Free Verse Challenge Masterlist and Story Depository

The official deadline for Free Verse stories was July 15. This masterlist contains all of the stories that have been submitted so far. Enjoy, and check back for updates as delayed stories are added!

If your story is going to be late, don't panic. I am happy to accept late stories; it's not like you're writing for a recipient who is going to be waiting with bated breath. Take your time, finish your story, and link to it in the comments when you're done. Keep in mind, though, that there are some benefits to getting your story in on time. There will be a lot of people browsing this masterlist in the next couple of days-- if your story is here for people to find, you'll attract a larger audience for your work. Also, when you turn in your story, you'll get to see a link to the full text of the poem that your snippet was taken from.

When you're ready to submit your story, comment to this post. Use the form below to submit a link to your story. Note that you cannot post stories to this community. Any kind of link is fine: your LJ, a post to a community, a non-LJ webpage. For the masterlist, I need only the information below.

Name/lj name: (try to use the same one you signed up with)
Title of story:
Fandom:
Pairing(s): (If applicable. Please spell out characters' names, as your fandom is not necessarily my fandom.)
Link to the story:



Stories are organized by fandom, then alphabetical by authors' LJ names.

The Free Verse Challenge, Round 2: The Masterlist

Alias

Subtext, by eirena (Arvin Sloane/Irina Derevko)
Give me your premonitions, give me your book, give me your prodigious memory,
give me that blue gaze in your dark eye, give me the devotion of your sleeping birds.
- From the wave, the shortcut, by Valerie Mejer

move in and out of the picture, by tellitslant (Jack/Katya)
kept all her letters before she disappeared
a portrait softly altered under the spotlight
and the bow still vibrating hard to describe
the way the cherry trees move in and out
of the picture
- kept all her letters, by Carol Ciavonne

Angel: the Series

Opportunities Missed... And Not, by agilebrit (Spike/Illyria)
All the messages
I longed to deliver
smeared on my lips.

I had abandoned them
almost by mistake.
My urges muzzled me.
- Nocturnal Flight, by Graham Nunn

Well of Static, by callmesandy (Connor-rific gen)
From the inexhaustible well of static
we pull up words to call ghosts, apparitions,

the unknown. The shower swirls with
voices. All the little dead girls know

all our names.
- White Noise, by Timothy Green

Coming Out of the Woodwork, by no_absolutes (gen)
They materialize, like smoke, from cars,
Indeed from living room doors,
Flowered like the very furniture,
Inebriate from chicken salad.
- The Complete History of Aunts, by Paul D. McGlynn

Until Every Noise Is Drowned, by semby (Buffy/Angel)
And I will cover her ears until every noise
is drowned and all the world is
but a fish view. I will stare at her and I will be
silent. For her, I will be still.
- In the Mortuary, by Joy Icayan

The Border Trilogy

Hell of an Obituary, by zarahemla (gen)

It's a telegram to the gut, and at our spoons of watermelon
we sit idle, mooning about a revolution.

If we sing it, could we change our anthem
into ribbons of highway, into valleys?
- Follie a Deux, by Arielle Greenberg

Boston Legal

Execution, by 3pipeproblem (Alan/Tara)
He forces me into a station wagon and
Drives to Texas,
To a used car lot
Marked with plastic yellow flags,
So I may attend an execution
- Muse, by Karyn Ostrom

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Secrets We've Been Keeping, by audaciously</a> (Buffy/Spike)
Every night lying came easier &

easier, until
dawn broke pale over us,

leaving pockmarks in the road.
We were always trying to save ourselves for something
- The Social Life of Traffic, by Brian Leary

Passez l'âme à la machine, by calvina (Buffy/Oz)
against the concrete steps purple and
yellow crocuses, petal-wrapped cones
waiting to unfold, urging the sun
to follow suit, out Spring. 'Love,'
I shout at mouth's door, 'all bets are off.'
- First Day of Spring, by Louisa Howerow

Prophetic, by glimmergirl (Buffy/Giles)
It can be that simple:
a world was expecting you
at a certain time and place
but you were no longer a part of that world.
- Archaeology, by Daniel Pendergrass

