I hate - but what the hell!) is that sometimes I stumble upon someone with a new (to me) voice. Someone who knows what poetry IS, and what it is FOR. Maybe the new poet doesn't write the kind of stuff I enjoy reading, maybe his or her style(s) is different to my own. Often I am looking at the new work from the other side of a gulf - it may be a generation thing, or language, or because they are from a totally different culture, or whatever.
I like your "voice". I appreciate its worth.
This poem - I love the way it slips in and out of rhyme. Overall, it hits me somewhere and I react in a way I can't explain. I'll quit digging this hole and give you three ovations.
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Mysterious, somewhat dark, symbolized.
We have our Books of Dreams ... and those books are books within The Book ... and our names are not anonymous but written as in the Beginning ...
Stanzas two and three created a rather dark entrance to the poem.Sometimes those not so pure hold the keys to most secrets, while those innocent suffer the deceit?
Well written piece.
Regards
Myra
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This was absolutely amazing! I loved the description "while bellicose laughter skates across my face" That gave me such an emotional lift as I read this. Work well done poet!
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Now comes the time to tell a story
read from the book with lock and key
opened on this special occasion
as ticking from the walnut clock
approaches the hour of ten
my hand trembles for an instant
not knowing what the future holds
or what the past has hidden
love this part its awsome. your poem is so good i love it. keep up the good writes -
amamzing poem great job with everything, the flow, language, just everything!
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excellent
Language is great.It is very interesting. By and large, it flows along. Just a great peice!
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wow beautifully written your style is really unique I love the way you describe everything and the imagery is fantastic go you!
keep it up -
love the poem its an awesome job well done good work!
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So many images and wordings so excellently achieved that I really enjoyed. Like thoughts, they are vivid in detail and describing the book of dreams. I thought you done a wonderful job in bringing it all out! And a very intriguing line to this one...
poets love to borrow
sometimes end in ecstasy
but often end in sorrow
I was certainly impressed of how it came together toward the end! Hope to read more of the sort! Also added you as fav. hope you don't mind.
Have a great day!
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I thought you did a good job using descriptive language to set the atmosphere, and there were definitely lines that I liked ("causing men to stumble... simply for a verse, indeed/ a book of simple poems).
However, I would have really like to see more description and concrete imagery when it came to actually talking about the stories in the book of dreams-- I'm not saying to narrate the dreams, but throw in random tantalizing details and adjectives when writing about the "great mysteries" or even the "minds of the poets" themselves.
Very interesting piece. On a second read-through, it reminded me a little of Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" series, which centers around Dream -
Very well written...Your style was variant, ranging from nonrhymed to structured rhyme. A very nice talent you have. I can't condone the lack of punctuation, but nonetheless, this is my favorite so far. Very...very good write. Your story: At the beginning, I found myself wondering where exactly you were taking me. You quickly turned that wondering into awe as your story unfolded. Great progression of thought...Overall, a great poem.
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Oustanding poem.. you got a nice vocabulary, the ability to rhyme and make the reader visualise the things you are writing about.. and all the while remaining interesting and pleasant. What stands out is that empathic feeling..that i think a poet often experiences when he is looking to read some poems or when he is searching within himself for that inspirational thing he wants to write about...
I really enjoyed it..keep it up!
Worthy winner!! -
This is absolutely brilliant. It was so familiar to me that I went seeking where I've read it before. And I found it in a bookmark I had poeticvillage.
homestead.com/ alas, it is your ownOdeumDec3.html 
I loved it the first time I read it and still do. Phenominal work.
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Loreena McKennit
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Excellant poem! I love the story that you weave here, and am inspired to write because of it.
~Amanda -
Oh my gosh, a true poet in every sense of the word. You have described all the things I love in this poem. Your flow, rhythm and rhyme are impeccable. I do love it. May I put you
on my favorites list? Shancy. -
excellent
A wonderful narrative poem that flows like a lazy river on a calm summer day. An absolute joy to read. It invoked so many memories of "kinder" times that I drifted back without noticing I was here and not there inside that beautiful poem.
Thank you for sharing and this must be worthy of a trophy. Good luck.
Edited on Nov 26, 1:46 p.m. because 'typo'. -
he held the old book of dreams
A book of dreams indeed, the old english usage was so fitting, a genial write, and so enticing to read on through its end;
metaphoric and subtil imagery, a master write , lovely weave..
I enjoyed this profoundly. -
Amazing, really great write. Great flow, wonderful imagery all around perfection! I love this! I think the inagaes from your poem took on new words! Really great!
