Poem: Liquid Courage [Lost, Sawyer]

[crowgirl13]

Title: Liquid Courage
Character/s: Sawyer
Rating: N/A
Spoilers: Um... before season three? kinda?
Disclaimer: I can only wish I owned this con man.
Luau request: For Queen elise_509 who needed to be reminded why Sawyer should have love.
Summary: He's waiting and watching, which isn't new.
A/N: For the lostsquee luau; Queen Laura, when you asked for Sawyer goodness

Comments

[elise_509]

Wow. I'm blown away, babe. This is so fantastic. I particularly love your closing stanzas:

Sawyer watches the shuffle;
Hearts on clubs
Queen revealed
Jack concealed…

He closes his eyes.

Sawyer’s not sure
what he hopes to win anymore.

and this:

This bar doesn’t hold a hidden
back room,

You paint a really vivid physical and emotional/psychological picture here, it's so great. *loves you and is in awe*

Oh, and the billy joel line has now given me a billy joel earworm. ;)

[crowgirl13]

Sorry about the Billy Joel earworm - it's a particularly stubborn one.

But I'm so glad you enjoyed this! I fretted over posting this for you, as you're the reason I posted in/became part of our fandom in the first place. [Do you remember that? That you beta'ed my first poem?] But it felt right, a piece that fit your requirements. Not because it was happy or shiny, but because there's Sawyer-rubbed-raw. That seemed more like a Sawyer you'd know. ;)

Ah, I'm so excited that the end snagged your attention! It seemed like a good carry-over of the symbolism, but one can never tell.

*salutes you*
I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Thank you, my dear!!!

[zelda_zee]

Ahh. Love it. Beautiful job. You got right into Sawyer's head in such an original way.

I liked this line very much:

after work martinis
heeling at their elbows, like well-trained dogs.

I liked lots of other lines too! I agree with Laura, the ending is wonderful.

[crowgirl13]

Ah, I'm so glad the ending worked for you - this piece stubbornly refused to end for the longest time, and I was still unsure if the pacing on it was right. Thank you.

The whole martini section is a favored bit of personal indulgence. I feel like Sawyer's observation skills have been honed by both self-preservation and societal contempt, and that mental aside was actually one of the seed images this poem was built around.

Mostly I liked the mental image and am glad you did too. :D

Thanks for reading, Zee. I really appreciate your feedback.

[emiliglia]

Wow, T, this was great! Like, seriously, I'm at a loss for words. Just great imagery and character insight!

[crowgirl13]

Thank you! I'm so glad that you enjoyed this. :D It's such a compliment when someone says they're at a loss for words after reading; I'm still beaming about that, as I type up this reply. Thank you so, so much. ♥!!!

[gottalovev]

it's always so awe inspiring to read you. seriously. you craft those words in works of art and I am left gaping. this is GREAT, this is our Sawyer, I can see it so much.

and the images you use...

The condensation’s chill
isn’t enough to still the need in his fingers.

this is just one that imprinted itself into me. just gorgeous.

[crowgirl13]

You make me beam, Lou. Thank you so much!

And I think you've touched on a very important distinction - that this was written for 'our' Sawyer. There's a certain type of Sawyer that I - and, I suspect, many of us - fell for in the early seasons. That's the one I write for, here [and in general, really, as I am stubborn in that way.]

Oh, I'm psyched that you picked that line! It's such a tidy little summary of his mood and the internal rhyme makes me so happy. It snagged your attention too! *twirls you*

Thank you, sweets! *smishes*

[alliecat8]

Oh, this is so haunting and beautifully worded, such a raw and unvarnished glimpse of the darker side of Sawyer, the man he hates. Yes, I know why you thanked me and you are an angel -- you didn't have to do that, you know! *blushes and hugs you tight* You've really done something to be proud of here! ♥

[crowgirl13]

Oh pish you! Of course I had to thank you - this poem was a huge beast of a struggle for me, and your thoughts/comments infused stubborn life back into it, when I was desperately frustrated with its direction. You acted as a midwife for this work - my gratitude for that is quite vast. ♥

And thank you - I'm just filled with glee that the final result draws such comments from you. *smishes*