Author Topic: Poetry Page  (Read 687380 times)

Babi

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Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #400 on: May 23, 2009, 09:09:42 AM »
 
Welcome to our Poetry Page.

Our haven for those who listen to words that open hearts, imagination, and who allow our feelings be known about the poems we share - This is our continuing tradition. Please join us as we focus on poems written about either Birds or Wind.

Birds and Wind


Bird on the Wind / Wind on the Bird
The aim of Symbolism in art is to capture more absolute truths which can only be accessed by indirect methods. It is what a thing means or symbolizes for us that is often what we are judging.

Rising and soaring through the skies, birds in myth and legend are the symbols of power and freedom. Throughout the ages, birds link the human world to the divine, to forces beyond the normal world; magical or miraculous realms that lie beyond ordinary experience.

The wind is stronger then all, but is blind and lost. It's sad and in pain, but it doesn't know why. It carries thousands of years with it, countless knowledge and wisdom fly with it, but it has nowhere and nobody to bring it to.

The wind comes and goes, it is soft and strong, it represents freedom but also misdirection, it defines a sense of self and purpose but with no confirmation aside from what you leave in your wake. A key with no hole.

The wind as a god is a power that is capable of communicating a larger-than-life language to those who would hear it


Discussion Leaders: BarbStAubrey & Fairanna


 
What a fascinating post, BARB.  I didn't realize Webster's play was that old,
but even so I didn't know all that about the burials of those days. I do remember reading about hired mourners.  So, the ministers earned some
income by renting the cemetery for grazing.  Well, I suppose that makes sense.
It was the easiest way to keep the grass cut, and grazers aren't going to be
digging up bodies as a carnivore would.
  A good morning...I learned something new!
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

BarbStAubrey

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Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #401 on: May 23, 2009, 01:03:04 PM »
Hon it wasn't rented it was the priest or ministers animals - and bovines did dig up bodies. That was one of the reasons that rules were made by some to limit the type of animals and finally prohibit large animals from grazing in the cemetery lands except during times of war. Even the trees in the cemetery were the priest or ministers and if when a tree fell if anyone took part of the tree it was a crime.

Remember when we were reading Jane Austen and the young men were offered a Living which was to be a minister in a parish - when  you research further you learn that part of the  reason for getting a good 'Living' parish was the opportunities to make the land that was the cemetery be productive so that ministers were farm managers just as the landed gentry in their 'Country Homes'.

If you read the Magna Carte most of the document is about the Forests and the ownership which was mostly the Church. And so where we are educated to understand it was one of the first steps towards freedom and democracy that document may have given greater freedoms to serfs but they were  now hemmed in with few places to live, gather wood, fish, hunt etc. etc. because the vast majority of the land belonged to either the Church or the King.

We are so used to thinking of how during the early years of this nation if you were freed from servitude you packed up and walked west till you found a piece of land - granted the native Indians used the land but that did not bother the white man. Still we did not have the kind of land use laws the prohibited using and changing the natural habitat because the land belonged to the Church. A crime over poaching on Church land was as serious a crime as robbing from the Church treasury.
“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

fairanna

  • Posts: 263
Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #402 on: May 23, 2009, 09:33:21 PM »
Barbara I havent spoken to you about what kind of poetry we will do come June , which is just around the corner
Any ideas from you or anyone who would like us to post poems from thier favorite poet...

This is my offering for today...the Irish wakes I attended as a child (unless it was a tragic death ) I thought were the best places and things we did...in the home usually , with lots of food and drink and everyone telling funny stories about the deceased Which is what I tell my family I want....

anyway here is my post for today...

 
Four Winds
   
 
  "Four winds blowing thro' the sky,
You have seen poor maidens die,
Tell me then what I shall do
That my lover may be true."
Said the wind from out the south,
"Lay no kiss upon his mouth,"
And the wind from out the west,
"Wound the heart within his breast,"
And the wind from out the east,
"Send him empty from the feast,"
And the wind from out the north,
"In the tempest thrust him forth,
When thou art more cruel than he,
Then will Love be kind to thee."

Sara Teasdale

 
 

Babi

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Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #403 on: May 24, 2009, 09:28:29 AM »
Bovines dig up bodies?!  How strange; they are not carnivores.

 Oh, dear, ANNA. I fear Sara Teasdale had a bad experience with a
cruel lover.  She sounds so hurt and angry in this poem.
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

BarbStAubrey

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Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #404 on: May 24, 2009, 01:11:05 PM »
Neither are pigs and yet they also dug up bodies - the priests and ministers developed written rules to rid the cememtaries of animals in order to stop this behavior - onward to the twentyfirst century - Oh I cannot leave it - did you know before the first garbage collectors in New York, which happened in the late 1800 well after the Civil War, the street and garbage cleanup consisted of pigs - bands of pigs roamed the streets of New York and ate the refuse - I have not read what other cities did and I always wondered.

