So I want to understand well my Capricorn and avoid to be a weirdo or freak her up.
So after a lot of years I retook contact with her because I wanted to apologize with her because I'm the past for lies from others, she ended getting mad at me for something I didn't have nothing to do and would take my distance for very long.
So we retook contact and was fine and good but something I have notice is that when chatting sometimes she won't answer more questions or keep the conversation going, so I would let her days to do her stuff and all that.
I know many would say but she is just disrespecting you and doesn't care , but I know her besides hating social medias and all that, she hasn't been doing great as well since her cat die some weeks ago, even thought it was a lot of years without contact I decided to help a little even thought she was surprised and say that she would repay me as soon as possible, I say it was allright that she would have done the same if I would be on difficulty.
Last week she have a fall down and posted some stuff about her cat, so we chatted a bit and she told me about the cats she has lost and even thought many hate sensibility , I somehow find this cute and give me more understanding of her.
Eventually I made an acrostic poem of her cat name with each letter, I don't know if it was cringe or bad , or that she simply read it and push the difficulties she got on the week.
The thing is that I didn't got an answer and I understand that she has been dealing with a lot, week has been busy for both of us.
But I don't know I'm thinking to write her seeing that tomorrow is Sunday and everybody got free but I don't want to be annoying or feel clingy to her.
Sooo capricorns, what should I do? What you people think is going on?
She hasn't answer many times in the past but I don't take it personally and let her be, she doesn't really write me first before except a few times with a greeting with a lot of exclamations marks hahaha.
I just don't want for her to lose interest, neither to feel alone and misunderstood in those difficult times.
She has told me that she doesn't feel understood about the situation of her cat with her family and she wrote me about it.
Sometimes in afraid to say the wrong thing because I feel like walking in a glass bridge that could break at anytime.

(Just FYI, these aren't in any particular order, and some songs might have been missed! Fancams for the 6PM showing will be in a comment under this post. Day 1 fancams are here.)
>> 5/18 2PM Show <<

• Resolutions

Prompt: “Will you sing until you’re 80?”
Jinki: “No, I will sing until the very end.”
Here

• Dance Challenge - Taeyeon’s "To X"

https://twitter.com/dubbabx2/status/1791732673964294574?s=46&t=y73hUBOW1FMaLyGiUET08g (learning & challenge)
https://twitter.com/justrolyn/status/1791719296508604634?s=46&t=y73hUBOW1FMaLyGiUET08g (same as above w/ screen visible)
https://twitter.com/i_became_wintestatus/1791720119879761921?s=46&t=y73hUBOW1FMaLyGiUET08g (same as above, different angle)

• You Sure You Don’t Exercise?

https://twitter.com/flamer_oflove/status/1791717081584632178?s=46&t=y73hUBOW1FMaLyGiUET08g
https://twitter.com/shinyview/status/1791717826157215762?s=46&t=y73hUBOW1FMaLyGiUET08g

• Caramel

https://twitter.com/jinkizzang2ya/status/1791727846890881508?s=46&t=y73hUBOW1FMaLyGiUET08g (entire song)
https://twitter.com/shinyview/status/1791709604197396970?s=46&t=y73hUBOW1FMaLyGiUET08g (mouth trumpet part)
https://twitter.com/loleeta718/status/1791708838229598234?s=46&t=y73hUBOW1FMaLyGiUET08g (starts with Shawols doing Giriboy's rap)
https://twitter.com/o_oo_ooo_oo/status/1791708481835467262?s=46&t=y73hUBOW1FMaLyGiUET08g (mouth trumpet part)

• MTWThFSSu (New Song & unofficial title)

https://twitter.com/__i2i4/status/1791728980770382225?s=46&t=y73hUBOW1FMaLyGiUET08g
https://twitter.com/lettet1119/status/1791723234762899960?s=46&t=y73hUBOW1FMaLyGiUET08g

• On The Way

https://twitter.com/neverleaveu_u/status/1791748595164799016?s=46&t=y73hUBOW1FMaLyGiUET08g
https://twitter.com/wang_bbbang/status/1791739970962809132?s=46&t=y73hUBOW1FMaLyGiUET08g

• In Your Eyes (+ Shawols singing like angels)

https://twitter.com/lettet1119/status/1791714294939505124?s=46&t=y73hUBOW1FMaLyGiUET08g
https://twitter.com/geminids_night/status/1791728989775810639?s=46&t=y73hUBOW1FMaLyGiUET08g

• Cover of Bibi’s "Bam Yang Gang"

https://twitter.com/__i2i4/status/1791718821893476771?s=46&t=y73hUBOW1FMaLyGiUET08g
https://twitter.com/shinyview/status/1791710403384230148?s=46&t=y73hUBOW1FMaLyGiUET08g

• O (Circle)

https://twitter.com/shinyview/status/1791698357922226337?s=46&t=y73hUBOW1FMaLyGiUET08g
https://x.com/sooponew/status/1791738749891842197?

• Being Generally Cute

https://twitter.com/gpensl_so_sweet/status/1791719282109513748?s=46&t=y73hUBOW1FMaLyGiUET08g

• DICE

https://twitter.com/violisanz/status/1791735683473883223?s=46&t=y73hUBOW1FMaLyGiUET08g
https://twitter.com/o_newnyung/status/1791739222627635471?s=46&t=y73hUBOW1FMaLyGiUET08g
https://twitter.com/jinkizzang2ya/status/1791745670703177771?s=46&t=y73hUBOW1FMaLyGiUET08g

• Fan Event (Fans wrote acrostic poems with his name)

https://twitter.com/__i2i4/status/1791747761211117862

Week 1: Introduction to Poetry and Sonnets
Day 1: Overview of Poetry Styles - Activity: Icebreaker - Introduce yourself through a poetic name acrostic. - Lecture: Brief history of poetry, introduction to various styles. - Discussion: What draws you to poetry? Share your favorite poems.
Day 2: Understanding Sonnets - Activity: Analyze a classic sonnet together. - Lecture: Explanation of sonnet structure (Shakespearean and Petrarchan). - Discussion: Share initial impressions and feelings about sonnets.
Day 3: Writing Exercise - Crafting a Sonnet - Activity: Break down sonnet structure with examples. - Assignment: Write a sonnet exploring a personal experience or emotion. - Vocabulary Words: Quatrain, Couplet, Volta.
Day 4: Peer Review and Feedback - Activity: Peer review workshop for sonnets. - Lecture: Discuss common challenges and strategies in sonnet writing. - Discussion: Share insights gained from reviewing peers' work.
Day 5: Recap and Reflection - Activity: Reflect on the week's lessons and exercises. - Lecture: Overview of upcoming weeks. - Assignment: Write a short reflection on what you've learned about poetry and sonnets.
Study Guide Questions for Week 1: 1. What is the basic structure of a sonnet? 2. Compare and contrast Shakespearean and Petrarchan sonnets. 3. How does the volta contribute to the meaning of a sonnet? 4. Discuss the role of rhyme and meter in sonnets. 5. Explore your personal connection to poetry. What emotions or themes resonate with you?
Quiz: A short quiz assessing understanding of sonnet structure, key terms, and the historical context of poetry.
Week 2: Embracing Haiku and Villanelle
Day 1: Understanding Haiku - Activity: Analyze classic haikus. - Lecture: Explain the traditional structure and themes of haikus. - Discussion: Share thoughts on the simplicity and depth of haikus.
Day 2: Crafting Haikus - Activity: Write haikus individually. - Lecture: Discuss the significance of nature in haikus. - Discussion: Share and discuss individual haikus.
Day 3: Unraveling the Villanelle - Activity: Analyze a famous villanelle. - Lecture: Explore the structure and repetition in villanelles. - Discussion: Discuss the impact of repeated lines on the overall theme.
Day 4: Writing Exercise - Composing a Villanelle - Activity: Break down the process of crafting a villanelle. - Assignment: Write a villanelle on the theme of memory or loss. - Vocabulary Words: Tercet, Refrain, Envoi.
Day 5: Peer Review and Feedback - Activity: Peer review workshop for villanelles. - Lecture: Discuss the challenges and beauty of crafting repetitive forms. - Discussion: Share insights gained from reviewing peers' villanelles.
Study Guide Questions for Week 2: 1. What defines a haiku? Discuss its structure and thematic elements. 2. Explore the cultural significance of nature in haikus. 3. What is the structure of a villanelle, and how does repetition contribute to its impact? 4. Discuss the emotions evoked by repeated lines in a villanelle. 5. Reflect on the process of crafting a villanelle. What challenges did you face?
Quiz: Assessment on the understanding of haikus, villanelles, and the effective use of repetition in poetry.

1. Haiku for Hanukkah:
   
   • Craft a series of haikus capturing the essence of Hanukkah, focusing on the symbolism of light, the menorah, and the joy of shared traditions.
2. Sonnet of Diwali Delights:
   
   • Write a sonnet that explores the colors, lights, and festivities of Diwali, incorporating themes of triumph over darkness and the spirit of renewal.
3. Kwanzaa Villanelle:
   
   • Create a villanelle that reflects on the seven principles of Kwanzaa, exploring the repeated refrains to convey a sense of unity, purpose, and cultural celebration.
4. Las Posadas Limericks:
   
   • Compose a set of limericks capturing the humorous and heartwarming moments of Las Posadas, focusing on the characters and the reenactment of the journey to Bethlehem.
5. St. Lucia's Day Free Verse:
   
   • Write a free verse poem that explores the sensory experience of St. Lucia's Day, using vivid imagery to convey the sights, sounds, and emotions of the candlelit processions.
6. Winter Solstice Cinquains:
   
   • Create a series of cinquains that capture the anticipation, stillness, and eventual rebirth associated with the Winter Solstice.
7. Chinese New Year Acrostic:
   
   • Compose an acrostic poem using the words "Chinese New Year," incorporating each letter to convey the energy, symbolism, and cultural richness of the celebration.
8. Ganna Elegy:
   
   • Write an elegy that reflects on the Ethiopian Christmas (Ganna), exploring themes of faith, tradition, and the emotional resonance of the holiday.
9. Oshogatsu Haiga:
   
   • Combine haiku with visual elements in a haiga to capture the serene beauty and cultural significance of Oshogatsu, incorporating traditional New Year imagery.
10. Global Celebrations Ghazal:
    
    • Craft a ghazal that weaves together the diverse elements of global holiday celebrations, exploring the shared threads of joy, love, and cultural exchange.

. Cinquain: Whisper, Soft breeze, Rustling through leaves, Nature's gentle melody, Serene.
. Ghazal: Moonlight spills, a silver stream, Love's refrain, a poet's dream. Roses weep, their petals gleam, Lost in verses, shadows scheme.
Sestina: Moonrise casts its ethereal glow, Each night, a cyclical ebb and flow. Stars witness tales, both high and low, As time weaves stories, to and fro.
Tanka: Autumn leaves descend, A tapestry of farewell, Crisp whispers of time. Nature's brush strokes paint the scene, Seasons change, memories cling.
Pantoum: In the moonlit dance, shadows play, Shadows weave tales in the silvery night. Echoes of laughter, whispers sway, Night unfolds its magical light.
. Rondel: Sunset's hues in vibrant array, Paint the sky in hues of gold. Nature's masterpiece, bold and bold, A canvas where dreams hold sway.
. Rondeau: Joyful laughter, a sweet refrain, Echoes through the sunlit glade. Hearts entwined, a bond well made, Love's melody, a constant gain.
. Triolet: Whispers of wind through ancient trees, A tale told by the rustling leaves. Whispers of wind through ancient trees, Nature's song, a timeless tease.
Quatrain: Moonlight weaves a silken thread, Night unfolds in shadows' spread. Stars whisper secrets overhead, Dreams bloom in the quiet bed.
Elegy: In the quiet of the setting sun, Memories linger, stories spun. A solemn ode to what is done, Elegy for a life well-run.
. Ode: Sing, muse, of nature's wondrous grace, A symphony in every living trace. Ode to the moon's soft, glowing face, Illuminating night's quiet embrace.
. Ballad: In a valley where the rivers twine, A ballad echoes through ancient pine. Heroes rise, and villains decline, Tales of love and loss intertwine.
. Epic: A saga unfolds in realms unknown, Heroes clash with a thunderous tone. Epic battles in a world overthrown, A timeless tale, through ages, is sown.
. Narrative poem: Through the forest and over the hill, A narrative weaves, tranquil and still. Characters dance, their destinies fulfill, A poetic journey, a quill's skill.
Epigram: In few words sharp, a truth unveiled, Wit and wisdom in balance, finely scaled. Life's ironies, humor exhaled, Epigram, where truths are hailed.

