Agreed Julian.
Like many poets, I have written a great deal of personal poetry. I have written about a dying friend, a dying/dead mother, a friend who'd been raped as a child, a dead child, abuse of several kinds I experienced myself...and one of the reasons why I love poetry so much is that I can write about all of this in code. I can encode brutal and terrible experiences from silenced voices and make them into art for others who have also experienced it and so feel less isolated. I feel very strongly that this is an integral part of writing/reading/listening to poetry.
I wholeheartedly agree with this statement: “life seems to me random, chaotic, and often not very nice. To stay sane, we have to find pattern and ideally a kind of beauty along the way … that’s how we bear it.”
Comment is about Shall I compare thee to a selfie stick? Dos and don'ts of first-person poetry (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
morning sirens sing out your poetry as well as your sin
I will stake all I have to learn the secret of what happens and stays then take it to my grave.
Comment is about Las Vegas (blog)
Original item by Katy Megan
Glad you like this Martin. The event described only happened yesterday!
Ray
Comment is about ANTIQUE DEALERS (blog)
Original item by ray pool
Thanks Peter. Appreciate it. The days of romance!
Ray
Comment is about RAILWAY NOSTALGIA (blog)
Original item by ray pool
A gallant knight perhaps rides me
a sword could cut me
insects might bite me
am I a horse?
Comment is about February 2016 Collage Poem (blog)
Original item by Stockport WoL
A good poem is a good poem, regardless of subject matter or source.
Comment is about Shall I compare thee to a selfie stick? Dos and don'ts of first-person poetry (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Thu 11th Feb 2016 10:17
anyone who rates 'Starman' (the film?)as their number one can wear hobnail boots with bells on as far as I'm concerned.Enjoyed this Anna.Thank you.Jemima.
Comment is about I can't take my eyes off those silver boots (blog)
Original item by Anna Ghislena
Thu 11th Feb 2016 10:11
brilliant little package.A way of 'going with the flow'.Thank you.Jemima.
Comment is about Space (blog)
Original item by Taylor
Another piece!
There is predation here. A comprehensive description of someone you both dislike and admire at the same time.
Could it be autobiographical?
(is there a typo in line 10, carcass?)
Good to see more AP stuff.
Comment is about Grisly Girl (blog)
Original item by Alexandra K. Parapadakis
Read. But not like a tick off a list, more another one added. Tommy
Comment is about Grisly Girl (blog)
Original item by Alexandra K. Parapadakis
Good to see another piece Alexandra.
This one poses many questions. Self-destruction, love, a cry for help even?
There is the chance of a future, a hope, although it sounds like this will always be shrouded in doubt.
A very "now" poem, tapping into current themes.
Keep them coming.
Comment is about Blood Knot (blog)
Original item by Alexandra K. Parapadakis
Tommy reads you. And reads your work. Tommy:-)
Comment is about Blood Knot (blog)
Original item by Alexandra K. Parapadakis
Thanks for commenting on "Black Lines". It's not often that I let people read my poetry, and putting it on this blog was something that I never thought I'd do. But knowing it is liked and well-appreciated is an amazing feeling. Thanks Martin!
Comment is about Martin Elder (poet profile)
Original item by Martin Elder
Thu 11th Feb 2016 03:49
Couldn't be anymore relatable to me right now. This is beautiful.
Comment is about Blood Knot (blog)
Original item by Alexandra K. Parapadakis
and a gaggle of gossiping fishwives
bitching behind each other's backs
I love these lines in particular, great poem Anna
Comment is about I can't take my eyes off those silver boots (blog)
Original item by Anna Ghislena
I love the connection with pillows and black lines being repeated. Nice poem Daisy
Comment is about Black Lines (blog)
Original item by Daisy Lancaster
I love the description here Ray of a busy bustling intrusion of an antiques dealer. wonderful stuff
Comment is about ANTIQUE DEALERS (blog)
Original item by ray pool
Ryn Jo
Wed 10th Feb 2016 21:30
FUCK CANCER!!! Much Love babe xoxo - Eryn Marie X
Comment is about Ria Richardson (poet profile)
Original item by Ria Richardson
Wed 10th Feb 2016 18:45
Haven't watched the video because I was caught by the words as a poem. Nice- works well.
