Articles by Mel Trent
Opinion
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Manga Review: Priest
() review manga
What would happen if you put a western and some zombies in a blender and hit puree? You get Min-Woo Hyung's "Priest". Good story, great art equal excellent manga.
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Anime Review: Orphen
() news reviews anime
The tale of a sorcerer who must tranform his lover from a dragon back into a woman before she is slain to stop her rampaging, Orphen has a few things going for it - interesting characters, intriguing story, decent pacing. But sloppy details in character names, animation and subtitles prevent this series from getting a higher grade.
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Review: Peacemaker Kurogane
() anime review
Visually stunning, wonderful characters, and great samurai action, this historical action drama earns high marks.
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Anime Review: Steamboy
() review
Famed anime director Katsuhiro Otomo spent eight years working on this film, and the animation is gorgeous. But despite some visual appeal and an all-star voice cast, this tale of ninteenth-century, steam-powered technical espionage finds itself in desperate need of a plot mechanic to give it an overhaul.
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Anime Review: Gantz
() anime review
Gorgeous animation, fascinating plot. You would think this sci-fi adventure would be a winner.
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Anime Review: Gravitation
() review
I expected starry-eyed romantic fluff, and I was not disappointed. However, Gravitation has a dark side that I didn't anticipate, and this, along with the endearing characters, really won me over.
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Anime Review: Samurai Deeper Kyo
() review anime review
If you must choose between this and a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, you will need the following information to make an informed choice.
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Mega Tokyo vol. 4
() review manga
A popular online comic, MegaTokyo's silly gags and flawed but fascinating characters hold up even in print.
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Anime Review -- Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa
() review
Mel Trent reviews "Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa" and gives this anime feature a thumbs up.
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Anime Review -- Howl's Moving Castle
() review
Mel Trent reviews anime "Howl's Moving Castle" from director Hayao Miyazaki. "Pretty animation and great characters ... " says Trent, " you could do a lot worse than this one."
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DVD Review -- Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
() review
Mel Trent Reviews "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children", finding it visually extraordinary, even for those who have not played the video game.
Short
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The Color of Death
() cover story horror
Sometimes there is no following when they leave.
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Anime Review -- Boogiepop Phantom
() review
As we grow older, we lose the power of our imagination and aspirations. Mel Trent reviews "Boogiepop Phantom" and finds that it takes that idea and twists it into twelve episodes of angst, love gone sinister, and a man-eating monster.
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Transmission: Part 2
() short fiction
They sent him to a shrink to try to make him "normal," but Mad Jack Runner knows it will never work, and has a plan to keep the Agency from picking up his brain waves. Maybe it would have worked, if it wasn't for the incident with the ghost-pirate ...
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The Black Painting
() cover story short fiction
The voices are always there. Jack has tried to drown them out with medication and mutilation, but they call to him, and sometimes, he can't resist going to see if he can help them ...
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The Overactive Imagination of Lucy Jade, Part 1
() cover story short fiction
The Agency wants to investigate Lucy Jade, because everyone knows that it's just not right for a young girl to see ghosts. And her parents want Lucy investigated too, because they know that seeing ghosts is not normal. "Cure her," they say, "and stop her from writing those awful stories." Can they be both wrong and right?
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The Overactive Imagination of Lucy Jade, Part 2
() short fiction
Lucy Jade has a gift that is also a curse ... maybe because everyone wants to think it's a curse and no one wants to train her talent into a gift. Jack knows how a kid has to travel that road and wants to change the direction for someone else. There's got to be a way to make a difference, but finding the way is like flying too close to the sun.
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Twins!
