Reptile & Amphibian Forums

sorry for flooding this forum with topics recently, but it is the only place i can get help with school. anyone wanna read my poem?
tell me what you think.

My Paradise

In my paradise,
The ladies always look nice
The food tastes good
And its never cold enough to wear a hood

In my paradise,
The sun is always shining
And the dogs are never hiding
The air is always warm
And the rain is always cool

In my Pardise,
The dogs are always nice
The news is always good
The grass is always green
The music is always loud

In my paradise,
The fights are always quick
The wounds are always healed
The snakes are never venomous
The cougars never bite

In my paradise,
The fire is always bright
The marshmalllows are always toasty
The stories are always scary
And the outhouse never smells

In my paradise,
The water is always hot
The tile isn't slippery
The toilet never floods
The soap always smells good

In my paradise,
The bed is always made
The room is always clean
The windows are always clear
The floors are always sweeped

In my paradise,
The gold is always polished
The silver is always shining
The diamonds are always sparkling
The platinum is always brilliant

In my paradise,
The ruby's are always red
The emeralds are always green
The pearls are always iridescent
And the turquoise is always, well turquoise

In my paradise,
The food is always free
The steaks are always grilled
The lobsters are always big
And the salmon is always pink

In my paradise,
The roses are always red
The violets are always purple
The cherry blossoms are always in bloom
The carnations are always white

In my paradise,
The ball pythons are always clowns
The BCI's always sunglows
The cresteds always tigers
And the Leos always albino

In my paradise,
The crickets are always dusted
The mealies are always fed
The supers stay in the dish
And the waxworms never fattening

In my paradise,
The rats are always thawed
The hemostats are always long
The snakes take food immediately

In my paradise,
There is always room for another cage
Another snake
Another lizard
Another dream

In my paradise.......

-----
0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 tiger crested gecko (peachs)
1.1 Feral cats that we adopted (Fuzzy, and Bear)

I'm not a owner of any herps, just a domicile attendant.

My image Gallery

Living in Your Eyes

I could live in your eyes forever
I could dream of you each night
I could picture your face in the moon’s sliver
I could see you without having sight

I could love you without you loving me
I could wish that you were here
I could hope your love was free
I could feel for you without fear

I could pray every night to see your face
I could think of you wishing under the same moon
I could worship your everlasting grace
I could think of your beauty and croon

I could do much with my life
I could live it to its potential
But I couldn’t deal with the strife
The denial from you would be exponential

So take my hand tonight
And let us travel to a shining star
That compared to your beauty is slight
I am even content to admire you from afar

But the point is that I love you
Your love is my only endeavor
Without you I will be dead and blue
But I could live in your eyes forever

Angel Eyes

The desolate green of the grass did wound
Across your features with light endowed.
Your eyes glitter like the country stars bright.
My breathing grows heavy, my speaking trite.
The utterly trenchant look that dances upon your face
Leaves me without power, delivers unending grace.
Your likeness to the youthful cherubs never ceases to amaze.
Your personality is fiery, beautiful, like a flaming blaze.
I see that conflagration reflected in your angel eyes
Along with the mysteries of heavens, the secrets of the skies.
Every time we touch a million senses I finally regain.
I wish those moments would last forever, eternally remain.
I promised I would never love again and now I am confused
Because I think…I think I will end up loving you.

A Million Miles

A mile million miles away yet still
Under six feet
The unstoppable monotony kills me
That unrelenting beat
I gasp for air
But all I reach is death
I inhale frantically
But only drowning fills my breath.
So I am laid beside myself
In everlasting sleep
I now no more do know
Who watches or who weeps
So remember me when I am gone
For something better than I’m worth
Do not regret the sad days we spent
Just celebrate the mirth.

