Poetry will die when love and pain cease to exist.
~Kellie Elmore
This April, I am sharing works about poems, words, and books for National Poetry Month. If I had been planning ahead, I would have saved my daughter's poem for April. (Plan?? What's that?)
My Poems
by Robert Currie
My poems
are slim bombs
craving explosion
Their fuses lie
dark on the page
awaiting your arrival with a light.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
excerpt from Apart (Les Séparés)
by Louis Simpson and Marceline Desbordes-Valmore
Do not write. I fear you. I fear to remember,
For memory holds the voice I have often heard.
To the one who cannot drink, do not show water,
The beloved one's picture in the handwritten word.
Do not write!
Read the rest here.
(Oddly enough, the copy I have says that it was written by Louis Simpson and Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, but the site I am sending you to says it's just by Louis Simpson. Other sites that say the sole author is Marceline Desbordes-Valmore. ?)
~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was reading about poet Geoffrey Chaucer recently and this bit caught my eye:
"Edward III granted Chaucer 'a gallon of wine daily for the rest of his life'...given on a day of celebration, St George's Day, 1374, when artistic endeavours were traditionally rewarded."
The part I liked about this was that there was a day when artistic endeavours were rewarded. Isn't that a great idea? I can't offer anybody a gallon of wine daily, but I would like to offer a little present to one of you creative types. Pretty much everybody who visits my blog is artistic; this offer is available to all of you. St. George's Day back in Chaucer's time was celebrated April 23rd, which also happens to be Shakespeare's birth and death day (attributed). So on April 23rd, I will draw one person's name to give a small gift to every month for the rest of 2015. It could be a book, magazine, homemade granola, a custom poem, tea, whatever strikes my fancy (although you are welcome to give me a heads-up about things you like). If you'd like to be in the running for "St. George's Reward," send your name to tabatha(at)tabathayeatts(dot)com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing the World for Kids is the Poetry Friday round-up host today.
12 comments:
ooh, slim bombs craving explosion. Powerful stuff! Thank you for the Ars Poetica, which I never tire of. xo
The poems you shared spoke to me. Many times in my own writing I have explored what poetry is to me. Poetry, to me, reveals a great deal of my soul and sometimes the process of putting things to words can be painful. So yes, the lines "Do not write. I fear you. I fear to remember," struck me.
Powerful message in Currie's poem in so few words.
Lots to ponder in "do not write." Such poignancy.
Pardon the pun, but I'm blown away by the Currie poem. And by the final stanza of "Apart" as well. Love the idea of your St. George's Reward too... you're undoubtedly going to make someone feel very special. :)
Love that first one! I like that the reader brings the light.
Lovely post, as always!
Ever learning from you, Tabatha. The poem about writing poems is so lovely. Thanks for the story of long ago, too.
Your comment about planning made me snort. Good thing I wasn't sipping tea at the same time!
Yeah, planning. This year so far has been so crazy busy I am barely one step ahead of anything!
"My poems
are slim bombs
craving explosion"
Wow. That phrasing and image is going to stay in my head. Thank you for sharing it!
Currie's poem is fantastic, Tabatha. I especially like the line:
"Their fuses lie
dark on the page
awaiting your arrival with a light."
Explosive stuff!
I loved the poetry you shared today, Tabatha, and especially enjoyed your daughter's poem (I'd missed that post, somehow...). What a lovely idea to celebrate St. George's Day!
Hear, hear to celebrating St. George's Day! Thanks for a wonderful, thoughtful post as always...
Post a Comment