poetry (Page 7)

John Keats wrote this wonderful sonnet, not about Homer, but about reading a specific translation of Homer. This fascinates me. The poem is also a powerful statement on how a great work of art can transform our perceptions, even of something we have seen many times before. On First Looking Into Chapman’s Homer by John Keats Much have I travell’d in the realms of gold, And many goodly states and kingdoms seen; Round many western islands have I been Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold. Oft of one wide expanse had I been told That deep-brow’d Homer ruled asDown the rabbit hole….

We’re down to the last seven days of National Poetry Month, so why not a bit of the Bard? From Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more.      Men were deceivers ever, One foot in sea, and one on shore,      To one thing constant never. Then sigh not so, but let them go,      And be you blithe and bonny, Converting all your sounds of woe      Into hey nonny, nonny. Sing no more ditties, sing no more      Of dumps so dull and heavy. The fraud of men was ever soDown the rabbit hole….

Here’s a lovely poem about a train. Or is it? Still Life by Carl Sandburg Cool your heels on the rail of an observation car. Let the engineer open her up for ninety miles an hour. Take in the prairie right and left, rolling land and new hay crops,     swaths of new hay laid in the sun. A gray village flecks by and the horses hitched in front of the     post-office never blink an eye. A barnyard and fifteen Holstein cows, dabs of white on a black     wall map, never blink an eye. A signalman in a tower, the outpostDown the rabbit hole….

Wow, we’re coming into the home stretch. I wonder just what percentage of poetry can be accurately classified as “love poetry”. I assume it’s a pretty large percent, but who knows. It would be an impossible task to identify every love poem in the world, obviously, and there would be many that some would consider love poems and that some would not. But love is one of the great human themes, and it stands to reason that it would be also one of the great themes found in poetry. Just look at your local bookstore’s poetry section, and depending onDown the rabbit hole….

This poem seems to be about one thing…but when you reflect on when it was written (April, 1919), you realize that it’s actually very much about something else. Everyone Sang by Siegfried Sassoon Everyone suddenly burst out singing; And I was filled with such delight As prisoned birds must find in freedom, Winging wildly across the white Orchards and dark-green fields; on – on – and out of sight. Everyone’s voice was suddenly lifted; And beauty came like the setting sun: My heart was shaken with tears; and horror Drifted away … O, but Everyone Was a bird; and theDown the rabbit hole….

Poetry can be many things. It can even be political, as can be seen in this poem by Charles Bukowski. the con job by Charles Bukowski the ground war began today at dawn in a desert land far from here. the U.S. ground troops were largely made up of Blacks, Mexicans and poor whites most of whom had joined the military because it was the only job they could find. the ground war began today at dawn in a desert land far from here and the Blacks, Mexicans and poor whites were sent there to fight and win as onDown the rabbit hole….

Anything can be a subject of a poem! Why not food? The Health-Food Diner by Maya Angelou No sprouted wheat and soya shoots And Brussels in a cake, Carrot straw and spinach raw, (Today, I need a steak). Not thick brown rice and rice pilaw Or mushrooms creamed on toast, Turnips mashed and parsnips hashed, (I’m dreaming of a roast). Health-food folks around the world Are thinned by anxious zeal, They look for help in seafood kelp (I count on breaded veal). No smoking signs, raw mustard greens, Zucchini by the ton, Uncooked kale and bodies frail Are sure toDown the rabbit hole….

All the world writes poetry, so it makes sense that one should read poems from all the world. Doing so is yet another way to remind oneself that no matter where humans live, no matter which gods they worship or what challenges they face by virtue of their geography, they are still often confronted by the same issues, and they wrestle with the same problems, and their poets and artists grapple with the same themes. Here is a Persian poem, written by Hafiz, and translated by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Clearly it is best to read poetry in its original language,Down the rabbit hole….

A longer poem today, but the poet who may be my favorite of all time: Alfred, Lord Tennyson. His work often has a mystical, fantastic tone that appeals to me, and his language is old enough to feel like I’m entering a different poetic world when I read him, but his concerns are universal enough that I don’t feel a lack of relevance. Tennyson appeals to my sense of language even more than Shakespeare does, and he always seems to describe the world in terms that reflect its sadness and its beauty. The Lady of Shalott by Alfred, Lord TennysonDown the rabbit hole….

Wow, we’re now on the back half of the month! So a brief post today about that wonderful form, usually used to comic (and sometimes bawdy) effect, the limerick. The limerick packs laughs anatomical Into space that is quite economical. But the good ones I’ve seen So seldom are clean And the clean ones so seldom are comical. Or: The limerick’s an art form complex Whose contents run chiefly to sex; It’s famous for virgins And masculine urgin’s And vulgar erotic effects. When I was in junior high, I suspect that all my male classmates had committed to memory aDown the rabbit hole….