Peter
Comment is about Nonbinary song (blog)
Original item by Marnanel Thurman
Wed 10th Feb 2016 18:40
Hi Ray,
I like the rhythm and form of this poem especially from, 'no steam tumbling', to, 'guiding the beast'.
Peter
Comment is about RAILWAY NOSTALGIA (blog)
Original item by ray pool
Thanks Laura. What was I thinking of!
I'm put in mind of an old rhyme:
The angle of dangle equals
the heat of the meat
providing the urge is constant.
! Ray
Comment is about FIRE BABY (blog)
Original item by ray pool
To reply in sequence. Thanks for your responses.
Robert - comment noted. I've now gone technical to keep
up the lighthearted theme.
JC - there does seem to be a preponderance of those you
mention on this site.
P&S - we are in an age when free speech and hot air are
often combined. The fun is discerning the difference.
Comment is about FUEL FOR THOUGHT (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
Sounds like a very interesting night, Julian! Good on the Wordsworth Trust for taking their show on the road, even if the locals have mixed feelings about "their" poet. It's true that Dorothy's entry in her journal about the daffodils they both saw arguably reads slightly better than the finished product. On the other hand, my father drew great strength from a line in that poem - "that inward eye" - that he had had to learn by heart at school, when he was a prisoner far from home in the second world war. When I was studying Wordsworth at A-level I wrote an essay that was highly critical of 'The Leech Gatherer'. I was told it was well-written - i think the teacher agreed with my sentiments - but that it wouldn't get me many marks in the exam. I kinda lost heart after that.
It should not be forgotten, though, that one of Wordsworth's claims to fame - boring or not - is that he wrote verse in language that was regarded as revolutionary at the time, in that it was simple, and, dare I say it, accessible. Boring some of it might have been - but you could certainly understand it!
Comment is about Irascible, ill-mannered, worthy but dull? An evening with Wordsworth includes his bad points (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Lynn Hamilton
Wed 10th Feb 2016 13:24
Thanks fellas. Much appreciated xx
Comment is about format (blog)
Once Viewed
To inspire a poem
the eye must first
see sight of what
the artist has captured
inside each painting viewed
then and only then
a poem to inspire.
Comment is about IT WAS 50 YEARS AGO TODAY (blog)
Original item by Stockport WoL
I was certainly one that shifted uneasily a couple of times during the discussion, Joan, having written a number of poems about my mother's declining years. On the whole I have not tried to have them published, yet. Is it intrusion? Is it exploitation? Recently I was at a workshop where we discussed a published poem that depicted a family deathbed scene in tender but frank terms, at length. I did feel that that poem was intrusive, but most people at the workshop did not.
Comment is about Shall I compare thee to a selfie stick? Dos and don'ts of first-person poetry (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Joan Hewitt
Wed 10th Feb 2016 09:21
How I wish I'd been there.I'd welcome expansion on the discussion of 'theft' and 'intrusion', raised by Liardet and Villanueva. Am currently resisting writing poems on (or for?) a. isolated elderly relative b. young autistic friend inappropriately on remand in a high- security prison.
Comment is about Shall I compare thee to a selfie stick? Dos and don'ts of first-person poetry (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
Thanks, belatedly, for the kind words on Ode to Cobalt, Cynthia. I've been in Dubai for a month and away from the computer.