A myriad of possibilities weigh down on my chest
Pinned down at a crossroads at the foot of the mountains
Held in place by arms of thick mud
Tall, thick, fluffy clouds hide the mountains’ peaks
Though I can feel their glare
And hear their urgent calls to ascend
The unknown makes me wary
Will my ascent be in vain?
Will I hurt myself?
My feet feel safely at home, rooted in the ground
The grasp of the mud’s arms comforts me
I’ve surrendered to the unknown
And found solace in this stillness…
A clap of thunder commands the heavy clouds to release their rain
The mud’s arms melt away into a river
The sun’s heat burns the clouds into steam
Golden curtains of light fall from the sky
The mountains’ peaks revealed, naked
It’s time for my ascent
The strength in my legs has atrophied with time
I am relegated to this lonely nest at the foot of the mountains
Their beauty remains etched on the horizon, waiting for me, wondering if I’ll ever ascend

_______
Original poem by Jules Grant
Jules Grant - my site here for more of my work - I would love to connect with you!

Course Title: Exploring the Panorama of Poetry
Course Description: This course delves into the rich tapestry of poetic forms, guiding students through the exploration and creation of fifty distinct styles of poetry. From classic sonnets to innovative forms like golden shovel and palindrome poetry, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of poetic expression, learning the nuances of each style and honing their creative skills.
Week 1-2: Introduction to Poetry and Sonnets - Overview of poetry styles - In-depth study of sonnets - Writing Exercise: Crafting a sonnet on personal experiences
Week 3-4: Embracing Haiku and Villanelle - Understanding the elegance of haiku - Exploring the repetitive beauty of villanelles - Writing Exercise: Composing haikus inspired by nature
Week 5-6: Limericks and the Art of Humor - Decoding the humor in limericks - Crafting limericks with wit and wordplay - Writing Exercise: Creating humorous limericks on everyday topics
Week 7-8: Free Verse and Acrostic Poetry - Liberating creativity through free verse - Playing with words in acrostic poems - Writing Exercise: Expressing emotions through free verse
Week 9-10: Ghazal and Tanka Mastery - Unveiling the beauty of ghazals - Crafting tankas with precision - Writing Exercise: Creating a ghazal on themes of love and longing
Week 11-12: Cinquains and Pantoum Prowess - Perfecting the art of cinquains - Embracing the rhythmic challenges of pantoums - Writing Exercise: Developing a pantoum on personal growth
Week 13-14: Sestina and Rondeau Exploration - Mastering the intricacies of sestinas - Crafting rondeaus with musicality - Writing Exercise: Composing a sestina on the theme of time
Week 15-16: Triolets and Kyrielles - Understanding the charm of triolets - Embracing the structure of kyrielles - Writing Exercise: Crafting a triolet on the beauty of simplicity
Week 17-18: Ode to Joyful Ballads - Writing joyful odes - Crafting narrative ballads - Writing Exercise: Creating an ode celebrating personal achievements
Week 19-20: Epic Journeys and Blank Verse - Exploring epic storytelling - Mastering the art of blank verse - Writing Exercise: Composing a blank verse poem reflecting on personal reflections
Week 21-22: Petrarchan Musings and Terza Rima Mastery - Delving into Petrarchan sonnets - Crafting poems using terza rima - Writing Exercise: Writing a Petrarchan sonnet on conflicting emotions
Week 23-24: Renga Collaboration and Prose Poetry - Collaborative renga creation - Experimenting with prose poetry - Writing Exercise: Crafting a prose poem inspired by a vivid memory
Week 25-26: Concrete Poetry and Narrative Art - Creating visual impact with concrete poetry - Mastering the art of narrative poetry - Writing Exercise: Developing a narrative poem based on personal experiences
Week 27-28: Pastoral Elegies and Morning Aubades - Writing pastoral poetry - Crafting mournful elegies - Writing Exercise: Composing an aubade capturing the essence of dawn
Week 29-30: Ekphrastic Marvels and Found Poetry Adventures - Creating poetry inspired by art - Crafting poems through found materials - Writing Exercise: Developing an ekphrastic poem based on a chosen artwork
Week 31-32: Epigrams and Clerihew Laughter - Crafting witty epigrams - Writing humorous clerihews - Writing Exercise: Composing a clerihew about a contemporary figure
Week 33-34: Quatrains and Double Dactyl Delight - Mastering the art of quatrains - Crafting light-hearted double dactyls - Writing Exercise: Creating a quatrain reflecting on the beauty of simplicity
Week 35-36: Terzanelles and Haibun Adventures - Crafting terzanelles with precision - Exploring the combination of prose and haiku in haibun - Writing Exercise: Composing a haibun narrating a meaningful travel experience
Week 37-38: Golden Shovel Challenges and Villancico Celebrations - Creating poems using the golden shovel technique - Crafting festive villancicos - Writing Exercise: Developing a golden shovel poem using a line from a favorite poem
Week 39-40: Tercet Beauty and Sevenling Narratives - Embracing the charm of tercets - Crafting sevenlings with narrative flair - Writing Exercise: Composing a sevenling reflecting on a vivid childhood memory
Week 41-42: Palindrome Reflections and Parallelismus Membrorum Insights - Creating palindrome poetry - Crafting poems using parallelismus membrorum - Writing Exercise: Developing a palindrome poem exploring balance in life
Week 43-44: Rubaiyat Contemplations and Blues Poem Expressions - Exploring Persian poetry with rubaiyats - Crafting poems inspired by the blues - Writing Exercise: Composing a rubaiyat on themes of love or mortality
Week 45-46: Erasure Transformations and Anaphora Intensity - Crafting poetry through erasure - Mastering the use of anaphora - Writing Exercise: Creating an erasure poem using a page from a novel or newspaper
Week 47-48: Tetractys and Sijo Harmonies - Crafting tetractys with specific syllable counts - Exploring traditional Korean poetry with sijo - Writing Exercise: Developing a sijo capturing a moment of beauty or introspection
Week 49-50: Blitz Poem Exploration and Epitaph Conclusions - Crafting blitz poems with rapid expression - Writing poignant epitaphs - Final Project: Compose an original poem using a style of the student's choice, reflecting personal growth throughout the course.
Assessment: - Weekly writing exercises - Participation in collaborative projects - Midterm and final projects showcasing mastery of chosen styles
Materials: - Poetry anthologies - Artworks for ekphrastic exercises - Writing journals - Selected readings for each style
Prerequisites: None. Open to all students with an interest in poetry and creative expression.

1. Sonnet:
   A 14-line poem, traditionally written in iambic pentameter, with various rhyme schemes such as Shakespearean (ABABCDCDEFEFGG).
   
2. Haiku:
   

A three-line Japanese poem with a 5-7-5 syllable count, typically capturing a moment in nature.

1. Free Verse:
   Poetry without a fixed rhyme or meter, allowing for greater freedom and natural flow of expression.
   
2. Villanelle
   

: A 19-line poem with a specific structure, containing five tercets followed by a concluding quatrain, using only two rhymes.

1. Acrostic:
   A poem where the first letter of each line, when read vertically, spells out a word or message.
   
2. Limerick
   

: A humorous five-line poem with a specific meter and rhyme scheme (AABBA).

1. Ghazal:

A form of poetry with rhyming couplets and a repeating refrain, often exploring themes of love and loss.

1. Tanka

: A Japanese form of poetry with a 5-7-5-7-7 syllable count structure, focusing on nature and emotions.

1. Sestina:
   A complex poem with six stanzas of six lines each, ending with a three-line envoi; the same six words end the lines in a shifting pattern.
   
2. Cinquain
   

: A five-line poem with a specific syllable count for each line (2-4-6-8-2), often used to capture a moment or emotion.

1. Rondeau:
   A 13-line poem with a rhyme scheme and repetition of specific words, often emphasizing themes of love.
   
2. Pantoum
   

: A form of poetry with repeating lines, where the second and fourth lines of each stanza become the first and third lines of the next.

1. Ode:

A lyrical poem expressing strong emotions or deep feelings, often addressed to a particular person or thing.

1. Elegy:
   A mournful poem, typically written in remembrance of someone who has passed away.
   
2. Ekphrastic
   

: A poem inspired by a work of art, often describing or reflecting on the visual piece.

1. Concrete Poetry:
   Poems where the arrangement of words on the page forms a visual representation of the subject.
   
2. Prose Poetry
   

: A hybrid of prose and poetry, characterized by its free-flowing structure and poetic language within prose form.

1. Epigram:

A short, witty, and often satirical poem or statement, typically with a clever or humorous ending.

1. Quatrain

: A four-line stanza or poem with various rhyme schemes, commonly used in ballads and hymns.

1. Epitaph

: A short poem or inscription on a tombstone in memory of the deceased.

Week 3: Limericks and the Art of Humor
Day 1: Decoding Limericks - Activity: Analyze classic limericks for rhythm and humor. - Lecture: Discuss the AABBA rhyme scheme and distinctive rhythm. - Discussion: Share favorite humorous poems and discuss elements that make them funny.
Day 2: Crafting Limericks with Wit - Activity: Write limericks individually, focusing on humor and rhythm. - Lecture: Explore the balance of humor and structure in limericks. - Discussion: Share and discuss individual limericks, highlighting successful elements.
Day 3: Understanding Free Verse - Activity: Analyze free verse poems for structure and expression. - Lecture: Introduce the concept of free verse and its flexibility. - Discussion: Discuss the liberation and challenges of writing without a strict structure.
Day 4: Writing Exercise - Expressing Emotions in Free Verse - Activity: Explore emotions and write a free verse poem. - Assignment: Craft a free verse poem exploring a personal experience or emotion. - Vocabulary Words: Enjambment, Cadence, Anapest.
Day 5: Peer Review and Feedback - Activity: Peer review workshop for free verse poems. - Lecture: Discuss the artistic freedom and impact of free verse. - Discussion: Share insights gained from reviewing peers' free verse poems.
Study Guide Questions for Week 3: 1. What defines a limerick, and how does its rhythm contribute to its humor? 2. Discuss the importance of the AABBA rhyme scheme in limericks. 3. How does free verse differ from structured forms of poetry? 4. Explore the challenges and benefits of writing without a strict form in free verse. 5. Reflect on the emotions and experiences expressed in your free verse poem.
Quiz: Assessment on limericks, the AABBA rhyme scheme, and the principles of free verse.
Week 4: Free Verse and Acrostic Poetry
Day 1: Embracing Free Verse - Activity: Analyze diverse free verse poems for individual expression. - Lecture: Discuss famous free verse poets and their impact on the genre. - Discussion: Share personal reactions to the artistic freedom of free verse.
Day 2: Crafting Emotion in Free Verse - Activity: Write a free verse poem expressing a specific emotion. - Lecture: Explore the role of emotions in free verse and the use of vivid imagery. - Discussion: Share and discuss individual poems, highlighting emotional impact.
Day 3: Understanding Acrostic Poetry - Activity: Analyze acrostic poems for clever wordplay. - Lecture: Explain the concept of acrostic poetry and its various forms. - Discussion: Share examples of creative acrostic poems.
Day 4: Writing Exercise - Personal Acrostic - Activity: Craft an acrostic poem using your name or a chosen word. - Assignment: Write an acrostic poem exploring a theme or concept. - Vocabulary Words: Strophe, Stanza, Consonance.
Day 5: Peer Review and Feedback - Activity: Peer review workshop for acrostic poems. - Lecture: Discuss the playfulness and creativity of acrostic poetry. - Discussion: Share insights gained from reviewing peers' acrostic poems.
Study Guide Questions for Week 4: 1. Explore the role of emotions in free verse poetry. How does it differ from structured forms? 2. Discuss the impact of vivid imagery in free verse. How does it contribute to the overall message? 3. What defines acrostic poetry, and how is it different from other forms? 4. How can clever wordplay enhance the impact of an acrostic poem? 5. Reflect on the creative process and thematic exploration in your acrostic poem.
Quiz: Assessment on understanding free verse, emotional expression in poetry, and the principles of acrostic poetry.

Week 7: Limericks and Acrostic Poetry - Lecture and Discussion
Objective: - Explore the whimsical nature of limericks and the creative use of acrostic poetry. - Understand the structure and humor in limericks. - Discuss the artistic possibilities of using acrostic forms.
Day 1: Introduction to Limericks - Lecture: - Definition and characteristics of limericks. - Explanation of the AABBA rhyme scheme and humorous themes.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. What appeals to you about the whimsical nature of limericks?
  2. How does the AABBA rhyme scheme contribute to the humor in limericks?
  3. Can you think of any famous limericks or poets known for this style?

Day 2: Analyzing Limericks - Part 1 - Lecture: - In-depth analysis of classic limericks. - Exploration of the distinctive rhythm and structure.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. How does the AABBA rhyme scheme and rhythm contribute to the comedic timing in limericks?
  2. What humorous themes or scenarios are commonly found in limericks?
  3. Share your thoughts on the importance of concise storytelling in limericks.

Day 3: Analyzing Limericks - Part 2 - Lecture: - Discussing modern variations and themes in limericks. - Exploring the versatility of the form.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. How have modern limericks evolved in terms of themes and structure?
  2. In what ways does the whimsical nature of limericks allow for creative expression?
  3. Share examples of humorous scenarios that might work well in a limerick.

Day 4: Crafting Limericks - Part 1 - Lecture: - Step-by-step guide on crafting the first three lines of a limerick. - Emphasis on establishing humor and rhythm.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. What challenges do you anticipate in crafting the first three lines of a limerick?
  2. How can you establish humor and rhythm within the concise structure?
  3. Share examples of humorous scenarios you might explore in a limerick.

Day 5: Crafting Limericks - Part 2 - Lecture: - Step-by-step guide on crafting the final two lines of a limerick. - Emphasis on creating resolution and punchline.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. Why are the final two lines crucial in providing resolution and a punchline in a limerick?
  2. How can a limerick deliver a humorous twist or surprise within its structure?
  3. Share and discuss individual limericks, highlighting successful elements.

