To My Lurker
Why are you hiding there,
in the shadows?
Don’t you know, i can see you?
It’s your teeth;
they shine in the moonlight.
If you want to remain incognito,
you should stop smiling so much.
No – sorry.
I can’t stop being funny.
Hang on…
You think i’m funny?
Wow.
But still,
you should really stop lurking.
I think you have something to say,
and i’d really like to hear it.
Don’t be afraid;
things are much clearer in the light.
I was shocked to learn that only about 10-20% of readers normally comment. Come on people, IMuslim doesn’t bite, I might, but that’s for another entry.
organicmuslimah
May 11, 2007 at 2:52 am
Y’know, I never did find out how many regular readers I had on Musings of a Muslim Mouse… Faraz had given me info on how to find out, but I’d never gotten around to doing it… and now that I’ve moved to MuslimMatters, I obviously have less people on MMM…
AnonyMouse
May 11, 2007 at 4:28 am
Do not worry, shy readers. I’ll make sure to put the muzzle on organic muslimah, before i release her for her daily exercise. Anyhow, her bark is worse than her bite.
Mouse, from the number of comments you used to receive when MMM was your only blog, you did seem to have quite a few regulars, mashallah.
Another downside to WP (compared to Blogger) is that because it doesn’t allow javascript, the stats you are able to collect via a counter, is quite limited. WP has its own stats package, but it isn’t as nifty as the full StatCounter package.
Then again, the intention for detailed stats on personal site, is a little vain…
iMuslim
May 11, 2007 at 3:15 pm
Stalker? :-O
Sumera
May 11, 2007 at 4:42 pm
Umm… no! I don’t think i’m cool/pretty/famous enough for a stalker.
P.S., ALHAMDULILLAH!
iMuslim
May 11, 2007 at 6:07 pm
Completely random statement:
I WANT CHOCOLATE!
Well… i do.
iMuslim
May 11, 2007 at 6:08 pm
Interesting category for this post (Poetry), really???
If you really have a lurker and you know who it is then why not just ask the person for what you want to hear?
Interesting
May 11, 2007 at 7:48 pm
Not all poems have to rhyme
a different style is not a crime
perhaps i lack the God-given ability
to write deep, inspirational poetry
if you really are stickler for tradition
be offended not by my proposition:
pen some lines, O Gifted One
& show the rest of us, how it’s done!
please know that my little test
is just me fooling; a playful jest
even i doubted whether said entry
was worthy of such a category!
Oh well, too late, the damage is done
It was only some trivia; a little fun…
iMuslim
May 11, 2007 at 9:43 pm
If you really have a lurker and you know who it is then why not just ask the person for what you want to hear?
I did write it with a certain person in mind, but it was just a passing thought. I mean, i wrote it spur of the moment. If they wish to remain in the shadows, it’s up to them.
Anyway, it seems to apply to several people, as i do have more readers than commentators. I think i need to write more thought provoking entries though, so they feel inspired to speak up!
iMuslim
May 11, 2007 at 9:49 pm
Maybe they are not that confident or maybe they just don’t have a keyboard. Possibly they are the strong, silent type sitting behind their computer screen nodding sagely at your postings. Alternatively they could be nicking your posts for their own blog.
Lucyp
May 11, 2007 at 10:28 pm
I did not mean to challenge you to write poetry, anyone reading your Blog will tell you that you write exceptionally well and I am sure there is a strong correlation (:-)) with writing well generally and poetry.
If it was just a “passing thought” or just a “spur of the moment” then I guess you probably don’t “really like to hear it” but maybe just interested out of curiosity. If you do really want to hear it then why not just ask the individual?
Lucyp:
Or none of the above ???????????
Interesting
May 11, 2007 at 10:53 pm
oh man that is some
cool poetry. but maybe
i shouldn’t write haikus
(or attempt to since the last line had 6 syllables).