() cover story short fiction
<b>Prologue: A Brief History of Angel City and the Collapse of the Shaman Rail Line</b><br><br> <p>2000 years ago, the Four Great Ships <i>Salvation, Absolution, Redemption</i> and <i>Phoenix</i>, crossed the edge of a dying universe and entered another to start life anew. Aboard <i>Salvation</i> were three psychics, Talon Konstantine, his daughter, Regan, and Daigoro. Each of them possessed the powers of the three star angels, Shaman, Firefly and Yuusei, who were created when the universe was born to protect the creatures of the universe from threats like the Void that had consumed the one from which they had so recently fled. The chronicles written at that time claim the existence of a fourth star angel psychic, called Samurai, who stayed behind to seal the Void. There is no evidence today of this mysterious fourth psychic except that the Void has not encroached this universe.
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Twins! Part Two
() short fiction fantasy
Kaine and Jynx are kind of cute, kind of annoying, and very mysterious. The bounty hunter Kumiko isn't entirely sure she wants to be around them, but it seems their paths are intertwined ...
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Pale Traveler
() cover story fiction fantasy
One is Firefly and one is Shaman. One is called Jynx and one is called Kaine. They seem exactly alike to Kuroda Kumiko: good looking, annoying, and deadly. Can someone really be a bounty hunter and an angel as well? There are mysteries on the planet of Phoenix, where the leylines of the world are dying, and even angels can have enemies out to kill them. A pale traveler, hard to see, is stalking the Seraphim Twins, and their time is running out.
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Dust
() cover story fiction fantasy
The town is called "Dust," and there is nothing left of anyone, not even the crumbled molecules that could call the town their namesake. The Seraphim Twins and Kuroda Kumiko know the reason for the destruction, and who they have to find to put an end to it -- but is this mission worth what it will do to Kaine?
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Poker Face
() cover story fiction fantasy
Kaine has amazing powers of recovery, but there is only so much strength left in him, especially when the visions that engulf him are so painful that his heart can hardly bear them. And there's no time to stop and ponder them with the Pale Traveler still out there somewhere, hungry for his life ...
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Wind Scorpions, Part 1
() cover story fiction fantasy
Crossing the deserts of Phoenix, the keening wind is the only constant. It shifts the sands and changes the landmarks; it swallows whole towns and uncovers things that should never have come to light. The heat of the day makes traveling nearly impossible, but now something stange, something unnatural, walks out of the night ...
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Wind Scorpions, Part 2
() short fiction fantasy
The deserts of Phoenix have become a nightmare of monsters, and death seems to wait around every corner, and on every horizon.
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Fire Scar
() cover story fiction fantasy
Death and pain have followed the Seraphim Twins for so long that there is nothing else for them to remember. They can only have faith that they know how to defeat the demon sent to kill them, but the price of victory may cost them more than they possess ...
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Fresh Hearts
() short fiction
Jack Runner hates Valentine's Day with a passion. Even more so this year, when he finds someone who has a passion for him.
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Way Station
() cover story fiction fantasy
The Seraphim Twins, Kaine and Jynx, have been joined by Iai, who has professed his mission to protect Kaine. But the danger is growing, and Kaine is less worried about himself than about his twin and the girl Kumiko ...
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Transmission: Part 1
() short fiction
Everyone knew there was something different about Jack Runner. He had too many 'imaginary playmates' that he talked to, and he knew too much about things that he shouldn't. And he did things no boy his age ought to do -- like befriending a monster ...Originally appeared 2007-02-12.
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Black Whiskey
() cover story short fiction fantasy
Unexpectedly, McBride is the next best hope for the injured Kaine and Iai. McBride knows that Iai has the power to heal himself, but what about Kaine, who was never expected to survive his own birth? But it is an odd fact that power comes when you're willing to take it ...
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Black Whiskey 2
() fiction fantasy
Unexpectedly, McBride is the next best hope for the injured Kaine and Iai. McBride knows that Iai has the power to heal himself, but what about Kaine, who was never expected to survive his own birth? But it is an odd fact that power comes when you're willing to take it ...
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Mystery
() cover story fiction fantasy
Raven is accused of stealing the Moon and the Sun. No one believes the trickster, of course, so the only solution is that he is going to have to find the culprit himself!