Comment is about Cynthia Buell Thomas (poet profile)
Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas
Thats so ironic i do not dislike it but it soooo soft....nontypical of sharred black chicago brutha.. but.......most compliments stem from softer experiences.... ironic..
your words mean much
Comment is about POOF (blog)
Original item by GeeProcessor
Bahahaha, yeah I couldn't think of any way to lengthen it to copy the rhythm of the line two up from it, and so, in lengthening it with "darkest of nights" I disrupted the rhythm at the same time. This bothered me a bit, but I figured I'd let it slide
Comment is about The Journey's Just Begun (blog)
Original item by Eric Berard
I don't blame Laura
the world isn't always as we would like it
https://youtu.be/2Qvqezt7jiY
in neat parcels - for neat people to dismiss -
https://youtu.be/hxoNSCuQGpM
cognitive dissonance is often a comfort for those who wear badges
Comment is about Poet reprieved from execution but still faces 800 lashes and long jail term (article)
Original item by Greg Freeman
<Deleted User> (13947)
Wed 10th Feb 2016 02:06
<Deleted User> (13947)
Wed 10th Feb 2016 02:00
I absolutely love the last 13 or so lines of this. Especially I CAME I SAW I'M SORRY
Comment is about POOF (blog)
Original item by GeeProcessor
I am all on my own,
Wounded by iron weapons and scarred by swords.
I often see battle.
I am tired of fighting.
I do not expect to be allowed to retire from warfare
Before I am completely done for.
At the wall of the city, I am knocked about
And bitten again and again.
Hard edged things made by the blacksmith's hammer attack me.
Each time I wait for something worse.
I have never been able to find a doctor who could make me better
Or give me medicine made from herbs.
Instead the sword gashes all over me grow bigger day and night.
What am I?
Comment is about February 2016 Collage Poem (blog)
Original item by Stockport WoL
Sorry you had to leave early last night Maggie and that you are feeling better!
Comment is about Stockport WoL (group profile)
Original item by Stockport WoL
<Deleted User> (13762)
Tue 9th Feb 2016 22:24
Yes! - I felt the same when I first saw my doughnut shirt - although not the Starman and Noel Fielding thoughts.
Comment is about I can't take my eyes off those silver boots (blog)
Original item by Anna Ghislena
<Deleted User> (6895)
Tue 9th Feb 2016 22:02
Hi M.C.
as long as you breathe it in,
in the 'right' parts of the world
which,as you are no doubt aware are becoming fewer by the day.Keep your mask handy!
Best to you.
Patricia and Stefan.
Comment is about FUEL FOR THOUGHT (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
lot of power in your sample poem, Nicole.
liked it a lot.
will have to have a peek at your poems when i get chance as this was top notch.
well done x
Comment is about Nicole (poet profile)
Original item by Nicole
I think what's stopping many people deciding, Graham, is that they haven't been told what to think.
Comment is about WITH DAVE ON OUR SIDE (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
I enjoyed this too, Eric.
My only minor gripe (I'm contracted to complain) is the rhythmic hiccup in "The darkest of nights". Another beat, "dark nights" or "your nights" might help.
Comment is about The Journey's Just Begun (blog)
Original item by Eric Berard
It also seems that so many of my fellow leftie chums on here and on Fb bemoan some getting bigger gulps of air than others.
Comment is about FUEL FOR THOUGHT (blog)
Original item by M.C. Newberry
Just watched the vid, Thomas.
The poem translates brilliantly into melody but I think you underestimate its ability to stand alone as poetry.
The message is enhanced by the simplicity of the melody. If I were you I'd be tempted to pay an A in the bar before the D in the 4th line.
I like the concept of the confusion being with "you" and also the final rebuff.
Besides YouTube you can also post audios on here using MP3.
Comment is about Nonbinary song (blog)
Original item by Marnanel Thurman
"A groan, a stretch and a chance fart heralded the day,
As the dust fairies spread their wings".
Perfect, it could be us all
Comment is about Henry & Lucille (blog)
Original item by Jim Trott
Your poems are amazing. You are very talented :-)
Comment is about Eric Berard (poet profile)
Original item by Eric Berard
The fear campaign has already started John.
None of this bloody lot dare talk down immigration, much less try to control it sensibly.
I think we're half way out already
Comment is about WITH DAVE ON OUR SIDE (blog)
Original item by John Coopey
Laura Taylor
Thu 11th Feb 2016 12:23
Beautifully wrought this blood knot.
Comment is about Blood Knot (blog)
Original item by Alexandra K. Parapadakis