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Great Beautiful Write!!
One word- BEAUTIFUL!! Somenights as I read poems on AP, I feel like it is a book of dreams. The flow, your use of words, I repeat. BEAUTIFUL. -
What a wonderful write about a book of dreams, Don't we all wish we had one of these to pick from?
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a most excellent poem! I enjoyed reading it immensely. I like your use of language, your word choices, the images you toss out to the reader. and I enjoy the mix of free verse and rhyme you've used. just stellar writing.
Nothing is the way it seems
when reading from the Book of Dreams
perfect ending!
~travis
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Like it alot
great job everybody wish they had a book of dreams good dreams and bad dreams somewhere to put them all thanks for sharing this awesome piece keep up the great work -
Very creative and well done,
although long you hardly notice once you
start to read, shows great talent at holding
a readers attention ..
Bravo to you Bravo
Tears -
A truly nice piece of art and sure is nice to see keep penning and I will try to get back to read more ,need a log for my list of fans and readers i like lol thanks for letting us in to read Linda
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Thumbs up
Wow...that is all I can say. I loved it. Your poem is just wow..lol It is really good, the words tugged a string in my heart, good job ^.^ -
Great write.....I love the imagery and descritions used....I love how each word seems to flow to the next one...I usually don't like poems that rhyme, but i really, really like this one...Fantastic job...I expecially like the following stanza...
"The images of written words
have taken on new life
as history and human kind
are intertwined with strife
love and hate, war and peace
great mysteries foretold
all from the mind of poets
whose grief and joy are sold
for pennies on the dollar
the cost of pen and ink
waiting for the reader
to laugh, or cry, or think...."
Great job with that one...I can relate to that stanza more than all the rest...This is an excellent job...Thanks for sharing...Keep writing....
Mandi Burleson -
i cannot tell you how much i enjoyed this poem! i think it is probably one of the best ones i have read on here EVER, and i have read over a thousand. the flow and rhyme were perfect and the theme was awesome. an extremely unique theme infact, very creative and well-crafted. as jazzy said, it gives the readers chills. the descriptions and imagery were excellent as well. i found that i really liked this one stanza above all the others:
"I hesitate to tell this tale
so please forgive my stutter
as I have taken on the task
that makes a strong heart flutter
these pages are like fragile wings
they crack and almost crumble
carefully I read of things
that cause brave men to stumble
not out of fear or lust or greed
nor passion for their homes
more simply for a verse, indeed
a book of simple poems"
i'm so sorry i can only applaud this once. anywho, awesome write, so keep writing, and have a nice day! -
This is beautiful. It gave me chills. The thoughts you put in here were so vivid and deep. I loved it!!! This is an amazing poem. Great job!!!
~~~JaZ~~~
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very good
You have a very good ability to relate a story and turn it into a stirring poem. The wit, the wisdom and capturing not only the moment but the reader’s attention was very well crafted. I have to do this but
“For nothing is the way it seems
when reading from the Book of Dreams”
is very stirring and invokes the reader dream from that book of dreams.
Image and Visions … Dare to dream and do what others only dream of.
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I absolutely loved this and it's so true " Nothing is the way it seems when reading from the book of dreams." I loved that line.
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I think I'm speachless, which is rare... I just loved it!
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THAT... IS... SOOOOOOOOO.... GOOD!! A book of dreams.... i wish i could write mine in. i get some pretty wacky ones. but this is a really good peice. i just absolutly loved it. well done! well done!! keep writing!!
~Netta~ -
Beautiful
It's good, very good. I like it immensely. The images were amazing and the phrasing astouding.All in all a beautiful write. -
wow im totally stunned by this write and i dont know what kind of compliments to give you about this great write good luck
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This is very good. I believe I understand your other piece a tad bit better now, so I'm glad you showed this to me It has, overall, the same qualities as the other poem. The imagery is stunning, I liked the choice of words, the flow is quite smooth and the whole sounds nicely contemporary. I could give a more exhaustive comment, though, yet I have to close this contest as soon as possible and to do this I have to comment on every entry. It's why I'm up at 4:30 in the morning
hehe, anyways, thank you
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Well, I see you haven't lost your touch. This is an entrancing read. Good luck in the contest. I am sure you will do well.
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I wanted to thank you for your comment on my poem A Thousand Lifetimes and return the favor. Thank you
This is indeed a classic to be. What lovely imagery you have weaved into your tale. A well thought out and well written poem. Nice work
Ruth
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