A Conversation Between Love and Death
At the edges of Time, in a far distant land,
Where daylight and dark meet with seaside and sand
At the top of a cliffside beyond mortal sight
The Home of Lord Death lies shrouded in night.
Lord Death was Old when Mankind was new
All life that there is passes under his view
Whatever will be, whatever has been
There’s nothing, not one thing, that Death hasn’t seen.
That is until one day, to Death’s great surprise,
A sight never seen chanced to enter his eyes
For in all the long years that Death dwelt in his hall,
Never had Love stopped to pay him a call…
…Until now.
To describe Love as strange - that is easy to say
Love goes about things in Her own special Way.
And though she may look like all little girls do,
To say she’s like anything else is untrue.
Anyone daring to look straight in her eyes,
Would see that they glitter like stars in the skies.
The color of amber, they glow golden light
That pierce through the gloom and the darkness of night.
But, no matter how brightly Love’s golden eyes shined
It could not hide the sadness that lingered behind…
She said to Lord Death, “I arrive without warning,
In the lands that have never been touched by the morning
I hope you will pardon this brazen intrusion,
And my rudely invading your private seclusion.
Death gave a bow, and he offered his hand
And said “I welcome your light in the Shadowy Lands”
I’m honored that you’ve come to visit me here
It’s truly a pleasure having Lady Love near.”
Into the expanse of his hall Love was led
Through the elegant home of Lord of the Dead
In through the parlor, then out the back door
And into the garden o’erlooking the shore.
He bade her to linger and rest for a bit
As he pulled out her chair and then asked her to sit.
He watched her a moment, and was truly amazed
By the sadness that dimmed the light held in Love’s gaze.
“Tell me, Dear Girl, what Lord Death can do,
To uplift this terrible sorrow from you?
Tell me, what has your sweet heart in such pain?
For I’d like to see Lady Love smile again.
“Death, you are older than even the world
And before you the tableau of time is unfurled
Whatever will be, whatever has been
There’s nothing, not one thing, that you haven’t seen.
“I am looking for something, where it is I don’t know
But I hope you can tell me where it is I should go
For I’ve searched all the world from Far out to Wide
To seek out the places where Fairy Tales hide.
“Please tell me, Lord Death, where are creatures that play?
And pass time conversing the hours away.
And Myths that took place outside of the books
And the Mysteries that dwelled in each cranny and nook?
“Where have they gone, the gods and wizards,
The spriggans and pixies and fire-breath lizards?
And also the maidens who swooned at the sight
Of their Prince’s returning back home from the fight?
“Where now are the worlds where giants would roam?
The Ancient Lands witches and kings made their home?
Avalon, Tir Na Nog, where did they go?
Death, can you tell me? I’m sure you must know.
Death said, “Dear child, it pains me to say,
The Creatures of Myth have all gone on their way.
For you see, Little Girl, these things could not stay
In an Everyday World that forgot how to play.
“When the world became busied with sorrows and wars
Herne and the Mist Hounds stopped hunting the moors
And the legends and heroes and creatures of yore
Left for friendlier worlds through a Magical Door.
“Please, where is this door, and is there a key?
If you have one perhaps you would lend it to me?
For I’d so like to live in the lands of the Fey,
Among beings who still like to laugh and to play.
“Here they pursue only fortune and fame,
And when things don’t go right, someone else is to blame.
They never seem happy, or to like who they are,
And they’ve stopped making wishes at wells and on stars.
“They don’t know themselves, let alone one another
And cause so much suffering and hurt to each other.
The World is filled up with such great misery
That so few of them still even recognize me.
“I have to confess that I feel out of place
And lonely among all the vast Human Race
So perhaps I should live where the other Myths go
To find someone to play all the games that I know.
“Sweet Child, this world need not be left behind
To seek all the magic you’re wishing to find
For the Door to the Worlds of the lost Legend-Kind
Exists nowhere else but inside of the mind.
Hear me, My Child, and I earnestly pray,
That you give full attention to all that I say,
For I do have the key, I can show you the way
To open the doors to the worlds where they play.
“The way you may pass through this Mythical Portal
Is to be something far beyond anything mortal.
Enjoy the adventure and freedom and glory
Not of being a person, but of being a STORY.
“For a story knows not its own wrongness or rightness,
Nor gives thought to things like its darkness or lightness
A story cares not for the way it unfolds,
A story just asks for chance to be told.
Love thought for a moment, as if she would speak,
But she stood up and planted a kiss on Death’s cheek.
Whatever the thought, he never did know,
But he saw that she smiled as she got up to go.
