A furry poem :3

[blue-vulpine]

Ok, I'm very new to poetry, I've only ever written 2 in my life, including the one I'm about to share with you, but seeing as how I wrote it for furs like you, and me. I thought it would be cool to share it :3

This is dedicated to every fur out there, as well as people who don't know who, or what they are.

The Origin of My Kind

There once was a time, many years ago
When the oceans were new, and the skies did glow
Where animals and men, lived as one
But no longer the case, what's done is done
What ever happened, you may just ask
Please allow me, to take on the task
Of telling the tale, to the young and the old,
For this is a story, that was never told
For it was forgotten so long ago
When the oceans were tired, and the skies ceased to glow.

In the beginning, all was right
The sun was shining, the stars were bright
The Animals, they talked to us back then,
We called them our allies, they called us their friend
We worked together, to build our home
A place where no one would be alone
However, not everyone agreed with the world's directive
Some wanted power and glory, the rest of us just wanted to live
Despite the best efforts of the animals, We started a war
It was a cold autumn that year, it could chill to the core
They begged us to stop, they pleaded and cried
We didn't listen, and many had died
To the forest they retreated, not looking back
Every animal, lead by a single wolf pack
When they emerged, the sun was hot, the grass was green
They had emerged to a terrible scene
Every man slain, by the hands of others
Not even the children were spared, or the mothers
The animals bowed their heads, in respect for the dead,
“Even if they were ignorant, they were still our friends,”
The alpha male spoke, a tear in his eye
Then he let out a howl, that echoed in the sky
All the animals cried with terrible sorrow,
As their tears mixed with the blood, and sunk below.
To the core of the planet, where life begins anew,
The life of Animals, plants and humans too.
Now some find this part hard to believe
But it makes the most sense, to someone like me.
That the tears of the animals, runs in our blood,
Some like a puddle, others like a flood
Maybe thats why some of us feel the way we do
There could be a wolf spirit, inside of you.

A pact was made, on that day
That wolves would be the ones to stay
To help the humans, and show them compassion
To sit at their side, in a proud fashion.
But like all other animals, they refuse to speak,
For the shame we had caused, when our ugliness peaked
Perhaps one day, they will forgive
But until that day, we will just have to live

If you are one of the few who bears the soul of an animal, be proud
For who you were, who you are and who your going to be

Never be ashamed of who you are, or what's inside.
-TJ

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed reading it, as much as I did writing it :3
If you would like to leave tips, or suggestions, I urge you to do so, or if you'd like to  share a furry oriented poem that you've written, I would love to hear it :3

[Lady Serpent]

Very neat story, mate.  The creativity behind it is apparent and the story is quite unique; it was certainly an enjoyable read.

I think you have some good rhyming words going for you, but one thing that might benifit from some jiggling is the syllable count.  You've got good rhyming words, but the flow of each line doesn't always jive.  I'll show you what I'd do to the first couple lines, and you can let me know if you understand where I'm coming from.  Reading it out loud might help.

There once was a time, many years ago
When the oceans were new, and the skies did glow
Where animals and men, lived as one
But no longer the case, what's done is done
What ever happened, you may just ask
Please allow me, to take on the task
Of telling the tale, to the young and the old,
For this is a story, that was never told
For it was forgotten so long ago
When the oceans were tired, and the skies ceased to glow.

I would jiggle this a bit, just a bit, to something more like:


There once was a time, some years ago
When the oceans were new, and the skies, they did glow
Where creatures and men lived together as one
But no longer the case, what was done is done
What ever happened, you may want to ask
Please allow me, to take on the task
Of telling the tale, to the young and the old,
For this is a story, that was never told
For it was forgotten so long ago
When the oceans were tired, and the skies ceased to glow.[/b]

In this, sometimes it's the reader's own flow that makes it work.  When reading yours out loud, sometimes there were parts that sounded awkward simply because the flow wasn't there, matching syllables from line to line.  In my version above, it might not work perfectly either, but let me know if it flows for you when you read it out loud.

It's almost like this:  (Try reading it out loud)

When dogs run amok, among valley and dale,
The children of men raise their flags and set sail.

See how it flows?  (I hope it does for you.)  It's that kind of syllable matching that tends to make poetry easier to read.  If it were more like:

When dogs run amok, among valley and dale,
Children raise flags and set sail.

..then it simply doesn't have the same kind of effect.  The meaning is still the same, but because the syllables don't have some kind of matching flow, it sounds somewhat awkward.  I hope this example helps a bit in explaining what I mean.

Sometimes, too, the flow is there, but the reader simply doesn't catch the same flow as the author intended.  This can be a matter of interpretation, but more often than not, things can be reworked just slightly so that most readers WILL catch the right flow.

Hope that helps.  Thanks for sharing the poem; it was quite interesting to read.

Keep it up;
-Lady Serpent

[blue-vulpine]

Fantastic!
I was really impressed with your reply Sephy, it was very informative. I will most definitely try to keep this in mind when writing in the future :3

Thanks for the comments, and help
-TJ

[Lady Serpent]

Ah, no worries, mate.  I saw this up at the top of the list, and thought 'Ah, new poetry!'  Quite a delayed response, there! 

It was an enjoyable one to read.  I do hope you continue with writing, certainly.

[blue-vulpine]

Thank you, and I will certainly try :3

[blindsight]

I have to tell you, that resonates so much with a story I'm working on, that I could feel the plotline shifting slightly in my head.  I don't know where that will lead, but then plots are complex beasties anyway, and never fixed until the words are on the page.

It also brings up an interesting question.  "One of the few who bears the soul of an animal"--how many furrys see themselves like that, and how many simply see an interesting, fascinating character within them, perhaps part of their self-identity?  I ask this because I've been talking with a therian recently (who does believe he carries the soul of an animal), but I had assumed that most furrys didn't.