Homework Assignment: - Craft a limerick focusing on a humorous scenario or theme.
Study Guide Questions: 1. Reflect on the challenges of crafting the first three lines of your limerick. How did you establish humor and rhythm? 2. How did you approach creating resolution and a punchline in the final two lines of your limerick? 3. What insights did you gain from the process of crafting a limerick?
Quiz: Assessment on the understanding of limericks, their AABBA rhyme scheme, and the use of humor within the concise form.
Day 6: Introduction to Acrostic Poetry - Lecture: - Definition and characteristics of acrostic poetry. - Exploration of arranging words vertically to create hidden messages.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. What interests you about the creative use of acrostic forms?
  2. How might the arrangement of words vertically enhance the poetic experience in acrostic poetry?
  3. Can you think of any famous acrostic poems or poets known for this style?

Day 7: Analyzing Acrostic Poetry - Part 1 - Lecture: - In-depth analysis of classic acrostic poems. - Exploration of the different approaches to selecting and arranging words.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. How does the vertical arrangement of words contribute to the overall impact of acrostic poetry?
  2. What unique perspectives or insights can arise from using acrostic forms in poetry?
  3. Share your thoughts on the relationship between the hidden message and the overall theme in acrostic poems.

Day 8: Analyzing Acrostic Poetry - Part 2 - Lecture: - Discussing modern variations and themes in acrostic poetry. - Exploring the diverse ways poets engage with vertical arrangements.

• Discussion Questions:
  1. How have modern poets expanded the themes and approaches in acrostic poetry?
  2. In what ways does the incorporation of vertical arrangements broaden the possibilities in written expression?
  3. Share examples of themes or concepts suitable for acrostic poetry.

1. Sonnet:

• Definition: A 14-line poem, often expressing love or deep emotion, with various rhyme schemes.
  
• Example: Write a sonnet exploring the theme of unrequited love.
  

1. Haiku:

• Definition: A traditional Japanese poem with three lines and a 5-7-5 syllable count.
  
• Example: Craft a haiku capturing the essence of a serene moment in nature.
  

1. Villanelle:

• Definition: A 19-line poem with five tercets followed by a quatrain, using repeated lines.
  
• Example: Create a villanelle about the passage of time and its impact on memories.
  

1. Limerick:

• Definition: A humorous, five-line poem with a distinctive rhythm (AABBA).
  
• Example: Compose a limerick about a quirky character or situation.
  

1. Free Verse:

• Definition: Poetry with no set rhyme scheme or meter, allowing for free expression.
  
• Example: Write a free verse poem exploring the complexities of human relationships.
  

1. Acrostic:

• Definition: A poem where the first letter of each line spells out a word or message.
  
• Example: Create an acrostic using your name, describing your personality or aspirations.
  

1. Ghazal:

• Definition: A poetic form with rhyming couplets and a repeating refrain.
  
• Example: Craft a ghazal expressing the bittersweet nature of love and longing.
  

1. Tanka:

• Definition: A Japanese poem with five lines and a 5-7-5-7-7 syllable count.
  
• Example: Write a tanka capturing the fleeting beauty of a sunset.
  

1. *Cinquain:

• Definition: A five-line poem with a specific syllable count per line (2-4-6-8-2).
  
• Example: Create a cinquain describing the essence of a quiet winter evening.
  

1. Pantoum:

- *Definition:* A poem with repeating lines and a specific pattern, often used for reflection. - *Example:* Craft a pantoum exploring the cyclical nature of life and change. 

Have you ever jumped into cold water on a hot day? Have you ever ridden an asteroid across the surface of the sun? Have you ever done a backflip off the moon and landed in a bucket of water in Vatican City? If so, then you’ve experienced one-tenth of what I experienced the moment I took that pill.
My headache disappeared, my heart started pumping, adrenaline and pure energy flowed through my veins instead of blood. My fingers twitched and my mind moved at three times the speed of light.
I fell back on my chair, flew towards my desk and danced my fingers like I was playing the keyboard. Chapters fell before me like grass in front of a chainsaw.
I cranked out TEN chapters in three hours. And that’s not just writing them either that’s editing them multiple times, adding extra hyperboles, and making the first 31 sentences and the title into acrostic poems that read: Alex has shit ties.
It was heavenly.
After dusting off my 11th chapter I stood, did a couple of yoga poses and then took off out of my front door for a run.
Now, everyone has a weakness, Superman’s got his kryptonite, Achilles has his heel, I have physical exercise. Usually, the thought of going for a run would make me want to chop my legs off. But those crazy little pills made the sad-sad go away. I was flying past houses, high-fiving bushes and waving to people as I roamed the streets like an exercise junkie.
My god-like strides took me through the suburbs of The Village through to the centre of town where Sherlock-Holmes themed coffee shops and Wuxia-themed teahouses dominated the streets. Writers sat in booths talking and hacking away at tablets and laptops, while cover artists drew mythical figures in between shots of espresso.
There was a hard-working bustle about the place. Little box-like robots wheeled their way out from a boutique distribution centre to people’s homes carrying boxes of wine, cheese, and steaming meals.
I slowed my run and sat back on a bench beside a rose bush. Birds were chirping and there was a hum of music from the cafes. It was heaven.
That night Manuel was back at my house and we walked three blocks over to a giant log cabin and another party. The next morning I took a pill, busted out eight chapters and went for another run. As the weeks flew by I attended more parties than I’d ever been to in my life, smashed out over a hundred chapters and grew dark rings around my eyes.
And then one day I met her.
****
This time we’d been invited to a pool party in the early evening. Manuel was sucking up to a bunch of new authors, and I was drinking beer with a bunch of horror writers while watching two guys beside the pool punching each other in the face over the use of Oxford commas. I didn’t know who was in the right – the guy whose eye was bruised, red, and puffy – or the guy with a swollen, red lump on his forehead.
Turns out, it didn’t really matter because they both paused mid-swing to stare at someone behind me.
In walked a woman in a white turtleneck, and large round glasses. Four other writers dressed in full tweed suits flanked her. Heads turned. Famous web fiction writers who I hadn’t worked up the courage to talk to were whispering to each other and pointing to the woman in white.
The horror writers next to me were trying to look disinterested but I could see them peering at her out of the corner of their eyes.
‘Hey Stephen,’ I poked a tall guy in the arm, ‘who’s that?’
Stephen laughed, ‘Good one man.’
‘I’m being serious dude, why’s everyone staring?’
Stephen hissed his next sentence like he was embarrassed others would hear, ‘Man. That’s the emperor of this place – the most read author in the whole of Crusher Media, that’s...’
‘...Lazy Cultivator? The guy that writes the chicken story.’
Stephen nodded, ‘Only – she’s not a guy.’
‘I guess I should say hi,’ I got out of my seat just as Stephen put his arm up to form a barrier.
‘Dude!’ He said, 'You, me, all of us,’ he gestured around the circle of horror writers, ‘We’re dirt.’ A couple of the guys clinked their beers and took a swig. Stephen pressed a finger into my chest, ‘We don’t talk to people like her. We don’t even look at her. This place has a hierarchy and man, you are the mud that hierarchy sits on.
I swallowed, ‘Good to know I’m appreciated then.’
Stephen shrugged, ‘Just letting you know the way things are dude.’
The tweed-wearers and their leader moved through the party like blue whales through a school of shrimp. A group of romance writers cleared out of their chairs beside the pool and the gang sat down and produced bottles of champagne from a wine cooler. The woman in white pulled a pair of VR glasses, a wireless keyboard, and a purple pill bottle from her bag, then she slipped a pill between her teeth, pulled the VR glasses over her face and started hacking away at the keyboard so rapidly she broke off one of the keys.
I swallowed, ‘She doesn’t come to parties often?’
Stephen shook his head, ‘not the sort of parties the rest of us get invited to. But... I’ve heard stories.’
I nodded slowly, my forehead was beginning to hurt the way it always did when the orange pills wore off. I took the orange pill container out of my pocket and shook it. There was no comforting tap of pills on the side.
I spun the lid open. It was empty.
My hands started to sweat. I got up, knocking over Stephen’s beer. He yelled at me, but I just waved an apology. I made a beeline straight for Manuel who was chatting to a bunch of fresh writers.
‘Hey, Eli,’ he said, wrapping an arm around me, ‘You guys heard of ElitheHill?’
A couple of the new writers grinned, one guy stuck out his hand, but my headache was getting worse with every second.
‘Manuel,’ I hissed, ‘I need some pills man.’
Manuel raised an eyebrow, ‘What?’
‘I need them now, my head...’ I stopped and rubbed one of my eyes, ‘I need the orange pills man.’
Manuel nodded, ‘Yeah, I’ll get you some man – in the morning.’ he wrapped his arm around me, ‘Come on man, be cool, have a beer.’
I shook my head frantically, my hands trembled, ‘I need them now Manuel. Come on. You’ve got to have at least a pack on you.’
Manuel stared at me, his eyes suddenly seemed much colder, ‘Yeah. I got some, but they’re two thousand reads.’
‘Two thousand?’ I bit my lip, ‘Man, they were five hundred two days ago.’
He shrugged and pulled the orange container from his pocket ‘You want em? Or not?’
My hands were a pool of sweat, my head thumped like a drum and bass concert and my right eye was twitching.
‘Yeah,’ I snatched them from his hand, ‘I’ll get Alex to transfer to you tomorrow.’
Manuel nodded, ‘Now get lost,’ his smile returned as he looked to the young writers, ‘You’re scaring off the new kids!’
The others laughed.
I fumbled with the pill bottle and Manuel gave me a kick, ‘Man! Get out of here.’ His eyes were hard again.
I stumbled my way over to the toilet, kicked the door open and slammed it behind me. My hands shook as I twisted open the capsule. The toilet smelt like vomit. The lid gave a click, popped open and I shook two pills into my hand. I usually took one, but I felt like I deserved the extra hit after everything I’d been through. I shoved them in my mouth, threw my head back, and swallowed.
A moment later I had electricity flowing through my veins and lightning in my brain. When I kicked the door of the toilet open it was like the world was in 8k resolution. Colours and lights were sharper and more beautiful. Beethoven’s fifth symphony was playing, someone passed me who smelt of elderflower and sweet wine. I breathed in and started dancing.
****
My call with Alex the next day began with me reciting a poem about his ties that I made up on the spot. He was wearing a beetroot red tie and by the third verse, his face had gone the same colour. It took him a few minutes to calm down, but when he finally did he ended up being quite pleased.
‘I see you’ve been producing a lot of chapters Mr Hill, you’re also pulling in a lot of readers. My suggestion is that you should start stockpiling them, rather than just posting them as you finish, that way when you hit another of your dry spells, you’ll have a buffer to get your shit sorted.’
I grinned and pulled the orange pills from my jacket pocket, ‘I’m not going to have another slump.’ I tossed the pill bottle up and caught it behind my back without looking, ‘Alex, I have discovered the key to literary immortality.’
Alex’s smile wavered for a moment, then with an effort of brute force he manage to affix it back to his face.
‘I’m glad Mr Hill.’ he went silent for a moment, ‘Just be careful okay... with those chapters I mean... we don’t want you to get burnt out with nothing left in the can.’
I shrugged, shook the pill bottle again, ‘Don’t worry about me buddy – just keep transferring Manuel that money. Okay?’
Alex nodded and ended the call.
NEXT: https://www.reddit.com/HFY/comments/1ct3lp6/a_victim_of_online_fiction_ch16_the_call_of_the/

