# Raging on



## Nellie (Sep 19, 2014)

Gargantuan flames
California King Fire
set by arsonist.


I have family in this area of the country. My nephew is also a firefighter fighting the fires on the west coast. He used to live where this fire is.


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## Megookin (Sep 19, 2014)

It might be nice to have the contrast to 'gargantuan' and 'California king' for the spark that started the destruction.  Something like:

Miniscule spark
Intentionally set
Gargantuan flames
California King Fire.

Just a suggestion.


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## Nellie (Sep 19, 2014)

Megookin said:


> It might be nice to have the contrast to 'gargantuan' and 'California king' for the spark that started the destruction.  Something like:
> 
> Miniscule spark
> Intentionally set
> ...



Sorry, won't work. This is meant to be a haiku- a 3 line poem. First line has 5 syllables, 2nd has 7 syllables, an 3rd has 5 syllables.


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## Megookin (Sep 19, 2014)

Like I said, just a suggestion. ;-)


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## Firemajic (Sep 21, 2014)

I liked this, and I love that you used the word "gargantuan to describe the flame--not the tree..clever.  Peace...Jul


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## Nellie (Sep 21, 2014)

Firemajic said:


> I love that you used the word "gargantuan to describe the flame--not the tree..clever.  Peace...Jul



Thanks, Jul. That is the word I heard a firefighter use to describe it.


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## wainscottbl (Sep 22, 2014)

If it's a strict haiku you should know "fire" is one syllable. So if that's the case you'll have to figure a way to make that line seven syllables.


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## Blade (Sep 22, 2014)

wainscottbl said:


> If it's a strict haiku you should know "fire" is one syllable. So if that's the case you'll have to figure a way to make that line seven syllables.



That is a little tricky. I was going to say, without looking it up, hat I thought it was two syllables but I noticed you had already done that for me with a contrary conclusion.:blue: I think that regional dialects vary somewhat in pronunciation so it could be taken either way.

A word I chronically misspell is 'interest', dropping the first 'e' because I don't pronounce it.:scratch:


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## wainscottbl (Sep 22, 2014)

Blade said:


> That is a little tricky. I was going to say, without looking it up, hat I thought it was two syllables but I noticed you had already done that for me with a contrary conclusion.:blue: I think that regional dialects vary somewhat in pronunciation so it could be taken either way.
> 
> A word I chronically misspell is 'interest', dropping the first 'e' because I don't pronounce it.:scratch:



I would immediately think it a two syllable word  but I have looked it up before for a poem. Our accent tends to make is a two syllable word in speaking. I am not sure how syllables are strictly determined. I guess a bunch of old men at Oxford know. Family for example seems to be a matter of choice. Fire is one. Of course these things can change as I am sure family was once three syllables strictly when accents were more British, like say the transatlantic accent of the past. But one of my teachers is of opinion that dictionaries are a modern thing. The idea that there is some "right" way to spell something because Oxford or some authority says it is he believes is wrong. He points out before dictionaries one will find varied spellings of words. Of course I really do think the Oxford comma is the only way to go. I learned that way and it is logical.


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## Blade (Sep 22, 2014)

wainscottbl said:


> I would immediately think it a two syllable word  but I have looked it up before for a poem. Our accent tends to make is a two syllable word in speaking. I am not sure how syllables are strictly determined. I guess a bunch of old men at Oxford know. Family for example seems to be a matter of choice. Fire is one. Of course these things can change as I am sure family was once three syllables strictly when accents were more British, like say the transatlantic accent of the past. But one of my teachers is of opinion that dictionaries are a modern thing. The idea that there is some "right" way to spell something because Oxford or some authority says it is he believes is wrong. He points out before dictionaries one will find varied spellings of words. Of course I really do think the Oxford comma is the only way to go. I learned that way and it is logical.



I would agree with that though I believe the language needs a basic core of order in respect to spelling, punctuation and grammatical rules so there is some semblance of stability and actual communication. The pre-dictionary language may have been disordered compared to our own but so was the world itself.

In any case, as I speak, 'fire' has two syllables and 'family' has three. When I read poetry I am wiling to give the author a little flex as seems appropriate. :dog:


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## Nellie (Sep 22, 2014)

Blade said:


> In any case, as I speak, 'fire' has two syllables and 'family' has three. When I read poetry I am wiling to give the author a little flex as seems appropriate. :dog:



Thanks, Blade. And that is what haiku is all about, too. Here are several examples of Haiku from real a Japanese poet written back in the 1600's.



> *None is travelling
> by
> Basho (1644-1694)*​None is travelling
> Here along this way but I,
> ...


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## ahmetax (Sep 23, 2014)

Nellie said:


> Gargantuan flames
> California King Fire
> set by arsonist.
> 
> ...



Nice senryu Nellie. 
(Not a haiku, because it covers some human affairs. )


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## E. Zamora (Sep 23, 2014)

Works for me. I was in the road last week and kind of out the loop. I just learned the fire was set by an arsonist. Unbelievable.

Good job, Nellie.


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## Nellie (Sep 23, 2014)

E. Zamora said:


> Works for me. I was in the road last week and kind of out the loop. I just learned the fire was set by an arsonist. Unbelievable.
> 
> Good job, Nellie.



Thanks!


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