If I were to write you
A love poem
(this is only hypothetical),
So, let's pretend,
Like poets do.
Would you fit inside
The confines of a sonnet:
No, you're more free,
More like a breeze.
You're not ballad-like;
Though you could be
With those alluring green eyes.
I'd work on an ode
But you don't like heights.
We're not close enough for couplets, yet.
Free verse sounds like a fine fit.
You may end up being a muse someday
If I get the hang of it.
Most certainly when our elegy's written.

We've all heard the story about Bonnie and Clyde
How they met, eloped and died.

And we're tired of hearing
About Henry and Ann,
And their shameless lives
Back in Tudor England.
When their marriage broke,
Ann lost her head,
With one stroke.

I won't bother you with the story
Of Napoleon and Josephine,
And that messy business
With the guilotine.

You know Caesar and Cleo
Put on quite a show,
They had a long distance relationship
From Rome to Egypt.
But it ended badly.
She by a snake bite,
Him by Marc Antony.

These famous couples didn't tarry;
They were harried
Before they married;
They met and wed,
But were too soon dead.

Now Byron and Colleen
Met when teens,
Byron was sixteen,
Colleen just fifteen.

They lived together,
To begin,
He loved her,
She loved him.
This wasn't living
As they say, “In sin.”
No rings lingered
On wedding fingers:
No bands of gold
To wear 'til old.
No license, no Registrar,
No vows were spoken,
But their silent vows
Were never broken.
They didn't need
A wedding token.
The cost was never the issue here,
Although Byron always claims he's poor.

And thus they carried on.
Boy, did they carry on.
In a romantic spree.
First came Jordan,
Then Jamie.
And thus they passed
Their years together,
In seeming status quo;
A happy well-matched couple,
For all intents, and show.
They lived well,
Ate well too,
Dressed and drove,
Worked and strove
For friends and family.
And all along,
The two of them
Have been our pleasure
To know.
After all, they're behind
Their doors,
That's all we we need to know.
And thus, they carried on.
Boy, they carried on.

Years down the road
They honey-mooned,
And after this, they married;
Like Benjamin Button
All seems reversed.
Should they continue
This backward style,
Then in awhile,
Following this reception,
They'll probably meet
At their conception.
Should they continue
In this fashion,
Their marriage should end
With their parents' ******.

This is
The Ballad of Byron nd Colleen,
and if truth be told,
You're still just teens.

Last night I saw you with pristine perception.
After all, a voyage of discovery consists not in new landscapes,
But in seeing things differently.
And how I saw you as you kissed me consistently...

Bare as the Lord sent you to this world,
Not as the chic would have you,
But as I would,
And I was as aroused as any man could...

Marks of having given birth at your belly,
Sagging ***** from the feeding,
Skin smooth as butter,
And what my eyes beheld made my mouth water!

It was you who initiated the expression,
Which brought me so much fascination,
As you expressed your love passionately,
Done so gradually.

The girl standing in the cold winter air
Her long hair wet and her feet are bare
The water falling down hits ******* the ground
Thunder and lightning making a horrible sound

Her garden was sunny, not a cloud in the sky
But now it's raining, lightning forming up high
The water falling down hits ******* the ground
Thunder and lightning making a horrible sound

All her friends run to their homes
While the little girl stands in the rain alone
The water falling down hits ******* the ground
Thunder and lightning making a horrible sound

She runs around and tries getting inside
All the doors are locked, there's no where to hide
The water falling down hits ******* the ground
Thunder and lightning making a horrible sound

She has nothing more to do but run and get warm
The girl doesn't know what to do in a storm
The water falling down hits ******* the ground
Thunder and lightning making a horrible sound

The girl is freezing, to her it's unbearable
What happened next was truly terrible
The water falling down hits ******* the ground
Thunder and lightning making a horrible sound

Her running was something of a maniac
And suddenly lightning struck her back
The water falling down hits ******* the ground
Thunder and lightning making a horrible sound

And where her body lay, death looms
While her friends sleep peacefully in their bedrooms
The water falling down hits ******* the ground
Thunder and lightning making a horrible sound

And in her coffin she lies today
All she wanted to do was go out and play
The water falling down hits ******* the ground
Thunder and lightning making a horrible sound

Now listen here, don't run in a storm
Else you will leave this earth in a ghostly form
The water falling down hits ******* the ground
And it falls on the girl who isn't making a sound.

You'll often see them running
and chasing across the plains,
a rabbit skipping and laughing
at an eagle, in great pains.

But why's the eagle running,
surely he can fly?
Sadly he’s afraid of heights
and frightened he may die.

An eagle that can't fly,
well surely that's not right,
it's just like having an owl
who won't come out at night.

But then one day the rabbit stopped
and said, “I've had enough”,
he waited for the eagle
who by now was out of puff.

“Why can you not fly my friend,
there must be a better way,
all this running so doing you in,
especially twice a day”.

“I will not fly and I'll tell you why”,
the eagle had stopped for a rest,
“I have a horrible fear of heights,
since I fell from my mother’s nest”.

“It’s ok for you just sitting there,
chewing on your carrot
but just you try catching
a pigeon or a parrot!”

“Well why don't you just change your food;
try veggies for a while?”
The eagle replied, “Are you serious?”
and couldn't help but smile.

“It’s not as daft as you may think;
it's clever, if I may say,
it'll save you all the running around,
veggies can't run away!”

The eagle thought and with a grin
ran off as fast as fast as he could.
“Where are you going?” the rabbit called.
“I’m off to find some spuds!”


