Poet of the Fortnight #15: Aegis (Feb 3 - Feb 17, 2018)

Aegis has been randomly selected as our 15th Poet of the Fortnight (PotF)! Aegis is a 26 year old man living in Oregon (west coast of the USA!) , who joined PnQ in the summer of 2013. This year will mark his 5 year anniversary with us. He's written 75 poems -- his most recent submitted just yesterday.

Please welcome Aegis to his own special thread, and be sure to read his latest poem posted just below (it's excellent) :

----
Dear Reader

Dear reader,
My tongue has
lost its taste for mediocre
metaphors and haphazardly
placed dashes.

Dear reader,
No more crafty words sneak
through my skin and lazily
drip off my
fingers(or my lips.)

Dear reader,
My bones don't torture my hands
to transpose my blood to ink;
my veins to sentences,
(my heart to broken pixels.)

Dear reader,
I am painfully free,
yet unapologetically chained
to my
freedom(or at least to you.)
----

Aegis, 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 there, sorry for the late response:/ Had a pretty eventful day and just now got home. So lets get down to business, yeah?

Real name: My name is Cody Cadle. I have a different legal name but i prefer not to keep ties with the family name.
Meaning behind your PnQ name: I chose Aegis because of the Greek mythology behind it. An aegis was usually something such as a shield that offered physical protection. I was always a fan of Hercules and Jason when i was little. And as I got older I adopted it as a pen name because I always thought of my words as a way of healing and protecting myself from insanity.
Birth place: Santa Rosa in Northern California
Languages spoken: Just English fluently haha. I learned American Sign Language when i was a young teen but havent retained much these days. Other than that, i can say a choice few sultry phrases in a couple other languages.
When you discovered PnQ and why you joined: I actually started posting on this site in 2006 or 2007 under a different name. It took me almost ten years of writing to finally find a style I think of as my own. The p&q site disappeared for some time but when i discovered that it was back I immediately joined under a new name and started posting poems often. I got so much positive feedback from everyone here that it gave me hope and motivation to keep writing. So I guess technically, i joined because everyone here is so wonderful:)
Favorite poet(s): I have a select few and most of them are members on this site, so i will politely refrain from sharing their names. But I am a little fond of Poe and Shakespeare.
Book you are currently reading: The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, its a three book series about some mastermind young orphan thieves. Great read!
Song you last listened to: Casual by The Hunna
Inspirations for writing: 95% of the poems I have on here are inspired by my most recent ex. She also happens to be my best friend of going on 9 years now. In 2016 we took one of our usual road trips, this time to San Francisco California. I cant really explain what happened that weekend. Suddenly we just looked at each other... differently. And it was amazing. But alas, all good things must come to an end. Almost a year and a half later and we're still working out where we fit in each others lives.
5 truths about yourself: Hmmmmmm lets see.
1) I did ballroom dancing when i was 12
2) I have a tattoo on my butt(no im not going to tell you what it is! :))
3) I collect rocks, crystals, and gemstones
4) Im lactose intolerant but that doesnt stop me from eating cheesecake
5) My favorite movie of all time is A Knight's Tale with Heath Ledger. I can recite most of the script backwards while I'm sleeping haha

I look forward to answering more questions soon. Please be patient with me, ive just recently started having a social life outside of my apartment. But I will do my best to keep up with everyone.

Hello Aegis

great title and for your reason behind it :)

You mentioned that you collect gemstones, rocks and crystals. Is this merely a hobby for their beauty, or do you have a deeper connection with the energy they contain?

Michael :)

Definitely both. I do believe in the metaphysical properties but I also just am fascinated by them. I have a pretty small collection ranging from Tourmaline from Afghanistan to a dirty piece of agate pulled out of a quarry on a friend's farm. Rocks tell stories of our land, hold sentiment, heal your body mind and soul. I think that's wonderful.