Just a few that I wrote in some spare time. Kind of a hobby of mine (but not one that I show to people often...gotta keep up my reputation haha).
-----
Andy Maddox
AIM: SurfAndSkimTx04
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Yahoo:surfandskimtx04
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

If you steal in hunger, I will kick you when you try. These stand for me. Name your god and bleed the freak. I'd like to see. How you all would bleed for me.-Alice In Chains

np
-----
Crystal Light (Yes..that's my real name)

*Whenever you lose a gecko, just think of it as God building on his own Leopard Gecko collection

The Gecko Barn

You say this is for school? Then I will critique like a teacher.

For the record I am not a fan of RAP type poetry. It may be the IN Thang...But if you are talking about school I would pursue something a bit more challenging. RAP is probably the most primitive rhyme structure you can find in Poetry.

Also... there is a thing called Meter in Poetry...This means a rhythm based on the sylables of a word and punctuation. You break rhythm in several places.

Each paragraph...or more correctly put...Stanza, should relate to its corresponding line in the other stanzas.

Remember that there is a difference betwen the way you pronounce a word Audibly and the way it looks on print. Street poets use long pauses or sped up lyrics to mask poor rhythm.

Have to cut this short or the wife will cut me as such...Will contact you outside the forum if you want help.

Frank

Snakeguy88 has more of what your teacher is probably hoping for.
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Okay, for the record, I am an English teacher.

In my classroom, RAP is just fine - Rap is a FORM of POETRY. Also, poetry does not HAVE to have Rhythm, Rhyme, OR Meter - there are famous poets who do not use these.

Poetry uses special language and form - in the end, if you compare poetry from ALL around the world, that is the only thing they ALL have in common.

So, please, don't knock her for using a True form of poetry, and then say that you're critiquing her as a teacher would. A GOOD teacher would never come down so hard on this poem as you have, AND a GOOD teacher would recognize that this poem IS a GOOD poem.

~~Dusty Windom
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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

I would suggest Dusty that you pick up a copy of;

THE COMPLETE RHYMING DICTIONARY. by Clement Wood.

Perhaps then you will have a better grasp on what I am talking about. Then too...you should learn to read what people write before slamming them.

I did not say that RAP is not Poetry. I said (again) that RAP was "probably the most primitive rhyme structure you can find in Poetry". BIG DIFFERENCE THERE!

I did not "knock her" instead I offered help to fix certain flaws that are there in her poem.

From the sound of it you are one of those who takes the (Politically Correct view) that Free verse is acceptable Poetry. Sorry...we called it Prose when I went to school. Poetry does not have to rhyme but with out Rhythm or Meter it is not Poetry.

I began to critique her (interupted...as I had to leave) exactly how my English teachers did to me when I was in school. From the sound of what your saying...I assure you that you would have flunked.

Just another commentary on the dumbing of America.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Frank,

I'll admit that you did say that Rap was a form of poetry. However, you also stated that it was "Primitive," meaning, to me, that it should not be used. If I understood that reasoning correctly, then no one should be writing Shakespearean Sonnets anymore. He did that over 500 years ago - that is FAR too primitive for our modern, civilized cultures! After all, Africans were using Rap (or a form of it) at the same time, as were slaves being exported from Africa. OH - but WAIT - I forget - Shakespeare comes from a civilized country, and, therefore, does not count in this debate, right?

Primitive or not, where do you think human cultures all stemmed from? One or several very primitive cultures, by modern standards, and many of the traits we had in those primitive cultures are still present and accepted. Rap and Shakespearean sonnets may be primitive, but that does not mean that it should be dismissed in the English classroom, as you seem to be doing.

And, yes, I see free verse as an acceptable form of poetry. Prose is comprised of other literature - short stories, novels, and such. Poetry is made of special language - today, using "thee" and "thou" and "thy" instead of "you" and "yours" would be considered special language. Repeating sentences, as in lilroach's repeated line, "In my paradise," is considered special language - in everyday language, we do not say the exact same line over and over and over.

The Complete Rhyming Dictionary sounds like it would be very helpful - depending on what FORM of poetry you're writing. From what I am reading about it, however, it's focused primarily on rhyming, something which CAN be used in poetry, but isn't always.

