The Thief

KILLER!!! WOW!! And that ending is beyond the beyond! So LOVE this, Robert! Big *****

Thanks killer! You're the best. So happy you liked this one.

Oh yes. This works.

Misti, you are the best! Thanks for coming to the party.

Amazing writing, love the four distinct sections and the transgression of how thievery plays into each. Had to read it over and over for the savory images. *

Thanks a ton, Theo! I appreciate your generous comments.

good stuff, robert...***

Thanks so much, James! So kind of you.

Killer lines throughout. Nice!*
Get back to Woodshed soon, we miss you.

Hey Tina, thanks so much! And I plan to do some of that over the weekend (Woodshed). I miss you all, too!

Christ, Robert, can you write a story. Poetic amazingness.

*

Thanks, Matt! I appreciate your wonderful support.

Yeah, Robert. Holy fucking Hell. Left with that same feeling after a Jimi Hendrix song ... I wanna play the guitar, but I don't think I can do it like that.

"aim toward the crystal moon"- that's a bumper sticker right there for my space craft.

"First I stole your cloud, the overhanging arch of delicate freedom. The abandon impossible in lesser states of grace: I said, kiss this. And you waited your entire life for more danger."

Ok, so that stanza right there reminded me very much of the movie Badlands with Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek. Just the whole razor closing in on an innocent world looking for entertainment.

Bud, your comments rock my world, they are astonishing! Fantastic read my friend, and thanks a ton for the generous interpretation.

Wow, killer lines. Brilliant concept and layout. Simply amazing.

Fave.

Soulful, celestial, sensual, savory. Stolen - my heart. Stilled - my mind.

Wallace, thanks my friend. Very nice of you!

Emily, wow! I am really blown away by your generous praise. It's a poem in return, and thanks for this.

Fave, Robert. I like the structure and a special line:

"First I stole your cloud, the overhanging arch of delicate freedom."

The diaphanous images hold this so tightly together. Excellent.

Robert, I love the progression in this -- how the narrator moves from a sense of loss and solitary(ness) in movement 1 to falling in love (or finding a like-minded lover) by movement 4 and all of the strength, power, flesh&blood-energy that comes with that connection. Yes, the ending to this is exceptional especially. Strong, wonderfully lyrical writing!

I enjoyed this one a great deal, Robert; particularly in its immaculate structure—how each of the stanzas operates independently as well as an integral moving part of the machine. Your flow is stupid sick, too—raw, like sewage raining over the wounds of babies, but babies who have recently all been admitted into an ER at the bottom of a toilet after a gang fight with a herd of zombie dogs made out of pus and Lil Wayne’s ashtray—and probably even sicker than that in terms of its sheer elegance. Beautiful piece, my friend; your hard work really shines.

David James, CA, Michael P, and David T: These are lovely comments to wake up to this morning! I appreciate the generosity of your take-away from this prose piece.

Beautiful writing, Robert. You soar here. Thrilling to be pulled along.
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So nice of you to inspire me, Bill! Your comments mean so much to me, thanks.

Beautiful and poetic, for sure. Stanza 4 really resonated with me. At times, I find myself reading your poetry and feeling like a simpleton, for I don't have the arsenal to come up w/stuff like this. Faved.

A simpleton you surely are NOT, Alex! Thanks for the lovely comments and the fave. Very kind, and you know what I think of your writing.

This made the spit glands in my cheeks open up too fast and it kinda stung. *

Kate, so sorry about the visceral reaction! But thanks for your support in every sense. I really appreciate that.

I've begun to refrain from logging in when I come here to read so that if I like something enough to * it, I have to take those extra steps. I didn't even have to think about this one. Lovely imagery, lovely use of language. Simply lovely.*

JP! You are lovely, in every single solitary way! Thanks for this. I am humbled.

I'm quite envious of this piece, Robert. Wonerfully written. *

Sam, you are the master of poetry and I envy everything you write. Thanks does not even begin to cover my gratitude.

Really digging this, Robert. *

Thanks a lot, Kari!

Outstanding Robert. Of course. You have a way with words. The ending is amazing: " Nothing separates us from each other, holes are deepening even still. We say we are dissolving into sky, our breath piquant with rumors, whole beings frantic for the leap, the sweet light that follows."

I wanted to bold this part "holes are deepening even still." but couldn't figure out how.

Gay, thanks so much for these generous comments. Means the world to me as you know how I feel about your writing!

"our breath piquant with rumors"

Yeah*

Thanks so much, John!

I was blown away by this piece when I read a version of it this summer ~ but, now, as I read it anew ~ WOW ~ just WOW! Absolutely haunting and woven from such gorgeous, rich, lyrical language & imagery. Right up there with the very best! *

MGM, so thrilled that we had the chance to work together, to exchange ideas and prompts, and first drafts over this very busy summer (was it only a month and/or two ago?). We are kin, no question. Your work impacts me with the same KAPOW. I appreciate your generous comments, and your support is unwavering. Means the world to me.

Nice to come back and find this gem, Robert. *

Foster, thanks a ton! You are the best.

strange & beautiful. *

And you waited your entire life for more danger....gorgeous. Stunning use of language and like the format; always interested in different ways to present/structure fiction - but have never thought about stepping outside the box with flash fiction. So thank you for a great read, and for inspiring me.

Penny, thanks a ton! And Elizabeth! I appreciate your comments also- not sure if this is flash or prose poetry, but either way, I enjoy playing with form, so thanks for the kind words.

Beautiful writing, each section is intense and full of beyond. I keep returning to it and get more each time.

David (Kyle), you are so kind! Thanks a ton, this means a lot to me.

Beautiful, and though I don't completely understand it, it makes me think of my own struggles with insomnia.

Gloria, thanks. Believe it or not, this all started with stanza #3- it was a response to the Sikh Temple killings this summer in Wisconsin. Then the rest of the poem built around that. (I'm not sure if I get it either, but then, not sure if I ever get why these seemingly random acts of violence occur?)

Wonderful. I want to steal your cloud. *

Beate, you are so kind. Thanks a million!