Written by Darren Scanlon, 4th January 2014.
Revised 18th July 2015.
© 2015 Darren Scanlon. All rights reserved.

How can something
I've refused to sing
Denied and sworn was fiction
Seem suddenly real to me

How can someone
Make me feel so undone
From my false reality
Despite everything I've done

How can it be
That the nighttime sings
When I'm alone inside my head
When will I finally see

It was you all along
Standing in front of me
It was you all along
The girl inside my dreams
How could I be so blind
To have wasted my time
Trying to forget these things
Cause all I've ever needed
Is the girl listening to this ballad

How could I
Have thought so highly
Been so naive
To think this wouldn't happen in time

How would I know
That you had stolen
My heart long before
And left, yea you left my love to grow

It was you all along
Standing in front of me
It was you all along
The girl inside my dreams
How could I be so blind
To have wasted my time
Trying to forget these things
Cause all I've ever needed
Is the girl listening to this ballad

You're the faceless girl
Who has haunted my world
My dreams came alive
Shining like your golden curls

You're the one I need
I need only succeed
In your eyes
Sing your ballad with me

It was you all along
Standing in front of me
It was you all along
The girl inside my dreams
How could I be so blind
To have wasted my time
Trying to forget these things
Cause all I've ever needed
Is the girl listening to this ballad

You're free and wild
Never gone out of style
Everytime I see you
I'm left standing beguiled

There is something I can't explain
A girl inside you, who can't be tamed
The girl I love, the girl I adore
You have the freedom engrained

I cannot break away
But I can face the day
But when the night comes
I don't know what to say

How am I supposed to be
What they need me to be
To be strong and brave
When I spent it all on you

I will not forget
Yet I do not regret
These memories I've kept
But I do regret the things I've left unsaid

It was you all along
Standing in front of me
It was you all along
The girl inside my dreams
How could I be so blind
To have wasted my time
Trying to forget these things
Cause all I've ever needed
Is the girl listening to this ballad
Listening to her ballad

(Geraldine, Maya, and Pedra were in the kitchen to drink some Jasmine Yin Zhen tea.)

Between Bosphorus and Dardanelles, the waters are calm.
Geraldine Said, ''I love the life at sea on this tall ship.''
Maya said, '' Let me see the meaning of the lines in your palm! ''
''I worked a lot; I can't feel my hands when something I grip.''

Maya insisted, '' Let me rub your hands with Gilead' balm! ''
''I can't stand the hustle and bustle of big cities.
Can you predict my future after reading my palm?
''You'll be surrounded by death coming from the waves' ditties.''

''What is this balm? '' '' It's an extract from the bakha shrubs.''
''Where did you find this shrub? '' ''This extract is brought from Chios,
Where this tree grows near the sea, to make this balm and drugs.
It's good for the stomach and prevents the skin infections.

I used it to make bread tsoureki.'' ''It's sweet, '' Pedra said,
''This tree excited the cupidity of invaders-
The groves of Jericho.'' Maya touched her, ''Are you afraid? ''
''Went there to fight Titus, Joshua and the crusaders.''

Pedra took a long look at her, ''Do you have children? ''
''I have two boys who live in southern Ottoman Empire.
My husband died.'' ''Why did you come here? '' ''I'm a poor woman.
Now, it’s war; I want to work here, not to walk through the fire.’’

(Maya left the kitchen. On the deck, Marco, Rosa, and Cruz stopped for a few minutes their walk to admire the Marmara Sea in approach to Çanakkale.)


''Anybody who wants to pass through the Dardanelles
Must pay a tax. So, we must sit at anchor in waiting
For an opening at this small Port of Çanakkale, ''
Said Cruz. '' About buying fuel, the ****** are still debating, ''

Said Marco.'' This city is placed on two continents.''
'' The shape of the strait is akin to that of a river.''
'' Its history started with Troy. The tidal currents
Make this time of wait at anchorage a deceiver.''


''The Dardanelles is the most dangerous waterway, ''
Said Rosa, '' Maya and Naimah are talking fiercely.''
Cruz said, ''They've seemed not to know each other until today.''
''What happened, Maya? '' ''He can't stop speaking viciously.''

(To be continued...)

Poem by Marieta Maglas

you used to play me under the silver moon
and sing along to my melodious tune
your velvety voice compliments me
together we were beauty, a striking symphony

but as you got older your eyes saw more
you saw the monsters and evil the world bore
you learned about frustration obsession suppression
and then you fell into the abyss of depression

i wished you had come to me and play
i would've hugged you and wiped those tears away
we could've soared together beneath the shadows
but why did you choose that poisonous arrow?

do you remember the music we made
if you'd just believe i could be your aid
my carol is unsung and your story untold
my figure is rusty and your eyes are cold

if i tell you that you're not yet too late
will you listen and change your fate?
place your hands on my hardened keys
remember the old days remember them please

remember our songs and remember me
you can let go and play our harmony

Just in case you wondered
I love all my fellow poets.
Even if you blundered
I think you should know it.
You have taken me places
That I have never been
And unless I read more from you
I will never get there again.

You have painted the insides
Of my mind in psychedelics
Or showed me galleries
Of otherwise forgotten relics.
You let me walk with you
To your personal locations
And taken me on trips
Of twenty-line vacations.

You have used your words
Like brushes full of paint.
You have shown me clarity
And pointed out social taint.
You’ve shared your family
And the lovers in your life.
Some were Lochinvars
And some were a fishwife.

You parsing and your cadence
Helped put shyness aside.
You encouraged me to know you
Where others try to hide.
It’s amazing that in one page
You manage to become a friend
And then you stay with me
Long after the poem ends.