Parker Owens

That it took you several times to recognize the form means something went right. Glad you liked it!

It is how you are seen indeed. And the pleasure of writing this was mine. Thank you!

To an Abecedarian Poet At once brother and friend, compassion for all whose desperate destitution on Earth now frames your greatest gift to all of us who hail you as a comrade in life's winding journey; Kindness lives at your house; makes itself resident, no temporary guest, or tired transient pilgrim; Questions, reflections and sharp-drawn observations trip from your trusty, honest pen; unmixed, vivid words, poetic and prosaic, xenial catalysts you share, brave and zestful.

So much to think about in this hour of music and discussion. I was especially taken by the comment on the connection and translation of language in to music....

And so we have the compleat fairy tale, and a charming one ye've given us. Silver and Goram get to be united happily ever after. And don't think ye for a moment that we canna see Demeter and Persephone looking on. I congratulate thee on a most marvelous tale!

And Javi has absolutely got coffee down to an art form! Wally / TP could not ignore the interior voice any longer, calling him on the sandcastle of rage and alienation he's built. It all got washed away on a sunny afternoon at the beach. But what is left? And what will he put in its place? Many reviewers have said that he wants what Javi and Oscar have, and what they represent. Possibly that's so. He can dream of Javi, but he knows that's got to be wrong. That hasn't stopped him before, of course. Many thanks for your comments, and for taking time to read and respond to the chapter. I appreciate it!

I so enjoyed listening to your Guaraldi Trio selection - it is easy to forget how much great music he made; Charlie Brown seemed to put a fence around him. Anyway, thanks a ton - I loved it!

Well. Bradley wasn't terribly subtle, was he? But he made his point. It is to be hoped that he didn't make it so well that Grandfather Kennedy doesn't find a way to use the whole scene against both his parents and his grandson. A black belt can bring one man to his knees; a determined lawyer can do much more damage. But CJ was the one who acted with considerable restraint, to his credit and his fathers' pride.

I was especially struck by the juxtaposition of music an visual images in the second selection. Each phrase considered, measured, like a move on the chessboard; and all in the wintertime of our lives....a poem in a few deft images. And did the camera foreshorten the length of the performer's fingers, or is there hope for stubby fingered musicians after all?

You are apologizing for giving me a long chapter in a story I can't wait to read? Thanks for a long chapter! I very much enjoyed it. How wonderfully you paint the excitement and butterflies of competition into this picture. I loved that Luke rebelled enough to go see Jackson's first meet. How marvelously you wove Jackson's efforts into something that won us over - even if he did not win his race. You made this story all the more credible in doing so. And what Aiden and Matt did to Drae and Jackson would be enough to destroy a team's unity and cohesion for an entire season, or more. This is further evidence of how damaging Pete's cheating really was, incidentally. Finally, this chapter, more than earlier text, really shows how much Jackson and Luke are no longer in hiding; they are only coming to realize this. Before they know it, Cindy will be the only one who refuses to acknowledge what is plain to everyone else. Many thanks for this new episode.

You offer us a vivid description. I could not pull my eyes away from the text. The reality you give us - I was just me / weird - was a perfect way to play the reflective music of what transpired. And your coda - never asked his name - still echoes.

TP / Wally can't avoid concluding that his desire to control, and his life that was built on that is a barren tree. He sees Javi and Oscar, experienced Marc and Lee; and this reveals a deep chasm inside. I think he recognizes that Javi is off limits, but rational knowledge doesn't always guide the emotional self successfully. Many thanks for your response and review - and for reading the story so far.

Congratulations! Great reading...

