Love
Sweet, tender.
Comes, goes, returns.
It takes time.
Love.
To read this poem in French, click here.
I’m getting passed in this race,
but I’ve been first at the finish line.
I’m getting tired of the pace
and I just feel like taking my time.
Goal of 2.5 million daily viewers set for poetry blog
Internationally-known poet Elias Tobias has set a goal of 2.5 million daily unique visitors by January 2010 on his web site, The World of Words by Elias Tobias. Already the web blog has reached 2.5 million daily page views and more than one million unique visitors a day.
“I am pleased that so many more people are coming to my blog, but with the help of those already checking out the web blog, more people can be exposed to my style of poetry and photography,” Tobias said.
He said the same items that work to make the web blog, at eliastobias.net, successful now, will continue, including a variety of poems on a monthly theme, the Spanish-language poems, photography and graphics, videos, and incentives to get the reader involved with the website itself. No media, other than the Internet will be used to promote the blog.
Poem to be published in anthology
The poem, “The Beauty of Life,” has advanced to the semi-annual round of the National Amateur Poetry Competition in a contest sponsored by Eber & Wein Publishing, of Shrewsbury, Pennsylvania. The poet will compete for 126 cash and gift prizes, including a grand prize of $2,500.As a semi-finalist, the poem will be published in Verses and Visions, a multi-volume collection of new and notable poets from around the world, which will be for sale on Amazon. com, and the Barnes and Noble website.
Vote for the best Spanish poem in Palabras de Inspiración
The Spanish-language book category, Palabras de Inspiración, has been associated with the World of Words by Elias Tobias for six months now, and with one poem, the collection had grown quickly to include poems on many topics and themes. We would like to know which one you think is the best one. Five poems were chosen as the top poems. Look at them (just click on the titles) and decide which one is best. E-mail that choice to contact@eliastobias.net.The winner will be announced in the May newsletter, Exponet.
El libro en español de la categoría, Palabras de Inspiración, se ha asociado con el mundo de las palabras de Elias Tobias durante seis meses, y con un poema, la colección ha crecido rápidamente para incluir poemas sobre muchos temas y temas. Nos gustaría saber lo que uno cree que es la mejor. Cinco poemas fueron elegidos como los poemas. Míralos (basta con hacer clic sobre los títulos) y decidir cuál es el mejor. E-mail para que la elección contact@eliastobias.net. El ganador se anunciará en el boletín de mayo, Exponet. Primeros poemas son español
1. La sal y la pimienta (Mi poema de aniversario) 2. Mi canción Victoria 3. Mi Compás 4. Llorar 5. Mi segundo aire
Mike’s Book Café has free books online
The gift of reading is a gift that keeps on giving, long after the Christmas presents have been opened. The best presents are free and there are hundreds of books online for no cost from a variety of sources. So when it’s cold outside, and you have time on your hands, fix yourself a cup of coffee and then pick up a book or anthology of poems and relax.
If you just want the latest news from your own hometown to the nation and world, go to Topix at http://www.topix.com/. The type in the name of your city or town in the search box and get information from your neck of the woods.
Here is a set of links from Mike’s Book Cafe:
1. Thousands of books available through http://www.readbookonline.net/
2. Turn page after page at http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/
3. Read and print books for free from http://www.readprint.com/
4. Want a romance novel? Choose hundreds at http://www.publicbookshelf.com/
This is just a start of what can be found for free. Reading in fun-damental.
Poetry theme for April is growth
As the start of spring in the form of plants reaching through the soil, people can grow in spirit and health this month. Poetry can help people feel good about themselves. With this in mind, the poetry theme for April on the World of Words by Elias Tobias is growth.
The World of Words offers several articles for people to grow poetically. This site has an article about how to get published, links to potential publishers, an article about how to set up a poetry web blog in three easy steps, a set of four mini-lessons regarding writing tips, and even a poetry first-aid for those writers who need just a little more help with their words. The best thing is that all this is free.