For a long time Death wondered, after Love went her way
If she’d heard everything he was trying say.
That Love was a magic unique in a world
That desperately needed that Dear Little Girl…
Whatever her feelings, they never did show,
And he never did ask, though he wanted to know.
One day in his garden, Death sat in the shade
And pondered the world that Humanity made,
Where Lady Love must ask the Dread Lord of Strife
To teach her the secrets of Meaning and Life.
Off in the distance arose a great sound,
That grew as a shadow passed over the ground
Death looked up and smiled, and laughed when he spied
A Girl on a Dragon racing off through the sky.
Author notes
This is the entirety of this peice. I finally decided to post it all. Enjoy.
Written October 6th, 2005
What did you think
Comments
1 - 80 of 80
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Magic writing. And a lovely regular rhythm- like that of a bush ballad- that moves the work constantly on.
Keep imagining. Babs Dee
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Very catchy!
This is a good tale written poetically and certainly one that could be reviewed more than once. A good amount of thought went into its creation and the fairy tale philosophy seems quite sound. It has a nice cadence and though a bit long (as the mind tends to see where you're going before reaching the end)all in all I'd say it was cleverly written. My favorite lines were "For you see, Little Girl, these things could not stay, In an Everyday World that forgot how to play."
I would look to rephrase: “For a story knows not its own wrongness or rightness, Nor gives thought to things like its darkness or lightness" by dropping off the "nesses" as they tripped me and I had to go back and reread. Very catchy thinking and keep writing. joy
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Absolute Wonder
This is beyond amazing!
I always wondered...
If she had a story, would the fairy tell?
Anyway, this is AWESOME, it's one of those poems
that is fun to read, and would have a huge impact
on the world for the better!
I can't explain how much I love this.
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this is a nicely written piece quite deep and insightful in its content a decent flow to it you did well
Love and light,
Blaze -
Hi, a very charming write it is enchanting, lovely story line, I would like to see the metre a bit tighter but if you are like me you will edit this many times before you are happy with it,some may find it a tad long ,I enjoy long poetry so for me no problem,lol, I must get around to reading more of your poems, hugs DI
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WONDERFUL!
Absolutely stunning! I love when I can be put 'into' the story, and you definately did so here. All I can say is thank you for the smile on my lips and the uplifting of my heart.
Lady Vesta Morgaine -
A Masterpiece
This being THE BEST POEM ON THIS SITE, I used it to illustrate the ideal height toward which the entrants should strive for my "Rhyming Masterpiece Contest." --Ellis
allpoetry.com/Contest/1744086 -
I LOVE THIS STORY! truely did bring tears...thank u.
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Superb
The title originally attracted me to this, I thought it was an interesting subject to write about.
The words are fantastic, I could visualise the scene perfectly. The rhyming is seemingly flawless, well I at least didn't pick up on anything wrong with it! It flows easily with a great beat that reflects the words.
I loved all of it. Thanks for sharing this. Take care, Heather x -
Great
Very rhythmic and imaginative, it creates a want and hunger for more -
Wow I still find this a very nice poem even reading it for the millionth time. Though instead of saying Avalon, Tir Na Nog, where did they go? I think you should say Avalon, Tir Na Nog, where did they all go? I think it flows better. Well nice write and Write on.
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perfect
wow, just wow, this is probably one of the best, if not the best, poem i have ever read, it rhymed so well and had such great imagery, it had perfect flow, and i really liked the story it told, very interesting. -
Masterful!
Nothing that I can possibly say can ever do honor to this wonderful and beautiful piece. Such wonderful flow and imagery. When I grow up, I want to write like this! It seemed so real. I believe the best part of this is the last two lines. Where Death laughed with joy and the sight before him. Masterful work! ]>-} Darker
Edited on Jan 12, 10:16 p.m. because 'Hit button by accident before I was finished reviewing.'. -
Deep!
Wow I really enjoyed this one. Death seems very wise...I have never seen death portrayed the way you have. I guess I always imagined love would love life and they would both be against death. This is a very nice poem. -
Uh...definitely not what I thought it was going to be, but it was still very good. I liked how you portrayed Love and Death: Love as an innocent, curious young girl, and Death as kind of a wise wizard. Kind of. I really liked it though!
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Enaffable!
The ryhme scheme, the theme, the tempo, ahhhhhh....
Refreshing and wonderfully original. I can't say it better than any of the other critics, except that I really hope you keep writing becuase you ARE going to be famous one day. That last line really closed the poem masterfully. Your command over poetry looks infinite. It is good to see a nice, well written poem that has a happy end, I find the happy ones harder to write, which probably contributes to my amazement here. -
The BEST!
