Every week, poets and writers from all walks of life gather to attend a weekly poetry reading and open mic event. The event is open to everyone on DS 13 and is a chance for people to share their own poetry or read out poems that they find most special to them.
OCC: So I'm not sure if there's a thread like this on the forums so I've decided to create this one.
This is a place for characters to ICly share poems they have written or that they enjoy. Feel free to add poems below!
Sulayman looked out at the expectant faces. Kat had recommended it to him and he decided that it was worth at least a check. There was no harm in it. Well there wasn't until he found himself stood at the front, his poem loaded up on his PADD. He was scared stiff. He had never shown his work to anyone, yet alone read it out loud to a bunch of strangers. He took a deep breath. If he walked away now he could imagine the rumours that would circulate. "Sulayman is scared," "Sulayman is enthusiastic but he can't perform..."
Looking up one last time, he took a deep breath and read:
Beneath the Veil
Like a veil, it covers thee;
Stars scattered around like rain.
My hand yearns to rip it free,
And look upon thy wondrous face.
Against the cloth, my fingers stroke,
Your endless mysteries
are a temptress; they stoke
The flames of my mindful passion.
As I grow older on the ground,
I strive to reach you in the sapphire skies
I await the day I break the bounds,
And see your majesty up on high.
From backstage, Aivala stared out at the mic for a long time, not really paying attention to the words Sulayman was reading. She stared at her PADD, memorizing the words she had written in the brig not too long ago. Sulayman disembarked, and Aivala took the stage shortly after. She leaned in a bit too close to the microphone.
"Uh, hi." She looks mildly panicked as the microphone screeches at her. She steps back, giving it a second to cool down.
"So, as some of you know.. I've been having some uh.. Trouble.." she clears her throat. "Trouble with alcohol, which led to me being... erm.. Detained by security for a few days... Anyway... Tilly thought maybe using this as an outlet would help." She gulps, staring out at the assembled group before closing her eyes.
When she starts singing, her voice is light as a feather.
"In the air, you feel the tension
Strings that tie your limbs to mine
Waiting for the next reaction
Hoping we can save this time"
There is a slight pause, her voice gathering a bit more depth before she continues.
"But in your eyes, I see the action
Through the lens of this refraction
I can fully see what you intend to do
So silently I beg you
To move on and just to let go
Please just walk away, do not see this through.."
Aivala looks down at her foot, which ticks off a few paces in an unheard tempo. When she continues, she belts out the notes like a professional.
"So you can, leeeeave, with your bones unbroken
If you just, leeeeave, with the words unspoken
'Cause your, deeeeds, they had left me hopin'
That you could beee, redeeemed
But now i'm, heeeere, and my hands are shakin'
With the, Aaaanger, my will is breakin'
And i'm, Hoooping it's not too late
And this can beee redeeemed...."
Aivala sways slightly, the melody inside of her taking control of her mind and body. When she starts singing the second verse, her voice remains as strong as the chorus, despite switching to shorter notes.
"Looking back, I failed to mention
As the tension built within
That sacrifice was your intention
Taking credit for my sin
"And in your eyes, I see intention
Distorting fact with your decision
This was something wrong, and I just can’t abide
Without fear, I boldly claim my crime
Accept the charges, do the time
And I will let you go, just please stand aside
"So you can Leave with your pride unbroken
If you just Heed the words that I’ve spoken
‘Cause your Deeds, they had left me hoping
You could be redeemed
But now I’m Here, and my hands are shaking
And the Sacrifice leaves me aching
And I’m Hoping it’s not too late
And this can be redeemed"
The tapping of Aivala's foot stops, changing to a more upbeat pace as she dives into the bridge.
"Looking back, I see it now
That this was all because of me
The clenched fists and furrowed brow
That now have brought me to my knees
A broken heart there to my right
Is silently condemning me
And as I sit here in this cell
Wondering why I couldn’t see
The facts that a friend just before
Had tried to lay in front of me"
The Romulan's face looks anguished as she sings the last of the bridge.
"My deception is my destruction
My own habits, my dysfunction
I am broken, cannot function
I am a catastropheeeeee!"
Aivala clutches the microphone in both hands, returning to singing softly.
"So, you can leave, and leave me here broken
As I heed the words you have spoken
‘Cause my deeds have left me no hope
For me to be redeemed"
She raises her voice, once more belting out every note.
"So, I’m here, and my soul is aching
For the hearts that I’ve left breaking
Now I’m sure that I can’t be saved
No, I can’t be redeemed
But I'm trying, and I am changing
I'm fixing my screwed up ways
And I'm hoping it's not to late
Maybe I'll be redeemed"
She steps back, looking at the crowd to judge their reactions. She has no idea that she sounded a lot like Amy Lee, of the old Earth rock band Evanescence. After a moment she just nods and steps offstage.
Sam had wondered in, lured in by the familiar voice and he had grinned when he saw Aivala singing on stage. After she had left the stage, Sam strode up.
"Wow Aivala, I thought I recognised your voice!" he chuckled. "Although I'm fairly sure this is a poetry group. Wait, no? Is singing allowed? Oh, well then, I stand corrected." Sam laughed briefly; had it been someone else, they would have been embarrassed but Sam was used to public speaking. Sulayman watched Sam curiously, wondering how he could have so much charisma.
"So, I didn't plan on being here but Aivala's voice drew me in and I think it would be quite rude if I didn't at least share my poems with you; luckily I have loads memorised! This is one of my particular favourites and I often tease Keelah with the first line of this. But, joking aside, I think it's a powerful poem. I read it at Jenny's funeral; I thought it was fitting." Sam stopped and looked at the crowd. They possibly wanted him to stop talking and start sharing; he obliged.
O Captain! My Captain!
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck,
You’ve fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,
The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
But I with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
Being a student again meant Lara had plenty of free time, furthered by the fact the Lexington was on patrol. Her charm had quickly made her friends, and it was with one of these friends that she found the Poetry group. As the last poet, a burly cook who had read out a poem in the form of a recipe, stepped down, Lara's friend jumped up to the podium. Lara smiled encouragingly at her. She began.
The Road not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.