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Parandol
09-29-2005, 02:55 AM
Perhaps oh gentle reader, the circumstance of our meeting and subsequent courtship would function to further elucidate the particular matter under your consideration...

Hearken oh muse!!! Descend from your heavenly zenith, pinnacle of Parnassus to illumine our collective essence with the gift of perception. Imbue our arid chalice with wisdom’s infusion that we may know life’s sweet bitterness.

I met her on a rainy day in Seoul. I was newly graduated from a modest college in the United States and eager to see the world. I heard about opportunities to teach English in Korea and I was eager to see other parts of the world. I negotiated a suitable contract with a reputable hakwon and was en-route to my living quarters at Kyong Hee.

Springtime in Korea is especially enchanting. Yet on this particular day, I drifted like a shadow through a waking dream. It was my first day of class and I exited the campus and approached the bus depot. Great looming clouds crept over the sky like guilty things as slivers of sunbeam pierced their murky depths, showering the numberless cherry blossoms with dazzling radiance. The memory of ten thousand crimson blossoms will fade with time but their imprint upon my inward eye will exist in perpetuity.

As I walked to the bus-stop, I experienced a heightened sensual awareness. The passage of time had slowed and the air corporeal ceased to stir as if in suspense. Silence ensued in the listless air as a single raindrop caressed my cheek, echoing in distant waves as I paced like a solitary figure across a painted landscape. As amassed electrical static will discharge in brilliant flashes of lightning, thusly did my heart radiate with dazzling iridescense when I first beheld her.

Sometimes we pause at the crossroads of life like weary pilgrims waiting for a sign, some hint of direction or higher pourpose. Other times we create the road by which others find their way. But love is neither a crossroad nor is it a destination. Love is a leap from an immense precipice looming out over oblivion.

litlover
10-07-2005, 04:10 AM
This has some lovely flourishes 'Great looming clouds crept over the sky like guilty things..'. The device of opening with a direct address to the reader sets the tone for this as being polemical and old fashioned; reminded me of the Bronte's with that 'gentle reader' greeting. I also got the impression that the piece is slightly tongue in cheek and while the words are accurate and skillfully placed I doubt if the gentle reader could wade through much more of this.
As always, this is only the opinion of an amateur and well-meant. I look forward to reading you in less florid mood.

LL

Parandol
10-11-2005, 12:06 PM
For an amateur, your insight is quite keen. While I normally do not advocate addressing an audience directly, this piece is actually part of a dialogue that I posted on another chat board. My intention was to practice, as it were, different literary methods while seeking my own aesthetic. The "Rose amid the Cherry Blossoms" is actually the second part of this exercise. The first part is an attempt at intentionally bad writing, the second being a classical invocation to a muse, the third being a novel-type piece. I really appreciate the feedback and regard your input as very helpful.