One for DUP

 
What an amazing ride the Deep Underground has been
Finding a community where we came to share poetry
Connecting with poets, writers, romantics and dreamers
Watching the fruit of our labor grow on the tree of…artistry
 
For all the themes and challenges we faced and created
For all the people I spoke with and connected along the way
I’m thankful that I was able to meet other likeminded souls
Who inspired me even when the days seemed dark and grey
 
What a brilliant and wonderful flight of fancy this has been
To have laughed and felt respected by so many peers
Knowing that although the roads may diverge at some point
I’ll be able to carry the love and memory for so many years
 
It’s been a fantastic journey, writing and sharing with others
No matter what corner of the world or internet they may be
The D.U. trip gave me a chance to make friends out of strangers
The experience of lifetime that will always stay with me

A masked man
a red haired girl
a sad looking young man
strumming his guitar
a beautiful naked woman
looking out of the window

animes, purpled haired
sensuous poses
Soulful eyes
rockers with their guitars
Cute bears on helicopters

pretty girl with pink hair
a few scythmen and flowers
a leopard and a wolf
with the cats and angels
hats and caps...pirates

citizens of DU district
population 17577 and growing

here they are poets
orators, story tellers
at times soapbox warriors
showing their true self

In DU the pompous and the sarky
the romantic and the pragmatic
the arrogant and the humble
live together

DU citizens
they don't look any stranger
than residents of anywhere.
 

I'm not writing a tribute to one particular person or even several.
I'm just going to say to all that are following me, THANK YOU!
Your all very unique in your own ways. No one is better or greater then the other. We're all equals here.
I read your poems, I comment. I occasionally give an award and many of you have done the same for me.
It's appreciated beyond what I can write here.
To the DUP community that I'm in contact with everyday. You know who you are. I have lots of respect for all of you.
You intrigue me, enlighten me, you've influenced me and many of you I can call great friends.
To DUP and the organizers of this site. I give you deep heartfelt praise. You've given me a voice and I have met some marvelous people along the way with amazing talent!  
When I heard the news that this site was going to come to an end in May, I couldn't believe it. It's quite sad actually.
I haven't been here as long as many of you, but I sure had a wonderful 14 months here.  
Cheers and well wishes to every single one of you that has read, acknowledged and spoke to me on this site.
You're in my mind and heart. Always & forever.
 
Keith
VOI
 
Always & Forever.

 
the walls
cradling my screams
as revelations ripped through me
teaching me...
to be stronger...if not better
amplifying laughter
that I might better hear it
through the anguish of haunting memory
a silent reminder...
there will be light
all the brighter
...having survived the night

the pillow
where I whispered of love
{& lust}
in equal measure
saturated
with the sweat of passion's endeavors
stained
by the tears of hopes that walked away
leaving me desolate
clutched to my chest
staving off emptiness
{& demons}

the voices
echoing through these halls
filled with raw emotions
raucious & rambunctious
sometimes contentious
{rarely truly cruel...only a few}
thoughts dropping from mouths
onto the open minds...merely waiting
welcoming the knowledge
{& the epiphany}
we don't always see...without a guide

the floor
our foundation
structure of protective encouragement
as those who stand sentinel upon entry
guard the portals
that creativity & affinity may blossom
untethered
where we danced to music
paced in restlessness & anxiety
leaving grooves of our passing
our own personal marks
...autographs

no ceiling
beyond our own imagination
nothing above but moon & stars
sunshine & rain-bursts
drenching us in inspiration
taking us on unexpected journeys
delivering us safely...
...home

 
 
not even for a moment  
 
if you believe otherwise, you are living  
in sheltered nature under the illusion  
you are living.  
 
It arrives without permission, you will go on trips, you will have experiences, you will read poems, you will meet other creatures who walk this earth and realise how little you  
are living life at all.  
 
The nest is dangerous, if you do not learn to fly you will only meet death without knowing life's little pleasures, don't decorate your pain by stuffing it with flowers, don't hang  
from branches out of sheer existence  
 
many people live exactly like this  
without waking up to a new dawn,  
 
would you?  
 

 

The pen lids open and close
like an inhale and exhale

past and present collide
together as bark on trees
begin to strip themselves
down, as stems on flowers
bend in their own hysteria.

As ground splits wide open
I see lamb and cattle scatter
to find safety in the unknown,
I remind myself there cannot
be days without nights as
I herd them away into their
respective houses like
my elders once did.

Tonight we watch rain
outside washing away
lifes grime remaining
unresolved, inside this
strange warm house
their bellies are full

and I have kept
my promises,
left unspoken.

 

Coming soon to a computer screen near you
You’ll be grieving for that old familiar interface
But in a virtual world some things don’t last forever
Remembering fondly that this used to be the place

You’ll walk away with friendships and memories
For all the hours and days you invested in your art
The work that you put in creating a magical realm
Shared with others who were also such a big part

In the nostalgia of things you’ll feel the passage of time
We were able to dream a dream and schemed fantasies
This was a place where we all came together and shared
A little bit of ourselves feeling comfort and ease

and peace

We will be like scattered butterflies going to new fields
Or like bees going from flower to flower as we roam
With a special stamp on our wings looking for a new nest
Because this used to the place we called our poetry home

Once upon a time, three Alices
decided to leave their parents'
houses and live alone.

Alice of Oz, built a pink palace by the sea
on a remote beach in Thailand.
Alice Snow, made a sand castle in the clouds
that hover over Mauritius.
Alice Joana Catrin Mariah Isabel Sondra Daisy Elisabeth
etc and such, she got a house of cards
made in the rainforest of Wonderland.

It turns out that the Alices had a common enemy,
who wanted to eat their raw livers for breakfast.
The Callipygian Witch, a perverse woman,
who, with the help of magical arts, would soon
try to overturn the abodes, and glitter dreams,
of our little, bio-nasty princesses.

However, and one cannot help but say,
luckily, nature took care of distorting Callip's
desires and drastically reducing her efforts.

As obvious consequences of global warming,
which we all feel, almost all of us pretend not to feel
and which very few, on the whole, will survive.
A violent tsunami in the Pacific Ocean
and a fire of infernal proportions, in the parched forest;
forced the two Alices, surviving victims,
to ask for political asylum, and shelter for their friend Snowy,
in the Tropics.

Pygia - which is the second possible abbreviation
of the name of our esteemed and powerful sorceress -
considered this sudden push of the natural forces,
to her dreams, as an unprecedented stroke of luck
and, taking advantage of her lycanthropic abilities,
waited patiently for the coming full moon...

Gone but not forgotten
The creativity we all shared
The love for here common
With expressions we dared

We pushed boundaries ends
As we challenged our minds
We even made new friends
We werent looking to find

DUP was our escape
Peace for a few minutes
Where words took shape
New worlds without limits

So many excellent writers
With original stories expressed
An eclectic group of survivors
I am really quite impressed

So to all I thank you
For every single memory
Even though DUP is through
It'll always be a part of me