What about June - do you think we should focus on one poet or another theme like: flowers, rain, the sea, the sun, clouds, colors, trees - you name it.
“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

JoanK

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Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #405 on: May 24, 2009, 03:30:40 PM »
Red Bird Explains Himself
 
“Yes, I was the brilliance floating over the snow
and I was the song in the summer leaves, but this was
only the first trick
I had hold of among my other mythologies,
for I also knew obedience: bring sticks to the nest,
food to the young, kisses to my bride.
 

But don’t stop there, stay with me: listen.
 
If I was the song that entered your heart
then I was the music of your heart, that you wanted and needed,
and thus wilderness bloomed that, with all its
followers: gardeners, lovers, people who weep
for the death of rivers.
 
And this was my true task, to be the
music of the body.  Do you understand? for truly the body needs
a song, a spirit, a soul.  And no less, to make this work,
the soul has need of a body,
and I am both of the earth and I am of the inexplicable
beauty of heaven
where I fly so easily, so welcome, yes,
and this is why I have been sent, to teach this to your heart.”
 
~ Mary Oliver ~
 

Babi

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Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #406 on: May 25, 2009, 08:43:08 AM »
Here's another poem about a bird with a high purpose, by one Sri Aurobindo:

                  The Blue Bird
 I am the bird of God in His blue;
Divinely high and clear
I sing the notes of the sweet and the true
For the god's and the seraph's ear.

I rise like a fire from the mortal's earth
Into a griefless sky
And drop in the suffering soil of his birth
Fire-seeds of ecstasy.

My pinions soar beyond Time and Space
Into unfading Light;
I bring the bliss of the Eternal's face
And the boon of the Spirit's sight.

I measure the worlds with my ruby eyes;
I have perched on Wisdom's tree
Thronged with the blossoms of Paradise
By the streams of Eternity.

Nothing is hid from my burning heart;
My mind is shoreless and still;
My song is rapture's mystic art,
My flight immortal will.

"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

fairanna

  • Posts: 263
Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #407 on: May 25, 2009, 03:51:41 PM »
Well I had replied to Babi's comment about  Teasdale poem and Joan poem which I loved I have to agree Teasdale did not write a cheerful poem I thought it rather bitter myself but did not take time to really think about it  Today I am sharing a poem I wrote in 1999 about Memorial Day My husband is buried at Arlington along with one brother , his wfe and a number of those who served in the military I know.. so whenever I go I am often overwhelmed and when I read how many we have lost in the different wars in my life this is how I feel .

memorial day

even in the black of night
the white crosses gleam
declare to all the place
where the silenced heroes came
heroic deeds are marked by some
praised eulogized revered
what would the dead proclaim
if they had our listening ear
would they weep that their blood
in rivers ran and made dark
spots upon the foreign land
would they ask why they had to die
and what would be our reply
we who still breathe the scented air
who feel the sun and rain
who lie next to warm flesh
who lips are kissed and bodies hugged
do we thank them tell them it was a job well done
do we tell them peace has come
and there sacrifice won
for us a future free of onslaughts
do we lie to them to ease our shame
that we let them go cheered them on
promised them if they did we would remember
vowed we would show we cared
that they gave us a chance
our lies flood the air
rise in dark clouds and hide the sun
oh the white crosses gleam even in the black of night
march forever across the tended green
be glad your eyes are closed
you do not see the mess we made
your pain was brief and ours prolonged
we should weep and gnash our teeth
that we let you die believing the lie
that your death would not be in vain
that we would learn to live in peace


 anna alexander
5/26/99
all rights reserved

Babi

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Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #408 on: May 26, 2009, 08:24:09 AM »
  Oh, ANNA, what a poignant poem.  It says so much that is painful and is so
true.  Please, please find someone to collect and edit your poems. They deserve to be published; it would be tragic if they were lost.
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

MarjV

  • Posts: 215
Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #409 on: May 26, 2009, 08:30:16 AM »
Fascinating , Barbara!

Yes, I agree about the Anna poem!   I made this graphic on Monday


http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z70/MarjV/Memday09.jpg



MarjV

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Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #410 on: May 26, 2009, 10:06:07 AM »
Song lyrics are poems in music - here is Mockingbird Hill that just came to mind.   