Oh and I lurk on a few blogs. I feel sort of stalkerish, but I mostly don’t comment out of laziness or shyness. Mostly laziness.
mcpagal
May 11, 2007 at 10:55 pm
“Completely random statement:
I WANT CHOCOLATE!”
you can have your cyber chocolates back, they don’t tase that nice for some reason!
i lurked on your blog for a while before i commented, mainly before i had a blog of my own, as i didn’t like to post annoymously(as some people don’t like that)
i also, lurk on a few blogs, mainly becuase i feel to shy or in awe of the person to comment, so yeh.. maybe people aren’t commenting because what you write is too intellectual for them. i mean your intellectual abilities really come through in your poetry:)
hema
May 11, 2007 at 11:45 pm
Lucy: I don’t know which statement is less likely; this one:
Possibly they are the strong, silent type sitting behind their computer screen nodding sagely at your postings.
or this one:
Alternatively they could be nicking your posts for their own blog.
For some reason, i just can’t see either happening! But thanks for believing in me, anyway.
Interesting: Awwww… y’know, i was only kidding! I tried to explain that in my second stanza (wow, i can’t believe that i remembered a fancy word from GCSE English Lit. ONOMATOPOEIA! Look! Another one!). I wasn’t fishing for compliments – honest. You have a right to criticize my sucky poetry! But not too much…
I suppose i miss this person’s regular commenting on my blog. That is why i wanted to hear from them. I don’t need to know anything in particular; just wanna see their name. I’m sentimental, like that.
IF ANYONE OUT THERE FEELS LIKE I AM TALKING ABOUT THEM, DO SPEAK UP, WHAT-WHAT!
mcpagal: you won’t know why, but your mention of haikus made me laugh.
hema: i lurked on your blog for a while before i commented
Were you the heavy breather?
maybe people aren’t commenting because what you write is too intellectual for them
INTELLECTUAL? Yesterday, i was going to post an entry titled: “An Ode to a Biscuit”. Seriously… i even wrote a poem, and everything (this one even rhymed!). Y’see… i was in the office, it was late, i was feeling a bit crappy, so i decided to invest in a cup of tea, and a packet of HobNobs (yes, HobNobs – plain, not chocolate). A few tea-soaked biccies later, i felt so much better, that i was inspired to write some lines expressing my joy at being allowed to experience such simple, culinary delight! I wrote three stanzas (it’s that fancy word again!). However, it just wasn’t flowing right… so i ditched it. I’m trying to remember some of it now… hmmm…
Sweet and round
with dimpled surface
a crunchy sound
you make, when i bite
Can’t remember the rest! [or rather i can, but i refuse to embarrass myself any further...
]
iMuslim
May 12, 2007 at 1:02 am
THE HOOPTYGOO HAS FRIENDS!!!!!
*Runs away screaming “I’m a little teapot”*
AnonyMouse
May 12, 2007 at 4:46 am
Assalaamu’alaykum wa rahmatu Allah
So now it’s confirmed
Your superb poetic competence
Inspired by a simple thought
Of perhaps missed irrelevance
Days of absence
May indicate lessons delivered
Though life is truly beautiful
Volumeless voices remain uncovered
Lurkers have their value
As silent supporters
Stalkers need a life
Beyond being creepy reporters
You miss the presence
Of one who you sense may be near
But changes are inevitable
So hold tight to those who you find are exceptionally sincere
–and it’s much too late for me to try to write rhymes, so forgive me for the confusion of the above lines (:)
Farzeen
May 12, 2007 at 5:39 am
wow that was really good. sorry imuslim, i’m ditching you for someone better.
and good poems do not have to rhyme!
hema
May 12, 2007 at 9:11 am
I can’t write poetry at all.
Sumera
May 12, 2007 at 1:59 pm
you won’t know why, but your mention of haikus made me laugh.
So that’s mimes and haikus now? Wacky!
mcpagal
May 12, 2007 at 11:39 pm
Mouse: Hoopty-who?
Farzeen: Wa ‘alaykum salam wa rahmatullah
Why is it that i can always rely
on my dear princess Farzeen, for a poetic reply?
I don’t doubt the genuine sincerity
of one whose active presence is a rarity.
Perhaps it is my weak presentation
that fails to provide adequate inspiration?
Or perhaps they doubt their own ability
to share private musings with lucid agility?