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Mystery 2
() short fiction fantasy
Raven has no choice but to visit the scene of the crime, and finds not only a witness and a helper, but the inspiration to sell Girl Scout cookies.
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Mystery 3
() short fiction fantasy
The sun and the moon are found, but how will Raven steal them and put them back in the sky?
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Angel Hunter
() cover story short fiction fantasy
Evil and mystery have haunted the desert nights of the planet Phoenix, but the creature of malice and cruelty, Suada Zacharias, strides confidently under the blazing sun, dining on the pain of others, and quenching her thirst ... with death.
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Zodiac
() cover story fiction fantasy
Iai, Kaine, Jynx, and Kumiko have something in common on the harsh desert planet of Phoenix. It's not their courage, or their battles -- it's that for their own reasons, their hearts are all breaking ...
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Zodiac: Part Two
() short fiction fantasy
Kaine is dying; he has nothing left to help him heal. The time has come for Iai to remember who and what he is, and what he must do ...
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Blue Moon
() cover story short fiction fantasy
Death walks the streets of Angel City, shouting words the people hear as prophecy, meting out pain and loss. Death stalks the streets of Angel City, years later, hiding from sight, knowing what truth is to come ...
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Blue Moon: Part 2
() short fiction fantasy
Hizashi and Getsuei fire, but it is not enough. The Immortal Guns will pass on, but will they ever be able to defeat the Death that walks the ruins of Angel City?
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Battle Royale
() cover story fiction fantasy
Three star demons are waiting; they know that their time has come, that their strength in combination can destroy the angel-fool who will try to stop them, alone, to try to save the ones he loves...
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My Summer Vacation, by Jack Runner (age 8)
() short fiction
People go to memorial sites to remember the past, but for a secret psychic like Jack Runner, the past is quite visible and overwhelmingly present.
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End of the Line
() cover story short fiction fantasy
Battered and blood-soaked, mortally weary and nearly dead, Jynx, Kaine, Kumiko, and Iai struggle to regain their strength, for in spite of the defeat of the Star-Demons, the battle for the Leylines of Phoenix is still looming over them like an evil shadow filling the sky ...
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End of the Line, Part 2
() short fiction fantasy
Battered and blood-soaked, mortally weary and nearly dead, Jynx, Kaine, Kumiko, and Iai struggle to regain their strength, for in spite of the defeat of the Star-Demons, the battle for the Leylines of Phoenix is still looming over them like an evil shadow filling the sky ...
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Heart and Soul
() cover story fiction fantasy
Can you bring yourself to believe that the Universe is a place with order and purpose? That what seems cruel or unfair may be part of a greater plan? That misfortune and desperation may even be what draw you along to be where you actually need to be?
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Cooties: A Love Story
() cover story short fiction
It was too late. No matter what he did or where he tried to hide, Jack Runner had been infected with cooties. The three girls who had cornered him giggled and jeered, sing-songing, "You go - ott cooties!" over and over. Jack was horrified.
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Plague 1: Patient Zero
() cover story fiction death disease
Who is that on the street corner? Is it someone we know? Is it someone w're going to meet? Oh, yes, we know that stranger. And soon, Death will be a stranger no longer ...
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Plague 1: Patient Zero, Part 2
() short fiction
Plague is walking infection, working for the ones who bring misery to the human race. Is his love for his sister enough to turn him from the path to Hell?
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Plague 2: The Waiting Room
() cover story short fiction fantasy
Plague is still not comfortable with his change from despairing suicide to the side of the angels. While we are ready to forgive others their mistakes and failings, our own haunt us like whispers of Hell...
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The Waiting Room, Part 2
() short fiction disease angels demons
Plague waits, injured and doubting, while the angels meet to decide his fate. How could he possibly think he can help in the battle to come?
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Plague 3: Our Daily Bread, Part 1
() short fiction disease angels demons
One is always provided with what one needs to get by ... that is, if one is willing to trust... and know that "getting by" might not be easy ...
