"She loves me. She loves me not. She hates me. I care not." Picking out the petals And meddling with the rhyme, Johnny found a fitting way In which to pass the time. He mused on things like faithfulness, But that was not for him. He called the girl who lived nextdoor And did her on a whim. Apologies, but I just had to give it a shot...

I've been to Britain twice (once that I remember - I was 2yrs old the first time I went!), and it is very true that accents vary greatly... Same thing in every country! We had an English GAP student staying with us for about 6 months recently. He was from Yorkshire, and his mother has a VERY strong (low[er] class) accent. He himself had had elocution lessons to overcome ending up with this accent himself. He therefore had what I guess you could call a highly cultured accent, but over the course of his stay (he leaves for the UK in a couple of weeks), it has been well noted that he has picked up many local mannerisms, and even some of the accent! What I mentioned about 'yeah' and 'yes' was just a little such thing that was noticed with our Pom. Of course there is great variety, but I think that that little reference might yet be quite applicable for the upper-middle class 'typical' British accent (I'm avoiding 'stereotypical', because that's always over the top and misleading). Perhaps that generational thing mentioned earlier applies with this situation, and it certainly seems to in Australia.

A couple of things: If using MS Word or something similar; set your spell-checker to English: UK and run through all the dialogue by the character, so that your spellings reflect the nationality (I thought of this from what crescent said). ie. programME, coloUr, mUm, etc. etc. and 'yes' rather than 'yeh' dominates too (I think - at least from my experience with brits) ALSO Is your character in a familiar environment (ie. does everyone around him/her have a similar accent)? I presume not, as there would not be much point in conveying accent apart from in initial descriptions and setting (and indeed using the UK spellings, etc - subtleties). If this character is in a foreign environment, you can occasionally mention, or preferrably show over the course of the story, how they pick up the local lilt, or regional phrases, etc. -when you're exposed to, or more correctly immersed in, a culture you tend to unwittingly pick up small mannerisms and characteristics...all subconscious! Just ideas...my >>1c<< worth you could say(not that we have those coins in Australia any more anyway!)

Thanks gambler...I'm 15yrs old and its been a while since I've done any 'creative' writing/poetry...well, maybe not so long compared to some of the others here (6 months-a yr)....but too long for a 15yr old who loves words and wordplays! I'm a little rusty...hopefully this forum'll help bring me back up to scratch!

Nice stuff. I like the abrupt nature of each phrase - you've done it really well. Am I stepping on toes by giving some constructive criticism? I hope not...sorry if I am. You might want to run through it to smooth a few things which just sound a bit out of place. You capture the darkness, and urgency with skill, but in a few spots (like the introduction of a needle-gun - maybe a more ambiguous reference to it might fit in better; and perhaps 'nestled' rather than snuggling?). The questions in there work DAMN well - especially that comfort or curse thing. Finally, you might even want to add the cliche 'no rest for the wicked' after 'keep moving' at the start?!?!?!?! - or would that detract from it? All just my opinions though. :) Great work!

Speech Never again to be so misleading Emotion Never again to hold sway on all thought Touch Never again to be permitted so easily Warmth Never again to be felt from another's hands Pleasure Never again to be received so casually Life Never again to be taken for granted Love Never again to be soured by history

my vote would go straight to aprilrosanina. Awesome piece!

Eternity A moment never again to be A spirit inexplicably free A past so vague and yet explicit in design That this soul's very future it may dare divine Her eyes a piercing 'membrance of the lines From which her nature heralds, and defines Her posture, poise and every living breath As if that breathing shan't e'en halt for death From generations long lost to the ground The woman's bloodline once again is found Her body supple, yet ageing as a shore Battered by the waves of years before Youthful confidence a thing which she exudes While showing, too, a wisdom formed in feuds Experience and virginity combine She the product of when these two align Her head held high, her image etched in time Such lofty presence oft denotes a crime Yet purest innocence is all she knows Her essence, as a glowing aura flows Through time's cold passage, warmth she brings - a light A radiance how dazzling and how bright That moment chiselled in eternity That spirit granted life to a degree Exceeding time, death, and the heav'ns on high Though that same time doth swiftly pass it by

That sounds fairly on the mark, Erlik. I've had heaps to do tonight, so I haven't had a chance to check anything, but it all fits with what I know. btw: what's the difference btwn the medieval and classical latin? it's possum, potere, potui, right? why posse? - I seem to have a dim gut feeling that its right, though?!?!?!

I'm just a yr 10 latin student, but here goes sed = but tempus does mean time (tempus, temporis) scio, scire scivi, scitus = to know I'll try to get a decent translation to you within a few hrs