Parker Owens

Thanks for wading chaos one, Gary. We can imagine what happened, but the predator had no idea what was in store for him. Glad you are looking forward to next week's installment; the cake gets a little denser next week.

I am glad you took the chan to read the first chapter, happier still that thought it was okay. The next chapter is coming next week. Thanks for the support and the thumbs up...

These two keep recurring to me. Tomas clearly had his reasons for staying uninvolved for so long, and that somehow became important to work out. Now he can understand what it's really supposed to be like. He and Fletcher do make a fun couple to watch, though. Thanks for looking in on their lives...

There is so much in this poem to love, I fear I am only beginning. The very first line had me enthralled: your soft breathing - peaceful music. I feel harmony and love distilled in those five words. Your third line caught my breath, too: each of us dancing our own ballet... It's a perfect, elegant description of individuals caught up in the priorities of our encapsulated lives. Your cry for more than life as a dance solo strikes a chord with me; in fact, it strikes a deep note in the sounding board of my soul. You use the word rhapsodic, and it really fits. And in the sestet, you use a kaleidoscope of images and phrases, each of which reflected a sonar-ping: you found me again and again. The word unharrowed was so evocative, and the image of newness with the olive-bearing dove brought sunshine to the window of my soul. I wept at this poem, both for the yearning you express, and the joy you have been given. Thank you for this piece; it is a great gift.

Well, now the hook is set, and there is plenty of line...thanks for starting this story, and I hope you will find it to be worth your while to complete. I am so glad you are along for the ride!

Thanks for reading the first installment of this story. You are most welcome, and I hope you find it a good read...

Yes. Prepare for turbulence ahead. The predator found himself trapped in device of his own making. Thanks for your review; more is coming next week...

Sorry about the tavern; its so common a usage here I didn't even think about it. I so glad you chose to take up this story. Ted turned the tables swiftly and adeptly; the predator had no notion of it at all. Thanks for your review. There will be more coming in the coming week..

A cake is an interesting way to see it...perhaps the icing is kind of bitter at first, but there is good stuff in the layers, maybe. More pieces are coming, certainly! Thanks for reading!

Oh, my, Lux, you have perfectly expressed emotions and thoughts that have occurred to me forever. And here they are, so very well spoken, so fittingly said. It is sometimes so very hard to believe, and yet that is precisely what we must learn to do. That learning can be so very difficult sometimes, and we make it so. Gary's 'awesome' finds an echo from me, and kudos besides...

I am glad you thought this a good start, and hope this remains a good read. Thanks for taking up the story.

It was cold outside, and dark. The temperature was dropping, and the wind was picking up. There would be rain soon, lots of it. He was glad to get inside the warm, dark tavern. His blue eyes scanned the bar, considering the possibilities. He was definitely hot, and definitely on the prowl. He was bored with his roommate. Bored with the usual encounters he had on campus. He needed something different. Someone new. Tonight. The place was nothing special, but it was off campus and alive w

Charles Ives can be an acquired taste, but these struck me as lovely today...

Predators devour their prey. When the predator becomes prey himself, why should he expect mercy? What follows is the story of what happened when the tables got turned. You can follow conversation about the story at http://www.gayauthors.org/forums/topic/42145-predator-prey-–-by-parker-owens/?p=641726

Huzzah for this poem! Gary, this is a great piece, and it shows you indeed have found your calling. Your use of rhymes for 'world' had me in awe, as that's a rhyme I usually avoid. Here you are showing me how it's done. Bravo! Take several bows, my friend.

That mortifying, horrifying experience with Rachel will probably explode more of Zac's life than any amount of lusting after Adrian would have done. What will it do to Zac internally, let alone to his relationship to Kenny and the rest? And what to do about Adrian, who at least knows what he wants?

Often, inspiration comes from the sound of the words themselves. How can one not muse long on the euphony of the name 'Bernoulli?' But meteor came straight from the late summer starlit heavens. And thank you for your comment on my penchant for turning things to the personal; for in such connections is understanding made, perhaps. Many many thanks.

SD, I am so very pleased you thought this memorial to a youthful idyll was any good. Somehow, once the words started flowing, they refused to be stopped. Your kind words are so encouraging and generous. Many, many thanks.

This. Is. An. Awesome. Chapter. Really, and not just for the admirable scenes in which Zane and Clint make out; we learn so much about Zane, about the source of his reserve and unhappiness. We also learn why Clint may be just the right soul to heal some of that hurt. And you paint a wonderfully detailed picture of Zane's connection to his mom and sister, and his life at home, without being didactic or prosy. Thank you!

Alex and Liam seem locked in what will be an unhappy box for a while. If their relationship survives, there will still be a lot of hurt. What a very interesting picnic lunch date! A deepening and growing love between the two men will surely be a beacon for Alek and Liam. Thank Yiu for this chapter.

Thank you so much, Val. That you could connect to the moment, and to what it left behind me and the poem achieved at least part of its purpose. I am so glad you liked this. Thanks so much for reading and responding to it.

That guy is still here, reading and learning. Thank you for inspiring and supporting me; thanks for reading and thinking about this one. Xo -P

It was such an short time, and yet a memory that has never quite let go. Perhaps it grew in an unexpected way, unseen over so many years to flower in this manner. Your words are so very generous and kind; more importantly, you found something in this which resonated with your spirit. And if that happened, then perhaps the two of us may connect in a way neither knew was possible.

Your kindness and generosity to all of us is remarkable; this poem is clearly the product of that. It is I who am humbled by your words here. Rubaiyat certainly helped enormously with this poem, as you perceive rightly. Art, memory and yearning all played their part. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read and reflect on this short elegy, and for your words of encouragement and affirmation which mean so very much.

I was touched and delighted with this, a poem which remembered joy, not pain. Thank you!