scribbler

Member since May 4, 2010

Member for 16 years, 1 month

workshop leaders advocate member

1,170 Poems

15,444 Comments

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Most recent

TREK CUT SHORT

Posted Aug 30, 2025 · 32 lines · 5 critiques

Silently the snow flakes fall
from far above the poplars' crown
as I walk this wooded path
a mile or so outside of town.

they slowly cover up the duff
and the sleeves of my old coat
as they join with their brethren
and thus end their final float.

I pause to take everything in
for snow round here is a rare thing
even one which is this thin
so I've come to leave my footprints here.

Soon I come to where cedars turn thick
and shelter the ground underneath.

Read the rest of the poem Show less

I carelessly step on a stick
whose loud crack makes me grit my teeth.

The sound's report startles a deer
which stares my way and stamps it feet
then on catching my scent she bounds away.
I wish that my legs were so fleet.

I watch as her white tail leave
then catch a glimpse of scarlet red
which becomes a male cardinal
with a raised crest flared on his head.

A swirl of wind shakes through this copse
which sends the cardinal to wing
through the cedars' sagging tops
which sheds the the sparse snow with their swings.

A handful of which goes down my neck
causing a shiver down my spine
Which makes me turn my way toward home
before I trip upon a an unseen vine.

scribbler’s timeline

September 2025
30 Tue

Received a critique
on TREK CUT SHORT from @Simon
"This is a wonderful work I kept reading over and over because I like it, but this two lines down below 👇 👇 I think they needs refining just suggestion. "which sheds the the sparse snow with their" "swings.before I trip…"
06 Sat

Contest commendation
Neopoet Weekly 08/31/25 to 09/06/25

with "TREK CUT SHORT".
01 Mon

Received a critique
on TREK CUT SHORT from @Ray Miller
"Aren't you referring to snowflakes rather than leaves?"
August 2025
31 Sun

Received a critique
on TREK CUT SHORT from @Ray Miller
"Enjoyed the read. Starts off well, the first stanza's rhyme and rhythm should be a template for what follows but isn't quite. I don't know the word "duff" in this sense. In the UK up the duff is slanf for being pregnant…"
30 Sat

Posted a poem
TREK CUT SHORT
"Silently the snow flakes fall"
Open thread 32 lines
June 2025
16 Mon

Received a critique
on WHEN DAYS BECOME EMPTY from @Geezer
"I felt the pain of achy knees, the sound of the truck as it starts, and the emptiness of the passenger seat. Back when I was still hunting and going to turkey-shoots, my best friend and I were always together. After I m…"
13 Fri

Received a critique
on WHEN DAYS BECOME EMPTY from @Lavender
"Hello, Stan, Silent and lonely. Relatable, especially those of us who are aging, and seeing friends and familiar places fade away. I feel this. Thank you, L"
13 Fri

Posted a poem
WHEN DAYS BECOME EMPTY
"My boots exit the leafy duff"
Open thread 24 lines
13 Fri

Critiqued
"Today is Good for Breathing..." by @Geezer
"I think the AI missed on most critique. I think the only thing I'd have done different change "not" to none. You take care up there in yankee land.........stan"
May 2025
03 Sat

Anniversary
15 years of membership
April 2025
20 Sun

Received a critique
on THE STRIPPER from @Candlewitch
"Thank you for bring a smile to enjoy with my coffee! very fondly, Cat"
February 2025
19 Wed

Received a critique
on INTERUPTED TREK from @Candlewitch
"It is ever so pleasant and calming to read this treasured piece on nature and day spent in sweet solitude. much love, Cat"
18 Tue

Received a critique
on INTERUPTED TREK from @Lavender
"Hello, Stan, It's been awhile since you've taken us on one of your beautiful treks, but this has made it worth the wait. Lovely, peaceful... and chilly. Your language and imagery are clear and vivid. The typos are a bit…"
18 Tue

Critiqued
"North Country Moon" by @Candlewitch
"If I was to guess who could take the moon an wolves and write poem about them it would be you. Well done"
18 Tue

Posted a poem
INTERUPTED TREK
"Silently small snow flakes fall"
Open thread 28 lines
January 2025
02 Thu

Critiqued
"Clearing My 2024's Junk Drawer" by @Rula
"Sigh.... too bad fixing these problems aren't as easy a tossing out a junk drawer"
December 2024
31 Tue

Contest commendation
12/24 What is Friendship?

