I’ve written a sonnet. (I did warn you yesterday that I was inspired.) Now, the last time I wrote a sonnet was about 28 years ago; it was about a girl with whom I was hopelessly (in several senses of the word) in love and it was crap. This might be crap too, for all I know, but I think it’s at least a bit better and it does, in an imperfect way, convey my feelings about the many hopefuls whom I follow on this site.
Hopefuls are, in many respects, the lifeblood of this site. The internet’s a wonderful place but one of its downsides is the way it encourages us to view each other as commodities to be consumed rather than people to be engaged with. Porn does this, obviously, and so does the cult of celebrity which is one of the main sources of fuel for a 24 hour news cycle in which sensation is everything and depth counts for almost nothing.
SG is not a porn site. It is something much richer, more diverse and, ultimately, fulfilling. One of the main reasons I am addicted to this site is very simply because there is a human element here that transforms the viewer/model relationship perhaps not quite entirely but radically enough to be pretty much unique. I have nothing but the utmost respect for any hopeful who is prepared to expose herself, both visually and emotionally, to this site’s members. I understand that there are many reasons they do this and the poem below is simply an attempt to respond in what I hope is a fair and respectful way to the incredible contribution they make to my enjoyment of the site. Here’s to you, ladies!
What dreams burn fiercely in your painted hearts?
Pure as gold, molten, indivisible,
Precious and flow'ring like indelible
Blooms, to which the sun its warmth and life imparts.
Before the lens you lay your gorgeous gifts:
Visions inked on living canvas; off'rings
Of mind and flesh, forg'd in furnace-dreamings,
Yearnings. Imagination stirs and shifts.
O! How can I be silent? How could awed
Spirit and humbled mind restrain the tongue,
The clattering keys and conjured words? Lord!
Such splendour is to be shouted, yelled, sung.
While echoes fade, your beauty, set and framed,
In my mind's rough, rude gallery remains.
@miss_smiff is quite simply one of the loveliest people I've met on this or, indeed, any other site. She's just been to the recent UK shootfest and I know there'll be some amazing stuff in the pipeline from her in the future. As well as being a (currently) blue-haired babe, she also possesses one of the most warm, genuine, beautiful smiles I have ever seen. She deserves a follow.
I've blogged about @harvest's sets before. This is because both she and they are simply awesome. There's a new one coming out soon and I can't wait. Harvest is one of the most genuinely nice, pleasant and friendly hopefuls I've met here and I am incredibly grateful to this site for providing the opportunity to converse with her and share my appreciation of everything she does. (Her glasswork has to be seen to be believed.) I can't imagine that you're not already following her, but, just in case you're not, get it sorted now, you silly-billy! :D
@chef is an awesome lady whose debut set Blue Dream, shot by the always excellent and always creative @roz (whose blog you should also check out, btw), went up on the site a few weeks ago. As her handle suggests, she knows her way around a kitchen and, as a result, there are some great food blogs/snaps on her feed. She also has a simply incredible smile and both her pics and blogs are never less than engaging and/or thought-provoking. The pic below is taken from the set. As you can see, that smile... That smile is something else.
I may have mentioned @brunhild before. This is because I am rather taken with her. She is not only astonishingly beautiful but updates her blog regularly with a range of pics including this one (a holiday pic from her time in Croatia). She's just shot a third set and I'm really looking forward to seeing it when it hits. Like a lot of hopefuls, she has a unique and powerful presence all of her own, but - and I can't stress this enough - she's just so nice. Give her blog a look. It's lovely and sexy and so is she. :)
And that's it for now. There are tons of amazing Hopeful sets on this site. It is impossible to keep up with them all, but I'm going to do my damnedest to all the same. I'll try and put up a more conventional Hopeful post in the next few days.
Until then...
Cheerio!
PS: Apologies for the wonky formatting in the first half of this post. I've tried to change it, but nothing doing, I'm afraid. :(