Centuries from now, in the year 2364 CE, 57 years after the Choice of Empire—The elected Emperor of the Solar System and his family are massacred by the Sargons, a rival family who seized the throne and created chaos across the Empire. Caleb, the youngest son of the slain Emperor, was saved by the Altas, who were once friends of his family until they mysteriously exiled themselves from the imperium many years ago and remained hidden in an unknown location ever since.
Caleb is now in that faraway place, beyond the reach of the Sargons, where he will live in refuge and prepare for the day when he can have vengeance, justice, and redemption—and possibly salvation.
Burrowed deep within an asteroid in the Belt of the Solar System is a secret community of scientists, artists, thinkers, and engineers led by the Altas. A large hole is tunneled through the face of the asteroid, the entrance to the hidden world within. It was made to look like a human eye.
Its name is the Iris.
[Interlude]
Caleb woke from a deep sleep. The salt of his tears had dried on his face and sweat covered his body. He looked around the room and saw a man who was like an uncle to him asleep on a chair next to his bed: Han Moret, the leader of the Altas.
Caleb thought that Han Moret looked younger and radiant. His hair, once thin, was now full. His body, once frail, was now strong. His skin, once wrinkled, was now smooth and shining.
Caleb got up from the bed and put a hand on Han Moret’s shoulder.
“Han,” he whispered.
Han Moret woke with a start, “Christ!” then smiled when he saw Caleb, “Oh, hello my dear boy.”
Caleb was quiet for a while. “Why couldn’t you save them?”
Han Moret sighed and looked to the ground, “We didn’t have time. We learned of the Sargons’ plans too late. You were in your bedroom and everyone else was in the throne room. Saving you was the only way, all we could do. The best we could do.” He raised his head, “I’m sorry Caleb. I’ll never forgive myself for not being there, for not being able to do more. But you’re here now. We’ll help you. We’ll fight back and win. I can promise you that. I can give you that.”
“How?”
Han Moret grinned, “Come. Let me show you what we’ve been working on all these years. Why I left all those years ago.” He walked to the door and opened it, “Welcome to the Iris.”
Within the asteroid was a colossal garden paradise: waving golden fields and rolling green hills, thick forests and snow-capped mountains, gleaming towers and sprawling villas, vast lakes and flowing streams, smaller suns and lesser moons orbiting each other in the center—worlds within a world.
They walked through a field and stopped beneath a large oak tree.
“Han, this is incredible. How did you do it?” Caleb asked.
“Trillions of builders. Quattuordecillion, actually.” Han Moret raised his hand and an apple fell into it. He took a bite, “Probably more.”
“But there’s only…How many people are here?”
“A couple hundred. 964, I think. No, Arina was born this morning, 965.” He furrowed his brow, “Why do you ask?”
“Trillions of builders, hundreds here?”
“Oh! Right, yes. I see. Come, come. You’ll see too.”
While they were walking, Caleb learned that Han Moret was still fond of long and rambling monologues:
“Isn’t it obvious? Look around us. Well, beyond the asteroid. We seem to be alone in the Universe, but the probability that other life exists says otherwise. So what’s the explanation? It’s simple. We are the first intelligent life in the Universe. It makes sense when you think about it. Our homeworld, the planet Earth, was among the first habitable planets that formed in the Universe after it began, earlier than around 90% of the other habitable planets which now exist! And most of the habitable planets that will ever be formed in the Universe haven’t even formed yet. So, the planet Earth was one of the first habitable planets in the Universe that could support the rise of life and its long evolutionary development into intelligent life, to beings like us. Therefore, assuming that life out there will fundamentally be the same as it is here, and assuming that it only arises in an Earth-like environment, it shouldn’t be surprising that humans developed before others. You see, someone has to be first. There must be a first form of intelligent life in the Universe, before the rest. But it seems like no one has considered that maybe we’re alone in the Universe right now because we are the first and others will come after us, and maybe the others are already in the process of doing so, so we won’t be alone for long. And when those future life-forms ask the same questions as us, “Is anyone out there? Are we alone in the Universe?” we will be there to answer them, to be their aliens, to give them the comfort we never had and accelerate their development like we never could. And this is all the better too, because we’re going to need all the help we can get to do the ultimate thing, since the only reason we exist is to…”
“Han, thank you, that was…enlightening. But what does it have to do with what you were going to show me?”
“What? Oh, nothing. Sorry. What were we talking about? Ah yes, how we built the Iris. Fear not, the answer lies ahead.”
They walked further through the field towards a clearing. And there, out in the open, was a scientific laboratory and engineering workshop, tables and equipment and all with nothing but the sky above and a beautiful world surrounding them.
Han Moret led Caleb to an empty table, “So, here is it boyo. What do you see?”
“Uh, nothing.”
“Ha! Yes, but in nothing there is everything. For from nothing…” Han Moret glanced at the table and appeared to concentrate, then the table grew into a tree “…something.”
Han Moret tapped a finger to his head, “Mind-controlled nano-bots. That’s how we built this place. A one-to-one control of atoms within our local environment, limited to the area in which nano-bots are dispersed and the reach of electromagnetic signals emitted from implants in the brain, also limited by the mental symbiosis between a group of people if they’re working together, and of course the extent of their imagination. Everything within the Iris is touched by the stuff, so everything is under our control.”
“That’s…How did you do it?”
“Trade secret I’m afraid. But here, we call it…” Han Moret slapped the side of Caleb’s head, “…Pleroma.”
“Ow!”
“There! Brain implanted. You are now pleromatized. You can control the world around you, or at least the little bit within your proximate sphere. No worries, the plerons are easily inserted and removed, so no harm, no foul. Go on and try it. Synchronization is instantaneous, but learning how to use it is, well, a process. Your ability to control the world is determined by the strength of your mind—your concentration and focus. It depends on the speed and coherence of your imagination, the complexity and detail of your mental constructions, along with the depth of your knowledge and your intelligence, clarity of thinking, force of will, and, most importantly, very most importantly, the strength of your Self. Meditation helps, as does improving your brain with the stuff once you get the hang of it, but none of that will matter if you are not strong within. Oh, and you can change your body too.”
“Ah, so that’s why you look younger and glowing.”
“Indeed, and thank you. I’ve never felt better, haven’t been sick in years. We certainly look…godly, don’t you think? Although the secondary effects of being able to control our brains and bodies have been far more numerous than we anticipated, mostly socially, very odd and interesting things, but that’s a conversation and exhibition for later. If I may continue, with the Pleroma, the strength of your mind determines your power over the world, so if your mind is stronger than others, then you can overpower them. For example…”
Caleb’s body rose from the ground and hovered for a moment, then returned.
“See?” Han Moret said. “I could feel your instinctive surprise and mental resistance, but alas, I’ve had this stuff longer than you, and my mind is, for the time being at least, stronger than yours, so your resistance was, as they say, futile. The plerons that made their way into your body when you entered the Iris obeyed my commands and not yours, and your body obeyed my mind and not your own. Now, your turn. Try and turn the tree into something.”
Caleb looked at the tree and tried to concentrate. He vaguely imagined things, but was unsure of what to create and how. The tree became a gray mass, then began to violently vibrate and rapidly shapeshift. Colors flashed and textures flickered. Various sounds blasted all at once. It seemed like reality was having a seizure. And then the asteroid began to rumble…
“Woah! Alright, alright! Not bad for your first try. Certainly better than others. You have a powerful mind, no doubt, but not yet a disciplined one.”
Han Moret waved his hand and smoothed the chaotic patch of existence back to an empty table. “We’ll try it again soon. Mastering the Pleroma will require a lot of practice and self-improvement. I can improve your brain of course, if you’d like, it’ll help speed up the process and enhance your basic abilities, but even with a better brain, you’ll still fail to use the Pleroma if you don’t improve your consciousness, your mind—your Self. You must become stronger, Caleb—not physically, but mentally—if you want to master this power over the world. You could have a perfect brain, but if you don’t perfect your Self, then the Pleroma will be useless, as we just saw. You’ll only create chaos in the world and others will be able to control you.”
“Yeah, alright, I understand. But Han! That was amazing. I’ve never felt…I’ve never felt like that before.”
“Yes, but it is so much more than that, Caleb, so much more. You’ve only seen the least of it, the smallest bit. You see, this is why we had to leave the Empire. Weren’t you listening before? I was onto something. We’re going to need all the help we can get, including from other forms of life, if we are going to do the ultimate thing, since the only reason we exist is to prevent the end of the Universe.
For centuries, we’ve known that, given the Second Law of Thermodynamics, the Universe will end in the future, or at least its habitability for life—for us! We know this, and so we have a responsibility to do something about it, to stop it from happening so that life can keep living. ‘We’ are the Universe—just a local collection of its atoms, yes, but an equal part of its whole nevertheless—and we have within us both the genetic urge to survive and a personal desire to not die, so we can say that the Universe itself does not want us to die, or rather it does not want to die itself. Don’t you see? The purpose of our lives, the purpose of the Universe, is embedded within the structure of our existence. But how do we prevent the end of the Universe exactly? We don’t know the answer to that yet, specifically. That’ll take time. But we do know the basics of the answer, and it is very simple: we must control the Universe to prevent its end, and to do that, we must become God.
If humankind is to live forever, and more importantly ensure that there is a world in which we can live forever, then we must gain the knowledge and power to control the Universe so that we can prevent its end. In other words, we must become all-knowing and all-powerful, or at least gain sufficient knowledge and power to ensure that we can have an endless life in infinite eternity, through whatever ways we can. But whichever way ultimately works, we’ll need to create an eternal home for life, and that’s Godhood boyo. That’s the ultimate thing, and the Pleroma is a first step towards that: controlling the world around us with our minds, instantaneous creation by command. It’s a growing up for us. We began as children, born from the God of the Great Unknown at the Beginning, and we must grow up to become God to prevent the Great Known at the End. That’s the only thing when you think about it, our only purpose and the measure of our being, the direction of our progress and the future we’re heading towards: Godhood. If we don’t, then we will have accepted the end of the Universe and the eventual death of humankind, and everything before that will become pointless, the value and meaning of our lives will become forfeit. If we choose to do nothing or say that it’s impossible without trying, then we condemn the generations of the future to ultimate destruction, and in the long stretch of time, we will have annihilated the basic and universal value of human life, and therefore annihilate our own value too. Even if the end of the Universe will happen billions of years from now, or much sooner from some natural or cosmic catastrophe, that’s just a number that seems big to us, so the number doesn’t matter, it could billions of years from now or tomorrow—or today. On the scale of the Universe, what’s the difference between a billion and one, tomorrow and today? If humankind will become extinct in the future, no matter how many years from now, then there will be no point to all of this.
No, we must save ourselves by preventing the end of the Universe and become God to achieve that salvation. What comes after that? I don’t know. But for now, I know that we must spend our days working to achieve Godhood. That’s why we’re here and nothing else matters, except of course to make life worth saving, by making it worth living, by spreading love and creating art and asking questions and filling the darkness around us with light and the color of our lives, to expand outwards until we reach the end and then go beyond it—always onward, always creating, always living. You see, the end gives us our beginning. We begin at the end. God created and God will save, because we will become God to save ourselves. I call it the Anthroteloeschacosmological Principle, the purpose of humankind arising from the end of the Universe. I tell myself a little poem every morning: “The Universe will end / and I will die / if today I do nothing / to save starlight and humankind.” I wrote all this in an anonymous essay a few years back, The Salvation of the Universe…”
“That was you?”
“Yes, and it made quite a stir across the imperium as I understand it, but nary an effect. Typical. Anyways, we must prevent the end of the Universe—by whatever means, at all costs, and within moral bounds. The Sargons knew this and accepted the first two, but they rejected the last. I grew up with them. We discussed it often, along with your father. The Sargons think morality is an obstacle, a human thing that will prevent us from becoming God. They think Godhood is only about being all-knowing and all-powerful, but we Altas think differently. We think morality is essential to Godhood, because being all-knowing and all-powerful will be pointless if we are not also all-good, or at least as good as we can be when we try. Without morality, that wonderfully human thing—determining what is good and evil and then making it so—there’d be no point in becoming God, because there’d be nothing worth saving in the end. We’d just be a heap of atoms that figured out how to perpetuate themselves, like all of the other forms of life in the Universe, except on a bigger scale. But we are not like the other forms of life. No, we are different, and that’s what makes us so special and important. What’s the point of living if not for something, and why are we unique if not because of our morality allows us to say, “This is good and this is bad,” and then use that power to shape the world around us according to our imagination and will, enhanced by our knowledge and technology?
So you see Caleb, this is why we had to leave the Empire. We all know that the Universe will end in the future, but it seemed to us Altas like were the only ones who understood the significance of that fact, what it means for us and our purpose in life, the responsibilities that it gives us. We saw that the plan for existence is embedded in the structure of the Universe, our destiny and fate written across the stars, but when we looked around, we saw that everyone was living their days as if it wasn’t so, ignoring our ultimate purpose and wasting their time on lesser things. We had to leave, you see, to be away from the limitations and distractions of Empire, so we could do the work to achieve Godhood, to take the first step in leaving our childhood to create the Pleroma.
Your father disagreed with all this. He thought Godhood was a silly idea based on old religious notions. And that’s what makes what happened all the worse. You see, the Altas and the Sargons agreed with each other. We were unified against your father in our belief that we must achieve Godhood and that the stagnation of the Empire was preventing us from doing so, and your father was leading that stagnation, so we both felt compelled to take action. The difference between us, however, the vital difference, is that we Altas believe in morality, so we left the Empire to work in peaceful isolation, and the Sargons do not, so they murdered your family to seize power.”
And with that, Han Moret was finished.
Caleb was silent for a while. “But, I don’t understand. If you had this the entire time, why couldn’t you save my family when the Sargons attacked? Why couldn’t you use it to protect them? You could’ve prevented all of this. Why didn’t you share it with us?”
“Because the Pleroma is still in development, Caleb. It still has its imperfections and unknowns. We’ve only worked within the asteroid so far, and only with a small group of people who already had deep bonds and a shared way of thinking and years of training together as the power of the Pleroma slowly progressed, so our learning was limited by the pace of its development. And this was good, since the Pleroma would be apocalyptic in the wrong hands. This asteroid, these people, are minuscule compared to the scale of the Empire, to the true extent of what the Pleroma could reach and do. So, with all of its unknowns, we couldn’t risk deploying it beyond the Iris, and we couldn’t risk revealing ourselves by going beyond it and using it or building transmission relays across the Solar System so we could take long-distance action from here. We had precious little time after learning of the Sargon’s betrayal. And once we were there, in the fog of war, for all we know we could’ve killed your family if we had tried to intervene. Not everyone here has mastered the Pleroma yet, especially to use it in such a complex and rapidly changing atomic environment like war, with life and death in the balance, with its intense mental pressures and emotional reactions and all that would test the mental strength of even the best of us, even me. So, even if I had brought the best of us when it happened, we couldn’t risk trying it for the first time in such a situation, especially with such a close proximity between friends and foes. But we’re improving it and eliminating its imperfections, we’re learning, and it’s nearly ready to be used beyond this little home of ours.”
Now Han Moret was silent for a while. He looked around the Iris.
“I… You see Caleb…” He tried to gather his thoughts, but was conflicted between defending himself against Caleb’s criticisms and trying to proceed with his planned lecture. “With the Pleroma, we can control the Universe, both around us and within us. Everything, everywhere, all the time. And time itself too! Though that’s still in the experimental stages. One fellow tried to slow time by condensing his local spacetime and then went poof and, well, we don’t quite know where he is at the moment, but we’ll find him…hopefully. But with this stuff, we can speak and it shall be. We can create by command and move worlds with a wave of our hand. Dear, I’m getting poetic, but isn’t it so? This is what we’ve been working on all these years. And once we created it, we knew that the people of the Empire weren’t ready for it, so we remained in hiding. Most people beyond the Iris aren’t mentally and spiritually strong enough to have this power without creating chaos, destruction, and death across the Solar System, especially with the Sargons around. But now, with the Sargons in power, with chaos across the imperium, with you here, we think that perhaps it’s time. You have a powerful story Caleb, and you were born into a unique position to sway the hearts and minds of the people to shape the course of Empire and help them. And as your old tutor, well, I have faith in you, especially now that you’ve seen the Pleroma and understand what it can do and what’s at stake. I believe you can do what we could not and prepare the way towards a better future.
What are those quotes from the books I used to read you? ‘A people shall come, and when they say, “Be…” It shall be,’ and ‘Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that a flood of waters may cover you? Can you send forth lightning, so it may go and declare, ‘Here we are?” That is this. We are it. Speak your voice, Caleb. Manifest your spirit. Create by command. With this, you can do anything, everything…” he amplified his voice to make it was deep and booming, “…ALL.”
And with the last word, hundreds of people suddenly appeared around Caleb.
A few hours passed and it was night. The suns above had dimmed, sharing their fading light with rising moonlight, creating a new and beautiful natural phenomenon that Caleb had never seen before, what the people of the Iris called a Sunrisset.
They were all in the field, groups of them sitting around bonfires. The ceiling of the asteroid was made transparent so they could see the stars around them. They were celebrating the arrival of Caleb and the simple fact that another day had passed of which they had come to know. Some of the fires were multi-colored, shifting with the mood and intentions of the people around them. Around one of them was a woman singing an ancient song. The flames danced and rose and changed colors to match her pitch and rhythm and tune—and when she finished with a climax, the flames burst into the sky, adding sparks to the stars. Throughout the night, there were fireworks from all directions and mini-supernovae exploding in the sky. Auroras waved above and among and between them. Such was life in paradise.
As conversation mixed with music and song, there was, most of all, a feast. It was the best food and drink that Caleb had ever tasted.
Han Moret gave another lecture, “Food is just chemistry, a unique combination of atoms that interacts with our taste buds to cause a specific reaction in the brain: pleasure. And with the Pleroma, we can have it all the time.”
“Don’t you get used to it though, having the best food all the time? What’s that saying, without the ordinary there’d be nothing extraordinary?” Caleb asked.
“I used to think that, but it’s been years and the food is still great, so no, you don’t get used to it. It’s utopia here boyo, paradise, the land of the blessed, whatever you want to call it, and not just culinary-wise. We can control our brains and bodies on the micro-level, so there’s no disease and, more importantly, no aging. I realize I might’ve buried the lead on that one, but yeah, we’re immortal here too, along with everything else. Godhood again. Everyone in the Alta, anyone touched by the Pleroma, will live forever, or at least as long as they choose and not be murdered by nature, which is all that matters. We can create anything we might need and want, and so we have everything we might need and want. It’s utopia, but it’s not without its problems.
Frankly, utopia is not all it’s cracked up to be. It’s certainly better than the past and something that everyone should have, power and abundance and immortality and all, and we’ll help them get there, certainly, but it’s not the final place, not by a long shot. Even with all of this, we have a lot to do and further to go. You see, when all the problems are solved, when you can have anything you want all the time, some people just get bored. Who would’ve thought that heaven would be boring. But it is so. Since humans began on the planet Earth all those years ago, our purpose was to survive and solve the problems that nature laid on us—scarcity, poverty, ignorance, disease—so we could have a brief moment to pursue our happiness before we died. But what happens when our survival is secured, the problems are solved, and we have infinite opportunities to pursue our happiness? Wouldn’t life get boring? That’s what we’re struggling with now. Frankly, utopia doesn’t agree with everyone. There’s trouble in paradise and all. Ah, perfect timing. Look over there. See him?”
Han Moret pointed to a man who was a few bonfires over. He was drunk and stumbling through the crowd. Since the man was pleromatized, he had a literal aura of drunkenness around him and projected a blurred existence beyond his body that wreaked a playful and entertaining havoc on others as he walked by.
“Damn it, Thrax. Not again!” someone shouted.
Han Moret continued, “You see, many people here have chosen to drown themselves in happiness and never resurface, as if that’s the only end and aim in life. Maybe it is, maybe we haven’t found the true meaning of happiness yet, maybe there’s something else, who knows, but with the ability to instantly create whatever we want whenever we want it and cure our bodies of anything, a lot of people have chosen to exist in what, in my opinion, is a false state of happiness. They get drunk and use drugs or just go straight to the source and alter their biochemistry so they can remain in a permanent state of euphoria, and they can do so without harm because the Pleroma prevents damage from constant intoxication and allows them to become sober immediately, whenever they choose, so their productivity remains the same, which makes it harder for me to argue that they should imbibe less. There have been many arguments about it. But it’s undeniably a feat of hedonic adaptation for our species when you think about, being bored in heaven and all. Nevertheless, many people like that fellow Thrax over there seem to never want to end it, their eternal happiness. I don’t know, boyo. We’ve done wonders here, but it’s not perfect, far from it.”
Han Moret was silent for a while and looked lost in thought, “Anyways! Apologies, I’ve strayed from my prepared remarks. There’s more for you to learn. Alright, what’s next? Yes, one of my favorites. Lora! Get over here.”
A wind blew through the camp and a woman appeared in front of Caleb. She looked into his eyes and smiled flirtatiously, then became wind again and reappeared behind Caleb. She tapped him on the shoulder and then rose above the ground and swirled around him, finally landing on the seat next to him.
“Hello, Caleb. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She drunkenly leaned into him, “So, did he tell you about the sex yet?”
“Uh…” He looked to Han Moret, who was conveniently looking elsewhere. “No.”
“Of course not, the prit. An old-fashioned manners man through and through. But my god! You have to try it. Imagine two people are like two atoms and now they’re having sex, but people are many atoms, octillions of them, so sex with the Pleroma is octillion times greater, a grinding cloud of pleasure, a great orgy of the Universe, all between two people, or more if that’s your taste. Does that make sense? Oh! See that electric cloud thing in the sky over there? There you go, some people are having a go at it,” thunder rolled across the camp, “and by the sound of it, having a lot of fun. One night when the elders were away and the kids were in bed, we younger ones—well young is relative now, I guess—but anyways, we wanted to test the limits of the stuff, and man…let’s just say we filled the space and rocked the place a little too literally.”
Han Moret interrupted, “Yes you did. Thank you, Lora. You may go now.”
Lora laughed, then kissed Caleb on the cheek and disappeared, creating a golden streak of light across the camp as she moved to another bonfire.
Han Moret resumed his lecture, “So, as you just saw, when you can control the atoms of your body, you can move yourself around. In other words, you can fly. Now, after hearing this, there is, logically, an obvious question.”
Caleb thought for a moment. “How is the mind not destroyed when the body are deconstructed and moved? Wouldn’t the person die in the process?”
“Correct! That is something we did not know until we tried it, or rather one person. Some crazy bastard just tried it one day and it worked, and from the fruit of such courageous experimentation we learned a lot about the nature and structure of consciousness. We still don’t know everything though. We know it has something to do with the attachment of plerons to neural atoms and the signals that they send to each other across a distance, like a spatial expansion of the underlying physical structure of consciousness, but we’re still figuring it out. For now, though, the important thing is that it works.”
“But isn’t the reconstructed person just a copy of the deconstructed one and not really the original person? Wouldn’t the original person be destroyed during deconstruction?”
“No, it’s them. When you go from body to nebulous state to body again, you can feel yourself the entire time. There aren’t any gaps or skips. It’s a continuous process, from one point to another, and you’re aware of it throughout. You can feel yourself dissolving, then nebulous and moving, then coming together again. And let me tell you, when you’re scattered like that, truly at one with the Universe, it’s liberating. It feels like…” Han Moret searched for the right words “…pure being.”
He continued, “Anyways, we’re nearing the end of the night, so let’s end it with a bang. What do you want? You can have anything you’d like. Some Viking ale?” A horned cup appeared in his hand. “One of those Parisian cafes we toured on Earth?” He tossed the cup in front of him and it became a miraged-like partition of one. “An ancient mosque?” The cafe rearranged into one. “A conversation with the legendary President Takhani?” The mosque condensed into the 22nd century woman. “Or better yet, how about a chat with another me?” The President morphed into another Han Moret.
“Fret not, he’s just a copy of me. Not really me. He’s not actually alive at all. Doesn’t have a consciousness. Just a puppet on my mental strings. Anyways, anything you want. What do you say?
Caleb stared at the fire and the flames slowed. He thought “my family” and must have unknowingly projected due to his intense emotional state, because Han Moret sighed.
“I’m sorry Caleb. I can’t do that…Not yet.”
The copy of Han Moret chimed in, “But we’re working on it!”
“Yes, thank you. We’re working on it, trying to resurrect the dead. So far, we can recreate the bodies of those who have been, but it’s recreating their consciousness that’s the tricky part. As you’ve seen, we can deconstruct and reconstruct the consciousness of living individuals across space while maintaining their continuity of being. The Self isn’t destroyed. It’s reconstructing…Hold on, that reminds me.”
The copy of Han Moret dissolved.
“That’s better. It’s reconstructing consciousness across time that’s the problem. Specifically, it’s reconnecting the consciousness of someone who lived in the past at the moment of their death, the presumed termination of their consciousness stream and Self, to the present that’s proving difficult. We’re trying to connect disjointed time-points between death and now so we can restore a dead person’s continuity of being, their true and original Self. We have the ability to create a likeness of someone’s consciousness, dead or alive, as I just showed, but it’s not truly them, it’s just a copy of them. If we can resurrect their stream of consciousness, awaken them from what would seem like a long nap, then we will have achieved true immortality, and not just for those who are living and yet to be born, but for all those who have been, all of the billions who once existed in the Universe, back in the world alive and well, forever. And we’re close, Caleb, we’re close. We actually made a big step today. Let me show you.” He amplified his voice and carried it on the wind, “Arina!”
A young and beautiful woman appeared. Caleb struggled to think of another word than “perfect.”
“Meet Arina. It’s her birthday, by the way.”
“Hello, Arina. Happy….” Caleb stopped because he recognized the name and remembered his conversation with Han Moret earlier. “Hold on, when I asked you how many people were in the Iris, you said that someone named Arina was born today.”
“And indeed they were. Her. The first of her kind, a fully grown human created by the Pleroma. Instantaneous creation. Now, I can anticipate your train of thought, and yes, the ethics of missing childhood with all its memories and growth and learning are concerning, and we will explore them, but we are in the first days of this stuff, so there will be many questions, and we are ready to answer them. But regardless, we constructed a new consciousness boyo! We did it, and we’re learning. Perhaps we can spark consciousness in animals too, any form of life actually…maybe even non-life come to think of it. But the next step is to resurrect old consciousness, which, as you know, would be the true power of resurrection. Godhood again! I told you Caleb, we’re seeking Godhood here, and we’re gaining a little of it every day.”
Han Moret seemed satisfied with himself and took a deep breath. “Alright, I think that’s enough for tonight. You’ve had a long day and have been shown much. Time for some rest. We Irisians don’t need sleep anymore, but you certainly do. Your body isn’t used to the godly life yet, so…tut tut, time for bed.”
The next day, Han Moret flew himself and Caleb around the Iris. Children passed by in the air on their way to school and nearly crashed into them several times, laughing. After a while, Caleb and Han Moret landed near the edge of a lake.
“See them?” Han Moret gestured to a man and woman in the distance between the lake and the foothills of a mountain. They were in the midst of combat. As they fought, various weapons rapidly materialized and dematerialized in their hands; each strike and block with someone new: now a sword, then a bow and arrow, now an axe, then a spear. They were flying and shifting and moving in a rhythmic flow, using the land around them and pure force as weapons. It was a literal storm of battle, as if reality was at war with itself, clashing shards of spacetime, two gods battling in a field.
“So, you want me to learn how to do that? Fight with the Pleroma to defeat the Sargons?” Caleb asked.
“Fight? No, those two are just bored, so they’re having a little dance. For Earth’s sake, Caleb. Haven’t you been listening? Watch.”
There was a boom in the distance. Caleb looked to where a mountain was, or rather, where it used to be, since it was missing. Han Moret had destroyed it instantly, deleting it from existence.
“With this, all you need is to be in the same room as them and then boom, gone forever in the blink of an eye, with only a thought, without even a fight, without even a flinch. Theoretically, you don’t even need to be in the same room as them. You could be here and destroy them wherever they are in the Solar System with targeted pleron dispersal and sufficient transmission relays. You could do whatever you want wherever you want. But I think the people need to see you, Caleb. They need to see you standing before the Sargons, declaring their wrongs, making things right. They need to hear your words, your plans for the future, and see the awesome power of this stuff, how it will change everything. Because with this, there will be no more war. With this, we become God. We’ll live forever, boyo. We’re free now. What will we do? Ah, so much, so much. There’s so much we can do now! Peace in our time, gods in Empire. A new day in a new age. It’s coming, Caleb. Gods among us because they become us. Are you ready?”
Caleb thought for a moment, then closed his eyes and stood in silence.
After a while, he flashed his hand. And all at once, a burst of wind blew, thunder cracked, and the suns shone brighter—the world shook.
He opened his eyes, “Yes.”