I went to college at Ball State University at Muncie, Indiana, and spent my freshman year in Edwards Hall. Because of overbooking the class of 1979, the first quarter was in a three in a two-man room. When I got a chance to get out of that situation, I had a roommate that was a radio and television major, but was very good at music. His name was Michael Albright. I shared a few of my poems with him, and in those days my early poems were typed in a 6-by-8 inch book I kept adding pages to since computers are not what they are like they are now. That year, 1976, I was still using Olan dey Gabona as my pen name. I didn’t start using my Elias Tobias until 1990.
One evening I checked out a good cassette recorder from the library and arranged for Mike to meet me in the lounge at the hall’s piano. He looked through the poems, and I though he would pick a poem that be more of a song, but to within minutes he read the poem, Next Flight, and I could see the notes dancing in his head. Like some things in life,there is one take, and this was one those times.
I have since had the song’s notes put down on paper, and had the music, words, and the written song copyrighted. But this was done several years later, near the time I graduated. That summer of 1976, Mike had car problems on a highway hear his home in Anderson, Indiana, near Muncie. He was walking back to his home at night. A drunken driver crossed the center line, and hit him, running over his legs. He bled to death, and the driver was never found to my knowledge.
There was a song by Elton John out around this time called Rocket Man, and this poem has that kind of point of view. I thought it was ironic that he chose the poem with the words, “take me on the next flight to earth.”
I hope you enjoy the song.
Check out the video: here
Next Flight
Take me on the next flight to earth;
it is the only home, I know.
It’s where good people are
and big oak trees grow.
It’s a place where people are
rhyming rhymes.
It’s a place without moving time.
Take me on the next flight to earth;
It’s a place filled of good
times of yesteryear,
not as place of nuclear fear.
Take me on the next flight back
to earth, I long to be near.
(Editor’s Note: see follow-up article, at /?p=2386 )
By Elias Tobias
For serious writers, there comes a time when various types of contests, open poetry nights, and sharing works to friends and family are just aren’t enough.
Publishing a book with a traditional concept, even with publishing-on-demand companies on the Internet, still takes some sort of cash investment. Self-publishing is how many great writers received their start, and it remains an option, if money is available. Like the open ranges of the Old West, the Internet offers alternatives to getting published without great costs for writers.
One option is to start a free poetry blog, and it can be done in three basic steps. First, decide what kind of blog will be created. Then get a free quality host that offers an independent e-mail option, and then third, maintain and promote the web site through personal and online network techniques.
Getting Started
I was at this point 10 years ago when I started my World of Words by Elias Tobias. I had a computer full of poems I wanted the world to read, and I realized I wasn’t going to get paid for it. Unless the writer can arrive at a way to get advertising on the web site in an appealing manner, forget the money reward. Getting exposure may lead to being paid as a professional in the future.
Some people are afraid that the work maybe stolen, copied or used without their permission. That is a reality for all Internet content, and all blog content is basically copyrighted, except U.S. government sites, which is in the public domain. There is a modest fee to register a copyright for a web site for those who want to make blanket coverage for their work. Of course, all content featured and not original material should be cited to protect the copyrights of other authors of record.
Before hitching up a wagon at the Independence, Missouri, of the Internet, even with the call of “Go West Young Man (or Woman)” ringing in your ear, think about the type of audience to be sought. On the Internet, there is certainly the good, bad and the ugly, so think of how the blog should be viewed. It needs boundaries. I have mine rated G. Content can’t be libelous, racist or discriminatory to any race, ethnicity or country of origin, sexually explicit or pornographic, extremely violent in nature or display excessive use of profanity, or terroristic in nature or supportive of terrorist activity. Some of this usually ends up in some form as a privacy policy for the web blog.
Erik Deckers, director of sales and marketing at Vision Direct in Indianapolis, Indiana, has become a renowned blogger and social networker. Since information on the Internet has a way of staying around a long time, don’t be negative about other people and situations, he suggested. The whole world may be watching what is posted anywhere on the medium, including videos, and you don’t want to end up as the subject of a story on the TV news.
