Comment from Rasmine

Exceptional

Good story -- hope you did well in this contest. You changed the beating heart to those three skulls. :P Well, one more of yours.

Take care and have a good week.

 Comment Written 17-Jul-2017

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reply by the author on 17-Jul-2017

Thanks again for diggin' through the slush pole and finding this one, Rasmine. I'm glad you enjoyed the story.
The Competition Committee didn't.
It never so much as placed in the contest. But, I'm getting kinda used to that by now.
I appreciate the six stars and your thoughtfulness.
Whatever you do, don't ever play poker with Dandy Dan!
~Dean ;)

reply by Rasmine on 17-Jul-2017

Okay! MK Flood on FanArt says the same thing. :P The first time they said one of mine wasn't suited for the contest, I was upset. Now, whatever, it happens to the best!
TC,
Nome

reply by the author on 17-Jul-2017

I agree. No use crying over spilled milk, right?

Comment from trumby

Excellent

I LOVE western stories & poems. The devil seems to be brought into quite a few of them too. e.g. "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" or "Ghost Riders In The Sky". There's quite a few others too.
This one is very well written, mate. with good pace throughout. You're obviously a card player. I'm not. Most of the stuff about the game went straight over my head.

 Comment Written 24-Dec-2015

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reply by the author on 24-Dec-2015

Actually I avoid all games of chance like the plague, Trumby, opting instead for games which require the use of logic and skill. Like Chess, for example.
I had to do a lot of research for this to ensure I got the poker player's jargon down correctly. Took a bit of time...

Thanks for breathing some life back into this piece. I appreciate your comments and I'm pleased hat you enjoyed it.

Have a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
~Dean

reply by trumby on 24-Dec-2015

I'm not sure of the name here. I think that its "Daniel Webster and the Devil". Its about a lawyer who argues with the devil.
I get people who say to me that I've got "bad meter" in my poems. What's that?

reply by the author on 24-Dec-2015

Well, it all depends as there are several types of meter for various compositions and forms of poetry.

For an example, a sonnet utilizes iambic pentameter. More simply put, an iamb is a metrical foot that consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one--daDUM.
Penta- means five.
Meter refers to a regular rhythmic pattern in poetry.

So iambic pentameter is a kind of rhythmic pattern that consists of five iambs per line, almost like five heartbeats: daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM.

Unless a specific form calls for a defined meter, I prefer to write a poem that sounds good to my ear. Always read your poems aloud, whether reviewing or editing your own. You can usually detect the rough spots much easier that way, if any.

Thanks again, mate...
~Dean

reply by the author on 24-Dec-2015

Well, it all depends as there are several types of meter for various compositions and forms of poetry.

For an example, a sonnet utilizes iambic pentameter. More simply put, an iamb is a metrical foot that consists of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one--daDUM.
Penta- means five.
Meter refers to a regular rhythmic pattern in poetry.

So iambic pentameter is a kind of rhythmic pattern that consists of five iambs per line, almost like five heartbeats: daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM.

Unless a specific form calls for a defined meter, I prefer to write a poem that sounds good to my ear. Always read your poems aloud, whether reviewing or editing your own. You can usually detect the rough spots much easier that way, if any.

Thanks again, mate...
~Dean

reply by trumby on 24-Dec-2015

WOW. a tutorial by a master of horror

reply by the author on 24-Dec-2015

Hahaha, I'm no master, Trumby. A slave to horror would be a more fitting statement, lol...

reply by trumby on 24-Dec-2015

maybe dungeon-master ?

reply by the author on 24-Dec-2015

Maybe...perhaps, heh-heh. ;}

Comment from Gypsy Blue Rose

Excellent

The devil's bible? I never heard that before, that is interesting. I knew about the playind deck of cards coming from tarot cards. As a good gypsy, I know how to cast fortune, maybe one of these nights I will tell you what the future holds for you. I also know how to cast Viking Runes.

Good job Dan!

 Comment Written 02-Jul-2015

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reply by the author on 02-Jul-2015

Thanks, Gypsy. I appreciate you reading this one. I think I wrote it for the Share a Story in A Poem contest last year. It didn't even place.
I've had my fortune read before, at the age of sixteen. So far, the prediction that I would be married three times hasn't come true, I've only been married twice. And I'm here to tell you, it won't happen again--no way!
She also said that I was going to be rich, well known, and very famous. That hasn't exactly happened yet either. So, yeah, it would be interesting to see what you came up with if you read my fortune.

Thanks again! ~Dean :}

Comment from blkkatwriting

Excellent

I could almost hear Johnny Cash singing this story. It is written with the drawl of the old west and present day country, at least that is the feel I got from the flow of your words. There wasn't anything I found that needs improvement. If it were a song, I'd listen to it often.

 Comment Written 20-Jul-2014

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reply by the author on 21-Jul-2014

Thank you very mucn, blkkatwriting. I am very happy that you enjoyed the story poem, and I sincerely appreciate your comments, my friend.

Comment from jgirlie152

Exceptional

I was absolutely fascinated by your story in a poem. You went way beyond whatever you were meant to, a fabulous tale of Dandy Dan and the devil. Your stanzas, broken with interesting artworks, worked perfectly, and I wish you the best for this fine poem, which turned out as well as a fairy tale, "happily ever after", in an adult manner.
Joan

 Comment Written 17-Jun-2014

Comment from Writingfundimension

Excellent

I totally enjoyed this amazing story/poem, Dean. I'm glad I'm not going to be in this contest LoL. You have really 'raised the stakes' with this entry. Good luck, my friend.

:) Bev

 Comment Written 17-Jun-2014

Comment from Ekim777

Excellent

This is a legendary piece which means it is open to well worn clichés. But we soon learn that there is more to these verses than meets the eye. They paint a picture of life itself. Why would we sell our souls to the devil over a game of cards? Is it not because when we challenge lady luck, we are briefly taking our destiny, just briefly into our own hands; hence the tension. In such a situation, the devil makes good company. -Ekim777

 Comment Written 17-Jun-2014

Comment from thedreampeddler

Excellent

Excellent job. You are a great writer.
This should do well in the contest, I think.
The rhyming patterns took a second to be comprehended by me, but they were great.

thedreampeddler

 Comment Written 17-Jun-2014

Comment from Patrick G Cox

Excellent

Hi Dean Kuch,

The modern Tarot is probably less than a hundred years old, the designs having been created by an associate of Alistair Crowley, a co-founder of the now defunct Golden Dawn Masonic movement and the Wicca mythology. The Kings, Queens and Jacks on the cards all represent famous European kings, queens and 'knaves' (young blades) from the period 1500 to 1800.

Your poem makes a fun read, reminiscent of some of the old Cornish and Devonshire folk tales in which folk heroes wrestled or played cards with the Devil for their lives or the lives of loved ones. The expression for a dark and stormy night is that it is "as black as the Earl of Hell's riding boots".

Patrick

 Comment Written 17-Jun-2014

Comment from Muffins

Exceptional

This is wicked fun and visually sensational. You've explored Dan's demonic encounter in exquisite detail. The environment descriptions is delicious and haunting. It's fast pacing,excellent character development, and a strong story line. I forgot I was reading a poem. All I can say is WOW!

 Comment Written 17-Jun-2014