Wow this made my heart soar amazing ryming i usaully thinks rhyming is tacky but this shows how simply beautiful it can be. I am speechless just amazing i could never ever write something this amazing. I cant stop reading this, literally. Keep up this fantastic work. -
Exceptional
Awesome! Oh my gosh! That was beautifully poetic and the rhyme is incredible! Beautifully, beautifully done! The story behind it was breath taking! Wonderful job! Excellent write. Keep it up! -
Wisdom was found by the ancient Latin philosophers, all I ask is, they should read this to add you to a list containing Aristotle, Socrates, Lucretius and Virgil. Epic is the proportion of wisdom with hindsight occuring, the balance on view, such as 'love' and 'death', are with excitement towards each stanza, superceding the last. maintaining a fairness of assessment, and equally dishing up an extravaganza for each reader to digest. Beautifully orchestrated, and most probably, a firm bet to be classified as a classic. Brilliant!
Edited on Jan 08, 3:55 because ''. -
O.O
This is absolutely amazing! I agree, it should be in the worlds best poetry! I don't even know what to say, Bravo! -
I absolutely adored this...amazing, truly a masterpiece!
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A++
Completely Magical. This poem should be published into the book of the world's best poetry. Wonderful job!
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I smile
this has got to be one of the deepest and most well written poem that the great has yet to read,
well done -
Sucsh banter back and forth like two people talking, you make it seem so real - wonderful message throughout.
Edited on Jan 06, 12:37 because ''. -
I'm glad I took the time to read this word for word instead of skimming through. Amazing. Simply amazing. You did an excellent job on this piece, and I'm glad you took the time to post it for us to read.
Incredible.
It makes me wonder where my imagination has gone. I'm so afraid of growing up too much, but it seems I've already done so. I cannot recall the last time I sat down and just made up a story worth telling full of monsters in closets and unicorns. Thank you for reminding me to keep my inner child. -
Beautiful piece, absolutely marvellous! It's in one of my favourite poetry formats too!
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stunning
"In an Everyday World that forgot how to play."
This is my favorite line. It is so sad and true that our world has gotten so busy and out of hand with things of sorrow and things that just don't matter. It's indeed so very sad that we can't run and jump and play like we used to, isn't it? Very well said!
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AMAZING
Im not suprised this was in the Featured column!! It is amazing, it really truely is! It is without doubt one of the best poems I have ever read. The story behind it is awsome and you have laid out your ideas so well, it flows well, is well written and oh, its just fantastic!! It is longer than poems I usually enjoy reading but it didnt matter because it was like watching a good film - i was well and truely hooked. After only a few lines I knew it was good but it was amazing!! Well done, I would give constructive critisism but I can not find fault with this poem!! I LOVED IT!! Well done, you have awsome talent! JESSxxx
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amazing
you owned this piece. you owned the readers fantasies. you owned our emotions, our thought and our dreams, if only for those few moments while we read this. i never got bored, distracted, and never, for a moment wanted to take my eyes off this screen.
this was an incredible write, fillied with imagry, amazing flow, and a wonderful story to tell. my ONLY suggestion would be to change 'wrongness or rightness' and 'darkness or lightness'. it kills the flow of that entire stanza, and i found myself wondering if it was even propper gramar. it sucked me out of the story momentarily. just a quick suggestion. it is up to you, but it could be easially improved. that was the only flaw i saw. GREAT WRITE! worthy of applause. -
um.... Wow... just Wow
Wow.. This is honestly the best piece I hae ever read this totally owns it should be etched in stone and in a museum. True Poetic Genius! Fantastic. This is going on the favorites list -
This was soo long...But, I guess it had to be. Without being this long, I doubt it would have been as good. Anyway, I reallyt liked the idea of this poem...mainly the title. Of course, that's why I clicked it, and I'm glad I did. Great write!
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You have a good popular motif, and I expected a good dialogue between love and death...but both dr love and dr naughty grin didn't live up to their expectations. Can you add a few concrete issues, replacing those sequences of pixies and fairies....
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I assume the the line "“Please, where is this door, and is there a key?" Is said by Love and the line "“Sweet Child, this world need not be left behind" is said by death. However you didn't end the person talking before those lines (with another quotation mark ") and so it gets quite confused. Other than that I enjoyed this poem immensely. Normally I really don't like rhyming poems, they seem forced and contrived. This was extremely well written, the rhymes flowed and sounded natural and I love the story/message in the poem as well. Great job.