I have a test of credibility, called the Mother-in-Law test. My mother-in-law occasionally responds to me via e-mail about something posted, so I know she reads it. I need to look good as a son-in-law, so I figure if what I put on my web blog is acceptable to her, the world is at my feet.
Also, words and images on the Internet are published, like a newspaper. Articles can be deleted on blogs, but once the message goes out, the deleting work won’t always repair damage already done. Also, work must be proofread. I have learned that from experience. Typos and inconsistent style on the web blog are items that can also damage the credibility of a person’s work. The blog is a reflection of that person, seen 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Getting technical, sort of
Loaded with a wagon full of supplies, poems, thoughts, ideas, it’s time to hitch your wagon to the stars, or Oregon, whichever comes first. Aware of the outlaws, ruffians, changes in the weather, a variety landscapes and other obstacles, you strike out on your own, along with other hundreds of people who have their own wagons in the wagon train.
Deckers has his favorite blog creation web sites among the many available today.
“I recommend, especially from someone who is not real computer savvy and they don’t want to spend a lot of time on it, www.blogger.com/ or www.blogspots.com/. There is not much you need to do. You need to pick out a name for the blog. They even check to see if that is available for you. Then you pick out your theme, and that is actually the hardest part. You pick out the colors you want. Not only can you pick the layout, but you can select the colors that appear for background, text, etc,” Deckers said.
He said the name of the web blog should be original and contain the name of the thing you want to be known for. My title, World of Words by Elias Tobias” is exactly what I wanted to say in a title. If poetry is the main aspect of the web blog, the keyword “Poetry” should be in the title. If the name of the writer is more important, the name should be in the title since search engines use keywords in titles for locating the new web blog.
With these two favorite beginning blog sites, there are two advantages over others, besides being free, Deckers said. First, they are owned by Google, which means the new blog is likely to be rated higher at first when the blog debuts, and to get the blog, you need to sign up for G-Mail, another service owned by Google, for another e-mail contact for the new blog. He did not recommend using a personal or work e-mail account for the blog.
An option for those who want a more direct route to the web blog with their web address is to buy a domain name from www.godaddy.com or another name registration site, and the yearly fee for this is usually $8 to $15, Decker said.
“You can do that, and I recommend it. You can do it fairly cheaply, but that won’t stop you from having a blog. This is useful if you are really trying to create something you want to be known for, whether it’s a product or an art form,” Deckers said. “If a person is doing this for fun, I would not knock yourself out trying to buy http://www.poetry.com/ or http://www.indianapoetry.com/. Something may be available, but there are so many people doing this that I’m sure that everystatepoetry.com is taken. You might have to do ‘Indianadot poetryblog.com.’ “
As of Oct. 8, 2008, http://www.indianapoetry.com/ is still available, by the way.
A regional or geographic name included in the title of the web blog can not only add variety, but make the blog stand out in that region or area for search engines on the Internet, he said. A localized blog name attracts viewers looking for topically specific sites for that area. If the title included “Poetry” and “Indianapolis,” it would be easier for a person to find poetry web blog in Indianapolis.
For the more technically minded, Deckers recommended Word Press for another blog creation site. It has plug-ins, or programs that can be included to add functionality to the web blog.
Now that the journey to start a web blog is about to the Oklahoma Territory by now, and you have survived the pouring rain and hot days, the journey is really just getting started. The site has been created and now it’s time for the reason why you got this far, to publish your work. Categories can started as books, as I have on my web blog. Static pages for things which don’t change can be set up, and these are good for biographies, since readers want to know more about the people writing the poems. Any privacy policy can be established. Content can be discussed around the nightly camp fires with other fellow travelers and their wagons in the wagon train.