Have you ever heard of Walt Whitman? He's a very famous poet, of whom I am sure you have heard. How about his poem, Eidolons? I'm looking at it right now - there is no certain rhythm. There is no certain rhyme. There is no certain meter. In case you don't have his poetry on hand, here's a link to this poem: www.kalliope.org/digt.pl?longdid=whitman2001060409
Another poem with the same certainable lack of rhythm, rhyme, and meter, is An Old Man's Thought of School, which you can also see at www.daypoems.net/plainpoems/2096.html

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, defines Free Verse as:

term loosely used for rhymed or unrhymed verse made free of conventional and traditional limitations and restrictions in regard to metrical structure. Cadence, especially that of common speech, is often substituted for regular metrical pattern. Free verse is a literal translation of the French vers libre, which originated in late 19th-century France among poets, such as Arthur Rimbaud and Jules Laforgue, who sought to free poetry from the metrical regularity of the alexandrine. The term has also been applied by modern literary critics to the King James translation of the Bible, particularly the Song of Solomon and the Psalms, to certain poems of Matthew Arnold, and to the irregular poetry of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. The form is probably most closely associated with such English and American poets as Ezra Pound, Amy Lowell, and T. S. Eliot who sought greater liberty in verse structure. Other poets who used the free verse form were William Carlos Williams, Carl Sandburg, and Marianne Moore.

Yes, Walt Whitman uses Rhythm, Rhyme and Meter in other poems, like O Captain, My Captain, but not all the time, as I have mentioned above.

As for helping lilroach, I'm not sure that you can unless you know exactly what her teacher is looking for. I would say, if lilroach went to the trouble of writing her long poem, she's probably on the right road - I've never had a student go to that much effort without being on the right track.

As for your condescending critiquing of her poem, if that is how your teachers would have treated you, then I am very sorry to hear that. Most students would hear that and say, "What's the point of trying again - I failed miserably the first time." I know because I've seen teachers who treat their students with a very condescending manner all the time - especially around TAKS-time. According to the teachers' mannerisms, the students can't do ANYthing right. And, Yes, I would have failed because I would have ultimately quit trying if that's how the teachers always treated me. The number 1 rule for teachers - nowadays, at least - is to begin with praise and then critique. You WANT the student to keep trying.

I have said all that I have to say on this matter, so, if I do not respond to you about this again, do not think it is because I finally "saw the light" - just that I have made all my points and do not wish to continue debating this.

~~Dusty Windom
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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

First of all you might want to consider that this person submited the poem with a request for help as it was for school. Now I could have easily joined the chorus who only said "How Nice". But how does that help?

I am sorry that you think I do not appreciate what PRIMITIVE means....The great Painter Grandma Moses was a PRIMiTIVE. The term does not disparage her work. it is a starement of style.

Once again you are jumping to conclusions and trying to smear me with a brush that is only a product of your imagination.

Poetry does not have a special Language...it uses English or what ever the native tongue it is born to. From Robert Burns on down it catches it's flavor from different cultures and educational levels...But it is still poetry.

Free verse is discribed (by Wood) "as being with or without rhyme...and not with a metric pattern, but with a wider pattern than metre allows...It still tends toward regularity rather than variety" just to make sure we are on the same page (definition wise...)

If you were to pick up Wood's book you would find the opening chapters focus on the structure of all forms of Poetry (prior to 1936). That was back when kids did well in school. So he does not discuss RAP.

I get the "modern" break down that has allowed great Prose to be called Poetry under the concept of Free Verse. Just like in all the humanities the old standards (which I guess were too hard for todays students to master) have been replaced with Politicaly Correct garbage that makes Everyone a Poet.

Once again...She asked for help. It is not condescending to tell a truthful OPINION. I find her more poorly served by those who were polite and did not offer the help she asked for. The poem she wrote is acceptable(?) but flawed. As a so called teacher, I would have thought you would offer constructive critisim. If she cant handle that then she really should not ask for it.