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omg!! this is the wickedest poem/story EVER!!!
yay for love and death!!!
lub
rACHEy -
great
the end was the tiniest bit weak compared to the rest, but i absolutely loved it! -
The rest in on my computer, and I am on the fence about posting all of it...Not sure why...not sure that I want it all out there yet...
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OMG! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is absolutely brilliant!!!!! Oh do tell where the rest may be!!!! OHHHHH You simply did a brilliant job!!!!!
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A truly beautiful masterpiece, I can only hope to have such inspiration. May the dragon carry us all to that better place, so that all our worries slip away, and we remember how to play, once again.
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This was wonderful, the wise man death and reason teaching about fantasy and dreams, isn't death the end, but here the end speaks of the beginning and the journey, kinda of an oxymoron, I like reading fantacy novels, but not so much fantacy poetry, how I think this was more than both.
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this has so much to show and tell, the myths the kids tales in so many nooks and crannies if only the books could tell more in the pages of not detailed..flowed well and rhymed like a fairy tale ready to explode.. great job in exploring ..all areas.. great read Linda
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perfect
omg. this is perfect. it is amazing. you have noooo freakin idea how good this is. i held my breath as i was reading this. and everything in this poem is sooo true. and ive really been thinking about just this nowadays. but this is perfect. the rhyming scheme, the flow, everything. you have nooo idea. and how you brought it together in the end! o man. i have to read more of your stuff later. o man. great job! keep it up! -
A Masterpiece
Just arrived and encountered this
to the right in the "Featured" list
Brilliant Masterpiece is this one
Breathless, success, this will be fun -
Wow this fanasty is really good. I love the thought that comes out of this. Amazing Job
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wow... this wasa very good piece. the flow was magnificent, all all of the rhymes seemed to work very well. job well done!
"For you see, Little Girl, these things could not stay
In an Everyday World that forgot how to play."
keep writing
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omfg this is AWESOME!!!!!!! I haven't read something so touching in a long time. This was truly amazing. You've left me speechless. WOW!!!!
~hell~ -
Inspiring
What can I say if I'm speechless? It flowed like a river ... no pauses, just pure meter and rhyme. This is going to be one of my all time favorites, I'll tell you that.
~ Julia -
Brilliant!
I WANT MORE!!!!
This is magic. Simply magic.
I have missed your writings, and to finally read this....
I WANT MORE!!!!
~Absolutely Brilliant ( I see me riding that dragon you know )
~Pam 
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There is actually more to this. I only posted half of it because I was curious to see how people would respond...
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The title of this poem made me think of a song of the Finnish rock band His Infernal Majesty. Reading the actual poem soon made me realize the words go far beyond the lyrics of the song. Death knows what wiped away from the face of the earth the Alanteans, Hyperboreans and Lemurians. It already knows what will eradicate present life. So does love, that will be after there is nothing left to kill.
Rage -
That's an amazing poem! I bow to your greatness oh twister of vivid words. It was wonderful, it was awesome. I never thought about love and death speaking to one another, it's just...weird. In a completely WOW kinda way!
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Worth the read!
Tecohe -
i could almost hear a rythem as i read that, it's very well put!
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Womble pointed me towards this and for that I am thankful.
Truly inspiring.
Dan -
I have to say, I think this is my favourite poem of all the ones I have read on here. I loved everything about it, the pace and rhyme. The ideas within it express in a beautiful way the World's wholesale embrace of the market culture and the things we have left behind in the rush to consumerism.
This is an awesome poem. -
This is an interesting combination of styles and feelings all mixed into one poem. I enjoyed the capitalization of the words Love, Death, as if they are people rather than words. The metaphors and the style of story telling is interesting as well. Great writing.
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awesome
this is one of those poems where you go..how in the world did they come up with that. extremely creative and original. a nice flow it. overall, a great read. enjoyed it tons. very nicely penned.
Blu -
Wow. That was truely amazing. I absoloutely love it. Your choice of words are astounding, and the conversation is just... Just... You've made me speachless.
You totally deserve this applaud.
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very creative poem i like the concept and the whole entire conversation great read indeed
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I skirt round the precipice. The smoke and ash is plentiful, but I don't want to think about what I believe. I know I want to believe, but fear clings to my sweaty skin. Is there a dragon in the hole? I daren't look. With every beat of my heart, it cries, "Not yet! Not yet!" I want to ask it why, but the rumbling din of the earth steals the sound of my voice.
The volcano of my mind is no longer dormant. It hasn't been, since this year. I don't know if there's a dragon down that hole going to carry me away, or a heap of molten flame to burn my sanity.
Is it enough to hope then? Is it enough to cling to hope's myths? I really want to believe, but the fear clings to my sweaty skin.