Aegis, awesome to see you as POTFN! I have been a huge fan of your writing since I joined. I find it extremely fascinating you can take so few words and write with such depth. Your style is uniquely yours and its always enjoyable to read.
I too enjoy collecting rocks. I find there's so much of a story in them. Each area of the world tells you something different. To hold one in your hand you feel its energy and running your hand over their surfaces is calming. At least to me it is. On the Pacific coastal side what kind of rocks have you found there? What kind of music do you like to listen to? What is a typical day for you like? If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

Aegis, how lovely to see you here on Poet of the Fortnight. I am really exited at getting to know the poet behind the poems.. There are so many questions that I would like to ask you but I wont inundate you :)

Q1 - I am also a great lover of A knights Tale with Heath Ledger. I wondered what was the main aspect of the movie that made it your favourite? Was it the story of going from having nothing to having it all, the fight between good and evil or the music, excellently crafted characters etc or something else?

Q2: What was your favourite scene in the whole movie?

Q3 - If tomorrow you found a magic stone that would grant you three wishes what would they be?

all my best wishes Milly x

Ooh oh oh, I collect rocks and stones/crystals too! When traveling, I like to bring back rocks from all the places I’ve been. I have hundreds. I’m especially keen on agate these days. I have a set of Brazilian agate bookends and I keep a thin slice of agate by my bedside.
A Knight’s Tale is a classic that stands the rest of time. I love it too. I wish we could do a PnQ screening of it! I have wanted to name my daughter Jocelyn ever since the movie came out.

I love learning about everyone in these poet of the fortnight threads :)

I’ll be back to ask questions later.

Hi!

What made you want to get a tattoo on your butt? Lol

Do you still have the very first rock that started the hobby?
Which are your top three favorite rocks in your collection?

I haven't done a whole lot of rock hunting here but in the Rogue Valley where I live there's ton of agate Jasper and quartz. Also a lot of petrified wood.
My music taste varies from 80's rock to folk punk. I'm a sucker for anything acoustic too.
I've been dealing with a lot of depression lately so my days have consisted of sleeping and drinking and smoking. But I just started reconnecting with old friends and hiking some of the local landmarks.
And if I could travel anywhere it'd be either Sweden where my long time friend and penpal Emelie lives, or Italy, where I've always had a facination of visiting. I'm a quarter Italian so getting to my roots would be nice.

Milly I have to say that all the points you made about the movie are true and make it worthwhile. But I'm a big fan of the idea of changing your stars. I don't believe in fate or predestination, so the thought of fighting for your own place in life or society really rings true to me. My favorite scene definitely has to be when Jocelyn says "Better a silly girl with a flower, than a silly boy with a horse and a stick." To which Wat responds "It's called a lance. Hellooooo."
And I'm not sure I have any wishes. I spent a lot of my life full of regrets and wishing for all sorts of things; few of which came true. So I think I'm pretty wished out now. I suppose wishing for world peace is a little cliche but that could be a good starting point right?

Poetess, I was dating a punk rock girl covered in tattoos and piercings that drank more than me. She said she could do some simple tattoos so a week after we met I dropped my pants and she stabbed me haha

I definitely still have the rock that started my collection. It's a double terminated Labradorite point with a seventh window. My previously mentioned best friend/ex has the matching one in her collection.
My top three are as follows:
A green tourmaline from the Paprok mine in Afghanistan
A topaz from Mt. Zion in Utah USA
And a botroydial lepidolite with a crystal quartz cluster, location unknown

Aegis, I agree about changing your stars. Anyone can change their life if they are determined enough, make the right choices and actively seek to make their own opportunities.

I think you are probably right we can spend our lives dwelling too much on what we wish would happen instead of getting out there and making things happen that we do have control over. I agree I think the world would be a much better place if we had world peace.

I had to google those names lol
They are some beautiful rocks!

You like acoustic music?
Have you listened to City and Colour?
He's got some pretty awesome songs lol

I'm a little familiar with him yes, you should check out Noah Kahan. His acoustics are amazing.

He's one of my favorites (City and Colour). Even better live!

I like Noah Kahan, thanks for suggesting him!

The picture on your avatar...who is it?

Hellon that's a picture of me from about a year and a half ago:)

Listening to She's Casual by The Hunna right now. I think this would've really resonated with me when I was in my late teens/early twenties. This would've been exactly my taste.
Alrighty, question time! (Congrats on front page, by the way)

Question #1: What are your beliefs?
Question #2: What would your dream home be like? Location, what it would look like, who would live there, etc.
Question #3: What three events made the biggest impact on who you are today?

Side question: What did you think of SF? I grew up 10 min away, just over the bridge.

Enjoy reading this thread, it's so neat!