Week 1: Introduction to Poetry and Sonnets
Day 1: Overview of Poetry Styles - Activity: Icebreaker - Introduce yourself through a poetic name acrostic. - Lecture: Brief history of poetry, introduction to various styles. - Discussion: What draws you to poetry? Share your favorite poems.
Day 2: Understanding Sonnets - Activity: Analyze a classic sonnet together. - Lecture: Explanation of sonnet structure (Shakespearean and Petrarchan). - Discussion: Share initial impressions and feelings about sonnets.
Day 3: Writing Exercise - Crafting a Sonnet - Activity: Break down sonnet structure with examples. - Assignment: Write a sonnet exploring a personal experience or emotion. - Vocabulary Words: Quatrain, Couplet, Volta.
Day 4: Peer Review and Feedback - Activity: Peer review workshop for sonnets. - Lecture: Discuss common challenges and strategies in sonnet writing. - Discussion: Share insights gained from reviewing peers' work.
Day 5: Recap and Reflection - Activity: Reflect on the week's lessons and exercises. - Lecture: Overview of upcoming weeks. - Assignment: Write a short reflection on what you've learned about poetry and sonnets.
Study Guide Questions for Week 1: 1. What is the basic structure of a sonnet? 2. Compare and contrast Shakespearean and Petrarchan sonnets. 3. How does the volta contribute to the meaning of a sonnet? 4. Discuss the role of rhyme and meter in sonnets. 5. Explore your personal connection to poetry. What emotions or themes resonate with you?
Quiz: A short quiz assessing understanding of sonnet structure, key terms, and the historical context of poetry.
Week 2: Embracing Haiku and Villanelle
Day 1: Understanding Haiku - Activity: Analyze classic haikus. - Lecture: Explain the traditional structure and themes of haikus. - Discussion: Share thoughts on the simplicity and depth of haikus.
Day 2: Crafting Haikus - Activity: Write haikus individually. - Lecture: Discuss the significance of nature in haikus. - Discussion: Share and discuss individual haikus.
Day 3: Unraveling the Villanelle - Activity: Analyze a famous villanelle. - Lecture: Explore the structure and repetition in villanelles. - Discussion: Discuss the impact of repeated lines on the overall theme.
Day 4: Writing Exercise - Composing a Villanelle - Activity: Break down the process of crafting a villanelle. - Assignment: Write a villanelle on the theme of memory or loss. - Vocabulary Words: Tercet, Refrain, Envoi.
Day 5: Peer Review and Feedback - Activity: Peer review workshop for villanelles. - Lecture: Discuss the challenges and beauty of crafting repetitive forms. - Discussion: Share insights gained from reviewing peers' villanelles.
Study Guide Questions for Week 2: 1. What defines a haiku? Discuss its structure and thematic elements. 2. Explore the cultural significance of nature in haikus. 3. What is the structure of a villanelle, and how does repetition contribute to its impact? 4. Discuss the emotions evoked by repeated lines in a villanelle. 5. Reflect on the process of crafting a villanelle. What challenges did you face?
Quiz: Assessment on the understanding of haikus, villanelles, and the effective use of repetition in poetry.