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Plague 3: Our Daily Bread, Part 2
() short fiction disease angels demons
There is no forcing a spirit to cooperate; the choice must come from within. The spirit must want some kind of Salvation enough to ask for it -- and then accept what that might mean.
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Footnote
() short fiction science fiction
They came to Mars from Gurstock as the latter planet disintegrated in waves of nuclear blasts. The Gurstockians didn't seem to mind ... they had a goal ...
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Footnote 2
() short fiction science fiction
Someone has to do something to keep the Gurstockians from destroying Mars, but Snake Theriot's heart is torn with grief and sadness ...
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Footnote 3
() short fiction science fiction
Complacency is so easy to foster ... it often takes sacrifice to make people aware of how tenuous life can be.
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Plague 4: Suffer the Little Children
() cover story short fiction disease angels demons
How we protect the rights to wage warfare! Laws surround it to make sure it does well; if warfare is treated with no respect, we grimace and protest and beat our breasts with grief! Is it any wonder War comes to us, begging for sustenance and seeking our attention ...
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Plague 5: And Hell Followed with Him
() cover story fiction
The Boss is hunting Plague -- Plague, who triumphed over his despair and turned to the side of Good. Relentless, the Boss either wants Plague back or to drive him to despair again ...
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Plague 6: In Sickness and In Health
() short fiction fantasy
Time is running out: evil is on the hunt with blood lust and purpose. The shock of knowing his true nature may slow Plague down a second too long ...
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Day Three
() short fiction fantasy
Jack Runner has been given an ultimatum: he must quit his caffeine habit. He hates the idea, but it seems better than giving up the whiskey or the cigarettes ... for a while.
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Plague 7: Faith
() short fiction fantasy
The end has come, and Plague's destiny is about to overtake him.
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Better Than The Alternative
() cover story short fiction fantasy
Poor Jack Runner. Mel Trent has chronicled his troubles before, but this time, she chooses an alternative reality for his story ...
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Lucky
() cover story short fiction fantasy
Jack Runner has a talent that the government wants hidden. The drugs he must take and the computer inside his head pretty much take care of that. But he has another talent, too ... but no government can stop him from finding trouble.
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With No Announcement
() short fiction fantasy
Pale is the city with no hope, but is it possible to listen to your muse and try to create a haven in such a place?
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A Demon in My View
() short fiction
There's an emptiness in Jack Runner that nothing can fill. What was taken away from him can never return, but that doesn't stop it from haunting him every day of his life. The only one who understands that is about to die ... (Originally appeared 2007-04-23)
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Icarus
() cover story short fiction fantasy
From the time he was a little boy, was there ever anything that could keep Jack Runner from flying too close to the sun?..
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Red Light
() cover story short fiction fantasy
All his life Jack has seen this particular vision, glowing, steadily getting closer ...
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Red Light 2
() serial fiction fantasy
A trickle of memories is the only help that Jack has, but it's not enough. Somewhere there have to be more ...
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Red Light 3
() short fiction fantasy
The answer lies below in the darkness, pulsing with power and a grotesque secret. The only light Jack can take with him is the one he's seen all his life ...
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Dramaturge
() cover story novella fantasy
Pale is a city of everlasting rain, a city of tragedy, a city groaning under the weight of its own curse. Jordan Mars is about to find yet another level of pain paving Pale's streets.
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Dramaturge 2
() fiction fantasy love
A wish has been granted, but as with all wishes made in rage, things have gone horribly wrong.
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Dramaturge 3
() fiction fantasy love
Having paid Charon his price for crossing the River Styx, Jordan must now find Eliot -- in all the dark nothingness of Hades ...
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Dramaturge 4
() fiction fantasy love
Love doesn't just show up and suddenly everything is Happily Ever After. There's always one more quest, one more question, one more challenge ... does that mean that in the end, Love isn't worth it?
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Birds of a Feather
() short fiction fantasy fable birds
How Crow and Raven learned the difference between black and white...
