Poet of the Fortnight #8: Poetess (Sept 7 - September 21)

Poetess has been randomly selected as our eighth Poet of the Fortnight (PotF)! If you don't already know her, Poetess is a 27 year old female residing in the United States, who joined PnQ over a decade ago (11 years+ ago). Please welcome her to her own special thread, and be sure to read her latest poem posted just below:

----
June 7th

It's been a year, but
I still wonder often if
you woke up that day
with your mind made up.

What was it about that
Tuesday morning in
early June that made
you want to give up?

Was the sun not warm enough?
Was your room too dark?
Maybe someone should have
opened the blinds.

Someone should have told
you that the days would get warmer.
I just don't think anyone knew
how cold you really were.
----

Poetess, please fill out this public survey when you find time. You can pass any question/prompt in this thread, just write "Pass." I will ask 10 questions total throughout the next 2 weeks, and members of the community are encouraged to participate by asking questions of their own. Here's the survey:

Real name:
Meaning behind your PnQ name:
Birth place:
Languages spoken:
When you discovered PnQ and why you joined:
Favorite poet(s):
Book you are currently reading:
Song you last listened to:
Inspirations for writing:
5 truths about yourself:

Hello Miss poetess :)

I love your work, and you have a talent with poetry. Very emotional, with wonderful imagery :)

My question is what ( if you have one) is your favourite word?

Much love

Michael :)x

Thanks, Jane!

Something I should've fixed in my profile, though, I actually turned 28 in June and never changed that! LOL but I don't mind being 27 for another year.

Real name: Glendaliz. But I just say Liz because it's easier for everyone.

Meaning behind your PnQ name: In middle school I sent a pen pal in India some poems and she always called me Poetess and well, it was all I could think of at the time to use.

Birth place: Connecticut.

Languages spoken: Spanish and English

When you discovered PnQ and why you joined: discovered around 2004, but didn't join til 2005. I joined because I thought maybe my stuff wasn't THAT bad and the forums were pretty cool lol

Favorite poet(s): I'll go with site members. Mark (hiraeth), Britt, Andrea and Ben are probably my top favorites.

Book you are currently reading: The Revival by Steven King

Song you last listened to: Hello My Name is Human by Highly Suspect

Inspirations for writing: lately, not very much. But usually anything really, sometimes just a certain word. Sometimes certain situations.

5 truths about yourself:
1. I'm an animal lover, but reptiles have a special place in my heart. Lol
2. I enjoy video games a lot.
3. I work in construction with my husband. (Working with your spouse isn't as bad as people make it seem lol)
4. I love all things horror. Books, movies, games, haunted Halloween houses.
5. I'm childfree and hope to be for as long as I can help it lol

Thanks, Michael!

There are a few words I really like lol
Solace
Visceral
Nostalgia

I also like the F word a lot. Haha

Mother of Reptiles, how are your scaly babies doing?

I will be back to bombard you with more questions (:

Liz it's nice getting to know you more..

You say you're an animal lover, is there one you do not like ?

In 10 years time where do you see yourself?

Yes I do too, is yours:
Fiddlesticks or flipping...
Haha! I think I know really.

Thank you, and nostalgia; a lovely word

Michael x

Lol they're all doing pretty good. Just took one to the vet yesterday after a while on meds to get rid of hook worms. Everything came out clean and shes healthy. :)

Hmm. I can't think of one I don't particularly like. I find small dogs kind of annoying, but when I visit a friend's house I always cuddle with the small one.

Oh! I guess frogs, but it's mostly a fear. I'm terrified of frogs and oddly enough my husband has one as a pet. I don't mess with it, though. Lol

10 years from now? I'm honestly not sure. Possibly living back in Florida. Lol

Reptiles! I really did not expect that from you, Liz! What are your pets?

