Gillian N.'s Comments
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Dec 14, 2008 | rating: 10 | comments: 8
Gillian N. Feb 11, 2009, 6:10am EST
Thanks again, Sheila! I'm so glad you liked it enough to come and read it again. Your mother could even read it again from England! -- ah, the beauty of the internet! ;)
Feb 16, 2008 | rating: 10 | comments: 45
Gillian N. Feb 11, 2009, 6:04am EST
I have a big old 14-yr-old male cat, Whistler, who is *VERY* territorial and kind of crabby. He's always been pretty agressive and absolutelyd dominant in the neighborhood, so I knew I could never have two cats because he just wouldn't allow it. But last year I found a 3-week-old kitten abandoned under my window in a thunderstorm, and the best-laid plans...etc. It's been about 8 months now, and they're still not friends. The little one is almost full grown and he always wants to play, which consists of many leaping and "hugging" and tackling maneuvers that the old man doesn't always agree are fun. Half the time they both seem to be into the wrestling, but the other half of the time it ends with yowls, hissing and growls from poor Whistler, who just wanted to nap in the sunny spot. ALONE. Two litter boxes, three bowls of water, two sets of dishes, scratching posts, a little cat bed on every favored chair, and a whole houseful of feathered stringy bouncy springy cat toys -- and they still go at it fifty times a day. I almost want to get another kitten so that the not-so-small-anymore-one would have a willing playmate, but I can't imagine living with THREE cats, and what if the two young ones teamed up on old Whistler? Oh dear, oh dear. Very good list of tips though -- it comforted me that I really am taking as good care of them as possible! :)
Jan 5, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 20
Gillian N. Jan 27, 2009, 9:39pm EST
Geeta, nobody else has mentioned my reference to the historical city, so it's gratifying that you did. I was trying to give a more universal context to illustrate the idea of a future going forward -- hopeful and unknowing -- into certain tragedy, and thought that name could serve as an apt symbol of such a thing. Thanks so much for your careful reading and your comments!
Jan 23, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 52
Gillian N. Jan 26, 2009, 3:37am EST
The images of parts giving way to the whole are so evocative of a lucid state of mind -- you describe these indescribables and grasp the ungraspables with a touch both light and firm -- I appreciate your elusiveness! :)
Jan 12, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 12
Gillian N. Jan 19, 2009, 1:28am EST
Twip? Did I miss something? I've read through it a couple times and I'm feeling a bit lost!
Is this missing "Twip" the key to "Flip" and if that's it, would someone hip slip me a tip? :)
Jan 16, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 22
Gillian N. Jan 19, 2009, 1:19am EST
Sheila, catchy rhythm! And nice swinging slide from lightness to depth, apathy to meaning. I also liked how your last stanza jolted with its departure from the repeated easy sing-song of the previous verses, like a singer suddenly dropping the melody and just speaking to the audience.
Dec 14, 2008 | rating: 10 | comments: 8
Gillian N. Jan 17, 2009, 5:36pm EST
Jana, thanks so much! That's one of the reasons why I love him -- he makes it so much easier for me to remember what it was like to be a kitten. :)
Dec 14, 2008 | rating: 10 | comments: 8
Gillian N. Jan 17, 2009, 5:21pm EST
Thank you Sheila AND your mother! My kitten IS lovely and fun, except when he's attacking my old geezer 14-year-old cat every five minutes while the poor old thing is just trying to sleep in the sun... ;)
Jan 10, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 40
Gillian N. Jan 17, 2009, 4:45pm EST
"...And how love brings to life / A heart of stone." Stirring lines there, and the alliteration in the first sets off the whisper and hiss of the second. Makes me think how smaller events echo that mythic question of sacrifice, and I'm glad it doesn't often take such horrific choices to wake us from our apathy. Powerful images, Mike! I missed your poem at first, then my second round of flu backed up my mailbox this week -- glad I finally got here!
Jan 5, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 20
Gillian N. Jan 17, 2009, 4:20pm EST
Mike, Sheila, Sujata, and Jana -- thanks so much for reading and commenting! Now I just have to make sure I justify myself by going to those edges and leaping, even if it's just a short ways down at first, and only over matchsticks...
Dec 9, 2008 | rating: 10 | comments: 14
Gillian N. Jan 16, 2009, 3:34pm EST
Thanks, Jana for your careful reading -- it's so nice to get feedback about the content, especially about that last verse, which gave me so much trouble!

And thanks again, Michelle, for the congratulations! :)
Jan 5, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 20
Gillian N. Jan 12, 2009, 7:17am EST
René, thanks for your detailed comment! I'm so glad you enjoyed my lines -- we definitely have a mutual admiresolution society this week!
Jan 4, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 63
Gillian N. Jan 11, 2009, 10:00pm EST
Congratulations René! I really loved what I read between your lines -- your subtle but pointed implication. The lines "without STANDING" -- that last so rightly in all caps -- "without blinking", and the comparison to the sun -- all those mean something so intrinsic to the feeling of true resolution, and its constancy. No struggle for the sun to decide whether to rise or set, it just does, it just IS, and therefore includes the shade in its orbit, neither good nor bad, just shade. I'm being too wordy about this, I know, contrary to your clear simplicity, but I just wanted to say that for me you captured something so true about the way you feel when you really have resolved and know there's no question of following through. Fantastic! -- another one I'm bookmarking for when I need a jolt.
Jan 5, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 20
Gillian N. Jan 11, 2009, 9:14pm EST
Wade, Lynn and Michelle, your comments are very much appreciated! It's such a nice surprise to find all your comments after a week of quiet, figuring nobody would ever see the poem!

Tracey, thanks again for choosing my New Year's effort -- hopefully it's an auspicious sign regarding my resolve for the months ahead!
Jan 5, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 20
Gillian N. Jan 11, 2009, 9:06pm EST
Em, what a wonderful response you've given -- you really heard what I was saying! I definitely knew you could relate to the urgency and reluctance engendered by this time of year... Thanks so much for your careful reading -- I love to get such unambiguous confirmation that I really did articulate my sentiments, and better yet, that I'm not alone in feeling the way I do -- what other reason is there to write, really?
Jan 5, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 20
Gillian N. Jan 11, 2009, 9:00pm EST
Tracey, thanks very much, especially for saying which lines you liked best!
Jan 11, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 15
Gillian N. Jan 11, 2009, 8:57pm EST
Wow, Tracey -- thanks so much! :) And congratulations to René, Mike, and Sheila! As I said in the comments, I really liked your poems!
Sep 27, 2008 | rating: 10 | comments: 24
Gillian N. Jan 10, 2009, 9:42pm EST
Wow, that's gorgeous, Michelle! I just read your comment and came to see what you write, and I love the form of this poem. I've never heard of the Clogyrnach til now -- the rhythms of it are very well-suited to your stormy subject! The phrases personifying the voice of the wind and rain are great, I especially like "took first the roof, then yelled for more".
Dec 9, 2008 | rating: 10 | comments: 14
Gillian N. Jan 10, 2009, 9:30pm EST
Wow, thanks, Michelle! Surprised to see a comment on this one from a few weeks ago instead of this week's -- very nice of you! :)
Jan 7, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 32
Gillian N. Jan 9, 2009, 9:03pm EST
I'm not sure I understand it, but can definitely see how much fun you have playing with words! ..."oops-looming", "bough-burough-byte"... wow, I'm dizzy!
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Gillian N.
Pacific NW
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