First Poem, my english isn't perfect IK XD. Please if you need any advice, improvement strategies, comments etc just call me <3
Genius and Madness
Genius and Madness are never far away from eachother, they say.
But do they explain how your mind needs to break at first? Slashed apart, drowned in hate and crushed?
When you scratch the corners of reality, expand your imagination in eternity, you forget how to speak, how to think, how to sleep, but instead; you feel. You feel something in a way utterly different then it's supposed to for humankind. And you drown completely in this deep strong sea Full of Beauty, Magic, Sense and Grieve.
Through the bleeding cracks of your heart, Deceitful Tears escape their lifeless hole, ripping it apart. Remorseful Screams & Hidden Schemes
Enchanting pieces sounding just like deadly rumble of thunder, the darkblue sky crashing on the ground, making our planet crumble, The beautiful end of the world ♡
And you should shake in fear and agony, but you are way to distracted by the glory near. By the darkred puddles forming under those grayish bodies, The last goodbye, the last kiss, the last spoken word in this doomed world;
The mesmeric tragic Of our beautiful kind
And while you feel you should break You are meant to observe, meant to create and meant to be alive, for humanities sake.
The shattered heart and dying mind Were just your next platform to fly Grow new wings, fly high, rise upon the starless clowdy nights.
U get lost in the fogging, destructive labyrinth of your chaotic, maximalist mind
And while you break apart, atleast the outcome will make a change large. The true projection of your imagination, an opera and a painting, the most sweet melodies, a beautiful grasp of what you can hear and feel, a rennaisance painting and your mother's love fainting. All of this at once,
This Projection just after a single glance, your soul traveling to places you have never seen before, which must not even be in this time, but in every case cached from a rhyme in your mind. You feel all those helpless souls aching and those visions of those unknown places. This new World, It must not be existing, but in any case your reality is shifting.
You are a dreamer, a creator, an artist of his kind, a poet who will never get to escape his mind.
Terror, Fear, Greatness and Imagination.
You feel so much more, from the deepest of you core, even more on the tip of your bleeding tongue, leaving u either in an utterly compulsive Strangulation or a Ecstatic Fascination balancing between this thin line of Destinarion.
Use your power and extraordinary Expectation, and change the world within your imagination.
The world is yours, you have no rules and no obligations, but surely always keep this advice caught and put away.
Loose your reckless Mind and find your ancient, bewitching Soul!
The Sake of Life is the search for a beauty ripe and your loved childs destinies to immerge & rise high.
All This Love is Art and all this Art is Beauty!
Show the world your meaningfull Creations and captivating Fascinations.
Embrace your tragic Gift and turn the world around in a magic, beautiful Twist.
Time will come where you are going to be treated completely loved and kind, you just need to survive. Your creative visions are going to change this earth as it's given, shout your message into the world, test the limitis of your mind and never tolerate reality just blind!

1. Haiku for Hanukkah:
   
   • Craft a series of haikus capturing the essence of Hanukkah, focusing on the symbolism of light, the menorah, and the joy of shared traditions.
2. Sonnet of Diwali Delights:
   
   • Write a sonnet that explores the colors, lights, and festivities of Diwali, incorporating themes of triumph over darkness and the spirit of renewal.
3. Kwanzaa Villanelle:
   
   • Create a villanelle that reflects on the seven principles of Kwanzaa, exploring the repeated refrains to convey a sense of unity, purpose, and cultural celebration.
4. Las Posadas Limericks:
   
   • Compose a set of limericks capturing the humorous and heartwarming moments of Las Posadas, focusing on the characters and the reenactment of the journey to Bethlehem.
5. St. Lucia's Day Free Verse:
   
   • Write a free verse poem that explores the sensory experience of St. Lucia's Day, using vivid imagery to convey the sights, sounds, and emotions of the candlelit processions.
6. Winter Solstice Cinquains:
   
   • Create a series of cinquains that capture the anticipation, stillness, and eventual rebirth associated with the Winter Solstice.
7. Chinese New Year Acrostic:
   
   • Compose an acrostic poem using the words "Chinese New Year," incorporating each letter to convey the energy, symbolism, and cultural richness of the celebration.
8. Ganna Elegy:
   
   • Write an elegy that reflects on the Ethiopian Christmas (Ganna), exploring themes of faith, tradition, and the emotional resonance of the holiday.
9. Oshogatsu Haiga:
   
   • Combine haiku with visual elements in a haiga to capture the serene beauty and cultural significance of Oshogatsu, incorporating traditional New Year imagery.
10. Global Celebrations Ghazal:
    
    • Craft a ghazal that weaves together the diverse elements of global holiday celebrations, exploring the shared threads of joy, love, and cultural exchange.

. Cinquain: Whisper, Soft breeze, Rustling through leaves, Nature's gentle melody, Serene.
. Ghazal: Moonlight spills, a silver stream, Love's refrain, a poet's dream. Roses weep, their petals gleam, Lost in verses, shadows scheme.
Sestina: Moonrise casts its ethereal glow, Each night, a cyclical ebb and flow. Stars witness tales, both high and low, As time weaves stories, to and fro.
Tanka: Autumn leaves descend, A tapestry of farewell, Crisp whispers of time. Nature's brush strokes paint the scene, Seasons change, memories cling.
Pantoum: In the moonlit dance, shadows play, Shadows weave tales in the silvery night. Echoes of laughter, whispers sway, Night unfolds its magical light.
. Rondel: Sunset's hues in vibrant array, Paint the sky in hues of gold. Nature's masterpiece, bold and bold, A canvas where dreams hold sway.
. Rondeau: Joyful laughter, a sweet refrain, Echoes through the sunlit glade. Hearts entwined, a bond well made, Love's melody, a constant gain.
. Triolet: Whispers of wind through ancient trees, A tale told by the rustling leaves. Whispers of wind through ancient trees, Nature's song, a timeless tease.
Quatrain: Moonlight weaves a silken thread, Night unfolds in shadows' spread. Stars whisper secrets overhead, Dreams bloom in the quiet bed.
Elegy: In the quiet of the setting sun, Memories linger, stories spun. A solemn ode to what is done, Elegy for a life well-run.
. Ode: Sing, muse, of nature's wondrous grace, A symphony in every living trace. Ode to the moon's soft, glowing face, Illuminating night's quiet embrace.
. Ballad: In a valley where the rivers twine, A ballad echoes through ancient pine. Heroes rise, and villains decline, Tales of love and loss intertwine.
. Epic: A saga unfolds in realms unknown, Heroes clash with a thunderous tone. Epic battles in a world overthrown, A timeless tale, through ages, is sown.
. Narrative poem: Through the forest and over the hill, A narrative weaves, tranquil and still. Characters dance, their destinies fulfill, A poetic journey, a quill's skill.
Epigram: In few words sharp, a truth unveiled, Wit and wisdom in balance, finely scaled. Life's ironies, humor exhaled, Epigram, where truths are hailed.

It's thundering outside and I need book recommendations.
Something far out and weird. Nothing too serious. Can be poems, nonfiction, fiction, a manual of some sort. I just finished The Spoon River Anthology and I'm currently listening to The Amusement Park (a history etc).
Thank you. 🙌
PS: Anthologies and short stories are usually my preference regarding length. I have ADHD and cannot focus for long.

