Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion
JUST FOR FUN
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Read Me a Poem Sing Me a Song
Mtsnow13 wrote: "Letter To A Teacher - Abraham LincolnHe will have to learn, I know,
that all men are not just,
all men are not true.
But teach him also that
for every scoundrel there is a hero;
that for every s..."
What excellent advice. High five, Abe. Thanks, Mtsnow. :)
Mod
That's very, very good.
Just watched a you-tube post with Brian Cranston reciting one of my favorite poems, Ozymandiashttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3dpg...
On the pedestal these words appear "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings. Look upon my works ye mighty and despair!" nothing beside remains round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare. alone and level sands stretch far away.
I've always thought of this as a GREAT example of irony. But one commenter called it double entendre I've always thought of double entendre as being a funny secondary interpretation. Is this example also a double entendre? But then, our mere human accomplishments MAY be looked upon as funny by the gods.
BTW... my favorite person to "read me a poem" is Tom O'Bedlam. Listen to him do The Road Not Taken https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3esjT...
Mod
"To see the earth as we now see it, small and blue and beautiful in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see ourselves as riders on the earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness in the unending night—brothers who see now they are truly brothers."
Bubble of Blue Air - Archibald MacLeish
Patrick Roche is a spoken word poet from New Jersey. Here he recites his powerful poem ''21'': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LnMhy...Here the transcription:
21. My father is run over by a car.
He is passed out in the road with a blood alcohol content
4 times the legal limit.
I do not cry.
Four months later,
The nurses lose his pulse,
And I wonder whose life
Flashed before his eyes.
Rewinding VHS tapes
Old home videos
20.
19. I haven't brought a friend home in four years.
18. My mother sips the word "divorce"
Her mouth curls at the taste
Like it burns going down.
17. I start doing homework at Starbucks.
I have more meaningful conversations with the barista
Than with my family
16. I wait for Christmas Eve.
My brother and I usually exchange gifts to one another early
This year, he
And my father exchange blows.
My mother doesn't go to mass.
15. I come up with the theory that my father started drinking again
Because maybe he found out I'm gay.
Like if he could make everything else blurry,
Maybe somehow I'd look straight.
15. My mother cleans up his vomit in the middle of the night
And cooks breakfast in the morning like she hasn't lost her appetite.
15. I blame myself.
15. My brother blames everyone else.
15. My mother blames the dog.
15. Super Bowl Sunday
My father bursts through the door like an avalanche
Picking up speed and debris as he falls
Banisters, coffee tables, picture frames
Tumbling, stumbling.
I find his AA chip on the kitchen counter.
14. My father's been sober for 10,
Maybe 11, years?
I just know
We don't even think about it anymore.
13.
12.
11. Mom tells me Daddy's "meetings" are for AA.
She asks if I know what that means.
I don't.
I nod anyway.
10. My parents never drink wine at family gatherings.
All my other aunts and uncles do.
I get distracted by the TV and forget to ask why.
9.
8.
7.
6. I want to be Spider-Man.
Or my dad.
They're kinda the same.
5.
4.
3. I have a nightmare
The recurring one about Ursula from The Little Mermaid
So I get up
I waddle toward Mommy and Daddy's room,
Blankie in hand,
I pause.
Daddy's standing in his underwear
Silhouetted by refrigerator light.
He raises a bottle
To his lips.
2.
1.
Zero. When my mother was pregnant with me,
I wonder if she hoped,
As so many mothers do,
That her baby boy would grow up to be
Just like
His father.
Antonella wrote: "Patrick Roche is a spoken word poet from New Jersey. Here he recites his powerful poem ''21''Heart wrenching. Thank you, Antonella.
Stephen wrote: "Just watched a you-tube post with Brian Cranston reciting one of my favorite poems, Ozymandiashttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3dpg...
On the p..."
Ozymandias is one of my favourite poems, too, Stephen. My dad read it to me when I was very little and it has stuck with me all this time.
