Have you ever thought of something you didn’t know
And discovered that it was you?
Have you ever heard something you could not see
And found it there before you?
Have you ever seen the unseen
And known it was there all along?
Do you ever know what you shouldn’t
And feel proud of the knowledge?
Do you ever feel like someone else inside
And look at yourself in disgust?
Do you ever speak the truest truth
And refuse to admit the lie?
Can you ever forgive yourself the gravest err
And still make the same mistake?
Can you ever go forward on your own
And go back for what you left behind?
Can you read something you have written
And see yourself in the words?
I write. This blog is the home of samples of my writing and articles about my journey as a literary alchemist. Also, keep an eye out for book and podiobook reviews, and maybe eventually guest articles. Find me on Facebook and on Twitter @afgrappin. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
And Then
I stared at the end of the road,
Where it changed to a path in the trees.
I started walking, as I entered the woods,
I swear I heard somebody sneeze.
And Then...
I followed the sound and approached a small man,
Who was sitting on a stump n a glen.
We looked at each other. “Gesundheit,” I said.
He replied, “Thank you, my nice, polite friend.”
And Then...
The little old man told me he was an elf
And that he would grant me one wish.
I thought for awhile and then I replied,
“I want you to make me a fish!”
And Then...
The little man danced and clapped his hands
And he said, “Doogle donady, dimm!
Turn this young person into a fish,
And in the river allow him to swim!”
And Then...
I turned into a fish, and the little man laughed,
And he disappeared with a flash.
I flew through the air and over a river
Which I landed in with a flash.
And Then...
I swam for awhile, but then I got tired,
So I leapt out onto the land.
I sat on a rock, and looking around,
I saw a small lemonade stand.
And Then...
I flopped off the rock and bounced to the stand
And asked for something to drink.
The man mixed the liquid and poured me a cup,
And gave me a little wink.
And Then...
I took a big gulp and put down the cup,
And I knew that something was wrong.
The lemonade goy said, “Now you’ll be a person.
The change shouldn’t take very long.”
And Then...
I sprouted some arms, a couple of legs,
And my scales turned back into skin.
The lemonade guy said, “Ah, there you go.”
And he grinned his goofy grin.
And Then...
I ran through the woods and fell down a hole
And landed at the edge of the sea.
I saw a pirate ship, and every pirate
Was looking all evil at me.
And Then...
I got pulled on the ship, they tied up my hands.
The captain said, “Come her, Pirate Frank!
You’re going to find out how good it feels
To make something else walk the plank!”
And Then...
I stepped on he plank and I took a deep breath
And I gazed down into the blue.
About twenty sharks were looking as if to say,
“Hey, man, we’re gonna eat you!”
And Then...
Needless to say, I was pretty darn scared.
I knew I was going to die.
All of the pirates were shouting and yelling
And eating pieces of chocolate cream pie.
And Then...
I lost my balance and fell off the plank.
I screamed and I started to sweat.
After about five minutes of falling, I thought,
“Why am I not dead yet?”
And then...
I woke up.
____________________________
"And Then" is one of the oldest pieces of my work I still have. I wrote it in 2001, when I was in 11th grade... amazing to see how far I've come.
Where it changed to a path in the trees.
I started walking, as I entered the woods,
I swear I heard somebody sneeze.
And Then...
I followed the sound and approached a small man,
Who was sitting on a stump n a glen.
We looked at each other. “Gesundheit,” I said.
He replied, “Thank you, my nice, polite friend.”
And Then...
The little old man told me he was an elf
And that he would grant me one wish.
I thought for awhile and then I replied,
“I want you to make me a fish!”
And Then...
The little man danced and clapped his hands
And he said, “Doogle donady, dimm!
Turn this young person into a fish,
And in the river allow him to swim!”
And Then...
I turned into a fish, and the little man laughed,
And he disappeared with a flash.
I flew through the air and over a river
Which I landed in with a flash.
And Then...
I swam for awhile, but then I got tired,
So I leapt out onto the land.
I sat on a rock, and looking around,
I saw a small lemonade stand.
And Then...
I flopped off the rock and bounced to the stand
And asked for something to drink.
The man mixed the liquid and poured me a cup,
And gave me a little wink.
And Then...
I took a big gulp and put down the cup,
And I knew that something was wrong.
The lemonade goy said, “Now you’ll be a person.
The change shouldn’t take very long.”
And Then...