Spin your web, trixter.
P.S. Sorry bout not talking to you and whatnot. I don't have a reliable chat program, except mIRC, which I rarely use for chat. AP is about the best place you can talk to me, otherwise there's a gmail account under this monicker you could use. That is, if you're still up for talking. See you around then. -
Fantastic
WONDERFUL content. AMAZING flow. This was really catchy and fantastic. It hooks the readers attention and doesn't let go untill the end. The only thing I suggest is finding a way to make it easier to distinguish the dialect, perhaps putting one character's in italics or put '' around ones dilaect rather than "". Thank you for sharing this. Great job. -
awesome
this is ...extremly creative and dazzeling really...enchanting...you kept a great rythm and the whole poem was actually very lovely this is extremly impressive -
mystical
You really know how to weave a magical web! This was a great narrative and a great poem! Good job! -
This is wonderful!! it is so sad that the world has forgotten how to "play". But i love this poem and the ending is great! Also i liked this part "Love thought for a moment, as if she would speak,
But she stood up and planted a kiss on Death’s cheek"~ it just has a fantastic flow to it. what an awesome poem!! ~becky -
AWESOME
This piece was totally awesome. -
wow. Im gobsmacked. I LOVED it. wow!
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This is an excellent write. I too like the magical world of witches, wizards, knights in shining armor and enjoyed reading about it all within your poem. The magic my friend in within your own mind and heart. You must keep it a live.
Great poem. You deserve the applaud. -
This is so wonderful! Your are extremely clever, creative and imaginative to come up with this piece. Everything about it is thrilling, all the images you created and messages brought across. The perfect, perfect rhyme, death and love, love as a little girl... Everything is just wonderful! Well done! xxxx
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This was AMAZING. The rhyming and meter were flawless. The only thing I thought could be better was the last line of the 4th stanza, "In an everyday world," I think it would make it a little stronger if you conveyed a sense of busyness there. Otherwise this was awesome, and yes, I mean AWE-some.
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great
that was so cool I can totally relate because I had to grow up fast when i started college this year at the ripe old age of fifteen. I want the key to that special door! -
this is amazing. how did you think of something so beautiful off the top of your mind? i love this poem. its rhyme and its flow... i love it!!!! great write and keep writting. i'm printing it if you don't mind! and i'm showing all my friends!
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amazing
that was amazing, wow. that poem blew me away. i wish i could write like that,haha. well if u would like to read and criticize my poems, that would be great. if u dont want to dont feel u have to. that was truely amazing tho. great job. -
WoW, amazing. Somethin to think about. As dumb as this sounds, the only thing that i can think of to even begin to describe what I want to write is WHOA!
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very good
I really like this poem. One of the key things is that it does not portray Death as a malicious or dark entity, but one that thinks just as much as us. Love being portrayed as a sweet little girl is also a very good/funny concept to me. This is a story and a poem at the same time, the type of poem I like. We can only hope that Love doesn't turn into a story with the magical creatures.
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Epic poem in the making
Unique and not a story I need a dictionary to understand; YAY! -
Well, that was something! It is a little long and it takes me a time to read it, but it worth. Great poerm-story about meaning of love and life. Verses are light and flows like a free river toward the sea. Perfect. Your following verses ar main heart of this poem:
*
Death said, “Dear child, it pains me to say,
The creatures of myth have all gone on their way.
For you see, little girl, these things could not stay
In an everyday world that forgot how to play.
*
Thank you for sharing this amazing work with us.
~Sonja~ -
Pleasant and Good story
This was nice to wake-up to. I enjoyed some of the interesting rhyme schemes and the themes are pleasant. I got caught-up in the Real World for a long time and forgot to play--so, I'll keep this poem in mind. I love the story. -
Wonderfully expressed
This is such an awing piece... It's ironic because I wrote the hardest piece ever today only moments ago of love and death for me. And I saw your write waiting to be read. This made me laugh, smile, my heart ache,gave me shivers, and be content. I throughly enjoyed this due to all that its worth full of well painted words, emotions, and a message purely captured. Well done. Keep on writing for you have lots to say, share, teach, and learn from yourself and others. Take care always ~Night -
Amazing
This is the most amazing write I have read to date! Absolutely incredible and so touching. I love the mystery, and the mythical aspect, as my name shows I have a soft spot for fire-breathing lizards! 
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very different and unique concept for this poem Domin...not only as to the theme, but the conversation you have put into this poem. I liked the poem very much, you kept pretty much to meter in most of the rhymed couplets, and I'm glad I had the chance to read!
Jo -
i like this one its real good keep it up
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