Lol. Michael, I try to substitute it for "fudge" or "fudging" and the occasional "mother flower" if there are kids or older people I have to be careful around lol

Haha.. yes I am often heard saying with fother mucker ;0
x

Not many people expect it. Haha

I have 3 bearded dragons, 1 Chinese water dragon, 1 created gecko, 1 gargoyle gecko, 2 ball pythons (called royal pythons outside the U.S.). And the non reptiles - a frog and a tarantula. The tarantula was a gift to my husband for Valentine's day. I'm actually trying to work on my fear of spiders and frogs by getting more exposed. Tarantulas are pretty fascinating creatures lol

I like fother mucker! Lol

Oh my... yay! I can't even stand the presence of a lizard, Liz! But you have lots of pets and I can sense you are in love with them. Wow...is it a normal thing in the US? I am curious.

Liz, wonderful to finally meet the woman behind your mysterious name. I too love Stephen King, amazing writer...its weird how he can make the most mundane things creepy. Highly Suspect is an amazing group! Have you heard the entire album? All the songs are really good. So you work with your husband? That's really awesome! With my husband now I could definitely work with him. Now my ex, I would have buried him in some concrete, lol....just saying....what kind of pets do you have? I brought home a snapping turtle once, my mother, not so pleased, made me return it to the swamp. What sort of construction do you and your husband do? Do you build houses, or rehab? There is something very satisfying knowing you created this or that. Does your husband allow you around the power tools? Mine has forbade me from using them, I am likely going to lop off a digit or two.

I'd say it's more common that it is "normal". I haven't met many people who keep reptiles unless I go to a reptile show, store or something of the sort. I've had family members that won't visit because of them or say "the only good snake is a dead snake". I guess it's just ignorance and fear talking.

(Native) snakes, venomous or not, play a big part of the ecosystem, environment, whatever you want to call it. Lol. They're like a natural pest control. Venom in some snakes is used for medicinal purposes, even creating antivenom, etc.

Sorry, I'm rambling. Lol

I've only listened to a few of their songs that I know of. I use Pandora a lot and I never notice who is singing one unless I check to buy the song. Haha. I may give more of their stuff a listen.

I tried to bring a snake home once when I was a kid, but my dad said they were the devil, so.... yeah. He's not very happy about me owning snakes. LOL

We do mostly remodeling. Lots of floors, complete bathroom remodels, some kitchens. Since last year, it has been me and him 99% of the time, so we try not to get in over our heads. But it's fun and keeps us active. We do like building things here and there, mostly enclosures for our animals. He's more of the builder/engineer kinda person, I just tell him how I want it done. Haha xD
He does let me use power tools, table/tile saws and stuff, he trusts me more than I trust myself!

What is your favorite poem you've written and why?
What is your favorite PnQ poem, and why?

Favorite restaurant?
Favorite date-night outing/activity?
Do you decorate your home for the different seasons and/or holidays?

"We do mostly remodeling. Lots of floors, complete bathroom remodels, some kitchens. Since last year, it has been me and him 99% of the time, so we try not to get in over our heads. But it's fun and keeps us active. We do like building things here and there, mostly enclosures for our animals. He's more of the builder/engineer kinda person, I just tell him how I want it done. Haha xD
He does let me use power tools, table/tile saws and stuff, he trusts me more than I trust myself!"

I absolutely love that you're in construction with your husband. That is one of my boyfriend's and my dreams. He's a remodeler and wants to become a general contractor. I bought him his first tool box... he's come so far! Surpassed my knowledge by a long shot, but we still like building things together, and now he teaches me new things rather than the other way around. We have a 3 car garage and power tools take up at least one car's worth.
Also, I love lizards and owned two for about a decade. One was antisocial, but the other was like a puppy.

I'll be back to ask questions soon :)

Favorite that I've written is probably Wildfire. I can't remember where I saw it (i think in Florida), but there was a long stretch of woods burned down and destroyed. I'm not sure exactly why it's my favorite lol I often go back and re-read it.