with "TWO SEAT BENCH (friendship contest)".
19 Thu

Critiqued
"Neopoet's Bards and Others" by @Rula
"i don't critique those who Do write them. BUT. I can affirm the clarity between the poets here and those off site being different writers."
16 Mon

Posted a poem
TWO SEAT BENCH (friendship contest)
"The treated wood on this deer stand"
Open thread 30 lines
12 Thu

Critiqued
"Comfort and Joy" by @Lavender
"The mimicked rhythm is close to if not exact. I expect this was a difficult poem to write"
12 Thu

Critiqued
"Light-Up Santa" by @Michael Anthony
"A pleasant poem about an item most people either have or had."
November 2024
24 Sun

Critiqued
"Angels and Vampires..." by @Geezer
"nothing like some time in a hospital to make a person appreciate "normal" life. Good to see you are back to as normal as yogurt lol......stan"
08 Fri

Posted a poem
This was written by 14 year old Joshua Dyer
"He wrote it in under an hour for a class project"
Open thread 28 lines
October 2024
17 Thu

Critiqued
""It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!" " by @Candlewitch
"You have me looking forward to watching the show lol"
04 Fri

Posted a poem
THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN
"November just passed through the door"
Open thread 29 lines
September 2024
06 Fri

Contest commendation
Autumn Arrival Image Prompt Contest

with "AUTUMN'S CUSP".
August 2024
02 Fri

Posted a poem
CONNECTION LOST (disconnected Contest)
"Slowly walking along three and twenty creek"
Open thread 44 lines
01 Thu

Posted a poem
FOLLY'S PRICE (Peace vs, War)
"Susan and I walk hand in hand"
Open thread 29 lines
July 2024
12 Fri

Posted a poem
NOTHING LASTS
"My boots exit the soft leafy duff"
Open thread 28 lines
June 2024
30 Sun

Posted a poem
TO WALK BENEATH ASPENS
"I always thought I'd go out west"
Open thread 36 lines
30 Sun

Contest commendation
June 2024 Neo Gem

with "TO WALK BENEATH ASPENS".
16 Sun

Posted a poem
SOUTHERN SUMMER EVENING
"The sun is setting behind the trees"
Open thread 30 lines
05 Wed

Posted a poem
NEW DAY (final rewrite)
"I squeak open the rusty door"
Open thread 16 lines
April 2024
06 Sat

New follower
@mark
February 2024
06 Tue

Contest commendation
10,000 Comment Milestone ~ Scribbler

with "THE STEP".
06 Tue

Community honor
10,000 Comment Milestone ~ Scribbler

A community contest dedicated to scribbler.
July 2023
29 Sat

Contest commendation
Neopoem Of The Week July 24 To July 29th 2023

with "THE LONELY ONES".
October 2022
24 Mon

New follower
@Geezer
May 2022
14 Sat

Contest commendation
Neopoem Of The Week week of May 15 2022

with "OFF RAMPS".
07 Sat

New follower
@Luckscribe
01 Sun

Contest commendation
Neopet Random Challenge # 14

with "CONNECTION LOST (voice mail from the grave)".
April 2022
26 Tue

New follower
@Candlewitch
December 2021
31 Fri

Contest commendation
Write a Holiday Poem To A Friend On Neopoet

with "EXEMPT (December poem to friends now gone)".
April 2021
01 Thu

Contest commendation
Seeing things Differently

with "IN HINDSIGHT (march contest)".
01 Thu

First contest commendation
Seeing things Differently

with the poem "IN HINDSIGHT (march contest)".
June 2020
18 Thu

Posting milestone
1,000 poems posted
May 2020
03 Sun

Anniversary
10 years of membership
October 2018
23 Tue

Most-discussed work
UNFINISHED JOURNEY (Oct. Contest)

62 critiques to date.
July 2015
20 Mon

Critique milestone
10,000 critiques given
May 2015
03 Sun

Anniversary
5 years of membership
December 2012
20 Thu

Posting milestone
500 poems posted
January 2012
26 Thu

Critique milestone
5,000 critiques given
May 2011
03 Tue

Anniversary
One year of membership
December 2010
15 Wed

Highest posting month
December 2010 — 32 poems
November 2010
29 Mon

Posting milestone
100 poems posted
July 2010
13 Tue

Critique milestone
1,000 critiques given
May 2010
05 Wed

First critique offered
on "Charlatan " by @xena465
04 Tue

First publication
homeplace
03 Mon

Joined Neopoet
Membership begins

First poem published 1 days later.

