Busking?.... Custom Made Poetry?.... WTF @raj808
I am making this post as a fundraiser to help me get to steemfest 3. I'm not a charity case and feel very uncomfortable about asking for help but when I thought about it, I realized that I had something to offer, an artistry that not all people have, I am a poet. So I would like to offer to write bespoke poems, based on research into a steemian's intro post and content, in exchange for donations. This sits well with me as I'm offering something to the community, rather than just rockin up with my hands out! I shall get into the specifics of this one-off, bargain poetry opportunity later in this post... but first... why do I need to raise funds at all?
Soooooo.... as many of you may know, I have recently been engaged in an ongoing quest to make it to steemfest 3. Much like Gandalf on the bridge of Khazad Dum there have been various financial issues making it look very unlikely.
But... like the wily wizard, I have kept on through snow storms, Balrog attacks and all the pressures of the eye of Souron. I've entered three competitions to win a ticket to Steemfest 3 and a lottery with Scorum. The contests are comprised of @smooth's comment comp (which has announced already and I didn't win 😦 😉), the @steemfestdreams contest (still to announce) and the @Blocktrades Openmic: Steem Fest Giveaway(announced soon).
So as you can see I have been a busy wizard, and even if I do win a ticket there will be much more for me to do to finally reach the glimmering city of Minas-Krakow. Ha ha, if you've never seen Lord of the Rings I've probably lost you already.
But to get serious, here is what I'm up against:
This is just one of a series of debts I have accrued over the last few years due to an illness that has limited my capability for work. I don't really want to go into my illness in this post but if you want to hear more about my chronic condition I made a dtube vlog about it a month ago which you can find here. Over the last year, I have spent what little energy and drive I have writing and networking on steemit. As my illnesses symptoms started to improve, I have thrown myself, heart and soul, into this platform.
I am now in the process of researching an SMT/community idea called WritCoin which I very much want to explore at Steemfest 3, but without drastic poetry busking action, it is unlikely I will make it to Krakow.
The Limited Edition, Bargain Poetry Offer✍
Basically, as I said above I will write you a bespoke poem, based on your intro post and content, in exchange for a donation. Which raises the question... what am I going to get for my hard earned steem/sbd?
Well, obvs it might well have to be proportional. If someone sends me 0.01 steem... it is probable they will get a Haiku along these lines:
an infinitesimal gift,
... still, it all helps 😉
But in all seriousness, the amount isn't the issue. I will put my heart and soul into the poem as I do all of my poetry. Even that Haiku above follows the syllabic form. But for those willing to go a little over 0.01 steem, here are a few options you can choose and some bonuses for larger donations.
Poem Options 🤔
Style:
- as you can probably tell from this post, I do write comedic content sometimes and have done a few decent comedy poems. I also write literary and performance style poems. You can choose any of these three options and to give a flavor of what I write here are some examples:
 Sid the Sex Pest (NSFW) |  Morning Chrysalis |  Blazing Heart of Danko |
Form:
- This is a tricky one. I am primarily a free-verse poet. Free verse (or free form) poetry is what most contemporary poets veer toward. Free-verse usually builds structure through in-line rhymes, alliteration and rhythmic techniques. Rather than sticking to rigid (end of line) rhyme schemes and syllabic meter. Having said that I do write Haiku regularly and very recently wrote a successful Ghazal... so have at it! If you want a particular form feel free to request it in the memo attached to the donation transaction. Here are some examples of my form poetry:
 Ancient Chapel of Toxteth |  The Space Between Worlds |  Haiku for Inner Stillness |
If you would like to request a form poem please specify the form (e.g. Sonnet) in the memo sending your donation. If you would prefer free-verse, just leave it blank and I will let my imagination run wild and unfettered 😉
Follow that format, I'll take flight to your profile, and research a poem to write.
I want to state right now that these poems are a gift to you from me for your kind donation. Feel free to use them in a post, in fact I encourage it! I shall upvote any posts that you create about this sharing process (please do tag me in them), as long as it isn't 1/day for the next ten years lol. I see this as a fantastic way to get to know more about many wonderful steemians through the research process. I will only publish these poems myself at the end of each week or fortnight in a post highlighting and promoting everyone who has taken part.
Bonuses for Large Donations
For any kind donation of 5 steem/SBD or over, I will dig out my microphone to create a full soundcloud reading to send along with the text version. If I am lucky enough to receive a donation from a kindly Orca/Dolphin of 10 steem/SBD or over I will go the full shebang and fire up the video editing software to create an audio/visual poetic experience. I have created many of these readings to complement the text in my steemit poetry posts in the past. Please see below for two examples of both SoundCloud and YouTube poetry readings that are comparable to what the bonuses would be like:
I think I have covered everything there. Now to unleash the poetic beast!
I imagine @ned would be bowled over by a performance poem of his very own about the steem biome. Maybe @roelandp would like a poem about steemfest 3 or a @comedyopenmic inspired poem around the importance of logos 💩. Possibly @kevinwong would dig a poem about Cyberpunk in the style of a stream-of-consciousness computer game. Maybe @hansikhouse & @voronoi might like a literary refrain about a cat called Schrodinger sat in a box half full of sand. I imagine @blocktrades might react to a conceptual poem about the nature of crypto transactions. Perhaps @timcliff would like a riff about a steemit promo-blast making steemit lift... off. Maybe @aggroed would feel the flow of a performance poem about Peace, Abundance, and Liberty. I hope @teamsteem would go wild, for a ballad on the dream of a world predicated on the non-aggression principle towards all sentient beings, I know I would. Perhaps @pharesim would marvel at the flipped perspective, of a poem completely without adjectives! I hope @acidyo wouldn't hate, a free-verse about the obsessive compulsive drive to curate. Or @ausbitbank might like a Cinquain about minnowsupport and proof of brain. @anomadsoul is sure to be bowled over by a Limerick about World Cup 2018, and the comedown after it was finally over. Possibly @bitrocker2020 would rock-out at a poem all about Malaysia! Maybe @luzcypher would feel the flava of an open mic poetry battle, or Thai inspired 100 mile per tuk-tuk danger. Possibly @helpie might help me... and share in the gift of poetry 😉 @canadian-coconut may dig a persona poem, about social equality and how the governments broken. @jerrybanfield, fancy a comedy poem about the techniques of survival after your YouTube channel goes viral? There's a chance @arcange might not look askance at a few Haiku about SteemSQ....L? Who knows, maybe @good-karma would dig a free-flow about riding the developmental waves of eSteem Surfer, taking it further. Maybe @dsound would get shivers down the spine at spoken rhymes, expressing the sublime.
Ha ha, OMG I kinda lost it there a little. The rhymes took me over and that rant turned into poetry. In all seriousness though, any subject you would like guys and gals, just ask and I will weave it into the theme of the narrative. It is not my usual style to tag people into a post like this, especially people I haven't interacted with yet. I think this is the 2nd post where I have tagged people like this in the whole year I have been on steemit. Please, the poetic rant above is just a bit of fun and to let everyone know what I'm doing. If it is not something that interests you I hope that you'll see it in the light that it is meant, a fun challenge/fundraiser. Thanks for reading.
Any large account holders who upvote this post with a big ass vote, I am happy to look on that as the same as a donation and create a poem for you! Just message me on discord to sort out style/theme/form etc. Any Dapp's, @dtube @dsound, that would like a subject specific poem to use to promote a project, again feel free to reach out to me on discord where my tag is the same as my steemit user name, @raj808.
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