Winter Garden, by kivrin (Giles/Xander)
My beloved has laid me down in sweet breathless clover and I have
Drawn the cursive lines of disparity over each bleeding inch of skin.
- Ghazal For Solomon and the Way We Look at Our Feet, by Leigh Stein

Lover of the Raw, by zulu (Buffy/Angel, Buffy/Faith, Buffy/Spike)
I am a lover of the raw,
the switch-backed, twitched

to the left. I am not
a woman who likes it smooth
and straight, with the lights off.
- Protuberances, by Anna Evans

Cagney & Lacey

Dear Mary Beth, by fallon_ash (Christine Cagney/Mary Beth Lacey)
If I weren't one bit shy and all of me were visible,
if I could lean against you without taking you
for granted, since the numbers tell us we can't last,
and even the hair of our bodies holds us apart,
would you recognize whatever this is I'm trying to give you?
- June 12, by Muriel Nelson

Crossovers

The Fermented, by wisdomeagle (gen; Firefly x Angel: the Series)
She imagines sacrificing her socks for a scavenger,
savage, avenger, thief
Letting the water fall, turning to
Ice-shaped middle fingers
- 35 and Motor St., Dallas, (Almost Thanksgiving), by Christina Rozelle

Moments, by margarks (X-Files, Mulder/Skinner; Roswell, Michael/Max; Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Xander/Spike)
he gave me clandestine celebrations & poltergeist kittens

he gave me inhabited shadows & bathtub arpeggios

he gave me a date w/a snowflake
- he, by Jim Cory

Deadwood

The Widow Garrett's Wedding Night, by jae_w (Jane/Joanie)
And as you stumble out of the bar into tequila dawn
and the cacti are tipped with fine sharp frost
and the sand is cold under the dark of your shoes
- Sun by Kevin Conder

Doctor Who

City of Loss, by gwynnega (Nine/Rose, Four/Romana)
Transparent as shrimp, they swim
in transfiguring light.
They live on clouds and communion wafers,
the occasional locust, the odd
piece of honeycomb found in a tree.
- Lapsed Catholic Watches the Super Bowl, by Gail White

Like an Old Jacket, by mireille719 (Jack/Nine)
There's a piece
of you hanging
like an old jacket
on an old nail
beside a job
I never finished.
- Four Parts of a Creature, by Tom Sheehan

Due South

twirl you so sweetly 'round, by marginalia (Ray K/Fraser)
While hardly fit for bird calling, or orchards,
the body requires correction, the borders defined.

See how easily one could slip outside of a story.
Even through a locked door, quietly.
- a short history of the corset, by Kristy Bowen

Farscape

Vicious, by astrogirl2 (gen)
stop. Feel it. The urge
to kill a man
is a rat in a paper cage.
The urge to kill a man
is a fresh broom in the forest.
- Goosefleshing, by Timothy O'Keefe

A Dali Painting on Acid, by fbf (gen)
Beautiful spillways move silt through the clay-filled toes.
You're dreamy and I'm dreaming.
South of the tree line is a nesting pair of ducks.
They sleep in the cold open water.
The first stop on highway eighty-five is you.
- Lined Jeans, by Joshua Beckman and Matthew Rohrer

Linear Progression, by sugargroupie (John/Caroline)
Physics' linear progressions explain
nothing. There are no systematic laws
for the heart, save one: it beats.
- Quantification, by Jake Swearingen

Good Omens

Here Comes the Flood (an extravagance), by oxoniensis
In the distance rain drains the roof
an extravagance that's unearthly falls in the garden.
Secrets do not make us strong.
The rungs have worn down.
- All that surrounds you, by Jill Jones

Harry Potter

Love Magic, by anneline (Luna/Ron)
I beg your indulgence. Rain spills on my back
and renders me inconsolable.

