Segment of "Song of a Sixpence Sparrow"

[Thanatos]

Song of the Sixpence Sparrow

1821-1822:
The Early Years


1 Hear them, they scream. So loud.
Voices, voices, voices. Forever echoing in his mind. Where do they come from? Can he ever make them go? Oh, the voices. Screaming until he he swears to God he's gone insane. Is there an end to this? Is there?
He slumps forward, his mind becoming too inebriated from the drink and laudanum to fight it anymore. He has given up.
He is a ruin, of the great man and poet he had once been. But that is gone, lost in the haze of wine, opiates, and depression.
He'd had fame enough to get him numerous dinner invitations a day. And plenty of people to pose as freinds, cheering him on and leeching off his good fortune. But he knew they'd be gone when the tide turned.
He'd had fortune: he'd thrown lavish parties, with glamourous ladies and wealthy lords, and wine flowingto no end. And it attracted more fairweather friends.
He'd had it all, and now, somehow it was gone, all of it. It was too late to get it back. He'd gone too far.
He saw the world in shades of grey, the colours and joy washed out. He only longed to turn his face from the world and cry his tears of utter dispair, praying that it would end.

2 "John! Over here! The reviews are in on your book of madrigals and assorted poems."
A rather short, pathetic little man was jumping up and down, his face florid with excitement. James Norwood had always been rather exciteable.
The poet, one on the same standing as Byron, Keats and Shelley, turned his thin, starkly handsome face to his friend. Possibly the only real friend he had.
John Kiernan Locksley, a man of surprisingly few words, was a frustatingly unreachable man. He kept to himself and showed little emotion, though occasionally allowing a slight, bitter smile. Other than that he seemed cold, distant--in another world for all intent and purposes.
But the people loved his works, constantly clamouring for more and memeorizing them. They even quoted his verses. Women sent him letters daily, begging his attendance at tea, most going unanswered. He thought them to be false-hearted. This did not deterr his adoring readers. They only continued with with more determination...

Let me know how you liked this portion of "Song of a Sixpence Sparrow".

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Thanatos//
"..and therefor never send to know for whom the BELL tolls; it tolls for THEE."

[joshua_y]

very provocative....give me more...

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Joshua

[bajin]

BY WHAT STANDARD CAN THIS **** BE CONSIDERED SCOTTISH POETRY?

[Thanatos]

bajin, you're really startin' to rub me the WRONG way
There's more to the book. Believe me, he ends up in Scotland after awhile into the book, halfway through, I'd guess. But it's about a poet, man, so quit yer kvetchin'.

So you liked it, Josh. As you wish. Here goes:

...Locksley ignored Norwood's continued beckoning and turned his face away, biting his lip hard to keep from smiling. He must not show emotion.
Oh, but people noticed his disattachment. He must fool them and try to seem vivacious and flourishing--all the opposite of his true feelings. Of course, he couldn't allow the truth--the pain and weariness--to be seen. To do so would be allowing the weakness a hold on him and his soul. Emotion was weak, ambivalence and coldness, power. Power, he thought. By his stoicism he would triumph over his mortal weaknesses.
Norwood came up beside him, out of breath, waving a sheet from the newspaper--obviously the reviews. "Sir, you're an item!" he exclaimed.
His eyes half-closed, Locksley turned an oblique stare on the flushed man. "Aye?" was all that he said.
James nodded, trying not to swallow noticeably. He had nearly grown used to his childhood companion's rapidly fluctuating moods. But somethings even he could barely withstand, such as one of John's basilisk stares. "The editor of the 'Times' said it was a work equal to any by Byron. And it surpassed Shelley's latest."
Locksley only stared at him, occasionally blinking.
"Aren't you happy, then?"
He blinked again. Then he gave a fixed smile, and said in a flat voice, "Yes. Charmed. Thrilled."
James' eyes widened, sudden fear and worry coming over him; he backed away, his mouth working silently. The man was certainly possessed.



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Thanatos//
"..and therefor never send to know for whom the BELL tolls; it tolls for THEE."

[eve1102]

Bajin,
the poetry is very good if you take the time to really read it and understand it. be careful laddie..that comment was pretty rude..

Thana,
I liked that allot got any more of it..

Evie
Happy girl

[This message has been edited by eve1102 (edited 18 March 2000).]

[pudding450]

Thanatos, I like this.

pudding

[Thanatos]

Gee, thanks. Go to my site at: http://www.geocities.com/thanatosoctos/index.html
There's even a bio of John Locksley.


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Thanatos//
"..and therefor never send to know for whom the BELL tolls; it tolls for THEE."