[blue-vulpine]

I have to tell you, that resonates so much with a story I'm working on, that I could feel the plotline shifting slightly in my head.  I don't know where that will lead, but then plots are complex beasties anyway, and never fixed until the words are on the page.

It also brings up an interesting question.  "One of the few who bears the soul of an animal"--how many furrys see themselves like that, and how many simply see an interesting, fascinating character within them, perhaps part of their self-identity?  I ask this because I've been talking with a therian recently (who does believe he carries the soul of an animal), but I had assumed that most furrys didn't.

You know, that is a very interesting question, and I would have to agree with your assumption as I was under the very same impression with furries. I am not a therian, but I do believe that some people have a special connection with animals on a slightly elevated level. Not on anything like a spirtual level mind you, but animals can sense things about people.

I didn't really put very much thought into the poem as it just came out on paper, and I guess I used the idea of the souls of animals embodied into the flesh of man to represent the entire furry culture or fandom. The way I see it, furries are conncected to animals in one way or another. Some people just think they are cute, and use them to personify themselves as a different being, where as therians believe that they bear the soul of an animal. With any furry, I think that there are many connections on many levels that they feel they share with animals, and especially with the animal they have chosen for a fursona.

The thing about the furry culture, is that it means many different things to many different people, so it can be kind of hard to sum it all up. To me its all about what one gains from their faith. If it makes one happy in life to believe that one bears the soul of an animal, or to think that having a fursona helps one find their true self, then thats great because one should do or believe in what makes them happy. I'm not saying that if killing makes one happy, then one should go out and do it because they deserve to be happy, but having a fursona won't hurt anyone so...

Wow, that turned into quite a mouthful didn't it? Hehe ^^;

I guess I wrote it to show furries that what ever they believe, to be proud of it.
The culture has had such an impact in my life and I am proud to call myself a furry. To me it means to be truthful to others and yourself, to stand up for your beliefs and for what you think is right, to live everyday as if it is your last, and to be proud of who you are.

Thank you for commenting, and I would love to hear more about your story. When you post it or publish it, let me know, as I would love to read it, or pick it up :3

-TJ

[blindsight]

First of all, thank you for your reply.  I apologize for taking so long to respond, I simply find much of my time now taken up with plotting the work I mentioned.  I also wanted to give a well-considered reply.

In the end, I can only speak from my own experience in the area of furriness; I can observe what others do or say but rarely can get clear insight into the deep reasons behind it.  For myself, the characters I create obviously come from something deeply meaningful within me, some part of my very core identity, as the very act of writing and thinking about these characters changes m in deep ways (some welcome, others initially disturbing.  Yes, I do have my own well-developed philosophy that I can lay out in detail if there is interest, but I understand it may not apply to everyone.

In order to define what “having the soul of an animal” implies, it is important to define what a soul is.  I personally do not subscribe to the concept of a non-physical soul--to me it simply means my core emotional and mental identity.  So I would not say anyone truly has the soul of an animal; perhaps parts of their soul longs to be an animal (weres), or are spiritually or ritualistically linked to an animal (therians).  Certainly my initial “furry” experience of three decades ago was more akin to longing to be the animal, and reading the various literature on the were subculture I can see I followed many of their concepts independently at the time.  The legacy for me has been vast, including an animal identity figure/character that fits me like a second skin and can be pulled on with a thought, but which I rarely use except as a bridge to new experiences these days (that in itself requires a long explanation).

But my current furry experience is firmly rooted in the more typical creative process, based on a special character or vision, closely linked to something in my past that has strongly influenced my life and sense of self-identity.  I bring these into the light, make them come alive, and feel myself change as the characters take on an independent existence and begin to pull parts of myself in new directions.  I do not long to be them, instead I enjoy seeing them come to life, experiencing the tapestry of their lives as it weaves itself in my head, often surprising me with the unexpected plot twists and events.  (Today alone I experienced no less than three such surprises as unexpected and novel scenes appeared within a gap in the plot, each a delight in itself, leaving me glorying in the sheer adaptability of the characters and the plot.  I invested much time when creating the characters for this story in making them strong but flexible, and am reaping the rewards now).

So no, I cannot say I have the soul of an animal.  But I do have animals deep within my soul, and the experience of raising one or two of them into an independent reality is infinitely rewarding.  I am sure I have many more left to discover.

As for the story I am working on, it is long and complex, and I often worry about its accessibility to others, for it contains strong emotional content (not really dark, but perhaps uncomfortably intense to some, for emotional bonding, loss, and perseverance in the face of ingratitude are all parts of the core plot), some science-fiction elements (especially in the last section), and shows a tendency to wander off into “adult” areas unless carefully constrained.  This is probably true of most furry literature, however some important conceptual and plot elements in this work can only be properly explained by explicit item-by-item mapping of stimulus and response, and I do not yet know how to handle these—perhaps there will be alternate versions of these sections.  But in the end the story is immensely enjoyable to create, and we will see where it ends up. 

[Xx.Lone.Wolf.xX]

WOW that was really great. you should write more, and more ofter

[Drewdle]

I want you to know, TJ, how fantastic it was to come home from what was probably the shittiest day at work in recent memory and be reminded of what matters most in my life by this poem. Well done. Thats exactly what poetry is supposed to do.

[Wolfgang]

This was fantastic; although, Lady Serpent was right there was some off "beats". I thoroughly enjoyed it, as well as touched by the story it told. I think you should continue with this at least as a fun thing to do when you are bored.

[blue-vulpine]

Thank you everyone for the comments. It really makes me happy to see you all enjoyed it. :3 *feels all warm and fuzzy on the inside*

-TJ