Thursday, December 07, 2006

poetry thursday...something new.


a poetic meme.

1. The first poem I remember reading/hearing/reacting to was …
it would be a toss up
between a poem that had a line
"in xanadu did kubla khan
a stately pleasure dome decree..."
and "the highway man" which i
immediately fell in love with...
i would sit in the hallway upstairs
(which had great acoustics)
and read it aloud with dramatic flourish...

2. I was forced to memorize (name of poem) in school and …
jabberwocky from alice through the looking glass when i was
taking a children's literature course in university...i LOVED
that course...and we needed to memorize that for the exam...
heehee

3. I read/don’t read poetry because …
i am not really sure. i read it but i don't read it often.
i started off reading lyrics to music as poetry and i think
that is what really shaped how i write today...
i like sharp, concise poetry...words like bullets
nothing really flowery or sappy...i go right for the gut.

4. A poem I’m likely to think about when asked about a favorite poem is …

my most obvious answer is alba by ezra pound...i have written that
short poem in the cover of every journal i have owned...

5. I write/don’t write poetry, but …
i write but i don't often consider it to be
poetry...
snippets and catchphrases
mindsets and mini emotional explosions...
but poetry?
i don't know.


6. My experience with reading poetry differs from my experience with reading other types of literature …
i don't see a strong distinction between the two
for myself...
i think poetry can be found in many mediums,
whether intended or not...
and what becomes poetry for one person
may not for another...
i tend to choose books subconciously
that have are inherently dark and poetic
and the ones i love possess a certain flow to the words...

7. I find poetry …
a release
a refuge
a silent friend
a documentation
in secret code.

8. The last time I heard poetry …
sadly, i don't.
i need to look online more
and take advantage of that avenue
because i'm certainly not going to
find any poetry readings here unless
i drive 45 minutes away
or do them myself...
:)

9. I think poetry is like …
a puzzle,
a code,
the hammering out of cryptic syllables
and rhyme similiar to
the stacatto beat of morse code,
intending meaning,
intending understanding
if only we can break between the lines,
look beyond the words.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow! Your post would definitely get my vote for one of the best I’ve read today. I especially liked your answer to “I find Poetry” - a documentation in secret code. The code really is a secret isn’t it? And you made me remember that sometimes a poem will hit me several different ways before my mind finally settles in on what it “really” means. And when that happens, a poem is like one of those candys where the color and flavor keeps changing and the longer your work it with your mouth, the more you are surprised! Thanks for taking me there.

Dennis ~

boho girl said...

this is lovely, my friend. much food for thought. xoxo

Deb R said...

I think a LOT of what you write is poetry, or at least it feels like poetry to me when I read it.

Anonymous said...

Ah, I reallly enjoyed reading your answers. And Jabberwocky! That made me smile. Thanks for reading and for leaving the comment.

Have a beautiful day!

j.

Anonymous said...

and i find your answers to be filled with poetry ... wow ...

Anonymous said...

Lovely. Just lovely. Poetry as morse code. Perfect.

Deirdre said...

Kubla Khan was one of my first poems too. I loved the rythym of it. And somehow it balanced out all the Emily Dickinson I was reading at the time.

Anonymous said...

Alba is cool. very "poetic-romantic" whatever that means. Pound's a great giant and reading his sonnet, "A Virginal" always does me in.

No, no! Go from me. I have left her lately.
I will not spoil my sheath with lesser brightness,
For my surrounding air hath a new lightness;


and so on.

Jessie said...

one thing i like about the way you format the structure of you blog writing is that EVERYTHING you write is a poem!

Left-handed Trees... said...

I love how much this meme has revealed! That you write the same poem on the cover of every journal spoke to me...I always choose something new with each one, but I could see how this could serve you so. Beautiful!
--D.--

Anonymous said...

I love your poetry. i normally can't get into poetry really, but yours- I get it. i love it.

i'm going to google alba by ezra pound.