good stuff, cynthia.. really enjoyed this.. seemed a bit different to some of your other stuff i have read.. keep it going

Comment is about Children of Despair (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

simple and beauitful, jeff.. you are a romantic at heart i think! lol

Comment is about to be..... (blog)

Original item by JEFF.W

Wonderful idea here Kathryn. The only bit I didn't like was the question "can you take it". Otherwise really strong words.

Comment is about Leave me unseen. (blog)

Cynthia, I'm having trouble with the alliteration. The only one that works for me is in verse two (bloody blinding black). Unfortunately the others don't add up for me, and why repeat "children of despair" and miss an opportunity for additional imagery?

Comment is about Children of Despair (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

Hi again Cate It just means I'm very grateful for your kindness and am very glad you like the poetry. It seems to get a bit busy here on a Sunday morning and I'm supposed to be working!

Comment is about Cate (poet profile)

Original item by Cate

Ann I love this piece and especially as Rachel says the middle verse. I do have one small piece of criticism though. I think the last two lines are superfluous, and the repetition of name, voice and face is too close. Lovely work.

Comment is about coromandel (blog)

Original item by Ann Foxglove

Well I got as far as "1 am grateful with you he said to her" with a gaelic translator , then gave up as a bad job cos it was taking too long... Got the gyst though! Cheers!
Cate xx

Comment is about David Cooke (poet profile)

Original item by David Cooke

Hi again I'm actually procrastinating myself. I earn my living these days by selling books on Amazon and am supposed to be listing a load of old stock to make space, but it's very easy to get distracted on the internet, especially when you get feedback on poems! Have a relaxing day. I really must get down to it now. Man cannot live on poetry alone.

Comment is about Rachel McGladdery (poet profile)

Original item by Rachel McGladdery

Hi Cate, thanks for the feedback on 'For You' glad it struck a chord,
Rach
xx

Comment is about Cate (poet profile)

Original item by Cate

Hi Emma, thank you for the comment on 'For You', really glad you enjoyed it,
Rachel
x

Comment is about Emma Robinson (poet profile)

Original item by Emma Robinson

Lol,this is my version of reading the sunday papers, on my second cup of tea , valiantly ignoring the mess surrounding me(it's a talent)
Rachel
x

Comment is about David Cooke (poet profile)

Original item by David Cooke

Hi Rachel That was quick! I only posted it a minute ago.

Comment is about Rachel McGladdery (poet profile)

Original item by Rachel McGladdery

I was actually just lurking this morning but logged in to comment on this, the line 'for there is nothing more to say/and all is dust' is totally perfect.... wish I had the critical tools and brain to know why, but it just is.
What a lovely poem. I think that stanza actually stands on it's own as a poem.
Loved this.
Rach
xxx

Comment is about coromandel (blog)

Original item by Ann Foxglove

Haigh a Chait!
Ta me an-bhuioch leat ar do chinealtas agus ta athas oram go bhuil suim agat ar mo fhiliocht! There's a bit of Irish for you. I hope I've got it more or less right! Just thanking you for the kind comments and glad you liked the poems.

Comment is about Cate (poet profile)

Original item by Cate

Hi Cate Thanks for leaving feedback on the poems. I like your own Sunflowers very much. JUst been to a funeral myself recently that was very tense.

Comment is about Cate (poet profile)

Original item by Cate

Well written!!!! liked this very much! xx

Comment is about The Unexpected Environmentalist. (blog)

Original item by Kealan Coady

I really enjoyed this one Rachel, have recently become a mum myself and made me think about making the most of the time when she's littl. I really liked the ideas of this one, the wildness has to be tamed when you grow up- ace! :)

Comment is about For You. (blog)

Original item by Rachel McGladdery

Hi Anne, I agree with TC...there is a very sad lonely feel to this but life continues and as you say your tides are racing on. Maybe some day you will feel strong enough to visit the lighthouse again and remember the good memories it evokes.
Cate xx

Comment is about Wolf Rock (blog)

Original item by Ann Foxglove

Lovely! I was one of the lucky ones... my daughter never got embarrased thoughout her teens when I showed affection in public, maybe because she grew up without a father. Although there does come a time when you have to stand aside and let someone else become the main person in your childs life. Thats hard.
Cate xx

Comment is about For You. (blog)

Original item by Rachel McGladdery

Hi Dave,I agree with Deb, theres something fascinating about old headstones in a churchyard. In very old Norman churches they can be hundreds of years old... Ive often wondered about who the people were buried there, and what they died of. I suppose its quite comforting to think someone in hundreds of years time will wonder about us. In our churchyard whole families are buried together and Id like that for me too... I like the thought of eternity with everyone I loved with me. Very thought provoking.
Cate xx