Cum smells like bleach. Or is it nutmeg?
I lose track of experiences and bounce forged checks.
- Seven Parts Make a Whole, by Jayne Pupek

Radishes, by icon_ified (Hagrid/Ginny; warnings for non-cons, character death, and necrophilia)
Beside me in bed her arm
crosses the arch of her nose,
and I think: Radishes,
she is the color of radishes.
- Twenty-Year Marriage, by Ash Bowen

This Is Not Funny, Mr. Potter, by mimbulus (Snape/Harry)
Inebriation leads
to memory loss,
and a general
hardening of the organs,
the least of which
is the heart.
- Jukebox Gothic, by Alan May

Images of Yesterday, by random_glitch (Harry/Draco)
Images used in decades past
(or even yesterday),
may not be used today.
Label them cliché, old-fashioned,
passé; leave them in old chests
with words of love
and unrequited passion.
- When the Owls are Silenced, by Gary Blankenship

After, by scythia (Pansy/Draco)
We have time to read again but no books;
time to put our feet up on the railings of our porches

but no porches, and so little sun. Our friends
who once rode in carriages are horseless,
and we think we know what that must be like.
- Forecast, by Jonas Lerman

Truth and Other Fictions, by shighola (Snape/Harry/Draco)
All those lovers we talked about swing
on someone else's tears now. We three
finally settled for the real thing and moved
to opposite ends of the earth.
- Letter to Wolff in Her New House, by Frederick Zydek

Memories of November, by sundaydriver (Frank Longbottom/Alice Longbottom)
This morning I worried words for hours, composed
a plea for your return, and now, letter stamped
and tucked into my pocket, I choose the long way
through the fields to the mailbox.
- Diasporas, by Glenda Cooper

House

Under the Heavens, by mazily (gen)
The things she loved were enormous:
skyscrapers, freeways, the Golden Gate bridge.
The things I loved were tiny:
sewing pins, buttons, the knots at the ends
of colorful threads
- Embroidery Lessons, by Margarita Engle

Or the Damaged, by ebstarr4 (Cameron/House)
Booze and bright lights
and compassion.
The Eightfold Path of Perfection.
And nothing is like the stillness,
the quiet code of his hand
- Shooting Pool With Buddha, by John M. Valentine

Joan of Arcadia

Whittle Me Down, by furies (Helen/Will)
Whittle yourself to transparency.
Cross the bridge as it burns, sparks
in the wisps of your hair, and don't

look back. It is already turning
to smoke. Soon it will not hold you.
- Suspension, by Maggie Smith

Judging Amy

To Feel the Warmth Come Back, by dagnylilytable (Amy/Bruce)
And the Buddha is
right. The illusion
of holding
things that move
so fast is
the source of all suffering.
- Watch It, by Mark Allinson

Justice League (animated series)

In the Midnight Hour, by mtgat (gen)
Dreams, like canaries,
are sent down into our mineshafts
to discover how long we might survive
- Gone Before, by Dobby Gibson

Kim Possible

Freed, by ariestess (Kim/Shego)
i cut a slice off the moon
and put it in her drink
she tickled me with blinks
until i begged to be untied
- We Had a Lovely Time, by Matt Hetherington

King Arthur (2004 movie)

Talisman, by _cheshire (Arthur/Lancelot/Guinevere)
The bite on my cheek is no tattoo either.
It's where the tickle-feather took root,
so don't make small potatoes of it.
- In the Season of Ripe, by Dianna Henning

La Femme Nikita

The Noise of Saltwater, by voleuse (Nikita/Michael)
And once they found her twenty feet up
Hugging the bulb of a street lamp.
      She had never slept so close to the moon -
She dreamed that she could graze the cusp,
Press her face against its glow.
- Kid Moth, by Jeneece Bernard

Lagaan

Just Enough, by thelastgoodname (Bhuvan/Elizabeth/Gauri)
Selected desperations begin their nightly rounds,
lust hawks hope on every crooked
doorstep. What if you stop staggering towards that railing,
finger the cinnamon scent of her just enough
- Bulletin, by Nancy A. Henry

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Morning, by shatterpath (Alex/Olivia)
to start the morning over, somewhere else
on that landscape of her, all you really want
is the person you think she is,
without all the yesterdays and you know
how yesterday is, that haunting voice never shuts up
- Alive, by Susan Culver

Lord of the Rings

Dandelion Dream, by jamaillith (gen)
so the dream took you too, or what it called you -
dandelion thumbs and the smell of wet slate,
dim words soaked into my neck
by thumbs and lips, I won't, a promise
- Lost, by Sally Rosen Kindred

Lotrips

See-Saw, by valerienne (Billy/Dom)
Slip off your sandals. You may need

to unbutton your sleeves, or admit
the weakness that is your art.