This poem doesn't merely speak to me, it haunts me. It's almost chantlike quality means the words and phrases float in and out of my consciousness, and will continue to do so. The title phrase, I tire of me, talks with my voice, calls up my own thoughts. The image of circles; endless, encompassing, circles, delimiting the space for our souls and selves is indeed both despairing and frightening. Yet another mundane, yet powerful image reinforces this: old songs on repeat – like bad, pre-programmed radio, we are doomed to hear it all over again. I nearly wept with the next two stanzas, for the pit in the stomach and the yearning you speak of are mine, too. The last stanza makes me feel as grey as I know I look in the mirror. You write a great heartache, my friend, and if it is any comfort to know at least one other person shares it, then you can do so. Many thanks for sharing this with us.

Wally / TP has been changing ever since Ted raped him, but with this chapter, he seems to face those changes. More than that, he appears to have chosen too accept them, and to look at his past with real regret. He does not want to go back there. Javier and Oscar show him what he might have had, it hurts just as much as it did with Marc and Lee. And now he understands why. At the very least, his fantasy about Javier reveals a mind that might accept a connection in which he is not in control. Thanks very much for your insights and your kindness in continuing to read this story. I very much appreciate both.

Your chapter notes will stand you well in the seminar discussion! The subconscious often acts more swiftly than the thinking brain. Javier is perhaps safer, but the you hit on the important thing - Javier is desirable for more than sex (though Wally would be the first to admit that he is, in fact, horny). Many thanks for your interest and insights into this chapter - P

So Liam turns Alek away a second time, and at an even more difficult juncture. Liam has some difficult days ahead, merely trying to make his way around, let alone sort out his feelings again. But Alek, too, ought to face some soul searching. Wonder if either one will find what he needs? Great setup in this chapter. Now, please tell me the next chapter posts tomorrow....

You've made a very perceptive observation. Wally surely craves a kind of safe haven, someone with whom he can be the real person he is. Marc might have fulfilled that, but only very partially. And certainly, Wally has avoided situations in which he has had to let go of control for any length of time. Many thanks for your thoughts and remarks!

I am consistently delighted with the range and breadth and depth of the music shared here. I am especially indebted to all of you who help me grow musically. Thank you.

This is a big change for TP / Wally. He enjoyed his swim, although his period of reflection dimmed the sun for him. You are quite right that his fantasies could get him into trouble, especially if he doesn't think through what they might really mean. Many thanks for your review and for your thoughts.

He woke late, the sun streaming in through the blinds in his bedroom. Life in the Cabrera-Quintana household seemed relaxed, even though it was the middle of the week. He threw on some shorts and a moderately clean tee and stumbled his way out to the kitchen to find Javier sitting at the table, a tiny, empty coffee cup in front of him. "Morning." "Morning yourself," Javier smiled. The man really did have a lovely smile, when it happened. "Coffee?" he inquired, yawning. At that moment, Oscar

How can I not like this lovely tale? It's a classic! I want to see the illustrations! The evil Toad Warlock and Black Jack - I almost feel for Jack, for ugliness makes us do awful things. You've done this up wonderfully - can't wait for part 2...

Liam and Alek. How I have been waiting to hear about these two. And now that I have, it is in then form of a heartbreaking rupture between them. One cannot blame Liam for his stance; being in a tight closet for someone else for a year would be brutal for anyone. Perhaps Liam just snapped, but this must have been coming for some time. Is the next chapter coming in a few minutes? Please?

I am glad you caught the wistful, drift into sweetness in Daydreams. It surprised me, in that I originally thought it was going somewhere else. Remorse could have had several titles, including the two words you felt most difficult. I was terribly aware of time passing, of having wasted days on stupid stuff, when I could have been doing something more worthwhile, more real. Thanks for your encouragement and insights... - P

A wonderful chapter, and an informative one. We actually get to see how Kellar's healing seems to work, and how the concentration of mind and power makes his so effective. That, and the support of Tobyn seems essential. Thank you for letting us see them in action. It seems perhaps that the tumor in Logan's brain is a bit of a metaphor for the destructive isolation that the shifters have been undergoing. Even as Kellar cures Logan, there is a question of lasting damage hanging in his mind; even as the shifters emerge from their malaise, the same question occurs to me. Many thanks for this chapter! Now I want another!