I sprouted some arms, a couple of legs,
And my scales turned back into skin.
The lemonade guy said, “Ah, there you go.”
And he grinned his goofy grin.
And Then...
I ran through the woods and fell down a hole
And landed at the edge of the sea.
I saw a pirate ship, and every pirate
Was looking all evil at me.
And Then...
I got pulled on the ship, they tied up my hands.
The captain said, “Come her, Pirate Frank!
You’re going to find out how good it feels
To make something else walk the plank!”
And Then...
I stepped on he plank and I took a deep breath
And I gazed down into the blue.
About twenty sharks were looking as if to say,
“Hey, man, we’re gonna eat you!”
And Then...
Needless to say, I was pretty darn scared.
I knew I was going to die.
All of the pirates were shouting and yelling
And eating pieces of chocolate cream pie.
And Then...
I lost my balance and fell off the plank.
I screamed and I started to sweat.
After about five minutes of falling, I thought,
“Why am I not dead yet?”
And then...
I woke up.
____________________________
"And Then" is one of the oldest pieces of my work I still have. I wrote it in 2001, when I was in 11th grade... amazing to see how far I've come.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Every Melted Melody
Every melted melody
Gets tangled in midair
As a thornbush of sound
That touches everywhere
And I will learn them all, said he
But that cannot be done, you see
For every melody that's there
A hundred, maybe more, unfound
Exist, so one person cannot dare
To try and learn them all, said she
Gets tangled in midair
As a thornbush of sound
That touches everywhere
And I will learn them all, said he
But that cannot be done, you see
For every melody that's there
A hundred, maybe more, unfound
Exist, so one person cannot dare
To try and learn them all, said she
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Change of Plans
Hey, fans!
With my new job, between the commute and significant cut of time to myself, I've decided to change the weekday the blog gets updated. I know I missed my post this past Wednesday, and I think you can tell I've struggled for the past two weeks... although I do think "Out of Stock" was a really cute little story-snippet-let.
Here's what I intend:
1. Weekly posts will be changed to Sunday, starting tomorrow. This will give me Saturday to shore up the writing if necessary.
2. For awhile, I'll probably be posting some poetry. My work schedule will be changing here in a couple weeks, to one that SHOULD make my commute less... time-consuming.
3. I am working on what could either wind up being a short story or a novella, with the intent of getting it on here in the near future. Bear with me while I get it written. It involves superheroes.
Thanks, fans!
Also, I'd like to apologize for the time it's taken to get The Trials of Hallac out for sale. We've run into some editing/formatting issues. I'll let you know when it's on Amazon.com for sale.
With my new job, between the commute and significant cut of time to myself, I've decided to change the weekday the blog gets updated. I know I missed my post this past Wednesday, and I think you can tell I've struggled for the past two weeks... although I do think "Out of Stock" was a really cute little story-snippet-let.
Here's what I intend:
1. Weekly posts will be changed to Sunday, starting tomorrow. This will give me Saturday to shore up the writing if necessary.
2. For awhile, I'll probably be posting some poetry. My work schedule will be changing here in a couple weeks, to one that SHOULD make my commute less... time-consuming.
3. I am working on what could either wind up being a short story or a novella, with the intent of getting it on here in the near future. Bear with me while I get it written. It involves superheroes.
Thanks, fans!
Also, I'd like to apologize for the time it's taken to get The Trials of Hallac out for sale. We've run into some editing/formatting issues. I'll let you know when it's on Amazon.com for sale.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Old Timer's
He wanted to reminisce about their wedding, but he couldn't remember the details. Things as simple as where it had been, the colors, even the guests eluded him. They had hundreds of pictures, he was sure, but they were nowhere to be found. No albums, no full SD cards, not a single upload on the internet. Every unfruitful search only frustrated him more.
Then suddenly, she was there: beautiful, breathtaking, and brunette. And asking what he was doing. Blushing, he admitted it.
"Honey, the wedding's next month."
_________________
This is another 100-word or less story. I think I may try working with these for awhile. It's a good exercise in setting up a problem and resolution quickly, getting your point across in few words. This one counted up at 87 words.
Then suddenly, she was there: beautiful, breathtaking, and brunette. And asking what he was doing. Blushing, he admitted it.
"Honey, the wedding's next month."
_________________
This is another 100-word or less story. I think I may try working with these for awhile. It's a good exercise in setting up a problem and resolution quickly, getting your point across in few words. This one counted up at 87 words.
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