Take refuge in the window,
- To Byzantium, By Train, by Idra Novey

Magnificent Seven

A Little Bit Hungry, by etakyma (Ezra Standish/Vin Tanner)
You always leave me like this: a little bit hungry,
a little bit sore. And "more, more" is pretty
much all I want to say. And that's too much,
I know, but that's what it's like.
- Love's Like That, Sure It Is, by JC Bellinger

Metallica (RPS)

A Pile of Memories Unwritten, by rheakurokawa (Lars Ulrich/Kirk Hammett)
and falls to your ankles
only to spiral up between your legs

where all of my thoughts of autumn
hide in the warm veins of burning leaves.
- November Wind, by Douglas Korb

The Sentinel

Quarry, by kaethe (Jim/Blair)
Once sunset chipped in your hair, farewelling the universe's inhabitants
Now clouds stop in your frozen cemetery
your wine-dark car turning in the drive
- Cracked Avenues, by Gig Ryan

Spooks (MI-5)

Girl Going Crazy (Requiem Aeternam), by sangerin (gen)
I can hear the ocean inside

my head. Everything I say sounds
like the surf pounding, sounding out
each word. I am trying to make
this count for something.
- surf poem/, by Michael Goodfellow

Sports!RPS

Wherever Your Go, by oriolegirl (Mark Mulder/Brian Roberts)
And though
you never meant to
stay, always meant to
leave, you have stayed, everywhere
you have ever been,
as though you have never been anywhere else.
- Stay, by Cati Porter

Ten Years, by parka_girl (Vitas Gerulaitis/Björn Borg)
They think they ought to
be hungry, ought to feel
around for photographs
of the ones who followed
them to this dark bed and
then turned their backs.
- When Spring Melts the Ground, by Lyn Lifshin

Tactics (manga)
A kinder fortune, by xsmoonshine (Ichinomiya/Hasumi)
Skip that sad bit about the self
as put upon, your inner puppy dog

gazing out the window at the breeze,
wanting only love, a home &

somebody to call it by name.
- B-I-N-G-O, by Nate Pritts

Van Helsing

Pelagius, by autiotalo (Carl/Van Helsing)
the instability of touch and all twelve gospels,
the promise of freedom through a forage of flesh,
knowing how good it was, its coolness
traveling the whole length of a body beginning
with mouth;
- Inebriate, by Kris T. Kahn

Velvet Goldmine

Dark Dreams of the Past, by moonfruituk (gen)
If no one wants to make a home with me
Then I will make a home with myself
And wait for someone
To plant the flowers outside my wondow
And make me pudding
- You ain't gonna get glory if that's what you came here for, by Dorothea Lasky

The West Wing

Famous Last Words, by tangleofthorns (Sam/Donna)
There are taxis at the end of the street, she tells us.
There were always taxis at the end of the street.
My feet crunch the flowers on the ground leaving
orange footsteps.
- Partition Story, by Athena Kashyap

Wilby Wonderful

Not the Same, by visionshadows (gen)
What would your heart be
if our chests were open
and sky were water?
How would we
find our way home?
Anadromous, by William Winfield Wright

Without a Trace

Here's to the Rest of the World, by circusgirl (Samantha/Danny)
Here's the sum of a girl's life:
mini-skirt, ecstasy, blue scooter,
shattered brick wall, blood on asphalt.
All bought with her allowance.
- this is not the poem, by Arlene Ang

More stories to be added as they're turned in!