Antonella wrote: "Patrick Roche is a spoken word poet from New Jersey. Here he recites his powerful poem ''21'': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LnMhy...Here the transcription:
21. My father is run over by a ca..."
Powerful is right. Great performance.
Here's a few performances by Ben Stokes, 2014 New Zealand National Poetry Slam Champion. Foundation (Love Poem) by Ben Stokes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uyWL...
Here's another one I quite like, but I don't know what it's called:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpaNw...
And if you want a neat, really NZ poem, try this one:
Place to Be by Ben Stokes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1dvt...
Sorry, I can't find the text of any of these.
Mod
A poem to wish speedy recovery to a Finnish dog ;-):To Flush, My Dog by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1844)
Loving friend, the gift of one
Who her own true faith has run
Through thy lower nature,
Be my benediction said
With my hand upon thy head,
Gentle fellow creature!
((...))
Yet be blessed to the height
Of all good and all delight
Pervious to thy nature;
Only loved beyond that line,
With a love that answers thine,
Loving fellow creature.
********************************
The whole, long poem here: http://www.bartleby.com/291/111.html
Mod
To Flush, My Dog by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1844)
Loving friend, the gift of one
Who her own true faith has run
Through thy lower nature..."
Such a gentle, lovely take on our fellow creatures. Thank you for posting this, Antonella.
And as for the Finnish dog in question — she's feeling a lot better already. In fact, I'm truly amazed how fast she's recovering from such a massive surgery. Only this morning she was rummaging through her toy basket trying to find a suitable squeaking toy to kill — and it's not been even two whole days since the surgery.
Johanna wrote: "And as for the Finnish dog in question — she's feeling a lot better already. In fact, I'm truly amazed how fast she's recovering from such a massive surgery. Only this morning she was rummaging through her toy basket trying to find a suitable squeaking toy to kill — and it's not been even two whole days since the surgery."I'm glad to hear this!
Johanna wrote: "And as for the Finnish dog in question — she's feeling a lot better already."This makes me happy! :)
Johanna wrote: "Antonella wrote: "A poem to wish speedy recovery to a Finnish dog ;-):To Flush, My Dog by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1844)
Loving friend, the gift of one
Who her own true faith has run
Throug..."
Excellent news! I'm glad.
So many lovely poems, some heartbreaking, some cute. It is always a joy to visit here.
Perhaps it because I skipped Breakfast but my poem for the day is:The Toaster
by William Jay Smith
A silver-scaled Dragon with jaws flaming red
Sits at my elbow and toasts my bread.
I hand him fat slices, and then, one by one,
He hands them back when he sees they are
done.
It's been a favorite since I first read it in Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle...: And Other Modern Verse in sixth grade.
Mod
The Toaster
by William Jay Smith
A silver-scaled Dragon with jaws flaming red
Sits at my elbow and toasts my bread.
I han..."
I still have my copy. :-D
Johanna wrote: "Antonella wrote: "A poem to wish speedy recovery to a Finnish dog ;-):To Flush, My Dog by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1844)
Loving friend, the gift of one
Who her own true faith has run
Throug..."
Thank you Antonella for the wonderful poem! (And all the others you have posted here, I enjoy always to read these.)
So good to hear, Johanna ♡ .
Stephen wrote: "Perhaps it because I skipped Breakfast but my poem for the day is:The Toaster
by William Jay Smith
A silver-scaled Dragon with jaws flaming red
Sits at my elbow and toasts my bread.
I han..."
That is such a cute picture. I want a pocket sized dragon now. :)
Johanna wrote: "Antonella wrote: "A poem to wish speedy recovery to a Finnish dog ;-):To Flush, My Dog by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1844)
Loving friend, the gift of one
Who her own true faith has run
Throug..."
Yay for rummaging in the toy basket! This makes me happy. She'll be fighting fit in no time!