Favorite on here.. gosh. There's a bunch. I'm gonna say Noura's "No title, just a war-filled poem". I can't remember reading something so powerful and painful as that one. It's definitely one I'll remember and re-read for a long time.

Favorite restaurant- Cheddar's.
Favorite date night or activity- going to Cheddar's. LOL! Visiting reptile shows when they're in town and going to the zoo. We go to the zoo A LOT.

I don't decorate for holidays. I'm very plain, minimal, and mostly lazy when it comes to any kind of decorating lol

That's awesome, Jane! So many people are always, like, "how can you work with your husband and be together 24/7?!" I just say, "how can you not?!" Lol. We do have some time apart sometimes. He likes going out with his friends, fishing, playing pool at bars, etc. I sometimes visit my family in FL and he stays home. Even then, it's weird being apart.

I think I remember you mentioning something about lizards, but can't remember which ones you had?

Hi, poetess, what is happiness to you?

Hello, there! Sorry if I'll ask you a question that's been asked before!

What is your favourite movie and why?
What is your favourite actor/actress?
Who is your role model?
What is the thing you love most about yourself?

A calotes japalura (tree dragon), named Jasper, for about 10 years. He was the one I called a puppy -- affectionate, playful, and smart. Sweetest lizard ever! I had another calotes japalura later on, named Felix, but only for a few months. He was a spastic, easily terrified little guy. I re-homed him because we could not form a bond. An elderly gentleman adopted him and they seemed like a perfect fit. He wanted to leave Felix unsocialized in his massive cage and observe him being his regular lizard self :)
While I had Jasper for 10 years, I had another lizard in the giant cage with him, but she was antisocial. Still, she was really cool. She had a shovel-like nose, fish-like scales, and she would bury herself in the sand. She was a sandfish skink named Glowie. Okay, although I could go on and on about my pets -- alive and deceased -- I'll stop. This thread is not about me lol.

Question #1: Where did the name Glendaliz come from, do you like it, and if so, have you always liked it?

This is a bit tough, lol. I think happiness is many things. To me... I feel like I'm most happy when I'm home alone watching a favorite shows knowing all my bills are paid for the month. Haha.

Spending time with family and people I care about and other happy people.

Favorite movie- I'm going to go with La Vita e Bella. It's an Italian movie, I watched it years ago in high school Italian class and still watch it every now and again.

Favorite actor/actress- Bruce Willis and Sandra Bullock.

Role model- Honestly, I can't say that I have a role model, currently. Is that a bad thing? Lol

Thing I love most about myself- I guess I feel like I have an open mind and I'm not surrounded by many people that are.

Haha. I don't mind hearing about other pets! I have one that's kind of antisocial, too. Every morning or any time I come home from somewhere, I'll go to the 3 bearded dragons, pet their chins and 2 ALWAYS lick me. The other one just stares at me or backs away. I'll make her love me one day. LOL

The water dragon is a wild one. She jumps a lot and is actually the reason she had to have a leg amputated (before we got her). They told us she jumped out of the enclosure, didn't realize her back and front leg were broken and one healed way off or something and it had to be amputated. The front one is kinda crooked, but she gets around with no problem.

I'm not sure where the name came from. My parents said my aunt named me, but I never asked if it was true.
I used to hate my name, lol. Mostly because everyone called me just Glenda or Glen and i would get tired explaining it had a LIZ after it. I gave up, until high school and I made sure everyone knew my whole name lol
Still gets pronounced wrong, but it's usually a conversation starter.

I believe in the freedom of the open road too.

If it gets pronounced wrong, I'm probably pronouncing it wrong lol. Liz it is!

Water dragons are so pretty, and bearded dragons are adorable. What are all of their names? Did you already say?

Question #2: What animal do you think you're most like and why?

Question #3: What do you consider your rarest attributes (attributes you have that are rarely found in others)? Interpret that however you want :)

Child free and hope to be so for as long as you can help it? This so made me laugh.