Feedback is important to blogger, so a good e-mail with spam filter capabilities is needed to stay in contact, and Deckers said G-mail would be preferred over free e-mail accounts from places like Yahoo because of the spam problem. One tip he gave to stop much spam to begin with is how the link is set up on the blog. Automatic spam programs look for the “@” symbol in the e-mail address. Spelling out the e-mail address will help prevent this problem, and the link should be written out as “eliastobias(at)gmail(dot)com” within any text content.
Getting the words out
Somewhere about now, some of the people in the wagon train have decided to settle along the way or maybe heard of greener pastures in California, so the number of wagons headed north to Oregon may be smaller.
Choices are being made with your web blog that deal with content. How you set up your blog pages will determine how often search engines find them in the Wild West of the Internet. Use of videos can greatly improve your visibility, and a link to YouTube can bring unlimited number of videos to your viewers, Decker said. Many PC’s have built–in movie-making type program to create simple, but effective videos from video clips or still pictures. Be aware of copyright issues here from work (including music) that is not in the public domain.
I have nine videos associated with The World of Words by Elias Tobias. Decker said that inbound and outbound links increase the networking profile of the web blog. Outbound links to other web sites show that web blog is connected to other sites, and inbound links from other web sites will complete the cycle and bring people to your web blog. I have the International Poetry Link Exchange to offer new poetry bloggers to those who put a link to the World of Words blog.
Using the Notepad function on the PC’s can remove all pre-existing format issues. The process is easy. Copy the text, probably written in MS Word, paste it in Notepad. The copy the text in Notepad (as plain text), and paste it into the content area of the blog. All preset formatting styles on the blog will then apply to the content.
The more activity on the blog will give the blog a higher Internet rating since bloggers like fresh material, Decker said. Entries should be made at least once a week, and they don’t have to be long. A good 200 words will do just fine. Two entries a week are better and daily is the best way. Those who write every day usually set up a week’s worth of blogs as drafts, and then post them each day as if they are new, he said. I usually have two or three poems per week ready to go as drafts. It saves time.
After typing the title of the page in the blog, repeat the title in the text of the blog. This will help gain search engine exposure. Bold facing the title won’t do much for the page, except look better graphically, Decker said. By going into the HTML through the HTML button on the blog page, change the headline in the text a larger font size. Put brackets<> before and after the headline with H3 in the first bracket and /H3 in the second. It should look like this:
on the page. This change will get the attention of the search engines and more traffic to the page.
Don’t forget the impact of networking, either person to person, or via the Internet. Business cards with the web blog logo can be made by popular easy to use desktop publishing programs and good quality card stock with perforated edges that pop out cleanly from the page. Also, they can be ordered on the Internet for free at Vista Print, with paid shipping and handling. Hand the cards out an every opportunity. Internet blogs like Smaller Indiana are networking sites with other bloggers, and genuine comments on their sites can bring traffic to your site, Decker said. Mentioning an event with more information at your blog address will increase traffic to your web site, he suggested.
Another way to get attention is to publish press releases for free on the Internet, and I recommend prlog.org. There are others out there, but at Prlog, you can register and links to the web blog are included for free (that word again). Put the press releases, by date, in a special place on the web blog for others to use.
Home Sweet Home
Now you have arrived at your destination, and it is time to built your cabin by the stream and be a pioneer in the Wild West of the Internet with your new poetry blog.
Build reader interest by getting the readers involved. The World of Words is set up to be more than just another poetry blog. The World of Words by Elias Tobias has several free opportunities for its readers to become part of the web blog. First, it is very easy to send a comment about any poem on the screen. Your course content can be individualized to make the character of the web blog all your own.
On my Web site, go to the right side of the page and see link to the free poetry first-aid section, the free poetry forum for those have poems to submit to others to read, free poetry posters, links to other poetry Web sites, free tips about how to get published, free poetry writing lessons, and even a short story that makes for good bed-time entertainment. Have opportunities for promotion from others by offering downloadable screensavers and such.