About Me

About me

I find it hard to NOT be inspired by my wife Susan.

Location: South Carolina, United States, USA

Favorite Poets

Frost

Burns

Longfellow

Poe

and Johnson. I guess you've noticed these are all past masters. Other than folks on site I don't read any contemporary poets .

Contest Wins

Winning Submission	Contest	Contest Date
TREK CUT SHORT	Neopoet Weekly 08/31/25 to 09/06/25	31 August, 2025 – 6 September, 2025
TWO SEAT BENCH (friendship contest)	12/24 What is Friendship?	1 December, 2024 – 31 December, 2024
TO WALK BENEATH ASPENS	June 2024 Neo Gem	1 June, 2024 – 30 June, 2024
AUTUMN'S CUSP	Autumn Arrival Image Prompt Contest	23 August, 2024 – 6 September, 2024
THE STEP	10,000 Comment Milestone ~ Scribbler	6 February, 2024
THE LONELY ONES	Neopoem Of The Week July 24 To July 29th 2023	24 July, 2023 – 29 July, 2023
OFF RAMPS	Neopoem Of The Week week of May 15 2022	8 May, 2022 – 14 May, 2022
CONNECTION LOST (voice mail from the grave)	Neopet Random Challenge # 14	1 April, 2022 – 1 May, 2022
EXEMPT (December poem to friends now gone)	Write a Holiday Poem To A Friend On Neopoet	1 December, 2021 – 31 December, 2021
IN HINDSIGHT (march contest)	Seeing things Differently	4 March, 2021 – 1 April, 2021

Workshops

		Skill level:
How to use imagery in poetry..	(syllabus)	Splash Pool	Started 2024-05-01	Concluded
Neopoet Collaborative Poem #5	(syllabus)	Splash Pool	Started 2022-09-06	Concluded
Neopoet Collaborative Poem #4 Workshop	(syllabus)	Splash Pool	Started 2022-08-28	Concluded
Collaborative Poetry Workshop #3	(syllabus)	Splash Pool	Started 2022-08-21	Concluded
Collaborative Poem Workshop #2	(syllabus)	Splash Pool	Started 2022-08-11	Concluded
Stretching wings (Let's Begin)	(syllabus)	Olympic Pool	Started 2021-07-20	Concluded
NARRATIVE POETRY SHOP (Let's get started)	(syllabus)	Splash Pool	Started 2021-04-17	Concluded
RHYME PATTERNS (let's begin)	(syllabus)	Splash Pool	Started 2021-02-24	Concluded
Critique review basics	(syllabus)	Plunge Pool	Started 2020-09-11	Concluded
Idle Time Poetry	(syllabus)	Wading Pool	Started 2020-07-19	Concluded
Idle Time Poetry	(syllabus)	Wading Pool	Started 2020-07-09	Concluded
Titles	(syllabus)	Wading Pool	Started 2020-05-26	Concluded
Rhythm and Meter in Poetry	(syllabus)	Plunge Pool	Started 2020-02-10	Concluded
Critique For New And Old	(syllabus)	Plunge Pool	Started 2020-01-16	Concluded
Prose as poetry: the prose-poem	(syllabus)	Plunge Pool	Started 2019-12-04	Concluded
Immersing the Reader Via Imagery Part 2	(syllabus)	Splash Pool	Started 2019-09-22	Concluded
Immersing the reader via imagery (Let's get started)	(syllabus)	Splash Pool	Started 2019-09-16	Concluded
Cellar Door	(syllabus)	Olympic Pool	Started 2019-03-27	Concluded
Error	(syllabus)	Splash Pool	Started 2019-01-06	Concluded
Implied Imagery SHOP Here we go !	(syllabus)	Splash Pool	Started 2018-11-16	Concluded
The Great, Big, All-Inclusive Critique Workshop	(syllabus)	Wading Pool, Splash Pool, Olympic Pool, Shark Pool, Plunge Pool	Started 2018-06-18	Concluded
Basic and Essential Meter	(syllabus)	Splash Pool	Started 2018-04-12	Concluded
UNFINISHED WORKS	(syllabus)	Splash Pool	Started 2018-03-28	Concluded
Sunku: beyond rhyme and rhythm, search for new structures in short form	(syllabus)	Wading Pool, Splash Pool, Olympic Pool, Shark Pool, Plunge Pool	Started 2018-02-11	Concluded
Poets of West Africa in English	(syllabus)	Splash Pool		Concluded