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I LOVE this, Mat. No point in recounting all the reasons why. This is very effective, though, particularly the middle line:

he just stood there crying
sobbing wet
leaning against the wall

And, as if you're no longer ?:

that once upon a childhood
I was a caring and compassionate being.

Really wonderful, warm way to begin my weekend. Thanks. I may stop and pick up a single beer and think of you whilst I drink it. I leave you with a toast to the kind of person you were and have become.


~ Lizzy


Later: Well, I bought and drank a beer and literally toasted you, Mat. Now I'm tired and have a headache. Good ideas don't always turn out to be the best ones; however, the toast still holds .

Oh no poor Lizzy, at least it's the weekend.

put that huge arm back around me
feather-soft

karma

Nicely done Mat, you've told this story well. I like that the fella turned out to be a big strong guy and still gentle.

okay Lizzy had a great idea about the beer - what type of beer do you drink?

Yeah, I liked that, too... the big strong guy feather soft. So much in this poem is meltingly appealing. Good karma in this lifetime ~ such a great thing when it happens.

Well, Cate, I much prefer foreign beers... period. I like Beck's Dark and I like Corona, too... much lighter. And a number of others. Impossible to find Mythos. If I could, that would do it for me.

Of course, I bought the one I did with more than a little trepidation. A brand I never drink and presume to be more chemicals than hops, anyway. I didn't want to spend the gas to drive further where the selection would be a smidgeon ~ but only that ~ better [still trying to recoup from the extra days in Denver seeing Leonard] and have 'til the end of the month to go]. So, I went with, "Well, this looks like it could at least be refreshing... and it was, until... the headache ~ "Michelob ULTRA Lime Cactus" . I never drink Michelob, period, and I knew better. It would've been worth the gas to have avoided the headache. I could at least have gotten a Beck's [not dark]. Thanks for your concern and would-be advice , but I really DO know better !

Next time, I'll give you the time and financial investment you're worth for a PROPER toast, Mat. Coming back to you, I'm curious how long it took you to write that poem. Are you able to assess that?

We have a phrase "sopping wet" which means drenched. I'm wondering now, if it may have originally derived from sobbing. In any case, your use of sobbing accomplishes both facets of just how wet and the reason why. Have I told you just how much I love this poem of tenderness, child to child, and man to man ? What's really so wonderful, too, is that as a grown man, he knew he could feel safe with you to express as and what he did, without fear of rebuff or your blowing it off... as so many macho men would do, if it ever got expressed to them at all. Such a satisfying life moment for you both.

How is Bernard?


~ Lizzy

“...I remember a snippet from Jack's 'Leonard as a boy' thread, now you've fleshed it out. Why didn't you stand it in a thread of its own??” (imaginary friend)

I thought of that i.f. but.
The “voice” (the Hindu’s “dweller”?) that permeates my poems on the “Rusty old and beautiful” thread is constant. If I write a poem and I recognise that voice in the story-telling, then I post that poem on this “rusty” thread. I felt that this poem sits (moves on) quite nicely alongside my “On my unbroken little legs” back on page 7.
I call this dweller/voice “Jack Taylor”. So when I hear Jack Taylor raving on in the back-ground, I pick up my pen or head for the keyboard! I think of him as being a bit rusty, old and beautiful.
Poems I place on this forum outside of this rusty thread are not of Jack Taylor, but some cousin.

“Next time, I'll give you the time and financial investment you're worth for a PROPER toast, Mat. Coming back to you, I'm curious how long it took you to write that poem. Are you able to assess that?” (Lizzy)

It took about 1/2 an hour to write and a few days later about an hour to edit.

“I bought and drank a beer and literally toasted you, Mat. Now I'm tired and have a headache.”

Lizzy, thankyou.
That my poem elicited such a response from someone on the other side of the planet is very heart-warming and “real”.
And that you had a “headache” just before bedtime...that is familiar.

MatbbgJ

Thanks for the timeframes, Mat... driven by the heart, it made record time.

I'm glad you liked it, Mat. Spoken out loud it was, too. Afterward, I was too tired to even see that waiting in the wings .

I'm always pleased to see this thread activated, with your name as the last poster. This thread is exactly as its name suggests.

So, how is Bernard?


~ Lizzy

So, how is Bernard?

Lizzy, I assume you mean Bernie (Bernd), my opal partner.
He is fit and well and full with optimism. We have recently had another shaft drilled in an area close by to our last claim. He is excited about our new directions and insists we are in with a good shot.
Time will tell.
...and he is still waiting for that woman (rarer than opal !) who doesn't care that he showers once a week, has few teeth, and likes cooking for himself.
He insists that he would make a few changes if the right woman came along:
I don't believe him

Mat.

I'm guessing it is him, yes, Mat... though, as I recall, he signed his poetry here as Bernard. And I do recall some of your description from previously. He has a lovely spirit and I would love to hear that, that opalesque woman finally came along for him. I'm glad to hear that you and he are still so actively involved and I hope your prospecting goes VERY well .


~ Lizzy

..and he is still waiting for that woman (rarer than opal !) who doesn't care that he showers once a week, has few teeth, and likes cooking for himself.

sounds like a catch to me Mat - an environmentally cautious, independent man who's bite will never hurt and who makes his living looking for the beauty found in rocks.
there must be a line of ladies waiting for this guy every Sunday afternoon (assuming bath night is Saturday)

I'm guessing it is him, yes, Mat... though, as I recall, he signed his poetry here as Bernard.

Two different men Lizzy.
Bernard lives in Britain I think, while Bernd (Berny) lives in Australia and though he tells many beautiful, original stories,and talks poetically; he never writes down a word. He is not very confident when it comes to putting words on paper as he is from East Germany and never "got into" writing in English. In fact he gets me to check many of his written communications. I think he is a national treasure; though an imported one.
Cate says:

sounds like a catch to me Mat

and she is right. And the woman would need to be a lonely Spartan who admires Spartan men.

Regards,Mat.

5' 7"

Oh, dear... mistaken identity, then. I guess the description that sounds familiar is how you described Berny when you were describing Berny. Does this mean you no longer know where Bernard is? Or that your only contact with him has been through the Internet? I remember your saying that he used to read his poetry to you, though. [Lord, don't make me search for that .] I loved it because it was soooooo expansive. So, what's the real deal with Bernard, since he's the one I was really asking about... as fascinating as Bernd sounds?


~ Lizzy

taller than Leonard

ask Bernard. (memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=2042)

...and the "expansive" Bernard
viewtopic.php?t=5683
...and you were right Lizzy, he is an Aussie not a Brit.

Thanks for taking me back, Mat. I really appreciate it. It feels good to read Bernard's poetry.

Thanks, too, for the memberlist/profile link. I'll follow up with that... soon, after a couple other "soon"ers.


~ Lizzy