Comment is about Kids in a cemetery (blog)

Original item by Dave Bradley

Ahh.... luv it!! My two little grandchildren are lovely too. They are both adorable little muppets who know perfectly well how to rend my heartstrings!!
Cate xx

Comment is about A Little Touch of Heaven (blog)

Original item by Dorinda MacDowell

Oooo I like it! Glad Im not an estate agent though! Its a shite job but I guess someones gotta do it and the vendor could always say no!
Cate xx

Comment is about Trust in Stan (an ode to estate agents) (blog)

I like this Anne. I wrote a poem called Sunflowers some time back which has the same resonance as this.
Ive left all my instructions to my family for when the great day comes... I want a good send off with lots of flowers and music and loads a weeping and wailing!!!!
Cate xx

Comment is about coromandel (blog)

Original item by Ann Foxglove

I agree. Clever use of alliteration and technique without detracting from the despair of the subject matter. Its so easy to look at our children well fed and with hope, and forget that other children are not so fortunate. A timely reminder of what it would be like to give birth in such a country.
Cate xx

Comment is about Children of Despair (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

Hi Gus. I think you have captured the moment very effectively here. Not the obvious moments of making love but the more elusive moments soon afterwards. Great ending great stuff. Thx Win

Comment is about A Thousand Oceans (blog)

Original item by Gus Jonsson

Tu me fais rire!
D'accord... Tu m'analyses et je t'analyse ; )

xxx

Comment is about Isobel (poet profile)

Original item by Isobel

Subtly sad. Like the repetition in the middle - 'They like it they do. They do.'

Trying to fit in - we sometimes go to ridiculous extremes.

Comment is about What You Should Do To Stay Alive and Relevant (blog)

I like this one Cynthia. Some great imagery in here. 'slimy solid passing, waxen withered wail' having some resonance with me. On the whole a sad poem - so many are born unwanted and in and out of despair. Your last stanza is a bit like the bottom of Pandora's box - beautifully conceived and executed.

Comment is about Children of Despair (blog)

Original item by Cynthia Buell Thomas

No it is not - LOL
Have only discussed it with someone once before...
It was fascinating to think about, what it - The Eiffel Tower - represents,
and my obsession with it... ; )

Comment is about Come on in and have some fun! (article)

Well Francine - from where I'm standing you're looking very phallic - I bet that's not something people say to you very often...

Comment is about Come on in and have some fun! (article)

Forever the optimist Isobel...
I like your take on this:

'OPTIMIST : Large erection comes in the nick of time. Turns thirsty bird upside down, brings tears to her eyes, transports her to a place she's never been before...'
: )

Comment is about Come on in and have some fun! (article)

As I do also - love your work. 'marinating the hair with savoury sky' is a humdinger.

Comment is about Albatross (blog)

Original item by Marianne Daniels

I have always been fascinated with lighthouses, and what they represent. This is such a touching poem Ann.
I agree with what TC wrote as well...

Comment is about Wolf Rock (blog)

Original item by Ann Foxglove

Ditto with the compliments and anecdotes. I'm finished with cheap toasters - have to get a new one on Monday. That's three in two years -I get your point.

Comment is about fourteen years (blog)

How beautiful.

Comment is about Second Sonnet (blog)

Hi Ann, I understand entirely why you don't want to change Wolf Rock and feel a bit bad now at suggesting you tinker with it. Anyway, it is a marvellous poem and wonderful title, and has inspired me to think about a part of the world where I spent many childhood holidays. I can hear the waves against the side of the rock. Greg x

Comment is about Ann Foxglove (poet profile)

Original item by Ann Foxglove

Thanks all. I think I've figured out why it has that pretty thing about it: when wrote this, I was reminiscing on delivering christmas hampers and presents to deprived families for a local charity.
I'd strongly recommend getting involved - not in a streets of london sort of "my life's rubbish... oh I stand corrected: life in general is miserable and unfair therefore I've cheered up now" sort of a way, but more for the interaction with the families you're helping - you can't help but smile when the little ones are telling you how excited they are about christmas.