There is an easy solution but I'm pretty sure your husband won't like it lol.

:-) Craig

Construction you say? I've recently had a little bit of a leak, OK a lot of a leak. Think fally in ceiling, squidgy kinda mess, type thing. Would you and your chap mind popping over the pond lol.

OK serious

I like reptiles too, although I've never owned one. I recently watched a David Attenborough series and it featured racing snakes trying to catch lizards.

It got more of a reaction from me than any horror movie.

If you have seen it I would be interested to know which made you jump, cringe and react more. If you ain't seen it you can find it on you tube.

Regards

Craig

Ps. Just type in racing snakes

Some of the names are weird because we named them as males, but they turned out to be females. I think 8 outta 10 are females. Lol

The bearded dragons are: Ethel (after Ethel Darling, the bearded lady from American Horror Story), Vincent and Julius (from Schwarzenegger and DeVito's characters in the movie Twins- because we got them as siblings, but they look nothing alike).

Water dragon: her name changes from Trio to Tripod because she only has 3 legs. We called her Threeodore, but it's too much lol

Snakes: Aurora and Sindel

One gecko is called Tails, but the other gecko doesnt have one. Thinking of a gargoyle themed name, but still not sure.

Frog: I call him Gross. Haha

Tarantula has no name yet, either. At least til we find out the sex.

I think that's all of them!

#2- Hmm. Maybe a snake because I like to be alone, quiet, and unbothered unless I'm being fed. LOL

#3. Rarest attribute? I'm not even sure.
Oh! I like to finish things that I start and be consistent with things. Whether it's a silly, small project, something at work, food, a class or something like that. Lol

I hope that makes sense

Craig, I've seen it a few times! The first time, the cringiest part was when they started wrapping around the lizard! After that, I think I was almost jumping with the little guy trying to get across the rocks. It came too close too many times! Lol

I 100% understand nature and the circle of life, but I was really rooting for the lizard. That awkward running reminds me of myself when I try to run. Ha

"I like to finish things that I start and be consistent with things. Whether it's a silly, small project, something at work, food, a class or something like that. Lol"

That is admirable, and you're right, it is rare :)

Question #4: If your five-year-old self suddenly found themselves inhabiting your current body, what would your five-year-old self do first?

Question #5: Are you religious or spiritual? What do you believe in? (e.g. God, gods, ghosts, an afterlife, astrological signs, fortune tellers, luck, etc.)

I was kinda pushing myself back into the sofa.

Those lizards can fairly shift too, and watching em fly up those rocks wow

Thanks for your reply

Craig

#4. I would probably stare at myself in the mirror and wonder where my bangs went! Lol

#5. I'm not religious, though I was raised in a very religious household. Like, skirts, long hair, church every other day, etc. I kind of stopped believing in a lot of things and questioning everything, but I still went to church just to please my parents until I moved out. I got yelled at a lot or just dismissed for questioning things, especially biblical things. Besides my brother, my family isn't very open to talk about things.
However, I still do believe in a "creator", I guess. God, gods, goddesses, whatever. I feel like there has to be something greater. I believe in coincidences, luck, things happen for a reason. I believe in good people, even evil people. And I believe I'm done rambling now. Lol

I find people's beliefs so interesting. I don't believe in much myself, but I've been binge-reading research on psychopaths/sociopaths, and I finally believe there are "conscienceless" people. Without a conscience, there is room for great evil. So good/evil people - yeah, maybe. If you had asked me a year ago, I would've dismissed the idea.

Name one thing you wanted to aspire to when you were younger. Is this still something you dream about doing or have you already done said thing.

What's one word you say nearly everyday which people can't stand or which makes people laugh

I find it very interesting, too! I actually like talking to people about that kind of stuff and try to understand it.

My granddad (dad's side) was very deep into Santeria. I've always found that practice interesting. I just haven't met anyone personally that practices it.