Welcome to Blackbird Poetry Pack #2: "Enigmatic Repose"
August 1995 - February 1996
*** CYBERPOETRY FOR THE MASSES SPANNING AN ENTIRE YEAR ***

Dear Readers and Poets,

        Welcome to my second poetry composition pack. In the following documents, I 
have enclosed my complete works of poetry since August 1995, one month after forming
my cyberspace poetry group on the Internet, MARTYR.
	It would seem that it has been quite some time since I last released a poetry
pack. My last individual pack release happened in July 1995! Well, I'd love to bore you
to tears by recounting the entire story since then, but instead I'll avoid painstaking
detail and provide a summary. After all, this is an introduction to the poems you are
about to read. They are a journey you are about to embark upon...
	What happened after the last Blackbird Poetry Pack release was that I formed a
cyberpoetry group called PROPHECY. Bleeding Shadow and I founded the group orginally,
but he moved away so I was left with the group alone. MorlocK came along and helped me
shape the future of PROPHECY and what our objectives were. We changed the name to MARTYR
for one thing when I realized one day that PROPHECY was used by another group. Our goal
became to supply free poetry to the masses. But how? The Internet, of course. Yes, the
Data Information Superhighway could reach a lot of people at once (and was cheap to
acess!). Milou joined, but left soon afterward... Justice and Luca joined more recently
and they are into exploratory poetry. MorlocK and I tend to be traditionalists. Anyway, I
should be getting to discussing the reason behind this pack.
	Put simply, I had written more poems than I needed to have done for MARTYR. So, I
purposely chose 10 of my most personal ones and put them together in a pack. These poems
are unusual because they are absolutely not what you'd expect of me. They delve into my
mind less than my shrouding depression. You'll know what I mean when you read them...
	In addition to that, you'll know why I decided not to publish them for MARTYR. They
surround the concepts of manic depression, romance, love, sex, shizophrenia, sadism/masochism,
and other bizarre psychological disorders I possess or lack. You decide... :-)
Thank you for reading and be sure to check out MorlocK's Poetry Pack!
        Please write to the following addresses for comments/criticisms:

INTERNET E-MAIL ADDRESS:
blackbird@myth.org

	Thank you for your support. I know we can make the concept of releasing poetry 
to the masses a popular one by far. None of the poetry is free to exploit without permission 
of the author in oral or written form. The poems included cannot be modified or 
exchanged without permission from the author. Thank you.

Signed,
Blackbird

Poems in BLACKBIRD POETRY PACK #2

MELYSSA.TXT :           "Canticle of Melyssa" (1995) 

	This poem is the epitome of my romantic quest for a perfect love poem.
It touches the heart in ways unknown before. I wrote it for my girlfriend at
Christmas just to tell her how I feel in the only way I know how: my writing.
I wanted her to feel as special as I did being with her, spending Christmas with
her... It also serves a portrait of her as painted in my eyes. She has changed
my life so much and in such a positive way, I cannot thank her enough... I love
you, Melyssa! :-) 

INTIMATE.TXT :          "Intimate Instincts" (1995) 

	Hehehehehehe, my sex life thus far summed up in poetic form. Originally
begun as a romantic epic, but I decided to stop midway and describe sex in a
tasteful method. I find that a lot of poets focus too much on the physical aspects
when writing an erotic poem. I wouldn't totally classify this work as erotic (in
fact, if you get aroused by this poem, I'll have to worry about your mental health!).
As you already probably know, I'm the psychological poet that observes the mind at
work even during foreplay. What goes on in a man's mind during sex? Who knows. It is
all explained here. Some men prefer sex for the pleasure, some others prefer the
closeness of body and soul. This is my karma in nymphomania...

PERIL.TXT :             "To my Love with Peril" (1995) 

	OK, before you think I should be locked away in an asylum, please hear
me out first. I was on the phone with MorlocK the night before I wrote this and
he was telling me all sorts of marvelous ways of frightening people. The next
morning, at my college's library, I sat down and composed this piece. My intent
was to strike terror into the hearts of both men and women. Before anyone thinks
I'm sexist or a rapist, read carefully. Notice the person raped and tortured could
be either a man or a women (or animal). In reality, I'm not at all like the narrator.
This poem was written as a satire for all those satanic people out there.


TRUEBLUE.TXT :          "True in Eyes of Blue" (1995) 

	Here's an activist poem! This is an extension of my belief in honesty and
the search for the truth. Above all else, honesty is the best policy and the law
must be upheld. I really detest liars that backstab each other (sounds like my
old High School classmates!) so I wrote this to prove my beliefs true. The worst
lie is lying to oneself which is what I had done prior to writing thsi poem.
If ever there is a martyr to look to for guidance, it is the truth.