My teachers did that for me and if you do not approve then I have serious doubts as to your ability as one.

As to making your points...Don't step onto a "Debate Forum" unless you have the guts to defend your charges.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

heck, she might even appreciate his open mind. LOL.
Im not going to get all technical as you two have...but poetry is poetry, regardless of its style. And he pretty much just asked how his poem is...not whether you think its good for school or not, im sure he knows what he's doing when it comes to his school work.

So...to sum it up...you dont like it because its rap and "not your sort of poetry". Just say so...doesnt make you wrong or right, and neither is misswindom. If he can use this poem in school, the best of luck to him. I happened to like the poem, and thats ALL that needs to be stated here because thats all that was ASKED!

~Crystal Light
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Crystal Light (Yes..that's my real name)

*Whenever you lose a gecko, just think of it as God building on his own Leopard Gecko collection

The Gecko Barn

I appreciate your candor...but I have o point out that lilroach said "this is the only place i can get help with school". (he or she) also refered again ( in later posts)to requirements that came from her/his teacher.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

ok...so tell me where in the guidelines did you read that it couldnt be rap...and it had to have rhyme and rythm? Clear me up on this one, because I dont see it.
I read his guidelines, and he followed them really well.

~Crystal Light
-----
Crystal Light (Yes..that's my real name)

*Whenever you lose a gecko, just think of it as God building on his own Leopard Gecko collection

The Gecko Barn

Where did I SAY it couldn't be RAP? If your going to down me please do it for something I actually said.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

I do believe what we're both referring to is the following quote from your original post:

For the record I am not a fan of RAP type poetry. It may be the IN Thang...But if you are talking about school I would pursue something a bit more challenging. RAP is probably the most primitive rhyme structure you can find in Poetry.

The way you word it & all makes it sound like Rap is something you look down your nose at (hence my word, "condescending", and that lilroach shouldn't use it.

But I'll admit, you never said not to use it. The bad thing about reading people's words is that you can never be sure exactly HOW they're saying something - you just have to go off textual clues. In this case, it sounded, to me, like you were making it a BAD thing.

~~Dusty Windom
-----
So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

In truth I do not care for it. My Opinion. I made the sugggestion because I try to encourage the use of the (little used) forms. Eveybody and his brother does RAP...Shoot, Pro Wrestlers RAP. I thought something more orrigional and challenging would be refreshing to her/his teacher.

I never said Don't use it...

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

People that apparently can't spell "dog" correctly rap as well
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Andy Maddox
AIM: SurfAndSkimTx04
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Yahoo:surfandskimtx04
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

If you steal in hunger, I will kick you when you try. These stand for me. Name your god and bleed the freak. I'd like to see. How you all would bleed for me.-Alice In Chains

Are you from Texas? I am glad I never had to deal with that. I was one year ahead of when they required it so I got away easy with the TAAS. Native Houstonian here.

As for rap, I seem to remember hearing from a very trustworthy source that rap was actually not some native African means of communication or expression but was rather created by Jamaicans or some other West Indies culture in the past. Whether that is fact or fiction I do not know, but either way, I could hardly classify the rap of today as poetry. Gangbangers and druglords have no place among poets, especially with such crude "lyrics" (if you can call them such).
-----
Andy Maddox
AIM: SurfAndSkimTx04
MSN: Poloboy32486@hotmail.com
Yahoo:surfandskimtx04
Houston Herp Key
The Reptizone

If you steal in hunger, I will kick you when you try. These stand for me. Name your god and bleed the freak. I'd like to see. How you all would bleed for me.-Alice In Chains

Just like there's good poetry and bad poetry, there's good rap and bad rap. Unfortunately, the bad rap is what gets the publicity. That's normal in American society, wouldn't you say?