1). Listening to "She's Casual" now and a few other songs from that band. I love indie-rock/alt-rock and I also love how I've never heard of The Hunna before. It's always such a pure experience to listen to music that's "new" to you. For the first minute, the song reminded me of The xx. Do you ever listen to or are interested in Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, Cage the Elephant, The Lumineers, Portugal. The Man or Alt-J?

2). In regards to your profile pic, do you have a favorite brand of cigarettes? I'm a sucker for menthol 100s. I used to smoke a lot when my depression spiraled and it was kind of my one distraction. It sucks you've been dealing with depression lately but I hope you find peace and support despite it. It's cool you could reconnect with old friends and visit some places locally.

3). You mentioned hiking. What are you favorite spots so far and are you into photography?

4). Cheesecake is heavenly, so I applaud your love of it despite the lactose intolerant part (not fun) ^_^

Silvershoes:
My beliefs are a little all over the place and jaded. I grew up for ten years as a Jehovah's Witness. I was excommunicated from the church when I was 13 because of a really bad fight I got in at school. I was expelled from school even though I was only defending a helpless girl. I also spent a number of years struggling with addiction and depression. Now at almost 27 years old, I believe in karma and the universe and energy. I believe that if you constantly manifest your own good energies and project them into everything you do in life, that you will receive all that goodness and love in return. It's pretty simple I think. Love everything and everyone unconditionally. And that's that:)
My dream home would definitely be a modest castle (if such a thing exists) in Ireland. I have a lot of Irish roots too and have always dreamt of living there. Nothing massive. Just enough to have guest quarters, a huge library, a cute little courtyard, and a couple secret passages of course. As for housemates, I suppose any number of the beautiful people I've known in my life and any I may not have met yet will be welcome whenever.
The three biggest events would probably be getting expelled from school because that lead to me homeschooling online which in turn allowed me to meet my highschool sweetheart, and she is the reason I started writing poetry. The next event would be meeting my ex fiance and the entire relationship leading up to us splitting up. The entire ordeal was one of the most emotionally damaging experiences I've been through. But in hindsight it allowed me to really learn a lot about myself and what I wanted in life. And the third event would be the death of two dear friends of mine about 8 years ago in a car accident. I was part of a very large group of friends and a few of them were serious harmed in the accident as well. Getting past the grief really strengthened some of our friendships and made us see life in a different perspective. A lot of us in the group started turning our lives around because that's what our two friends would have wanted.
And SF was great! I've been a few times now but not too often. Big cities stress me out.-.

i've found this post very cool and I love your answers....could I ask....in conversations with other writers the subject of the "perfect write" has often come up, now for the most part I think many people believe it to be unattainable (something for the most part i'd probably agree with) due to the nature of words no matter how well used are inaccurate when describing certain emotions and feelings etc which of your own writes comes as close to this as you can think?

Ben :)

Hi Cody :-)

Great thread!

There's a big box delivered to your home ... what would you most like to find inside it when you open it up? And why? :-) x
=^.^=

What is your absolute favorite food? And least favorite?

What's one philosophy you'd like to impart onto others?

Aegis. You're depressed, you're a recovering hermit, you're an above average writer on PnQ. You look damn fine with a dirty cigarette in your mouth. You seem intelligent but have a wack "I believe in crystals" thing going on. Ha. I like you.

Name three things that make you a total hypocrite.
Name three things that make you faithful and true.

Haha, I love what Abby wrote! Aegis, I find your life captivating and you had me at "a modest castle in Ireland." Love what you've described. I can close my eyes and find myself there. Big cities stress me out too. I grew up in suburbia, but the population has doubled since I was a kid. Oakland is the new San Francisco. I am much happier in Sparks (next to Reno, NV) for now.
More questions just below:

Question #4: What are some of the most important lessons you learned from being a Jehovah's Witness? Negative or positive.
Question #5: What is your oldest friend like and why/how do you think you've stayed friends so long?