Poems and photographs on the web blog are put together in electronic books. Look on the right side of the page and see the categories. There are several books to read. The titles include: Love Notes, Figments of My Reality, 99% Fat Free Elias-Brand Poetry, My 60 Favorite Poems, Color My World, Words on the wall: Mental Grafitti , Grace and Glory and Palabras de Inspiración, the set of poems on Spanish. Each book has a different theme and the books grow with each blog entry since the poems are logged in to the books when they are posted. As an added bonus, most of the poems in the Love Notes have audio tracks so that you can hear Elias Tobias read the poems aloud.
A monthly newsletter can be a useful tool for a poetry blog, and I have The Exponet, a newsletter that introduced a theme of writing for each month, along with other information. Your course content should be individualized to develop the character of the web blog.
In time, the cabin will grow into a home as you include more information and way to get people to enjoy what you have to offer. If there are any questions about this article or topic, please contact me at contact(at)eliastobias(dot)com.
Celebrate the Fourth of July
One third of the summer is gone, and I’m not sure where it went. One thing is for sure, though, and that is July is a time to celebrate not just summer, but the founding of theUnited States of America. Fly the flag on the Fourth of July, and while you enjoy fireworks that day, remember those who have fought to make sure this country remains what it is and can be in the future.
Summer of Fun
The theme for the remaining two months at the World of Words by Elias Tobias is Summer of Fun. Words and photos will illustrate this theme, and readers are invited to send their summer snapshots via e-mail with basic caption information, and published with the new Summer Snapshots logo by sending pictures to The World of Words at eliastobias2002(at)yahoo(dot)com.
Books available
The World of Words is set up to be more than just another poetry blog. Poems and photographs put together in electronic books. Look on the right side of the page and see the categories. The titles include: Love Notes, Figments of My Reality, 99% Fat FreeElias-Brand Poetry, My 60 Favorite Poems, Color My World and Grace and Glory.
As an added bonus, most of the poems in the Love Notes have audio tracks so thatyou can hear Elias Tobias read the poems aloud. That’s cool. Also under the category heading are other choices like free poetry writing tips, Poems of the Month and easy access to all the monthly Exponent newsletters.
International Poetry Link Exchange
To be a success in any venture, it helps to know people, the insiders. The new International Poetry Link Exchange at the World of Words by Elias Tobias may help those promising poets the initial exposure needed. Thousands of people around the world have their own poetry blogs or Web sites.
Most cable companies or providers that provide Internet service have a part of the service which allows customers to create at least one personal web site. Independent hosts have free or low cost web site opportunities what are create to be poetry Web site.
This page is dedicated as an international poetry link exchange to create a network of links for those who have poetry Web site or other link exchanges. Readers are offered a free opportunity to have other appropriate links on this Web blog in exchange for placing a link for the World of Words by Elias Tobias on their Web blog or site. This Exchange is a companion page to the existing Poetry Links Page on the World of Words at eliastobias.net.
To get started with the International Poetry Link Exchange, all that needs to be done is simply send an e-mail to eliastobias2002(at)yahoo(dot)com,and request a link exchange.
Include your name, and the name of the site along with the link to be exchanged. Also include at attachments of art, photos, or logos to go along with the exchange link. The site will be checked out, and if approved, will be posted on the Exchange page by clicking here. That’s it, except to post the link on the other Web blog or site once the site is on the Exchange page.
Poem of the Month
Ancient Curse
While I was making a sand castle on a summer day,
I found a foreign looking bottle.
Eager to see through the glass,
I wiped the sand away, and then a
strange bearded man appeared before me.
He said I was his master, and I had three wishes.
For each of them I wished for three more,
and from each of those, I wish for three more.
I stopped my sand castle to make a list
of wishes in the order to achieve
material success in life, and he agreed.
Then he told me a story of how he
was once free like me, and then was put
under a spell to serve greedy masters
as an ancient curse centuries old.
