A Poem and a Taste of Things to Come

Howdy! It’s been a little while since I posted anything on here, but I reckoned it was time to break the hibernation and put some words on a page (or screen).

Right now, I have an editor looking over the trilogy of narrative poems I hope to release as my next writing-type thing and, being that it’s 43,000-words of poetry, I won’t get that back until the start of September. So, in the meantime…I’ve been working hard on the first draft of my first novel, and as of now I’m over two months into writing it and I just crossed the 55,000-word mark. I try and write early in the morning (each morning) and knock out at least 500-words a day. Too early and my brain isn’t awake enough, too late and my brain can’t understand words at all—so it’s trying to find that sweet spot which is always the challenge!

In reading things like Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise, and Richard Adams’ Watership Down, I’m inspired to bring poetry into the story at different points throughout, and midway through the story I’ve written a character I call Service, named after the poet Robert Service. Giving just the briefest of spoilers, the two children whom this novel follows at a certain point fall in with a legendary hero and his crew, and they take to the ocean in search of…something! Very original, I assure you. In my story, Service is both a warrior and a poet, and I wrote a poem for the story which I’d like to share here! For reference, the character Matteus in the poem is that aforementioned hero. Just to clear that up now. And just a little easter egg, I tried to write this poem in the style of Robert Service! To do justice to him and because it’s a fun little challenge for myself. With all that said, here’s the poem! I lied, one last side note: in this story, the sun rises in the west and sets in the east! It’s mentioned in the poem, so that’s just a pre-explanation!

Lifting up in the west, put each time to the test our fair sun sets down east without fail. 
And in much the same fashion with limited rations we cannot help but to set sail!
Of the battles we fight, and Matteus’ might, there are stories a hundred-fold told
And as one of his crew setting out on the blue, I hope this doesn’t come off too bold. 

I’ve stood by my brothers and one or two others and hefted my blade many times
And as well here and there I’ve engaged in my flair for discovering these sorts of rhymes.
It’s a heck of a life and without a doubt rife with adventure and danger to boot
And while I sure admire it, sometimes like pirates I wish we kept all the loot!

But the truth is that we—all of us—go to sea because darkness is not like to sleep.
No, it’s restless and prowls; it scoffs, and it scowls and throughout the land moves to sweep. 
While I fancy a pen, I know all of us men who are part of Matteus’ crew 
Have a mind that to fight against darkness with light is the only thing for us to do!

So, I’m honored to stand side-to-side with each man who sails boldly along to the beat
Of that same old war drum called a heart sounding from our brave captain—we’ll never retreat!
And as long as I’ve breath anything short of death will not stop me nor hinder my stand
And as long as there’s fight in my body the light will eclipse darkness throughout the land!