D. Allan Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 Everyone is a poet. They might not know it... Words are the all seeds you need. Plant one, for a poem, and grow it for a time... give it water and let it feed...no need to worry 'bout rhyme... and when it is it tall and it is flowering... here is a corner to show it... where it can speak or shout or sing. Come on guys, do your thing. Well, I hope that improvisation served to break the ice. Chris has agree to help us out with this tread and I am looking forward to much fun. So... poetry needed No sagas, no epics, however. Sonnets, limericks, haiku, free verse, prose poems, epitaphs... are hereby solicited. And no poem is too short, friends. For instance: Lines Upon Milk Spilled On the Floor He wept. She swept. Nor is any poem too silly, I hasten to add (ever try sweeping milk?). Quote dAb O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cricket Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 I prayed the prayer of Jabez 'Twas the fash'n'ble thing to do. Look where fashion led me, It brought me here to you. (This is the first verse of a poem I'd written in February. I'd be interested to see if anyone could come up with a few more lines. I have two more verses--somewhere. I'll share them if and when I can find them (the first I'd committed to memory, so it was easy to share.)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Bravus Posted July 2, 2007 Moderators Share Posted July 2, 2007 Sweep some milk, or herd a cat Or something difficult like that Such tasks will ease a troubled mind And help escape a mental bind Or at least keep one from getting fat Alas those lines just barely scan They flout poetical convention I hope, in your kindness, that you can Forgive this simple flawed invention Quote Truth is important Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Allan Posted July 3, 2007 Author Share Posted July 3, 2007 Blast convention! We need invention to ease our boredom with all that lacks progressive intention- like shopping at the mall- like cringing at fashion's call so that no possibility of retention is, but dispersal in the halls of commerce, - stifling the mother of invention. Quote dAb O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Bravus Posted July 3, 2007 Moderators Share Posted July 3, 2007 Frank Zappa and the Mothers Were at the best place around But some stupid with a flare gun Burned the place to the ground (not original) Quote Truth is important Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cricket Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 For fun, I sometimes like to take another poet's creation and alter it to suit my own taste. Take for example, e.e. cummings poem: l(a le af fa ll s) one l iness A twist and a turn, I give you: g(an ap ple fa ll s) rav i ty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuff sed Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 (e)]I prayed the prayer of Jabez 'Twas the fash'n'ble thing to do. Look where fashion led me, It brought me here to you. But where'twill lead I cannot tell I can but hope and pray T'will benefit us both until We meet again some day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuff sed Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 (e)]For fun, I sometimes like to take another poet's creation and alter it to suit my own taste. Take for example, e.e. cummings poem: l(a le af fa ll s) one l iness A twist and a turn, I give you: g(an ap ple fa ll s) rav i ty I'm sorry...I couldn't make head or tail out of this one............... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cricket Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 No problem, Don! Some poems aren't for everyone. I liked your second verse to my first! I couldn't find the original one I'd writte a while back, but here's the added verses I'd written last night: I prayed the prayer of Jabez 'Twas the fash'n'ble thing to do. Look where fashion led me, It brought me here to you. "Braoaden my horizons, Lord," I pled, "and make me new." (Afear'd I'd grown too comf'rt'ble, Afear'd my time was through.) "God, muddy up and salve me, Refresh, recleanse, renew." When prayed, the prayer of Jabez Draws others near to You. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuff sed Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 Very good.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Allan Posted July 3, 2007 Author Share Posted July 3, 2007 Quote: l(a le af fa ll s) one l iness A twist and a turn, I give you: g(an ap ple fa ll s) rav i ty Chris, it is lovely! I'm glad to know someone else who reads e.e.cummings! Don: here's a hint: around the parentheses is the topic word, within the parenthesis is a discription. 1st verse: "l- (a leaf falls) -oneliness" I leaf you the fun of deciphering the second :-) Quote dAb O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuff sed Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 I hope and pray You do not think That rhyming comes with ease Nor words roll off the tongue intact Like leaves from off the trees. Sometimes one has to sit and think When ne'er a thought arises When suddenly the light comes on And brings with it surprises. So if you have the gift of rhyme It's always good to share It might not ever make you rich Or take you anywhere. So now this ditty soon will end And I can hardly wait To see if there is more besides I've nothing more to state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cricket Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 That was tons of fun to read; I'll bet it was even more fun to write! Weeeee-eeee! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil D Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 Sweep some milk, or herd a catOr something difficult like that Such tasks will ease a troubled mind And help escape a mental bind Or at least keep one from getting fat Alas those lines just barely scan They flout poetical convention I hope, in your kindness, that you can Forgive this simple flawed invention Getting fat!! getting fat?! From reading all of that??? Tis not flawed invention that we need Tis creativity Of words with great flare concepts that lay bare juxapositions we must swear That motivates us to share our lives spent, used up and declare among those who are unaware.... Beware! Creativity is catching finding words scratching and finally matching... words and concepts galore. For some, it is a bore and others...adore..... Quote Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.  