Or perhaps they wish to remain a silent observer
to public discussions that progress with great fervour.
Truly the reasons above are just guesses,
for the keys to their heart, only Allah possesses.
The person’s name i do not wish to mention
as it may lead to awkward, unnecessary tension.
All i know is, if one day they decide to finally appear,
I’ll be most happy to read them; i may even shed a tear!
Of joy, naturally. Perhaps not; but it would be nice, anyway.
hema: I’ll get over it.
Sumera: I don’t believe that! Anyway, you have many other talents… don’t ask me to name them. JUST KIDDING.
mcpagal: you’re just a funny gal, whatcanisay?
iMuslim
May 13, 2007 at 2:51 am
With a name like McPagal – she’s got to be funny!
Sumera
May 13, 2007 at 1:39 pm
Hema – I also have a look at some peoples blogs and think that anything i write in the comments is going to get a sarcastic reply or worse. Sometimes it does and i then imagine that person have as many braincells as i have fingers and sit behind my monitor and laugh mockingly at them.
Futile i know.
Lucyp
May 13, 2007 at 6:48 pm
!I also have a look at some peoples blogs and think that anything i write in the comments is going to get a sarcastic reply or worse”
aww there are are some mean people out there. you can comment on my blog anytime, and i promise there will be no sarcastic reply:)
imuslim- wow, call me fickle but my loyalty has returned to you! i’m sorry i doubted the muslim gal with the iPod!
hema
May 13, 2007 at 8:14 pm
Sumi: May this is a Scottish in-joke i am not aware off!
Lucy: Keep laughing, dear… at least it’ll make you feel better.
hema: you are a fickle mistress, indeed… someone waves a few fancy lines under your nose, and you go a runnin’! I shall have to warn your future hubby about this…
iMuslim
May 14, 2007 at 4:30 pm
Haha, glad I’m the comedian! Thanks for the name appreciation Sumera
mcpagal
May 14, 2007 at 8:09 pm
OH MY GOD. *slaps forehead*
Dooooooooooooh… is it McPagal as in the Urdu “pagal”?
HOW COME I ONLY JUST SAW THAT?
This is so embarrassing, it’s painful…
iMuslim
May 14, 2007 at 8:30 pm
i actually thought that was to a stalker around where you live that stalks you…dont ask…i just had one of my weird moements *sigh*
Snowdrops
May 14, 2007 at 9:08 pm
That is so cute of you, and kinda scary of me, if you had been correct… i mean, if i saw some weirdo in the bushes, i shouldn’t be composing poetry… i should be dialing the police!
iMuslim
May 14, 2007 at 9:57 pm
Sorry, “poetry”.
iMuslim
May 14, 2007 at 9:57 pm
OH MY GOD. *slaps forehead*
Dooooooooooooh… is it McPagal as in the Urdu “pagal”?
HOW COME I ONLY JUST SAW THAT?
This is so embarrassing, it’s painful…
aww man! that’s so funny! don’t be too embarrassed though, some people didn’t figure out I was scottish either!
mcpagal
May 15, 2007 at 11:52 am
Lol. Yayyy a fellow Scot :p
Sumera
May 15, 2007 at 1:15 pm
mcpagal: it wasn’t the Scottish thing i was embarrassed about, love! Rather the notspottingtheUrdu.
Sumera: Oh no, i smell Scottish rebellion in the air! *retreats behind Hadrian’s wall*
iMuslim
May 15, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Hey I got it! Was trying to make you feel better though
. My Urdu isn’t up to much anyway, I just know the random insults my mum throws at me (pagal, behvakoof, churail, you know how it is). Wait. I’m not abused or anything, I just do a lot of stupid stuff in front of my mum…
Sumera: let’s team up and throw haggis at iMuslim!
mcpagal
May 15, 2007 at 11:22 pm
Churail… sounds familiar… what does it mean, exactly?
Ack! No! Not the dreaded HAGGIS!
*Get her hands up in front of her head (self-defence position)*
iMuslim
May 16, 2007 at 11:07 am
Churayl means witch :p
Sumera
May 16, 2007 at 11:32 am