We, the Sparky Army, decree 2008 to be the Year of the Spark. We pledge to post a new sparky story or chapter of a sparky story every day from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008. Though the Powers That Be have removed Elizabeth Weir from the regular cast of Stargate Atlantis, we feel that she remains an integral part of the show, and that the relationship between her and John Sheppard is too obvious to be ignored. We hope that you and anyone might happen to read these works, agree.

And if that isn't official enough for you, we don't know what is. Seriously, guys, we're just trying to have some fun--and show TPTB that Sparky is the way to go. So sit back and enjoy the 366 stories coming your way!

AN (sparklyshimmer2010): So I was thinking about Jack and clichés, and I thought of the different ones out there and how they all related to John and then all of a sudden I wanted to write a sparky poem! So here is what came out of it, I guess it's ok. I tried to get in as many clichés as I could that dealt with the heart and love. Got quite a lot actually. Enjoy!

The Winning Cliché

Did you ever wonder, maybe as a child,

Why the sky was blue and grass so green?

Did you ever wonder, though it could be felt,

Why air was unseen?

Did you ever wonder, back in Antarctica,

Why it was I didn't immediately say yes?

Did you ever wonder why clichés are cliché,

Words said so much that the meaning is less?

I guess that's just the way things are

And me thinking about what I was getting into.

And you know, clichés are cliché

Cause most of them are true.

Just listen to this Elizabeth,

And you will see

Just how much they apply

To us, to me.

I fell in love at first sight, unknowing.

I get lost in your emerald spheres

And the disappointed look in them

Is the greatest of my fears.

You took a chance on me,

And each other we defend.

What started out as respect

Has now proven you to be my best friend.

And there's a clichéd story line

Of the best friend in love

And that is a problem

For the higher ups above.

But that one kiss we shared

I remember with a flush and a grin,

And I know that it was really us

That it should have been.

When it's just us on the balcony

You wear your heart on your sleeve

And in those moments,

That you feel the same is so easy to believe.

I like you in my arms,

Safe and secure and holding tight,

My stomach actually drops, and

My heart beats fast as we reunite.

From the bottom of my heart

I mean it that you've got a heart of gold.

I followed mine and you

When I went with you past that blue threshold.

I was enamored with you

From the moment we met

Every guy you've been with,

That it wasn't me I regret.

I'm sure you've heard

That opposites attract.

I don't think I have to explain

How for us that's an easily known fact.

'Faint heart never won fair maiden'

I desperately try to avoid,

But from you I do run away

And any hope for us is destroyed.

You're what completes me

If I could only take the chance

So we could have our own

Spell of romance.

But even as I feel all that,

Love is truly blind,

For I didn't know exactly what you meant to me

Until you were left behind.

For most of these words

I let myself forget what passed,

The sadness that is heavy,

And the tears downcast.

Home is where the heart is,

Home for me was you.

The three words that escape me now

I know are overdue.

My heart is broken

Hard to mend

And I keep thinking I will see you

Just around the bend.

But even though I don't

I know you're still here

And wherever you are,

Most certainly I am near.

Love is never having to say sorry

And you don't blame me I know,

But I'm sorry I'm sorry

For not finding you long ago.

I want to cry my eyes out

Even while I remain strong

Cause through my rough exterior

I know Atlantis is where you belong.

'Distance makes the heart grow softer'

I believe is true indeed

For with the slightest pressure,

My heart begins to bleed.

Clichés are said a lot,

Often told in tales.

They just become a fact

Like the hidden breeze nature unveils.

But there's pigment to explain the grass,

Light to explain the sky,

And there are certain clichés

That I fiercely deny.

They say that all is fair

In the games of love and war

But it can't be right to live this life

The Replicators have now tore.

And I just don't understand,

With all the happiness it cost,

How as opposed to never loving,

It's better to have loved and lost.

But sighing away from those thoughts,

The two clichés most simple and real,

Now that you're gone

I can't conceal:

I love you

On a scale not small

And we have to believe

That love conquers all.