Poem
- Fandango for Four () poem unrhymed
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Flight
() poem unrhymed
Mel Trent explores in poetry the heart of All.
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Frayed
() poem unrhymed
Poetry by Mel Trent.
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Rap
()
Originally appeared 2005-10-10
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Blink
() poem unrhymed
Poetry by Mel Trent questions thoughts in the darkness.
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Broken
() poem unrhymed
In a surprising coincidence, Mel Trent's poem is a written illustration to accompany this week's cover story ...
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Carnival of Words
() poem unrhymed
Winter vista of distant hope.
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Cumulonimbus
() poem, unrhymed
Poem, unrhymed, about the ungentle weather that results from passion.
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Dawn
() poem, unrhymed
Green and orange, crimson prisms ... a poem about waking.
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Dusk
() poem, unrhymed
Poetry, unrhymed, by Mel Trent.
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Epic
() poem, unrhymed
Mel Trent presents a poem about that evergreen quest.
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Fragment
() poem, unrhymed
Poem, unrhymed, heartsick.
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Ink
() poem unrhymed
Unrhymed poetry from Mel Trent
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Keeping
() poem unrhymed
After a while, you start to realize a change is inevitable ...
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Libra
() poem unrhymed
When the scales are set on the table, how much weight does pain carry?
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Red
() poem unrhymed
Unrhymed poetry from Mel Trent.
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Zero
() poem unrhymed
Unrhymed poetry for a chilled heart.
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Pound for Pound
() poem unrhymed
...extracting the oil that smoothes my journey through this iced ether of communication ...
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Translated
() poem unrhymed
...the sun silvered through ... a veil of cool clouds
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Sestina
() poem unrhymed
... I turn every page/ looking for something to admire/ I can't turn these symbols into words/ the conceit of art is gone ...
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Listen
() poem unrhymed
...pretend for a moment ... that I am gifted with eloquence ...
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An Ode to Text Twist
() poem unrhymed
... bury the blurry ruby ...
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Villanelle
() poem rhymed
"... open your mind to what no one else hears ..."
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Synonyms
() poem unrhymed
"how many words exist ... for me to say ..."
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Across My Universe
() poem unrhymed
...words are not flowing, their endless rain has dried up ...
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Transience
() poem unrhymed
"...I will look into your inner world, take the language of your art and translate ..."
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Hart
() poem unrhymed
"...as if when you threw/ yourself to the sea you/ threw your pages out ahead..."
Comics
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Peek of the Week 141
() photo art
Tulips at the Governor's Mansion.
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Peek of the Week 144
() photo art
Dogwood blossom, Moore Square, downtown Raleigh, North Carolina.
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Peek of the Week 149
() photo art
Art outside of Exploris Museum in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.
- Peek of the Week 155 () photo art
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Peek of the Week 160
() photo art
Purple berries contrast with the green of leaves.
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Peek of the Week 167
() photo art
The face of a gargoyle.
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Peek of the Week 169
() photo art
Fall colors in North Carolina.
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Peek of the Week 171
() photo art
A close up reveals the beauty of a natural process.
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Peek of the Week 175
() photo art
Pyracantha berries brighten winter foliage.
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Peek of the Week 177
() photo art
A rain shower moves past at sunset.
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Peek of the Week 180
() photo art
Beautiful results of an ice storm.
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Peek of the Week 184
() photo art
Mel Trent gives us an eerie, multileveled view of her subject.
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Peek of the Week 187
() photo art
A flickering flame of candlelight.
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Peek of the Week 191
() photo art
Dogwood blossoms against the sky.
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Peek of the Week 195
() photo art
Play of light with a red stone and a flashlight.
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Peek of the Week 198
() photo art
One last swallow, thrown away.
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Peek of the Week 200
() photo art
A mockingbird is ruffled by the wind.
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Peek of the Week 205
() photo art
And orange mushroom radiates color.
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Peek of the Week 210
() photo art
Statuary in Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh, North Carolina.