I asked if he had amazing powers,
why was he still held captive to his soul.
It was written in the Rules of the Sand
his abilities were never violated.
Those who tried paid the price, he said.
He had to use his powers for others.
I used my last wish on my list to
Set him free to be himself, and he walked away.
To read this poem in Spanish, click here.
Easter Celebration
Easter Celebration
This month brings attention to the Easter celebration, and the Grace and Glory book was started last month to help prepare the way for this event. Heaven is envisioned in many ways to many people, but the place is real for those who accept the Lord.
Videos getting attention
The several videos made for the World of Words by Eias Tobias are continuing to get exposure on You Tube, with the Mexican Love Song being the most popular with more than 200 views in two months. This is another way for the Web blog to get the Internet. For the link, go to the Videos on You Tube page on the right side of the site. Also see the Next Flight video in the Indianapolis area at www.indytube.tv/elias-tobias.
Free, free, free, free, free
The World of Words by Elias Tobias has several free opportunities for its readers to become part of the web blog. First, it is very easy to send a comment about any poem on the screen. Go to the right side of the page and see link to the free poetry first-aid section, read about the free poetry forum for those those have poems to submit to others to read, get a free poetry poster, check out links to other poetry Web sites, get free tips about how to get published, take free poetry writing lessons, and even read a short story that makes for good bed-time entertainment.
Free autographed hand-written copy of your favorite poem
Do you have a favorite poem among the 140 or so poems written by Elias Tobias posted on this Web blog? Just send an e-mail to contact(at)eliastobias(dot)net saying that you want a hand-written copy of your favorite poem from Elias Tobias and you will get that document along with a personal greeting.
But wait. There’s more! Along with each scribed poem, the reader will receive a free autographed photo of Elias Tobias. The poem will be scanned as a PDF document and the photo send electronically through e-mail. This a limited-time offer.
So go through the Web blog, and pick your favorite Elias Poem. The hand-written copy is a free present to those people who respond. Please choose only one poem per request. As you read the poems, and would like to make any comments, send an e-mail to the Webmaster at the end of each post.
That’s enough news for now.
Elias Tobias
(Courtesy photo)
Earth Song
We are all citizens of the earth,
Not separated by country or by birth.
Our survival depends on each other,
And I am, by right, your distant brother.
But if we are from the same fold,
Why are people so cold,
Fighting for power is not right?
Pride should be within the Lord’s sight.
But brother, why are we so distant?
The material world provides resistance.
I wish I could forever feel the breeze,
But people cut down forests and trees.
People recycle resources for their sake
Before they are gone and it’s too late.
Despite your clothes, color or name,
In my eyes, we are all the same.
And if you feel that you’re alone
You are always welcome in my home.
To read this poem in Spanish, click here.
Since we first met,
you have changed and
I have changed, too,
but our love for
each other has not.
Our love is endless,
and will never stop.
Listen to the poem: Click here.
Need QuickTime to hear this? Click here to download a free version here.
(Photo by Mike Hall)
A merry-go-round is at the entrance of a community fair in Indiana.
Carrousel
I see the bright lights go round and round,
And the painted horses go up and down.
The mall is filled with people from town.
Kids change to a smile from a frown
When they ride the golden merry-go-round.
Memories of my childhood are found,
When I listen is the music so loud. It stops.
Reality finds me again, when my son’s
Feet land touching the ground, safe and sound.
I wrote this one for my middle sister, Pam, who, at the time, was going through a lot of boy friends. She settlled on one and started a family. Unfortunately, her first husband died from a surprise heart attack, but has since remarried.
A Taste of Heaven
I get a taste of Heaven
after I kiss your lips.
Your smile is something
that I just can’t resist.
Give me more of your love..
I’ll give you all of mine.
I really mean what I say.
It’s more than just a line.
Together we’ll be better
than if we’re apart.
Listen to the Poem: Click here.
Can’t hear the poem? Click here to download a free version of QuickTime software.