Course Title: Exploring the Panorama of Poetry
Course Description: This course delves into the rich tapestry of poetic forms, guiding students through the exploration and creation of fifty distinct styles of poetry. From classic sonnets to innovative forms like golden shovel and palindrome poetry, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of poetic expression, learning the nuances of each style and honing their creative skills.
Week 1-2: Introduction to Poetry and Sonnets - Overview of poetry styles - In-depth study of sonnets - Writing Exercise: Crafting a sonnet on personal experiences
Week 3-4: Embracing Haiku and Villanelle - Understanding the elegance of haiku - Exploring the repetitive beauty of villanelles - Writing Exercise: Composing haikus inspired by nature
Week 5-6: Limericks and the Art of Humor - Decoding the humor in limericks - Crafting limericks with wit and wordplay - Writing Exercise: Creating humorous limericks on everyday topics
Week 7-8: Free Verse and Acrostic Poetry - Liberating creativity through free verse - Playing with words in acrostic poems - Writing Exercise: Expressing emotions through free verse
Week 9-10: Ghazal and Tanka Mastery - Unveiling the beauty of ghazals - Crafting tankas with precision - Writing Exercise: Creating a ghazal on themes of love and longing
Week 11-12: Cinquains and Pantoum Prowess - Perfecting the art of cinquains - Embracing the rhythmic challenges of pantoums - Writing Exercise: Developing a pantoum on personal growth
Week 13-14: Sestina and Rondeau Exploration - Mastering the intricacies of sestinas - Crafting rondeaus with musicality - Writing Exercise: Composing a sestina on the theme of time
Week 15-16: Triolets and Kyrielles - Understanding the charm of triolets - Embracing the structure of kyrielles - Writing Exercise: Crafting a triolet on the beauty of simplicity
Week 17-18: Ode to Joyful Ballads - Writing joyful odes - Crafting narrative ballads - Writing Exercise: Creating an ode celebrating personal achievements
Week 19-20: Epic Journeys and Blank Verse - Exploring epic storytelling - Mastering the art of blank verse - Writing Exercise: Composing a blank verse poem reflecting on personal reflections
Week 21-22: Petrarchan Musings and Terza Rima Mastery - Delving into Petrarchan sonnets - Crafting poems using terza rima - Writing Exercise: Writing a Petrarchan sonnet on conflicting emotions
Week 23-24: Renga Collaboration and Prose Poetry - Collaborative renga creation - Experimenting with prose poetry - Writing Exercise: Crafting a prose poem inspired by a vivid memory
Week 25-26: Concrete Poetry and Narrative Art - Creating visual impact with concrete poetry - Mastering the art of narrative poetry - Writing Exercise: Developing a narrative poem based on personal experiences
Week 27-28: Pastoral Elegies and Morning Aubades - Writing pastoral poetry - Crafting mournful elegies - Writing Exercise: Composing an aubade capturing the essence of dawn
Week 29-30: Ekphrastic Marvels and Found Poetry Adventures - Creating poetry inspired by art - Crafting poems through found materials - Writing Exercise: Developing an ekphrastic poem based on a chosen artwork
Week 31-32: Epigrams and Clerihew Laughter - Crafting witty epigrams - Writing humorous clerihews - Writing Exercise: Composing a clerihew about a contemporary figure
Week 33-34: Quatrains and Double Dactyl Delight - Mastering the art of quatrains - Crafting light-hearted double dactyls - Writing Exercise: Creating a quatrain reflecting on the beauty of simplicity
Week 35-36: Terzanelles and Haibun Adventures - Crafting terzanelles with precision - Exploring the combination of prose and haiku in haibun - Writing Exercise: Composing a haibun narrating a meaningful travel experience
Week 37-38: Golden Shovel Challenges and Villancico Celebrations - Creating poems using the golden shovel technique - Crafting festive villancicos - Writing Exercise: Developing a golden shovel poem using a line from a favorite poem
Week 39-40: Tercet Beauty and Sevenling Narratives - Embracing the charm of tercets - Crafting sevenlings with narrative flair - Writing Exercise: Composing a sevenling reflecting on a vivid childhood memory
Week 41-42: Palindrome Reflections and Parallelismus Membrorum Insights - Creating palindrome poetry - Crafting poems using parallelismus membrorum - Writing Exercise: Developing a palindrome poem exploring balance in life
Week 43-44: Rubaiyat Contemplations and Blues Poem Expressions - Exploring Persian poetry with rubaiyats - Crafting poems inspired by the blues - Writing Exercise: Composing a rubaiyat on themes of love or mortality
Week 45-46: Erasure Transformations and Anaphora Intensity - Crafting poetry through erasure - Mastering the use of anaphora - Writing Exercise: Creating an erasure poem using a page from a novel or newspaper
Week 47-48: Tetractys and Sijo Harmonies - Crafting tetractys with specific syllable counts - Exploring traditional Korean poetry with sijo - Writing Exercise: Developing a sijo capturing a moment of beauty or introspection
Week 49-50: Blitz Poem Exploration and Epitaph Conclusions - Crafting blitz poems with rapid expression - Writing poignant epitaphs - Final Project: Compose an original poem using a style of the student's choice, reflecting personal growth throughout the course.
Assessment: - Weekly writing exercises - Participation in collaborative projects - Midterm and final projects showcasing mastery of chosen styles
Materials: - Poetry anthologies - Artworks for ekphrastic exercises - Writing journals - Selected readings for each style
Prerequisites: None. Open to all students with an interest in poetry and creative expression.

1. Sonnet:
   A 14-line poem, traditionally written in iambic pentameter, with various rhyme schemes such as Shakespearean (ABABCDCDEFEFGG).
   
2. Haiku:
   

A three-line Japanese poem with a 5-7-5 syllable count, typically capturing a moment in nature.

1. Free Verse:
   Poetry without a fixed rhyme or meter, allowing for greater freedom and natural flow of expression.
   
2. Villanelle
   

: A 19-line poem with a specific structure, containing five tercets followed by a concluding quatrain, using only two rhymes.

1. Acrostic:
   A poem where the first letter of each line, when read vertically, spells out a word or message.
   
2. Limerick
   

: A humorous five-line poem with a specific meter and rhyme scheme (AABBA).

1. Ghazal:

A form of poetry with rhyming couplets and a repeating refrain, often exploring themes of love and loss.

1. Tanka

: A Japanese form of poetry with a 5-7-5-7-7 syllable count structure, focusing on nature and emotions.

1. Sestina:
   A complex poem with six stanzas of six lines each, ending with a three-line envoi; the same six words end the lines in a shifting pattern.
   
2. Cinquain
   

: A five-line poem with a specific syllable count for each line (2-4-6-8-2), often used to capture a moment or emotion.

1. Rondeau:
   A 13-line poem with a rhyme scheme and repetition of specific words, often emphasizing themes of love.
   
2. Pantoum
   

: A form of poetry with repeating lines, where the second and fourth lines of each stanza become the first and third lines of the next.

1. Ode:

A lyrical poem expressing strong emotions or deep feelings, often addressed to a particular person or thing.

1. Elegy:
   A mournful poem, typically written in remembrance of someone who has passed away.
   
2. Ekphrastic
   

: A poem inspired by a work of art, often describing or reflecting on the visual piece.

1. Concrete Poetry:
   Poems where the arrangement of words on the page forms a visual representation of the subject.
   
2. Prose Poetry
   

: A hybrid of prose and poetry, characterized by its free-flowing structure and poetic language within prose form.

1. Epigram:

A short, witty, and often satirical poem or statement, typically with a clever or humorous ending.

1. Quatrain

: A four-line stanza or poem with various rhyme schemes, commonly used in ballads and hymns.

1. Epitaph

: A short poem or inscription on a tombstone in memory of the deceased.

Week 3: Limericks and the Art of Humor
Day 1: Decoding Limericks - Activity: Analyze classic limericks for rhythm and humor. - Lecture: Discuss the AABBA rhyme scheme and distinctive rhythm. - Discussion: Share favorite humorous poems and discuss elements that make them funny.
Day 2: Crafting Limericks with Wit - Activity: Write limericks individually, focusing on humor and rhythm. - Lecture: Explore the balance of humor and structure in limericks. - Discussion: Share and discuss individual limericks, highlighting successful elements.
Day 3: Understanding Free Verse - Activity: Analyze free verse poems for structure and expression. - Lecture: Introduce the concept of free verse and its flexibility. - Discussion: Discuss the liberation and challenges of writing without a strict structure.
Day 4: Writing Exercise - Expressing Emotions in Free Verse - Activity: Explore emotions and write a free verse poem. - Assignment: Craft a free verse poem exploring a personal experience or emotion. - Vocabulary Words: Enjambment, Cadence, Anapest.
Day 5: Peer Review and Feedback - Activity: Peer review workshop for free verse poems. - Lecture: Discuss the artistic freedom and impact of free verse. - Discussion: Share insights gained from reviewing peers' free verse poems.
Study Guide Questions for Week 3: 1. What defines a limerick, and how does its rhythm contribute to its humor? 2. Discuss the importance of the AABBA rhyme scheme in limericks. 3. How does free verse differ from structured forms of poetry? 4. Explore the challenges and benefits of writing without a strict form in free verse. 5. Reflect on the emotions and experiences expressed in your free verse poem.
Quiz: Assessment on limericks, the AABBA rhyme scheme, and the principles of free verse.
Week 4: Free Verse and Acrostic Poetry
Day 1: Embracing Free Verse - Activity: Analyze diverse free verse poems for individual expression. - Lecture: Discuss famous free verse poets and their impact on the genre. - Discussion: Share personal reactions to the artistic freedom of free verse.
Day 2: Crafting Emotion in Free Verse - Activity: Write a free verse poem expressing a specific emotion. - Lecture: Explore the role of emotions in free verse and the use of vivid imagery. - Discussion: Share and discuss individual poems, highlighting emotional impact.
Day 3: Understanding Acrostic Poetry - Activity: Analyze acrostic poems for clever wordplay. - Lecture: Explain the concept of acrostic poetry and its various forms. - Discussion: Share examples of creative acrostic poems.
Day 4: Writing Exercise - Personal Acrostic - Activity: Craft an acrostic poem using your name or a chosen word. - Assignment: Write an acrostic poem exploring a theme or concept. - Vocabulary Words: Strophe, Stanza, Consonance.
Day 5: Peer Review and Feedback - Activity: Peer review workshop for acrostic poems. - Lecture: Discuss the playfulness and creativity of acrostic poetry. - Discussion: Share insights gained from reviewing peers' acrostic poems.
Study Guide Questions for Week 4: 1. Explore the role of emotions in free verse poetry. How does it differ from structured forms? 2. Discuss the impact of vivid imagery in free verse. How does it contribute to the overall message? 3. What defines acrostic poetry, and how is it different from other forms? 4. How can clever wordplay enhance the impact of an acrostic poem? 5. Reflect on the creative process and thematic exploration in your acrostic poem.
Quiz: Assessment on understanding free verse, emotional expression in poetry, and the principles of acrostic poetry.

Ok here's what I've got today:

1. Dany is indeed the final "threat" of the story. That does not make her mad or evil.
2. The second dance is a global endgame conflict along lines or race, class, and religion.
3. The rise of R'hllor is about western anxieties around the rise of the Islamic empire and the perceived threat jihad posed to Christendom during the Middle Ages. Hence why the Faith of the Seven is a clear allegory for Catholicism and western monotheism, while R'hllor is a clear mashup of Zoroastrianism and eastern monotheism.

Even for me, this is going to be a pretty elaborate theory. But if you can get over the alternate timeline stuff I think I can provide an explanation of how the last three episodes of the show were D&D's attempt at depicting the second dance of the dragons.
The first dance of the dragons was a Targaryen war of succession fought with dragons on both sides, and George has said that a second dance will be a subject of a future book. The prevailing view in the fandom is that the Essos story will wrap up in Winds, and Dream will open with a quick dance between Dany and Aegon spanning the time it takes the Others to march from the Wall to the Trident.
My problem with that view is that Aegon doesn't have a dragon, the Essos story cannot resolve by the end of Winds, and you cannot fit a race war between Duskendale and King's Landing.

I. Some say the world will end in fire

The title of A Song of Ice and Fire is based on the Robert Frost poem 'Fire and Ice' which proposes the world can end in either fire or ice. In the poem ice is hatred and vengeance, and fire is love and desire. In the story, ice and fire manifest as the two threats looming over the Seven Kingdoms, being the Others to the north and Daenerys and her dragons to the east.
George is very upfront about this:

Well of course the two outlying ones, the things going on north at the wall, and Daenerys Targaryen on the other continent with her dragons, are of course the ice and fire of the title, a song of ice and fire. The central stuff, the stuff that's happening in the middle in King's Landing, is much more based on historical events, historical fiction, it's loosely drawn from the war of the roses and some of the other conflicts around the hundred years war, although of course with a fantasy twist.
One of the dynamics I started with there was the sense of people being so consumed by their petty struggles for power within King's Landing that they're blind to the much greater threats happening far away on the periphery of their kingdoms. And of course you can see that all through history...
~ GRRM

Yet the way the story has developed, the ice is coming before the fire. Once the Long Night comes, Dany can no longer be perceived as a threat because the Others pose a common enemy. This is why I believe the story will show us a split timeline.
Like the poem, one ends in ice and the other ends in fire.
In the first timeline the threat is the Long Night, where ice comes to end the world and fire wages a war for the dawn. In the second timeline the invasion from the north is prevented, so the threat is the from the east. It's Azor Ahai. It's the Stallion Who Mounts the World. With no ice apocalypse to fight, a holy war in the name of a fire god becomes a threat to the people of Westeros.

"People say I was influenced by Robert Ford’s poem, and of course I was, I mean... Fire is love, fire is passion, fire is sexual ardor and all of these things. Ice is betrayal, ice is revenge, ice is… you know, that kind of cold inhumanity and all that stuff is being played out in the books." ~ GRRM

Like in the poem, the threat of the Others is about hatred. The Others are the revenge of the Children of the Forest. Also like the poem, the threat of dragons will be about love and desire. Dragons are a manifestation of Dany's desire to liberate and conquer, but also her quest for love and belonging.

"Fire is a cruel way to die. Dalla died to give this child life, but you have nourished him, cherished him. You saved your own boy from the ice. Now save hers from the fire." ~ Jon II, ADWD

The kingdom is saved from ice and then it must be saved from fire. From love, desire, and dragons.

II. Under the banner of House Targaryen

I believe that in the second timeline Tyrion doesn't sabotage the Aegon cause out of spite, and so Aegon actually does go meet Dany in Essos. He is accepted by Rhaegal due to his Valyrian blood, so Dany accepts his legitimacy and the two are betrothed. Thus House Targaryen will proceed to conquer the world, with an empire stretching from Vaes Dothrak to Casterly Rock.
That may sound ambitious given the size of Dany's dragons, but consider the alliance forming under the banner of House Targaryen.

1. Dany has already established a foothold in Slaver's Bay.
2. Dany is headed for Vaes Dothrak where she will no doubt raise a Dothraki army.
3. Victarion has brought the Iron Fleet and is fighting Dany's enemies from Astapor and Yunkai.
4. The Red Temple is preaching Dany as the messiah and want her to lead a slave revolt in Volantis.
5. Red Priests are leading religious uprisings in Qohor.
6. Barristan has promised Pentos to the Tattered Prince.
7. Dorne already seeks to align themselves with House Targaryen.
8. Tyrion has promised the gold of Casterly Rock to the Second Sons.
9. The Golden Company originally broke their contract with Myr to join Dany.

Dany's dragons may be young, but people are flocking to her just as Quaithe said they would. Everyone wants a piece of the miracle, and that desire has inspired the messianic prophecies that now surround her. Dany's story is even more powerful than her dragons.