Mod
To Flush, My Dog by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1844)
Loving friend, the gift of one
Who her own true faith has run
Throug..."
Go, Annie!
I mentioned the other day that one of my favorite poems was Ozymandias where the self satisfied king boasting of his accomplishments has been reduced by the ages to just a pedestal and head in the sand. Today I encountered a poetic counterpoint to that...
The Pharaoh Menephta had a victory stele erected around 1200 BC trumpeting his victories over his various enemies. Almost as an afterthought it mentions that "the tribe of Israel is no more." Yep, you guessed it. That's the first written mention anywhere of the Jewish people who would eventually found the nation of Israel. Guess his boast of ending them was a bit premature.
KJ Charles posted this, commenting: A poet and an illustrator get stuck on a train. No, not the start of a joke. Actually incredible. It is and it made me cry.
A.F. Harrold wrote a poem about how much he misses his mother, it's in Things You Find in a Poet's Beard.
Chris Riddell beautifully illustrated it on a train journey they took together.
Poem and illustrations here: http://afharrold.tumblr.com/post/1319...
Mod
It is and it made me cry.
A.F. Harrold wrot..."
Same.
Mod
It is and it made me cry.
A.F. Harrold wrot..."
Wonderful. Thank you for posting this, Antonella. Loved it.
Antonella wrote: "KJ Charles posted this, commenting: A poet and an illustrator get stuck on a train. No, not the start of a joke. Actually incredible. It is and it made me cry.
A.F. Harrold wrot..."
Oh wow. It's perfect.
Love After Love by Derek Walcott (born in 1930)The time will come
when, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,
and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you
all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.
You can also hear the poem read by Jon Kabat-Zinn or find it in Collected Poems, 1948-1984.
Mod
The time will come
when, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other’s wel..."
Wow. That's... stopping.
Johanna wrote: "Wow. That's... stopping."A well deserved Nobel Prize in Literature ;-)): "for a poetic oeuvre of great luminosity, sustained by a historical vision, the outcome of a multicultural commitment" (1992).
Mod
The time will come
when, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other’s wel..."
The old self views the young self. ;-)
Mod
A well deserved Nobel Prize in Literature ;-)): "for a poetic oeuvre of great luminosity, sustained by a historical vision, the outcome of a multicultural..."
Truly, I loved Love After Love. Thank you for posting it, dear.
Wow! I really like that. It's almost Japanese in it's brevity and yet it's so powerful. It speaks to "the unexamined life" and to recollection and to acceptance.
Stephen wrote: "Wow! I really like that. It's almost Japanese in it's brevity and yet it's so powerful. It speaks to "the unexamined life" and to recollection and to acceptance."I think that ''acceptance'' is the key word.
Mod
Well said.
Mod
by Amy Lowell
I have been temperate always,
But I am like to be very drunk
With your coming.
There have been times
I feared to walk down the street
Lest I should reel with the wine of you,
And jerk against my neighbours
As they go by.
I am parched now, and my tongue is horrible in my mouth,
But my brain is noisy
With the clash and gurgle of filling wine-cups.
Mod
by Amy Lowell
I have been temperate always,
But I am like to be very drunk
With your coming.
There have been times
I feared to walk down the street
Lest I should reel with the..."
Oh how telling and apt! And also a new-to-me poem! Thank you. :-)
Antonella wrote: "Love After Love by Derek Walcott (born in 1930)The time will come
when, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other’s wel..."
I love this one! Thanks. :)
Josh wrote: "Anticipation by Amy Lowell
I have been temperate always,
But I am like to be very drunk
With your coming.
There have been times
I feared to walk down the street
Lest I should reel with the..."
This is wonderful. Very vivid. :)
Mod
DECADE by Amy Lowell
When you came, you were like red wine and honey,
And the taste of you burnt my mouth with its sweetness.
Now you are like morning bread,
Smooth and pleasant.
I hardly taste you at all for I know your savour,
But I am completely nourished.