From what I read, Rap was started by African tribes as a way to remember messages over long periods of time - after all, centuries ago (longer if it's Europe/Egypt), if you wanted to send a message to someone, you had to send it via a messenger. Native Americans were doing that up until long after we came. They didn't have phones, and not all civilizations had discovered paper or writing. When you can give something rhyme and rhythm, it's a lot easier to remember. Put it to music, and it's even easier. It turned into rap somewhere along the lines, and it's perfectly plausible that it happened in Jamaica, or some place along those lines. After all, where did many of the Jamaicans descend from? African origins.

~~Dusty Windom
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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

OH yeah. And I'm From Texas!!! San Antonio right now.. But I was raised in Wichita Falls.. I graduated LONG before we had to do TAKS.. I'm a TAAS child haha

~~Dusty Windom
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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

Much as I truly hate to say anything positive about it....Unfortunately RAP is acceptable Poetry. Poems have ben written well by Drug abusers, Alchohlolics and a variety of social misfits...which does not make what they write less ligitmiate.

Some RAP can be clever...But remember that RAP is a very simple rhyme to create (which is why so many can do it). For the record I once got into a "Free style" duel with a Rapper (I won). The more complex the form of poetry ( as in any thing from Building to Art)the fewer you will find who can actually create it.

No insult intended for any Rappers out there but if you doubt my word try something like a Sonnet.

An old Favorite;

baby in the caldron fell,-
See the grief on mother's brow!
Mother loved her darling well.
Darling's quite hard-boiled by now.

BABY, Harry Graham

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

You can also put them on poetry.com - and they'll copyright it for you, in your name, free.

An American Quatrain
Atop the hills do Adam's children
Lust the thrills of American shadows:
Living freely - no fear of lands war-torn,
Silly children's sotries, ad-libbing rampantly, shallow.

Whattaya think?

~~Dusty Windom
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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

I think Dusty that Robert Frost would likely have enjoyed this poem as it captures some of his rolling style.
What do you think of this?

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
framed thy fearful symmetry?

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

I am very familiar with Robert Frost, and thank you - that is a very nice compliment! I really love his poem, Fire and Ice:

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice, 5
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

-------
I'm assuming you do know of Walt Whitman, then? From our debate in the threads above? I do have several free verse poems that I've written, as well.

I actually wrote my poem in the form of an Irish Quatrains, the guidelines coming from my professor who taught my History of English class and Language of Literature seminar. There's a LOT of internal rhyming structure - not all of it vowel-rhyme - most of it is consonant-rhyme. Have you heard of this poetry method? It's one of the most complicated poetry formulas in the world. Several of my juniors successfully wrote their own (I gave them a simplified, step-by-step format that probably did not have ALL the rules in it.. But with all the internal rhyme, they did very well).

~~Dusty Windom
-----
So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

An excellent poem (Frost)One of my favorites! I will admit I prefer the more classic style Like Tennyson. I am familiar with Whitman but I'm not a fan. I love Emily Dickenson.

Here is the beginning of a poem appropriate for this forum;

While sunning his reptilian side
Within the Yucca green,
There slept in serpentine coils-the snake;
Wrapped up in his dinosaur dream.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Oo.. I do like that poem, but I'm not familiar with it. Who wrote it?

As for helping lilroach on her poem, I think we have all missed one major thing - what exactly is the teacher's grading rubric on this poem? "How nice" might be perfectly appropriate, and it might not.

And, as I said (or tried to say), the way that you were speaking of primitive made it seem like it was a bad thing. You spoke of it with negative tones, or among negative tones, leading me to conclude that you think it is a bad thing. If I concluded wrongly, then by all means correct me.

And this isn't a Debate forum. It is called "Open Discussion." I simply made my points and decided that I was tired of it. I am allowed to do that. But I'm a rather proud person who can't always keep her mouth shut when she says she's going to. (hence the above).

lilroach:
What is the grading rubric for your poem??