Words and music for Mockingbird Hill

BarbStAubrey

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Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #411 on: May 26, 2009, 11:51:51 AM »
Ah Mary Oliver hit home for me with these lines

And this was my true task, to be the
music of the body.  Do you understand? for truly the body needs
a song, a spirit, a soul.  And no less, to make this work,
the soul has need of a body,

My favorite line in 'The Blue Bird' is:

My mind is shoreless and still;

OH my Anna - the offering for Memorial Day is a prayer that I had to read several times. Thanks...

“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

MarjV

  • Posts: 215
Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #412 on: May 26, 2009, 12:44:35 PM »
Ah Mary Oliver hit home for me with these lines

And this was my true task, to be the
music of the body.  Do you understand? for truly the body needs
a song, a spirit, a soul.  And no less, to make this work,
the soul has need of a body,

Absolutely wonderful lines, Barbara, from Oliver.   Thanks.

Babi

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Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #413 on: May 27, 2009, 08:49:11 AM »
 So perfect for Memorial Day, Marj.  That was a thoughtful thing to do.
I wholly agree about the lyrics in songs; so many of them are truly beautiful poetry.   "Wind Beneath My Wings", or "America, the Beautiful" come to my mind. 
  What lyrics come to mind for the rest of you?

 
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

bellemere

  • Posts: 862
Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #414 on: May 28, 2009, 10:27:54 PM »
I love the lyrics of this haunting song sung by Dolly Parton among others:

Elusive Butterfly of Love

You might wake up some morning
To the sound of something moving past your window in the wind
And if you're quick enough to rise,
You'll catch a fleeting glance of someone's fading shadow.
Out on the new horizon
You may see the floating motion of a distant pair of wings
And if the sleep has left your eyes
You might hear footsteps running through an open meadow.

Don't be concerned; it will not harm you.
It's only me, pursuing something I'm not sure of.
Across my dreams, with nets of wonder,
I chase the bright elusive butterfly of love.



bellemere

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Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #415 on: May 28, 2009, 10:31:59 PM »
I notd the FRost poem of May 4, which always brings memories of one of my college English teachers, little Sister Melmarie from  South Boston, who loved to recite:

Come with rain, thou loud southwestah
Bring the singah, bring the nestah!

BarbStAubrey

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Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #416 on: May 28, 2009, 11:24:32 PM »
Remember this from when we were kids...

The Wind
by Robert Louis Stevenson

I saw you toss the kites on high
And blow the birds about the sky;
And all around I heard you pass,
Like ladies' skirts across the grass

Oh wind, a blowing all day long,
Oh wind, that sings so loud a song!

I saw the different things you did,
But always you yourself you hid.
I felt you push, I heard you call,
I could not see yourself at all

Oh wind, a blowing all day long!
Oh wind, that sings so loud a song!

O you that are so strong and cold,
O blower, are you young or old?
Are you a beast of field and tree,
Or just a stronger child than me?

O wind, a blowing all day long,
O wind, that sings so loud a song!
“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

BarbStAubrey

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Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #417 on: May 28, 2009, 11:27:44 PM »
DAUGHTER OF THE WIND

WHY HAVE I ALWAYS BEEN A DAUGHTER
OF THE WIND? IT HAS SUCH STRENGTH,
IT IS TREACHEROUS AND HOLDS SUCH FURY.
YET IT HAS THE MOST GENTLE, TENDER TOUCH.
WHEN I WATCH THE WIND. HEAR THE WIND OR
FEEL ITS SOFT AND GENTLE CARESS, I
SUDDENLY BECOME LOST IN THOUGHT AND WILD
WANDERINGS. DEAR WIND WHERE ARE YOU GOING?
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TODAY? WHAT ARE
YOU GOING TO DO TOMORROW? YOU ALWAYS SEEM
TO CARRY ME TO ANOTHER PLAIN. A PLACE WHERE
DREAMERS DWELL. SOMEWHERE YOUR SECRETS ARE
NEVER TOLD. AS THE DAUGHTER OF THE WIND,
I WILL NEVER GROW OLD.

Momfeather

“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

MarjV

  • Posts: 215
Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #418 on: May 30, 2009, 08:11:34 AM »
by Paul Dunbar
A sad and vivid poem concerning wind and sea.  Consider the words all relating
to death and dying.


The Wind and the Sea. 


I stood by the shore at the death of day,
As the sun sank flaming red;
And the face of the waters that spread away
Was as gray as the face of the dead.

And I heard the cry of the wanton sea
And the moan of the wailing wind;
For love's sweet pain in his heart had he,
But the gray old sea had sinned.

The wind was young and the sea was old,
But their cries went up together;
The wind was warm and the sea was cold,
For age makes wintry weather.

So they cried aloud and they wept amain,
Till the sky grew dark to hear it;
And out of its folds crept the misty rain,
In its shroud, like a troubled spirit.