FRAGILE.TXT :           "Fragile" (1995)

        This poem was a very quickly done return to my usual depressing state. I
wanted to compose something along the same lines as some of my "prior to MARTYR"
works. It came out fairly well for something I composed within 15 minutes, making
it a record for me. The trick was putting myself in a depressing mood in order to
channel my energies properly. You will wonder why sometimes when we are hurting,
we are so fragile at heart...

ONYX.TXT :              "Onyx Chambers" (1996)

        I spent New Year's Eve cold and lone in my warm (or cold, depending on how
you look at it) house. My girlfriend was away, enjoying herself by celebrating the
New Year at her relative's place. Meanwhile, I was crying myself to sleep. I missed
her so much and wasn't able to do anything about it. I suppose the worst feeling of
all is when someone you love is having a wonderful time somewhere else and could care
less whether or not you're there with them. She was in the company of family, I was in
the company of enemies (my family). I needed her when she wasn't there and so this poem
reflects a silent yearning for company beyond the solitude.

TWILIGHT.TXT :          "Presence at the Twilight" (1996)

        I have no clue what I was thinking when I wrote this piece. It was meant to be
the mother of all my love poems, but instead turned out not so well. I wrote this
one for my love, but even she was hesitant to comment. I understood, knowing a failure
when I see one. At the same time, I was somewhat inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's
style, so I had experimented with it in this poem. If only things had worked...

RAPE.TXT :              "Rape the Shade" (1996)

        This one is about an argument I had with my love. Our values and ideals
don't seem to match. Her principles can be sometimes all too rigid. I grew up in
a free existence. She grew up in a Roman Catholic background which undeniably promotes
restraint to the point of not living life to the fullest. It can be most difficult
to enjoy your life when a religion conflicts with liberty and freedom. I am an egalitarian
who promotes absolute freedom and refuse to allow an institution to "rule" over me.
In my eyes, there is no supreme being and even if there was, I don't believe an
Almighty Creator is above us. I'd rather die by freedom that live by oppression of
the gods. These manners are a means of social repression.

CURSE.TXT :		"Verse of the Malicious Maiden's Curse" (1996)

	This is a yet another piece I am not so proud of, but I put a lot of effort into
it so you'd better like it! Hehehehehe, just kidding of course! It's all about the struggle
between the sexes and how as an individual regardless of the sex, you can get trapped in
the middle of it. It's dangerous today to be male or female. If you're a woman, there's the
fear of being raped or abused. If you're a male, it's the fear of having a sexual harrassment
lawsuit slapped on you just for greeting someone. Why do we do this to ourselves?
My poem visits the realities of these battles, but (unusual for any of my activist poems)
does not suggest an answer to this dilemna.

REMORSE.TXT :		"Remorse in Pools of Blood Rain" (1996)

	A strange poem... even for ME! I wrote this one after taking a long bus trip
downtown, going to school one day. There was this pretty girl staring straight at me
the whole time. I was flattered and enthralled at the same time. She even followed me
into the subway terminal. I found the chase amusing, as did I find her beauty. This work
explores the conflict within every man or woman who are engaged in a deep, meaningful
relationship and wonder if there exists something better. Ever considered cheating on
your lover? This poem preaches that freedom is a far better thing to give up than the
established love you have gained.


        Well, winter has arrived and even as I write this, the snow is falling outside
to my wonder. It is almost Christmas and I am praying that the New Year of 1996, the
Year of Discontent in the Nanotech Age of Technocracy will be favorable. I also ask that
the solitudes of spring be dissolved after the snow melts... As for me, as prone to
failure as any human being born, I must apologize for any mistakes I may have made in the
past. The future is bleak in my pessimystic eyes... Enjoy my poetry, face my reality...


Special Thanks and/or Greetings to the following people for their support:

* All tracked music composers out there! Thanks a lot, especially members of
  Force Ten & NOISE... Your music fed me the emotions I needed to compose these
  poems.
  
* Depth & Dark Shadow of USED Demo Group... Thanks for setting up MOS BBS to
  be a MARTYR dist site and grand merci pour l'encouragement!
  
* Catherine Coghlan... my spiritual guide (sometimes)

* MorlocK of MARTYR for inspiring me along themes I never knew existed! Thanks a
  hell of a lot, man! Keep on writing...
  
* Justice of MARTYR... for inspiring such wonderful poems about sex and love based
  on the tales you weave when we attempt to deceive... :-)
  
* Luca of MARTYR... for joining at the right time and being a good friend.

* Bleeding Shadow... thanks for helping me form the group. I sure wish you were
  around to see the fruits of your labor.
  
* ARCADY POETRY CLUB at Dawson College... thanks a million for helping me shape
  my talent within your ranks.
  
* my friends & fans... just for being my company in my travels. I love you all! :-)