~~Dusty Windom
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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

Those lines were from the opening of RATTLESNAKE. I humbely submitt myself as the perpetrator of that poem.

I to admit to the flaw of Pride. But as a amatuer poet (old school) and struggling author (one who is just completing his first novel) I get itchy when someone says I'm condescending.

Believe me when I say that publishers are not kind...so if you are writing an opus you better develope thick skin.

Here is a song (I wrote the lyrics to and sold). the style is Ballad, music and such preformed in the old torch singer style
of the fifties....

JUST ANOTHER DAY

just another day,
Far away from you.
There's nothing wrong,it won't be long
I tell myself "Next time you'll stay."

Spending all my time,
Sitting by the phone.
I call you up, but your not home.
You had to leave and I'm alone.
(Just thinking 'bout a day with you.)

It didn't seem Romantic.
Didn't happen how we planned it.
So how then should it happen,
That I want to try again?

Pictures in my mind...
Images thru time,
Of what could be, with you and me...
How can I make this dream come true?
Oh, will there be another day with you?
-----
"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Pride is human flaw...

I do believe we both said things that flared the other's pride.

And, yes, publishers are Harsh. But that's why we go to teachers first - a good teacher will handle the student with care - not tear them down. That's why I jumped to the defensive. lilroach wasn't taking her poem to the publishers, but to a teacher. Wait til she's older before she has to put up with those people!

And your poems are very excellent.

What's your novel about? I've been one who starts writing a story, but then I get busy with everything (school and my daughter) and lose the story. I like writing poetry because it comes more naturally to me

~~Dusty Windom
-----
So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

Thankyou (humble blushing momment...)

My first novel is derived from a short story I wrote several years back.
It is called SIDEWAYS THRU TIME

The story is Science Fiction... About two orphan girls who were kidnapped as infants and raised to be killers in an assassins guild...and a young woman discovering who she is...and what human feelings are.

I am a member of the Horror Writers of America. It's a great place to tool around. Lots of good free advice from fellow authors. You can find our website on Google. Dean Koontz was the founder.

By all means write that novel. I am 52 and most of my life just wrote poetry and shorts. This year I said "I don't want to be 80 and say I should have...or could have.

So go for it...even if you can write just a paragraph a day, your still living the dream.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Well, I've got a ways before I turn 80.. I'm only 23.

But my other problem is also that I lose sight of where I'm going.. I'm not sure how to keep it going, you know? I'd love to right a great sci-fi or fantasy book.. But sometimes I feel like all my ideas have already been written. I guess that, in this day and age, it's extremely difficult to come up with something that no one has come up with before.

Although.. Maybe I could write a story about the origins of redheads.. I used to have a "theory" that, if your hair was red, you must have alien blood, since it's so rare.. Yeah, I was being very creative

~~Dusty Windom
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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

Actualy there has been speculation on that before...also the old idea that Redheads were witches(a connection?). Lots of room there to explore....

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Heyy... I never made that connection before.. Thought about them both, but never made the connection..

And then there's the whole issue about how the color red is currently associated with evil (and passion) - like the devil is painted as red sometimes..

lol And then, of course, the Devil used to be GREEN! *GASP* And I have green eyes!! OOOOH the HOOORRRRROOR...!! lol I can see possibilites.. Maybe that explains why redheads have a reputation for being so mean? And redheads also have the reputation for being especially feisty (which explains why I jump to the defensive).. Maybe there's a connection to everything. Hm.

But I'd never heard the Redheads as Aliens theory before. I made it up. Darnit - I told you it's really hard to come up with unique ideas What exactly was the speculation you were speaking of?

~~Dusty Windom
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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

I've pretty much heard it from some of my friends (talk over beer) and I seem to recall there was a bit about it on one of those unsolved mystery type shows. I think you are on safe ground to pursue it.......Though I remember a lady...many years ago with green eyes and red hair.....Who claimed I was a figament of her imagination.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

LoL She must have been a very eccentric person.