Poet on the Piano
1) I'm familiar with all of those artists, though not huge fans. Lumineers would probably be my favorite of them.
2) I smoke Marlboro, Camel, and American Spirits but the latter is my preferred daily smoke. Marijuana is also legal recreationally here and I mix my tobacco with it.
3) Table Rock and Mt. Macgloughlin are local spots I've hiked. The mountain only a few times but I slept on top on year. Worst idea ever haha it was so cold. The table Rock has an upper and lower part both of which are nice hikes. I've hiked the two of them over 150 times in almost 18 years. And I love taking pictures but most of them are on my Facebook and are phone pictures. Cameras are a little past my grasp. I wouldn't be opposed to anyone adding me on Facebook to see my pictures. I've got some darn good pics of the sunsets in this valley:)
4) I get by lol

Ben, I have to admit I've been the biggest fan of your poetry ever since I joined the site under my first account!
As to the perfect write, I think it's a matter of perspective. I've seen many a poem by artists on this site that I have found to be a perfect write with no words to explain how I felt after reading them. As for my own perfect write, I think Broken Beats on Empty Streets would be the one. I worked pretty hard to make it a perfect rhyme scheme:)

Kitty Cat Lady I love your name since my friends call me Meow and Alley Cat ????

I think I'd most want a box full of rare crystals and gems. As a collector, I have a relatively small amount and would love more. Also they make amazing gifts to friends and strangers alike. And I could also sell some of them to fund my travels to find even more crystals!

Poetess my favorite is cheesecake, spaghetti, and pancakes. My least favorite is cottage cheese, grits, and ketchup. I'll eat small amounts of ketchup occasionally but the other two I absolutely abhor.

hiraeth I'm not sure how to answer that. I mean, I just try to love everyone as much as I can and stay away from bad vibes and manifest good vibes. I suppose it'd be cool if everyone else did the same.

I totally agree it is defo a matter of perspective hence the question ;)

I will check out your write for sure and without getting all bromancy your writing is freakin epic you are totally deserved of this thread!!

Ben :)

haha Meow ... all cat names are cool! ;-)

Love your answer ... like a Crystal Currency ... sell them to fund new ones!

=^.^=

Hey Aegis! Just a reminder that you still have some questions unanswered :) I'll post more as soon a you catch up. Don't worry that the "end date" has already passed. We'll give it another week.

Silvershoes I think one of the greatest things I gained from being a Jehovah's witness was morals and manners. I was taught to be polite and respectful and i grew up speaking in a public setting often which made English in school far easier for me. Plus, reading from large publications so early gave me a great vocabulary to use!
And my oldest friend is the same previously mentioned ex of mine. Our friendship actually turns 9 this year haha And how? I don't think I can explain it. We've just always been each other's person.

Love that you were able to take away some important lessons from being raised as a Jehova's Witness. When my boyfriend and I first moved to Reno, some teenage boys who were Jehova's Witnesses knocked on our door and welcomed us to the neighborhood. I was nervous at first because they did not know my boyfriend was home and there were three of them, but they were sweet and polite and left after handing me a card with one of their phone numbers in case I ever needed help with anything -- gardening, unpacking, etc. I was impressed by their genuine wish to be useful/helpful to a stranger.
Yes, your lovely vocabulary is noticeable in your poetry!

Question #6: If you could change something about your current situation, what would it be?
Question #7: If you could deliver a message to your younger self, would you? At what age/time period, and what would it say?
Question #8: What are five of your bucket list items? 5 things you want to do before you kick the bucket.

Silvershoes, I am my own person. I am in control of my life and my future. If I want to change something, I will and I do. And I would write to my younger self. All I would say is two words: Stop running. Maybe it would get me to be a little more fearless in life idk. And I don't have a bucket list per se. I mean, back to question number 6, if I want anything badly enough I'll do what I need to to get it. Also, I have pretty simple pleasures. Good people and good vibes make me happy. I don't need much more than that. I suppose there's a few places that would be nice to see before I go but I won't be upset if I don't.

Do you still follow any of the 'beliefs' you grew up with as a JW?

Hellon that's hard to say. I mean, every religion has similar guidelines such as love the neighbor and whatnot. But the reason I left it was the biggest deal breaker. I find their punishment system to be a bit cruel. Most of my own family wouldn't talk to me. My younger step brother wasn't allowed to be alone in a room with me when he visited. And that was before I was even excommunicated. People that put religion before family are just not my people I guess. But I'm still kind to as many people as I can be. I still try my best not to judge or do harm to anyone. And I still love without condition.

Did you leave by choice or...as stated previously, were you excommunicated for getting into a fight? (That seems extreme to me in any religion I must say).