One of my online gaming characters was a young goblin who had just left home to seek his fortune – and maybe love. I wrote the poem in response to a call from a fellow player for poems related to our games. He printed it in his newsletter. The goblin’s name is pronounced Vu-ru-zu-vul. (Goblins don’t see the purpose of vowels.) The Cannis Sea was in our gaming world, sadly defunct but still a source of inspiration from time to time. Vrzvl also scribbled a picture of what he thought his sweetheart might look like…

 

Vrzvl’s haiku dream

 

Hair as green as leaves

Tangled like curling spring ferns

Round a grinning face.

 

Eyes as big as moons,

Deep as the dark Cannis Sea,

Full of wild mischief.

 

Teeth as sharp as rocks

In a mouth wide as the sky;

Lips open for me.

 

Arms, thin, taut as wire

And hands like soft twig brushes

Caressing my face.

 

In my dreams you walk.

Where shall I find you in life,

My goblin sweetheart?

 

I have vague intentions, some day, of writing a novel or novella with Vrzvl as one of the characters.