I'll have to look into that. I'm sure I could find all sorts of info about it on the web, right? (as long as I put in JUST the right question...)

~~Dusty Windom
-----
So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

i dont know the grading rubric. But just wondering, what made you think i was a girl?
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0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 tiger crested gecko (peachs)
1.1 Feral cats that we adopted (Fuzzy, and Bear)

I'm not a owner of any herps, just a domicile attendant.

My image Gallery

At the risk of saying the wrong thing....Your handle seems cute...in a Wednesday Adams kind of way. Apologies if we got it wrong..

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

That was also part of my reasoning...

~~Dusty Windom
-----
So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

LoL sorry.. I'm a girl, so if I can't find a name, I automatically say "she".. I tried to refrain from saying he/she, but I slipped... So I guess that you're a guy, then? Most people assume I'm a guy (my name's Dusty).. I love the first day of class every semester.. The professors call out my name, and then search for a hand from a guy and finally do a double take when they see it's me raising my hand!

As for the grading rubric.. Okay, what was the assignment then? What did the teacher say you had to do? Did he/she give you an assignment handout, or just say write a poem? What were her/his guidelines?

~~Dusty Windom
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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

I figured you were female by the samre name...In my generation we enjoyed the songs of Dusty Springfield. One of her most famous songs was YOU DON'T HAVE TO SAY YOU LOVE ME which was a big hit in the sixties.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

I've heard of her!

I made sure to give my daughter a feminine name. Instead, I gave her a different problem - learning how to spell it, and people learning how to say it: Siobhan. Do you know?

~~Dusty Windom
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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

That sounds eastern..Arabic..or Indian?

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Irish, actually. VERY Irish.

In Gaelic (Irish-Gaelic, at least), whenever you have an "S" followed by an "i", the 2 together are pronounced "SH". When you have a "bh" in the middle of a word, it's pronounced "V".

Can you figure out how to say it now? It's actually very simple - you just have to know the rules & guidelines.

~~Dusty Windom
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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

interesting...i have seen that odd use of the B in Arabic as well. But then Black Turlough Duhb was A Robert E Howard Irish warrior.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

np
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0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 tiger crested gecko (peachs)
1.1 Feral cats that we adopted (Fuzzy, and Bear)

I'm not a owner of any herps, just a domicile attendant.

My image Gallery

I'm not an expert on Joe Macarthy but I'll see what I can do.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

The guidelines were:

-has to be a poem about your paradise (we discussed "Big rock Candy Mountain"
-Minimum 10 Lines and 2 stanzas
-Rhyme or free verse
-No more than 8 words per line
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0.1 "Tremper" looking Albino Leopard gecko (Lex)
0.0.1 tiger crested gecko (peachs)
1.1 Feral cats that we adopted (Fuzzy, and Bear)

I'm not a owner of any herps, just a domicile attendant.

My image Gallery

Then, in that case, you'll absolutely have no problems passing. It IS a VERY good poem. And I think you definitely exceeded the minimum requirements!!!

lol And I didn't mean to turn it into a debate.. It just happens with me. A lot. My mom asked me earlier, "Do you ALWAYS have to be right?"

Uh. YEAH. I'm a Redhead, and I'm a woman. AND I'm a Windom. What did you expect??? LoL

~~Dusty Windom
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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

Why does that sound like crocodile Dundee?

Dundee "I knew you would snoop...Your a woman...and a reporter..."

Good luck on your assignment kid.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

awesome poem, had me giggling. Seems you are describing multiple paradises....for you, or for others?

Either way, very very cool!
I think I like the one where the supers stay in the dish the best, lol

~Crystal Light
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Crystal Light (Yes..that's my real name)

*Whenever you lose a gecko, just think of it as God building on his own Leopard Gecko collection

The Gecko Barn

Sounds Great!

Might I add

In my Paradise
The Green is always purple
The sweets are always rolled
And you don't get to be president,
cuz your daddy pulled a few strings