George Bernard Shaw  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cricket Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 A poem made famous by John Wayne: America, Why I Love Her Written by John Mitchum You ask me why I love her? Well, give me time, and I'll explain... Have you seen a Kansas sunset or an Arizona rain? Have you drifted on a bayou down Louisiana way? Have you watched the cold fog drifting over San Francisco Bay? Have you heard a Bobwhite calling in the Carolina pines? Or heard the bellow of a diesel in the Appalachia mines? Does the call of Niagara thrill you when you hear her waters roar? Do you look with awe and wonder at a Massachusetts shore... Where men who braved a hard new world, first stepped on Plymouth Rock? And do you think of them when you stroll along a New York City dock ? Have you seen a snowflake drifting in the Rockies...way up high? Have you seen the sun come blazing down from a bright Nevada sky? Do you hail to the Columbia as she rushes to the sea... Or bow your head at Gettysburg...in our struggle to be free? Have you seen the mighty Tetons? ...Have you watched an eagle soar? Have you seen the Mississippi roll along Missouri's shore? Have you felt a chill at Michigan, when on a winters day, Her waters rage along the shore in a thunderous display? Does the word "Aloha"... make you warm? Do you stare in disbelief When you see the surf come roaring in at Waimea reef? From Alaska's gold to the Everglades...from the Rio Grande to Maine... My heart cries out... my pulse runs fast at the might of her domain. You ask me why I love her?... I've a million reasons why. My beautiful America... beneath Gods' wide, wide sky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Allan Posted July 5, 2007 Author Share Posted July 5, 2007 A good poem for the fourth! Why does it read so well? Does it have any regular meter? Many lines seem to have eight feet and some i'm not sure of. Quote dAb O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuff sed Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 The meter on a whole is pretty good in this poem. I do see where the line about Aloha should have been combined with the next one so that both lines would end with the "ief" sound. "Does the word "Aloha"... make you warm? Do you stare in disbelief? When you see the surf come roaring in at Waimea reef?" I am a stickler for meter being just right...It drives me nuts.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cricket Posted July 5, 2007 Share Posted July 5, 2007 I simply cut and paste, may have been a problem with the website I was using. As for meter...it appears to be an even 15..sometimes broken in 7/8 or 8/7. Regardless. It works. And maybe it works simply because it is about the beauty of God's creation--nothing more and nothing less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Allan Posted July 5, 2007 Author Share Posted July 5, 2007 Yes, I agree, it does work. I was reading Canterbury Tales last night. They seem to be in 'iambic pentameter;' and in Nevill Coghills translation seem to float along easily when read at a good pace. Here's a sample from the prologue. "A holy-minded man of good renown There was, and poor, the Parson to a town, Yet he was rich in holy thought and work. He also was a learned man, a clerk, Who truly knew Christ's gospel and would preach it Devoutly to parishioner, and teach it. ................. Holy and virtuous he was, but then Never contemptuous of sinful men, Never disdainful, never too proud or fine, But was discreet in teaching and benign. His business was to show a fair behaviour And draw men thus to Heaven and their Saviour, Quote dAb O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuff sed Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 I must protest I don't agree The meter's not Just right For me. To just throw in An extra word Upsets the flow Of what I heard. Write if you wish In verse that's free But don't expect me to agree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cricket Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Saith the man, Most humbly. To be completely honest, most poetry that rhymes bores me. e.e. cummings is the most enjoyable read IMO. Rhyming poems remind me of elementary school music class: clapping, swaying and stomping one's feet. I like a poem that makes one think, that moves one's soul, that makes one chuckle... Canterbury Tales is wonderful! In high school we were required to memorize the first lines of it. I'll never forget: 1: Whan that aprill with his shoures soote 2: The droghte of march hath perced to the roote, 3: And bathed every veyne in swich licour 4: Of which vertu engendred is the flour; 5: Whan zephirus eek with his sweete breeth 6: Inspired hath in every holt and heeth 7: Tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne 8: Hath in the ram his halve cours yronne, 9: And smale foweles maken melodye, 10: That slepen al the nyght with open ye 11: (so priketh hem nature in hir corages); 12: Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages, 13: And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes, 14: To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes; 15: And specially from every shires ende 16: Of engelond to caunterbury they wende, 17: The hooly blisful martir for to seke, 18: That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Allan Posted July 6, 2007 Author Share Posted July 6, 2007 e.e.cummings is good for moving the soul and making one think. His poetry is evocative of tenderness, sometimes hilarious. who knows if the moon's a balloon,coming out of a keen city in the sky-filled with pretty people? (and if you and i should get into it,if they should take me and take you into their balloon, why then we'd go up higher with all the pretty people than houses and steeples and clouds: go sailing away and away sailing into a keen city which nobody's ever visited,where always ........it's ................Spring)and everyone's in love and flowers pick themselves Quote dAb O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuff sed Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 (e)]Saith the man "To be completely honest, most poetry that rhymes bores me. " Sorry that you don't like "my kind of "poetry" (?) which rhymes. What I see of e.e. cummings turns me off. Give me Ogden Nash any day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. Allan Posted July 6, 2007 Author Share Posted July 6, 2007 Ogden Nash? Give me don/aldridge any day, the meter's better. Quote dAb O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil D Posted July 7, 2007 Share Posted July 7, 2007 Ogden Nash? Give me don/aldridge any day, the meter's better. Tis my humble opinion that anyone with this diminion who can cleverely compose a polyphonic prose is a much better versifier among english authors and writers. They don't have to be famous to perform the writ of mandamus. Just a bit of research, you see... and a knak for clever-ity, Is all that I require in a poet that I would admire. Quote Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.  George Bernard Shaw  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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