CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

 Poem for the week. This one will be added to Another 366 Days of Poetry . Until then, it'll feature, here. Another Forlorn Hope Forlorn all hope is gone but still we fight   Forlorn won't see another sun and the dawn lights the sky   Forlorn no hope ahead as the skies fill but we don't stop   Dropships. Paratroops Heavily-armored marines An invasion force   The battle turns on a newcomer's favor our lost not gone in vain the fighting's done. Our battle's won.   And, no longer, are we Forlorn. 

 I like to try and poetry from the perspective of someone else, someone looking at something a different way...or trying to write away a memory they'd rather not have. While I initially had a fantasy setting in mind for this piece, it could be set anywhere, from a space station to a 1980s pub. It's the character dealing with the memory and its trigger that is central, here. Red Wine Recalls Red wine in the glass Glistens like blood upon the ground Brings to mind the carnage That I not too long ago have found   My fingers tremble And, handshaking, I set the wine glass down My stomach rolls uncomfortably And I turn my gaze to the floor above   The memories, they linger My find, my loss…my love  

  An experiment in looking at the hero’s journey using a series of Crapsey Type II cinquains. A Hero’s Strife Foretold Riven From hearth and hold From family and friends In a long-lived journey that was Foretold Driven From home and kin From the familiar And accused of this the most dark Of sins Striven To next redeem A life thought lost, hope reamed Through ev’ry step, and ev’ry strife, Peace dreamed

The Depredides Dance i releases on Friday, July 7, 2018, US time. It follows directly on from Mack ‘n’ Me: Origins , and continues the tale of Cutter’s struggle with Mack and Odyssey’s claims on her time.   What’s it About? All I had to do was disappear. That was it: disappear and stay out of sight. Hard enough with Abs running an auction for the last location she left me, but then I poked the Depredides communications network—and everything else looked downright easy… I’m not even sure there is a way out of this… The DepredidesDance is a stand-alone short story set in the Odyssey universe. However, if you’re into reading things in order, it tells the story of what happened to Cutter after the end of Mack ‘n’ Me: Origins , and thus forms story 1-1 of the Mack ‘n’ Me ‘n’ Odyssey series. NOTE: The main character swears like a sailor, and the support cast aren’t much better. If swears bother you, then this story may not be to your taste. Here are the first 50...