The Old Haunt

My favourite place is this. It was the main reason for joining the original L Factor - what, 7-8 years ago (I feel old) - along with the RP section, before I got into debates. Of course, it was a certain few people whose work I loved that helped me settle into the area and begin writing myself, and for that they have my eternal gratitude. Also, this was also the first place I got into Moderating, then the debates section, before I requested to Mr B to be made an admin to take over the lack of admin at the time (they have other commitments and issues that I did not, at the time).

I have definitely missed it.

And just as this forum is a reborn of L-Factor, so too is this thread a reborn of my creative mind. Just recently I picked up my pen (yes, I actually used a pen for a change) and wrong something new. I'm not sure what to think of it, but over the last couple of months I've been yearning to get back into writing creatively. I also have plans for some longer literary prose, and I've been somewhat engrossed in RMVK (an RPG making toolkit) to develop a new RPG (stuck writing code for it atm, so progress on gameplay is non-extistant). I may write up its story and ideas to go with in here also, for comments should they find there way here.

So...


As I sit, idling by the window, staring into the sky
I do wonder what is changing in the world.
Birds still fly by without a care,
And the sun still rises without hesitation.

Yet something always seems amiss.

The clouds are still fleeting by
Waiting to deposit their contents somewhere.
And the schools still ring with the laughter and cries
Of the children who are to be our future.

Yet the future doesn't seem right.

Why is it that I have doubts
About what the future holds?
And why is it that I have doubts
As to how this all will change?

Will the bird's calls change their tune,
or will the sun refuse to wake?
Will the clouds no longer linger,
or will the children no longer laugh?

No, this will always go on, as it is a part of life.

But the state of the world and the effects on Nature,
The decisions made by those of power.
The helpless and the defenseless,
And the poor and the unfortunate;
Are these also to be a part of life as well?

---

Whilst life does go on, and some things do change, you never really seem to see it. It's almost as though, nothing has actually changed, we just have a different guy sitting in the leading role, and the same children on the TV screens who have no food or education. These kids alone have been appearing on the screens for charities for years, and there still seems to be an issue with it. It does make me wonder at time, whether there really will be a change for the good, or if all of this will just be part of life as we know it. At the moment, there's little I can do about it to help and in reality one has to look after themselves. 50p or 50c a day, it doesn't sound a lot but when you have little income or money yourself, it keeps you going just that little longer. Especially with the current economic climate, it's unfortunate that we live in a world where it's all about being a little more selfish. But I don't believe that to be the problem of the people themselves (not so much anyway), but rather the way in which it is handled by those with the power to sort it out. Sure, I understand it may not be easy, but there has to be ways to deal with things better than they have been.

Anyway, I rant on. Simply put, I dislike the apparent lack of assistance people get in this world, and I may be somewhat of a hypocrit for saying it and that I dislike also.

Let's finish up with what I wrote on paper.
---

Sitting upon the roadside bench,
Listning as young starlings chrip amonst the crows.
I watch as the morning rises.
The people in their cars drive to work,
The milkman delivers fresh milk to 42.
The child in the window calls out...

Looking up at the clouds above,
The wind blows gently through the budding trees.
I wonder as the afternoon unfolds.
The sounds of children in the playground,
The scent of flowers in their bloom.
The young girl in the window calls out...

Watching as the people return home,
The sun begins to se behind the buildings.
I see the evening play out.
Owners walking their dogs,
Families gathering at the dinner table.
The woman in the window calls out...

Checking the broken clock by the park,
The streetlights begin to flicker to life.
I realise the time has passed.
The streets are quiet and empty,
The birds no longer sing.
The old woman in the window calls out...

... It's time.

---

All contents are the work of myself (Marc Cooper aka Logan Forrests), and as such are protected under relevant copyright laws. Please do not steal this work and claim it as your own. If you wish to use my work, please contact me via PM or email (Logan_Forrests@hotmail.com)

What you wrote is pretty deep, something i ve always had in my mind but i was never creative enough to put it down in writing, really amazing.
10 outa 10.

Logan wrote:

50p or 50c a day, it doesn't sound a lot but when you have little income or money yourself, it keeps you going just that little longer. Especially with the current economic climate, it's unfortunate that we live in a world where it's all about being a little more selfish. But I don't believe that to be the problem of the people themselves (not so much anyway), but rather the way in which it is handled by those with the power to sort it out. Sure, I understand it may not be easy, but there has to be ways to deal with things better than they have been.

I just wonder, those people out there, with all sorts of cars, 8000 square feet mansions etc, what do they do to help the world?
People might ask what am i doing to help it, well, nothing really, the very same reason you stated above, what i get is barely enough to keep me going, hoping tomorrow might bring a change, we really do need a change.
Yea, i know, why cant i bring the change? well because if i try, there would be a million guy out there in my way, telling me its fine the way it is.
We all know it isn't.

Donnymaniac wrote:

I just wonder, those people out there, with all sorts of cars, 8000 square feet mansions etc, what do they do to help the world?

They help the world reach its end by driving around in humvees and similar such big ego vehicles (although secretly we all want one of those).