As wonderful as the one posted by Josh. Thanks to you both.
Johanna wrote: "By posting Amy Lowell's Anticipation Josh inspired me to read more Amy Lowell. Here's one of her poems I find especially lovely. Such a simple, beautiful way to write about long lasting love.DECA..."
Sweet and simple. So lovely. :)
[Ausgesetzt auf den Bergen des Herzens] by Rainer Maria Rilke (1914)Ausgesetzt auf den Bergen des Herzens. Siehe, wie klein dort,
siehe: die letzte Ortschaft der Worte, und höher,
aber wie klein auch, noch ein letztes
Gehöft von Gefühl. Erkennst du's?
Ausgesetzt auf den Bergen des Herzens. Steingrund
unter den Händen. Hier blüht wohl
einiges auf; aus Stummem Absturz
blüht ein unwissendes Kraut singend hervor.
Aber der Wissende? Ach, der du wissen begann
und schweigt nun, ausgesetzt auf den Bergen des Herzens.
Da geht wohl, heilen Bewußtseins,
manches umher, manches gesicherte Bergtier,
wechselt und weilt. Und der große geborgene Vogel
kreist um der Gipfel reine Verweigerung.—Aber
ungeborgen, hier auf den Bergen des Herzens. . . .
For the title I'd prefer ''outcast'' to ''exposed'', but here the translation by Cliff Crego
[Exposed on the mountains of the heart]
Exposed on the mountains of the heart. See, how small there,
see: the last hamlet of words, and higher,
and yet so small, a last
homestead of feeling. Do you recognize it?
Exposed on the mountains of the heart. Rocky earth
under the hands. But something will
flower here; out of the mute abyss
flowers an unknowing herb in song.
But the knowing? Ah, that you who began to understand
and are silent now, exposed on the mountains of the heart.
Yet many an awareness still whole wanders there,
many a self-confident mountain animal
passes through and remains. And that great protected bird
circles about the peaks of pure denial. But
unprotected, here on the mountains of the heart.
http://picture-poems.com/rilke/featur...
Antonella wrote: "[Ausgesetzt auf den Bergen des Herzens] by Rainer Maria Rilke (1914)Ausgesetzt auf den Bergen des Herzens. Siehe, wie klein dort,
siehe: die letzte Ortschaft der Worte, und höher,
a..."
Oh, this is... oh. I have no words, just that I love his poems.
won’t you celebrate with meLucille Clifton
won’t you celebrate with me
what i have shaped into
a kind of life? i had no model.
born in babylon
both nonwhite and woman
what did i see to be except myself?
i made it up
here on this bridge between
starshine and clay,
my one hand holding tight
my other hand; come celebrate
with me that everyday
something has tried to kill me
and has failed.
I especially like the last lines:
come celebrate
with me that everyday
something has tried to kill me
and has failed.
You can hear Lucille Clifton reading her poem.
Sandy wrote: "won’t you celebrate with meLucille Clifton"
Wow, thank you, Sandy!
Mod
DECA..."
I think there is no more romantic a poet than Lowell.
Mod
Lucille Clifton
won’t you celebrate with me
what i have shaped into
a kind of life? i had no model.
born in babylon
both nonwhite and woman
what did i see to be except ..."
This is really wonderful.
Mod
with me that everyday
something has tried to kill me
and has failed.
..."
Very effective.
Q&A with Josh Lanyon
Books mentioned in this topic
Mr. Cogito (other topics)Don't Mention the Children (other topics)
Writing Haiku: A Beginner's Guide to Composing Japanese Poetry (other topics)
Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life (other topics)
The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Zbigniew Herbert (other topics)Vanni Bianconi (other topics)
Pablo Neruda (other topics)
Michael Rosen (other topics)
Michael Rosen (other topics)
More...
When you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself
And see ..."
I love this. Reckoning with yourself is sometimes hard, but sometimes you yourself are the most important person you have to answer to.