Comment is about Smashed fragments huddled for warmth (blog)

Original item by Dermot Glennon

Hi Greg - re Wolf Rock, thanx for commenting. There were meant to be line spacings at various places but they wouldn't come up when I pasted the poem. I did try and gave up! As to the suggested ending, you may be right. I feel that the very last line works for me though, and makes the poem. I guess when the story is a real one, i.e. I couldn't go there again because of memories, it means more to the writer, and when it's so personal it is hard to edit. xx

Comment is about Wolf Rock (blog)

Original item by Ann Foxglove

Hi Greg - re Wolf Rock, thanx for commenting. There were meant to be line spacings at various places but they wouldn't come up when I pasted the poem. I did try and gave up! As to the suggested ending, you may be right. I feel that the very last line works for me though, and makes the poem. I guess when the story is a real one, i.e. I couldn't go there again because of memories, it means more to the writer, and when it's so personal it is hard to edit. xx

Comment is about Greg Freeman (poet profile)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Hi David, it's probably the same site I have saved from where I send an Occitan-speaking friend poetry..shhh don't tell him where it is.. Someone said somewhere that using the internet for research is like trying to take a sip of water from a fire hydrant..hmmm don't drown out there..We used to sing Scots Gaelic songs at school but much to my frustration,not much stuck. I am very interested in the Romani language too and always interested to find words cropping up in dialect which can be traced back to Romani.I am no expert in it at all, just interested. I wonder if anglo-romanes cant is a dying or a growing language? the word chav for instance,comes from the Romani word for child; chavi,but has come to be an insulting term. Shame when words and their original meanings become polluted but I guess that has a long history.
Better stop now, thanks for re-awakening my interest in this subject..via Rachel's lovely poem as well, Debzx

Comment is about David Cooke (poet profile)

Original item by David Cooke

cheers Janet.

Comment is about Regale Regalia (blog)

Original item by Christopher Dawson

Hi again Greg Thanks for posting comments on Bird and Miles. If you like Miles there's some amazing footage on Youtube of Miles Davis circa 1960 with Coltrane playing SO What? (Typically arrogant Miles) Anyway it's just about the coolest music footage I've ever see. You should check it out. Yes I like Dance On because it's well crafted. I like stuff that has been slowly licked into shape. It doesn't really matter how many you get out. If you work out the average in a lot of poetry books often there's only 5 or 6 a year from people like Heaney. I'd rather read one of his than dozens by a lot of other people! BY the way I nearly missed your last comments because the WOL message went into my SPAM. THe only one that has so far.

Comment is about Greg Freeman (poet profile)

Original item by Greg Freeman

Ann, having had another look at Wolf Rock, and having heard you read it as well, I wonder if you might consider ending it a few lines earlier, at "was I always the sea?" Or, if not, perhaps leave a line space between that line and the rest of the poem? Curse me for meddling if you will! Greg

Comment is about Wolf Rock (blog)

Original item by Ann Foxglove

Hi Rachel Thanks for the comments on my own langauge poems. I only posted them after reading your poem Dead Language. My two in turn have lead to an interesting response from Deborah which pointed me in the direction of some interesting Occitan poetry - so wheels within wheels! I noticed this morning that the death of the Bo language is the lead story on Yahoo.

Comment is about Rachel McGladdery (poet profile)

Original item by Rachel McGladdery

David, thanks for looking at my poems. Very heartened that you enjoyed Dance On. Only wish I could turn out more like that one! I particularly admire your Charlie Parker and Miles Davis. As I've said before, I've very interested in trying to capture the essence of inspirational, mood-changing music in words. Charlie and Miles are great examples to try and match. Greg

Comment is about David Cooke (poet profile)

Original item by David Cooke

I've ummed and aaarhed for a while about whether to volunteer my thoughts on these photos. Finally decided that if Paul Blackburn can use 'cunt' on a WOL thread, then I should tentatively offer my analysis.

Sorry to interrupt the rythm of your story boys....but this series of photos clearly has a sexual connection that Freud would have had a field day with. How you interpret them depends on whether you are an optimist or a pessimist...

PESSIMIST - Large erection comes before the 11th hour. Leaving neglected bird, turned upside down, tearful and plunged into the darkest depths of despair....

OPTIMIST : Large erection comes in the nick of time. Turns thirsty bird upside down, brings tears to her eyes, transports her to a place she's never been before...

Obvious innit?

Comment is about Come on in and have some fun! (article)

For me this evoked feelings of sadness, especially with the allegorical reference, and allusion made to an eternity spent in solitude. A moving poem with pathos. Luv TC X

Comment is about Wolf Rock (blog)

Original item by Ann Foxglove

Just spotted your comment on Dead Wasp, thank you.
Also, reading poetry? Aloud? In public? Me? noooo not going to happen lol

Comment is about Antony Owen (poet profile)

Original item by Antony Owen

Good to see you here on WOL Liv.

Comment is about Liv Torc (poet profile)

Original item by Liv Torc

Interesting to read up about Wolf Rock, Ann, that it is built upon a steeple of rock. The one I know is the Bishop Rock lighthouse, at the far end of the Isles of Scilly. Went on a boat trip there as a boy. Saw lots of seals, but what got me was gazing at that empty ocean and realising that the next stop was America. Greg

Comment is about Wolf Rock (blog)

Original item by Ann Foxglove