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Peek of the Week 215
() photo art canna lily
Canna lilies illuminated by the sun.
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Peek of the Week 221
() photo art
Autumn mushrooms in North Carolina.
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Peek of the Week 226
() photo art
Magnolia seeds light up a winter tree.
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Peek of the Week 231
() photo art
A wintry sky and shivering trees.
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Peek of the Week 240
() photo art
Grafitti hands!
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Peek of the Week 245
() photo art
Delicate green flowers announce the season.
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Peek of the Week 248
() photo art
Mel Trent gives us a peek into the amazing art of Mirazozo.
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Peek of the Week 251
() photo art
Storm clouds showcase the tumult to come.
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Peek of the Week 256
() photo art
Toe of the stature of Gandhi outside the Marbles kid's museum.
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Peek of the Week 264
() photo art
Blue Ridge Parkway, Balsam Mountains, North Carolina, USA
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Peek of the Week 266
() photo art
Milkweed seeds nestle in their down.
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Peek of the Week 272
() photo art
Late season morning glories prepare to bloom.
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Peek of the Week 277
() photo art
A beautiful red flower, great photography from Mel Trent.
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Peek of the Week 286
() photo art
Mel Trent reveals the beauty of everyday technology.
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Peek of the Week 289
() photo art
Color study on a fall leaf.
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Peek of the Week 291
() photo art
A brilliant slice of citrus.
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Peek of the Week 295
() photo art
Sunset clouds in a picturesque tumble.
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Peek of the Week 299
() photo art
A close shot reveals the beauty of wood.
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Peek of the Week 302
() photo art
Butterflies at Tom Branch Falls, North Carolina, USA.
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Peek of the Week 306
() photo art
A curious ant makes its way into view.
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Peek of the Week 309
() photo art
Two views of an adult male poyphemus moth.
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Peek of the Week 312
() photo art
Sunset courtesy of approaching Hurricane Irene. North Carolina, USA.
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Peek of the Week 330
() photo art
Start the new year with an urban sunrise ...
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Peek of the Week 337
() photo art
A monster's shell inhabits a woody cave!
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Peek of the Week 342
() photo art
A study in contrasts of light and shadow on cemetery statuary.
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Peek of the Week 350
() photo art
The intricate tapestry of a caterpillar pest.
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Peek of the Week 353
() photo art
Moonrise in Savannah, Georgia, USA.
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Peek of the Week 359
() photo art
Votive candles flicker in a quiet cathedral in Savannah, Georgia, USA.
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Peek of the Week 368
() photo art
Nearly camouflaged, a pigeon ripples water in a street-puddle.
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Peek of the Week 379
() photo art
A winter sky is framed by snowflake-like seeds.
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Peek of the Week 382
() photo art
Delicate art captured in nature's presentation of winter.
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Peek of the Week 388
() photo art
The brilliant light of a canna lily.
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Peek of the Week 391
() photo art
Forest ferns through a fish-eye ...
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Peek of the Week 395
() photo art
Making the prosaic disappear into beauty -- a Mel Trent specialty.
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Peek of the Week 400
() photo art
Close up of a Spring beauty: dicentra.
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Peek of the Week 404
() photo art
A delectable view into the heart of a lily.
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Peek of the Week 408
() photo art
Capturing the art of the spider, and the spider itself as art.
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Peek of the Week 412
() photo art
Heuchera -- coral bells -- at JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, North Carolina.
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Peek of the Week 418
() comic
A lens from the lighthouse at Cape Charles, Virginia, from the collection at the Mariner's Museum in Newport News.
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Peek of the Week 422
() photo art
Hands in stone reach for the world of the living in a cemetery in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
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Peek of the Week 425
() photo art
Autumn colors reflected on water, and a single swimmer...
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Peek of the Week 427
() photo art
A mosaic of autumn colors!
Essay
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Writing
() essay writing passion
Mel Trent offers the sound of her heart's passion -- the telling of stories.