Parker Owens

I am happy you got a laugh out of this one, Emi. It is fun to remember one of the quirks of my family when I was growing up, You get points just for reading this one!

I am happy you remember times like that. You get Brownie points just for having read the poem and surviving, Hope your fridge is less full than mine...

If you laughed, then I am happy. It was fun to write, and to remember my Dad's promises of Brownie Points. Now, do you need a few tomatoes? Thanks again...

Glad you got a kick out of this. You get points. Just for reading it, and for surviving the fridge. Hope Dr Seuss isn't rolling over in his grave...Thanks so much for reading this!

SD, I loved this addition to your Quirky Collection. You describe what all of us who have read 18 Weeks have hoped for David. Thank you for this elegant collection of feeling for David.

I really, really like this story. Love how it progressed, how you developed it, how you tied things together. Brent and Donny! Whew! Hope. Clint and Zane do well together, they deserve it. But you can sign me up for their GSA. Many thanks for this story.

Nick shows himself to be considerate and kind in willing to wait to get Peter's first time right. It must have been very difficult. That Nick can be so very good only means that the love the two boys have for one another is worth waiting for. They are both very lucky guys.

Glad you liked the Seussian allusion, too! The form lends itself to asides and offhand comments, which can make the final version more personal, or (perhaps) a bit comic. Hope your stomach survived the ordeal of the poem, though. Many thanks for responding to it - you get Brownie Points just for reading!

When I was younger, it helped to have two older brothers to split up the fridge raiding with. Mom never had to worry about accumulated bits. It was when they left home that my parents recalled 'Brownie Points' more frequently to mind. It was a recent fridge purge of my own that brought all this to mind, along with the overflow of garden produce I have to keep...thanks so much for reading this one, despite the strain I put on your innards...

Now there's an unusual compliment...wonderfully gross...but it certainly fits the light, comic tone for this end of summer piece. You get Brownie Points just for finishing the poem! Thanks so much for reading it.

What a tender, gentle and loving scene you drew for us. How lucky Nick and Peter are to have one another. I hope Nick's parents are as kind and Nick is himself when they find out...and the surely will figure it out soon, won't they?

Brownie Points A Brownie Point, you understand, is gained when you perchance consume the leftovers you have on hand, but which within the fridge take room from other things which matter more; they just got purchased from the store. So finish a container, yea, eat up the week old slaw, I beg, and Brownie Points you'll earn today by taking on that deviled egg that's been in wrap since late July, but no one's ate it - wonder why? Now look, I'll earn some points myself by scarfing last night's

A warm and lovely chapter, full of the romance that should have been David and Twoey's from the start. You paint their loving vividly, but not in such lurid detail that either would be embarrassed. Well done, I say. Further well done is the slowly clearing outlook for David. You make it clear that he understands his road ahead will be rocky and long, which is real. But it is a path he can live with, as long as Twoey is there with him. I agree with earlier comments about David's family. With the exception of Tommy, the Absent Family really could have packed up and moved to Beverly Hills and not made the slightest difference. Donny and Chuck together? That could be um...enthusiastic. David is lucky to have a team of good friends. It is bittersweet to see this tale wind down, but David has been put through the wringer enough. At least the sun will set happily on Twoey and David, two boys very much in love. Thank you.

You speak a great truth here. There are limits to identity politics, it seems, when one must actually conceive of solutions to the ills that plague us. Well spoken, Tim.

You are really kind SD, to have taken the tempo markings at heart; this is what I attempted in proofreading. I thought less of soloists and more of whole instrument sections in this, even though a sonata is for solo instruments. I am glad you liked this. It makes my heart sing....

Not an instrument, but a series of distinct key changes; perhaps a Vivaldi or Bach string section describes it best. Think of The Seasons, or maybe one of Corelli's concerti grossi. Anyhow, I am so very glad you enjoyed the sonata. Glad it was that instead of "Ring Cycle." I'd still be writing! Thanks so much for your comments!

Three different related movements, but the differences between them weren't terribly subtle. It is harder than I originally thought to illustrate tempo in verse, restricting the poetry to a single form. But it was certainly a great deal of fun, and a story told itself, as it might in a 19th century sonata. Thank so much for your really kind and encouraging reaction. -P

Yes, far more cheerful. I wanted to have contrast with movement number three, so number two had to be painted dark, while the first had to have some complexity. This one was fun to write, and hope you enjoyed it,like a bit of music. - P

Yes, I liked it! Loved it, in fact. For though you write about some difficult things, you also show us the beauty, grit and grace that lies around us, if we will look for it. Here you admit only that you cannot help but tell us the truth. Wonderfully done, Tim.

Oh, Thank you, Gary. They were related, as a sonata might be...the last movement absorbing and expanding of the first two. The poet can't believe, yet must, and happily, too. Those four-foot iambs really sound musical, don't they? There were lots of other tempos to try...gracioso, con brio, or andante...but these worked, I thought. Many, many thanks for your comments.

This morning felt like a morning in Britten...I have always liked this piece, even if it isn't St. Cecilia's day today.

I loved the Presto movement best, too. But the other two are necessary to make it that way, I think. Thanks for your comments and for reading!

Sonata I. Allegro Your smile at me, though just for fun, was like Vivaldi in the sun, admitting not a minor strain in letting joy go free to run. That grin, which could dispel the rain and every dissonance disdain, a swift accelerando starts behind my ribs, and I am slain. My skills in the attractive arts are next to nil, and oh, that smarts; I play a standup fiddle mean, but you need naught to top the charts. It's better that I'm heard than seen, so not to mar the spring so green; at

I really like the way you tell your story in your poem. The last few lines were especially powerful and you built up to them particularly well. You make me sad and reflective here, and I hope you have found some solace. Thank you for sharing this.

Awesomeness, AC...the full late romantic orchestra on display. And best of all, there are other symphonies by Breton available, too!