Donnymaniac wrote:

People might ask what am i doing to help it, well, nothing really, the very same reason you stated above, what i get is barely enough to keep me going, hoping tomorrow might bring a change, we really do need a change.
Yea, i know, why cant i bring the change? well because if i try, there would be a million guy out there in my way, telling me its fine the way it is.
We all know it isn't.

I do often get that feeling that even a small thing would be the start of something. But what puts me off even donating simple amounts of money is that I don't quite trust charities. Trusting people you don't know is not something I do well.

All you have to do is look at what that money gets spent on. That, and it's the way charity groups try to get other people to donate, by showing us miserable kids in the middle of desert junkyards trying to find scraps of water and food. Some charities do show us the good things that encourage us to donate, rather than feel sorry and guilty. Sadly, most of those are animal charities. Human charities seem to adopt this "Look at this little girl, feel sorry for her and donate us money." Perhaps that's a little too cynical, but that's me.

The other thing, is that a lot of the money you donate doesn't go towards building new shelters or providing food. How else do they fly out a crew of TV people, to film these poor buggers being miserable or dying, to bring the footage home to make us donate (read as 'feel guilty'). It's the same with those PETA videos I'm sure we've all seen. "Oh look, here's a dog being skinned alive. And here's a cat being kicked to an inch of its life. Please, give us money to stop this." Personally, I'd do the stopping first, then ask for money to help save more animals, rather than feel bad that some dog we've never even seen is being skinned and we should pay to stop it (which, to say these things have been going on for years, doesn't seem to be happening anyway).

Unfortunately, it looks to me like pressure groups like these who advertise (in good or bad ways) to get others to fund them don't really get that much attention or the money they actually need. In fact, some charities end up breaking, simply because there's too many charities, and money doesn't just fall into people's laps to donate away.

I aim to make my life comfortable first. It may seem selfish, but I'm a firm believer that a person with life issues isn't going to help someone else (or 1000 other people) feel better about their lives or help them change it. After that, I'll go with the sponsor route. Sponsoring is something I prefer to donating. You get to be a part of the event, rather than just posting money to some account you can't see the results of. The other side of it is that I am in control of the money, and I can trust myself with that (somewhat anyway).

I do like to rant on. For now, I'll just leave it at that, with an old piece of mine which I think is relevant to this.

----

Pause for Thought

A frightened soul hangs on the street corner
Searching for that missing something.
Something we have that they don't,
That they want, but are too scared to ask for.

Why do we not help them?
Instead we turn a blind, leave them to their own.
Ignore their very presence as if they are just
Another common cold waiting to get us.

A man sat in the doorstep of some old shop
With an empty cup, old and used, like him.
The look in his eye is like his cup,
It needs filling with warmth, with happiness.

Yet we walk past and pretend to see nothing,
As if this is a one off that we can just forget.
But do you forget, when you visit another shop?
That poor man might be helped.

A little child in the arms of his dying mother's arms.
Another curse laid upon them waiting to devour them.
Disease, famine and death lingers in the air around
Destroying all that they once tried for.

Again we switch off, leave them to it,
Let them try to rebuild an already broken life?
You would rather stuff your faces with money
Than help those who truely need it.

What are we coming to? A civilisation of the uncaring,
A world where only the rich can survive?
Why not try to lift them up from their deathbeds,
And help them on their way to happiness.

Let them have a second chance at the life they were given,
And give them something that they can treasure
Other than a memory of their being, of their past life,
Or of the life that they dream of, the life you have.

---

As a last thing, I may put down a lot of my thoughts about what I'm actually writing. Similarly, if anyone else wants to provide their views and interpretations or thoughts about my work, please feel free to comment with such. Sometimes, even I don't know what my work is actually reflecting or what it means. It would be nice to know.

Two posts in one thread... in one day... that's not a common thing for me.

Anyway, I've had a random thought, and it requires the help of anyone willing. Basically, I want you guys to download the collection of files below, read them, and pick out the best ones. If you find you like a lot of them, I want you to then pick out 10 best and order them from best of the best to just the best (most favourite to least favourite of those 10 choices). As a final thing (completely optional) I would like to know why you chose those ones, or at least the top few choices if you don't want to go through all of them. The reason being, I would like to put together the 10 overall best pieces and put them into one single book. Then, I'll see if I can put them out somewhere and get them some recognition in the wider public.

You'll also get special thanks, if you want a good reason to do this... /end bribing here.

So, here's the file. It is a .zip file using Windows own zipping thing. If you need a different version I can upload as necessary.

Sadly, it uses Megaupload, simply because it was the first choice of the list. You can use this link to download them: DOWNLOAD LINK

The file is about 93kb (very small, take about 2 seconds to download on a good connection). It contains 50 items as of today. Some are short, some are long.

Most of the files are saved in a rich text format. 2 of them are in standard .txt files (the two in the first post of this thread) as they were just copied and pasted to be saved with the rest. I've also included a copyright notice with this folder.

So, if you have the time to read through them, it would be greatly appreciated. Additional feedback, whilst optional, will be appreciated even more.