Tyrion considered saying something, then thought better. It seemed to him that the prophecy that drove the red priests had room for just one hero. A second Targaryen would only serve to confuse them. ~ Tyrion VIII, ADWD

People often speculate that Aegon will steal Dany's thunder in Westeros and drive her to jealousy and madness, but currently Aegon is the one who is insecure about being less accomplished. For people in Essos, Daenerys Targaryen is the messiah, but Aegon is just a boy.
^{Remember how the show framed Jon and Dany's first encounter. Jon show is also Aegon IV.}
In the west this dynamic will be inverted. The mummer's dragon was raised to adhere to the norms of Westeros, so Aegon VI will be perceived as the rightful king coming to restore peace and stability after a corrupt Lannister regime. Meanwhile Dany will be perceived as the queen of savages, bringing with her a foreign fire religion. This plays out on the show as well.

"No." The eunuch's voice seemed deeper. "He is here. Aegon has been shaped for rule since before he could walk. He has been trained in arms, as befits a knight to be, but that was not the end of his education. He reads and writes, he speaks several tongues, he has studied history and law and poetry. A septa has instructed him in the mysteries of the Faith since he was old enough to understand them. He has lived with fisherfolk, worked with his hands, swum in rivers and mended nets and learned to wash his own clothes at need. He can fish and cook and bind up a wound, he knows what it is like to be hungry, to be hunted, to be afraid. Tommen has been taught that kingship is his right. Aegon knows that kingship is his duty, that a king must put his people first, and live and rule for them." ~ Epilogue, ADWD

I know that the dynamic I'm putting forward here isn't new, but this doesn't work in the middle of the Long Night, nor does it make sense after. A dragonless Aegon Targaryen cannot prove his legitimacy, nor survive the Others, nor call himself protector of the realm.
Symbols matter. Wyman Manderly makes this clear.

To thwart him White Harbor must have Ned's son … and the direwolf. The wolf will prove the boy is who we say he is, should the Dreadfort attempt to deny him. ~ Davos IV, ADWD

But in another timeline where he brings a (green) dragon, Aegon will have the proof he needs to pull off a Targaryen restoration.
While Aegon has been raised to adhere to Westerosi norms so he can appeal to the church and aristocracy, Dany's following in Essos is being built through slave revolts and the rise of R'hllor. The only way to hold this global empire together would be a Dany and Aegon marriage. Yet Aegon is not Dany's type nor is Dany Aegon's. Rather, the two are setup to be mostly jealous and resentful of each other. And what happens when two married people resent each other?
They get divorced.

III. World War D

To explain how this ignites, I have to use everyone's least favorite scene from season 8.
Let's talk about Dany's speech:

You are liberators! You have freed the people of King's Landing from the grip of a tyrant. But the war is not over. We will not lay down our spears until we have liberated all the people of the world. From Winterfell to Dorne, from Lannisport to Qarth, from the Summer Isles to the Jade Sea! Men, women, and children have suffered too long beneath the wheel. Will you break the wheel with me?
~Shownerys Targaryen

I understand that D&D treat Dany's ending without much nuance, aiming to paint her in the most fascist light possible. And I understand that for many, this scene is simply a reflection of D&D's fear of women and brown people (I'm Palestinian, I get it). However, I think it's cope to argue D&D pulled this out of nowhere. A global jihad to liberate the world is very much setup in the books.

"Benerro has sent forth the word from Volantis. Her coming is the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy. From smoke and salt was she born to make the world anew. She is Azor Ahai returned … and her triumph over darkness will bring a summer that will never end … death itself will bend its knee, and all those who die fighting in her cause shall be reborn …" ~ Tyrion VI, ADWD

The Red Temple are gearing up for a holy war across Essos. After Dany helps them topple slavery and take control of Volantis, the Red Priests will seek to take control of the neighboring Free Cities. Dany doesn't need to become a R'hllor fundamentalist to allow this (and she won't), she simply needs to accept it as part of the anti-slavery crusade. After all...
Most of the Free Cities still allow slavery.
So the uprisings won't end in Volantis. Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh, all practice slavery. The Red Priests are already instigating riots in Qohor, where slavery is illegal but still practiced by the wealthy. Next is Norvos, a theocracy where slavery is also practiced. After Norvos is Pentos, again where slavery is forbidden but still practiced by the rich. Most notably Illyrio Mopatis, a wealthy backer of the slave trade who has been the puppet master behind the Targaryen restoration plot from the beginning. Whether Daenerys makes good on Barristan's promise to the Tattered Prince, Pentos is where her story began and the story is pulling her back.

Tyrion pondered all he knew of Volantis, oldest and proudest of the Nine Free Cities. Something was awry here. Even with half a nose, he could smell it. "It's said there are five slaves for every free man in Volantis. Why would the triarchs assist a queen who smashed the slave trade?" He pointed at Illyrio. "For that matter, why would you? Slavery may be forbidden by the laws of Pentos, yet you have a finger in that trade as well, and maybe a whole hand. And yet you conspire for the dragon queen, and not against her. Why? What do you hope to gain from Queen Daenerys?" ~ Tyrion III, ADWD

While Aegon proceeds to conquer Westeros by appealing to the ruling class, Dany's forces will carry out an anti-slavery crusade across the Free Cities. This crusade will not only abolish slavery, but will topple the ruling class and spread R'hllor, threatening both the aristocracy and the church, who fear the same in Westeros. Aegon might demand that she stop, but he'd have no power in Essos, where people are loyal to the black dragon, not the green.
This sets up the core political basis for a second dance. It won't really be over the question of legitimacy (it never is), but rather conflicting approaches and interests. Just like in the first dance, the dispute is between a progressive monarchy (the blacks) and a traditionalist aristocracy (the greens). It's a dispute that threatens to spin out into a global conflict along lines of race, class, and religion.
Once again, Tyrion is the saboteur. Tyrion will fall for Dany and act upon his unrequited love by instigating the conflict. This could involve anything from planting the seed that Aegon might be a Blackfyre to insinuating that Aegon is having an affair and plans to have her set aside (perhaps over her alleged infertility). But Tyrion can't invent a conflict, he can only instigate what already exists.
My guess is that this all comes to a head when Dany goes against Aegon's wishes and burns Illyrio alive for treason. This will be true. He is after all guilty of funding the Triarchs against her. You may feel this is justified, but it will still invite comparisons to Aerys. Then Aegon will have Missandei taken into custody for spying on behalf of Daenerys. This will also be true. Finally, Aegon will seek to have Dany deposed, she will declare him a pretender, the Aegon loyalists will turn on the Dany loyalists, she will mount Drogon, he will mount Rhaegal, and the dragons will dance.
Black vs Green

Teora gave a tiny nod, chin trembling. "They were dancing. In my dream. And everywhere the dragons danced the people died." ~ Arianne I, TWOW

When the dance is done, Dany will be victorious. But the collateral damage will be catastrophic, with countless civilian casualties as well as the death of Rhaegal. The quest will have turned her into the villain of the story she was raised on. The tragedy of the mother of dragons is that she becomes the usurper and kills her own child.
This is pretty much where I see the end of the Dany story. If you disbelieve her death on the show, then Dany can fly away to Asshai never to return. Otherwise Dany will be assassinated by someone close to her (probably Jorah Mormont). In the new timeline she and Jon never meet.
The twist is that the Dothraki, Unsullied and Fiery Hand never invade.
The holy war never comes to Westeros.

IV. Dany's Landing

George has said the second dance doesn't have to mean Dany's invasion.

The second Dance of Dragons does not have to mean Dany's invasion. George stopped himself short and said he shouldn't say anymore. ~ SSM

I think he said that because it doesn't. Daenerys will come to Westeros, but we're not getting two consecutive Targaryen invasions, because why on earth would we need that?
I know that is controversial, but really look at the story. There isn't space for a full scale Daenerys invasion. People kind of see this already. When most fans describe what they expect a Dany invasion would be, it's typically just two battles between Duskendale and King's Landing.
But a true Dany invasion is practically a race war. It's a massive story that would bring tens of thousands of people who are ethnically, culturally, and religiously alien to the continent. Really ask yourself, who will lead the Dothraki after Daenerys? How do the Unsullied fit into Westerosi society? What will the Fiery Hand hand think about King Bran? These groups don't share the same customs or language, they can't establish new houses, and they don't even want to live in Westeros. Without Dany becoming queen to help them assimilate, the only options they have are to fight to the death or leave.
^{And no, George won't resolve the Essos story by having all the foreigners die in the Long Night.}
I believe that as the Essos plot expanded to be about ending slavery, George decided he'd rather not have the freed slaves show up to Westeros as a hoard that gets massacred and then leaves. Instead it seems that the Dany invasion from the original outline was scrapped in favor of a more fleshed out Essos campaign, and the Aegon invasion was created as a replacement in the west.
Even with this change, the overall Dany arc is as originally intended. It's queen, conqueror, messiah, then downfall.

The whispers became a swirling song. . . . three fires must you light . . . one for life and one for death and one to love ~ Daenerys IV, ACOK

The second fire is not King's Landing. It's in Volantis. The fire for death will be Dany burning the Old Blood behind their Black Walls. The show depicts this as the burning of the khals, which is followed by people worshiping her as the messiah (also adapted from Volantis). In addition to being proclaimed Azor Ahai in Volantis, Daenerys will also take up the mantle of the Stallion Who Mounts the World in Vaes Dothrak. This is a clear historical parallel to Genghis Khan, who's ambition to conquer the world was also justified as being the will of god. Just like the show, the books are building up to a situation where all of Dany's loyalists are from Essos, her destiny is perceived as being divinely ordained, and her downfall prevents a crusade to "remake the world."
Yet Daenerys still lands in Westeros in both timelines. In one she will reconstruct the messiah narrative, and in the other she will deconstruct it.

That night she dreamt that she was Rhaegar, riding to the Trident. But she was mounted on a dragon, not a horse. When she saw the Usurper's rebel host across the river they were armored all in ice, but she bathed them in dragonfire and they melted away like dew and turned the Trident into a torrent. Some small part of her knew that she was dreaming, but another part exulted. This is how it was meant to be. The other was a nightmare, and I have only now awakened. ~ Daenerys III, ASOS

In the Long Night, the Daenerys story will be close to fantasy. She'll come to Westeros as a messiah, and characters will perceive her as a light in the darkness that gives humanity a fighting chance. She doesn't need to bring her army for this, she just needs to use her fire to empower the people of the Seven Kingdoms to fight for their own lives.
I don't expect her to have a literal war council with every major character, but she will likely face Euron and fight alongside Jon.

"When I went to the Hall of a Thousand Thrones to beg the Pureborn for your life, I said that you were no more than a child," Xaro went on, "but Egon Emeros the Exquisite rose and said, 'She is a foolish child, mad and heedless and too dangerous to live.' When your dragons were small they were a wonder. Grown, they are death and devastation, a flaming sword above the world." He wiped away the tears. "I should have slain you in Qarth." ~ Daenerys III, ADWD

In the second timeline, the Daenerys story will be political. She'll come to Westeros as a "messiah", and characters will perceive her as a destroyer of worlds. A tyrant queen bringing foreign savages to topple their way of life. For Dany the challenge will be political, not military. It will revolve around dealing with a nobility that refuse to bend to her will.
I don't expect her to have an irrational beef with the Stark girls, but she will likely seem antagonistic to the other protagonists.
Yet she is the same character in both timelines. What changes is the story.

"I am no maester to quote history at you, Your Grace. Swords have been my life, not books. But every child knows that the Targaryens have always danced too close to madness. Your father was not the first. King Jaehaerys once told me that madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin. Every time a new Targaryen is born, he said, the gods toss the coin in the air and the world holds its breath to see how it will land." (...)
"So I am a coin in the hands of some god, is that what you are saying, ser?" ~ Daenerys VI, ASOS

Whether Dany's landing is greatness or madness actually is in the hands of some god, and that god is the storyteller. Whether that storyteller is Bran or Sam or George, or even you the reader, the point is to reconcile the duality. Great figures like Daenerys Targaryen are heroes to some and villains to others, and ultimately they are defined by the story we choose to tell about them.

V. Summary

George has stated that the dual threats of ice and fire are from the north and the east, and that Dany is the threat from the east (essentially Genghis Khan with a dragon).
The second dance of the dragons does not refer to Dany's invasion. It refers to a global succession dispute between Daenerys and Aegon which takes place at the end of the story. Much like the Dany and Aegon of the show, the two will have irreconcilable differences that make marriage impossible and thus divide the Targaryen empire.
Once again it's blacks vs greens. While the female claimant rides the black dragon (Drogon), the male claimant will ride the green dragon (Rhaegal). While the people of Essos favor Daenerys, the people of Westeros will favor Aegon. While Dany builds her coalition through slave revolts that replace the ruling class, Aegon will build his coalition by winning the ruling class over to his side. While the Red Temple of R'hllor proclaims Dany to be their messiah, the Faith of the Seven will anoint Aegon VI as the one true king (religious uprisings are already underway in both continents). If Daenerys brings her army from Essos, it will be race war, class war, and holy war.
However neither Dany nor Aegon will be religious. As in history, the religions will mostly be used as competing stories to justify who should rule. Yet the stories used to consolidate support behind the black and green dragons will also push them to conflict. Thus the mother of dragons will be forced to kill not only her alleged nephew, but also her own child.
In the end the holy war will be averted, but that's another story.