For the wind was wild with a hopeless love,
And the sea was sad at heart
At many a crime that he wot of,
Wherein he had played his part.

He thought of the gallant ships gone down
By the will of his wicked waves;
And he thought how the churchyard in the town
Held the sea-made widows' graves.

The wild wind thought of the love he had left
Afar in an Eastern land,
And he longed, as long the much bereft,
For the touch of her perfumed hand.

In his winding wail and his deep-heaved sigh
His aching grief found vent;
While the sea looked up at the bending sky
And murmured: "I repent."

But e'en as he spoke, a ship came by,
That bravely ploughed the main,
And a light came into the sea's green eye,
And his heart grew hard again.

Then he spoke to the wind: "Friend, seest
thou not
Yon vessel is eastward bound?
Pray speed with it to the happy spot
Where thy loved one may be found."

And the wind rose up in a dear delight,
And after the good ship sped;
But the crafty sea by his wicked might
Kept the vessel ever ahead.

Till the wind grew fierce in his despair,
And white on the brow and lip.
He tore his garments and tore his hair,
And fell on the flying ship.

And the ship went down, for a rock was there,
And the sailless sea loomed black;
While burdened again with dole and care,
The wind came moaning back.

And still he moans from his bosom hot
Where his raging grief lies pent,
And ever when the ships come not,
The sea says: "I repent."

  - Special Collections and Archives - African American Collections - Wright State University  
 
Copyright Information © 2005  


Babi

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Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #419 on: May 30, 2009, 08:47:40 AM »
Ooh, MARJ, that one is heavy!  I find some of our worst human emotions in that poem.  A repentence that does not survive the next temptation to do harm. An anger that flares up when thwarted in what one wishes to do, even
if that wish was originally to do good. Murderous cold and spiteful fury. Brrr.
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

BarbStAubrey

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Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #420 on: May 31, 2009, 08:25:49 PM »
Let's Celebrate Summer
Welcome to our Poetry Page.
Our haven for those who listen to words
that open hearts, imagination, and who allow our feelings be known
about the poems we share - Please join us.

Summer time fills our mind-pictures with
long, lazy picnics by the river,
old-fashioned ice cream socials,
a day at the seaside,
parades, flags, fireworks and
burgers hot off the grill.  

Poetry can be part of life rather than a thing apart.
Share with us your:
Warm weather poems,
Summer recipes and entertainment that
Celebrate poets and poems,
Summer craft idea using poetry.


Promise to follow through using poetry in
a weekly outdoor happening and
make this summer the best it can be!


Discussion Leaders: BarbStAubrey & Fairanna
“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

BarbStAubrey

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Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #421 on: May 31, 2009, 08:36:42 PM »
To start  us off sharing how Poetry is part of my Summer - it was a long day - met the decorator who removed her furnishings we rented to help sell a vacant house followed by, showed property and then wrote an offer that probably has a snow balls chance of making it since there are already 3 offers on the house - she needed to increase her offer over the asking price by more than $100 but it takes loosing one to learn - and so tired, on the way home I decided to stop and pickup a 'to go' hamburger from Wally's.

Wally's is a local hamburger place that uses fresh home grown tomatoes - lettuce, onions, pickles, mayo and of course the burger - no one can make them like they do at Wally's and with the Tomatoes in season the taste is so much more than in Winter when he uses store bought tomatoes. It reminded my of Neruda's Ode To The Tomato -

Ode To Tomatoes by Pablo Neruda

The street
filled with tomatoes,
midday,
summer,
light is
halved
like
a
tomato,
its juice
runs
through the streets.
In December,
unabated,
the tomato
invades
the kitchen,
it enters at lunchtime,
takes
its ease
on countertops,
among glasses,
butter dishes,
blue saltcellars.
It sheds
its own light,
benign majesty.
Unfortunately, we must
murder it:
the knife
sinks
into living flesh,
red
viscera
a cool
sun,
profound,
inexhaustible,
populates the salads
of Chile,
happily, it is wed
to the clear onion,
and to celebrate the union
we
pour
oil,
essential
child of the olive,
onto its halved hemispheres,
pepper
adds
its fragrance,
salt, its magnetism;
it is the wedding
of the day,
parsley
hoists
its flag,
potatoes
bubble vigorously,
the aroma
of the roast
knocks
at the door,
it's time!
come on!
and, on
the table, at the midpoint
of summer,
the tomato,
star of earth, recurrent
and fertile
star,
displays
its convolutions,
its canals,
its remarkable amplitude
and abundance,
no pit,
no husk,
no leaves or thorns,
the tomato offers
its gift
of fiery color
and cool completeness.

“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

fairanna

  • Posts: 263
Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #422 on: June 01, 2009, 08:50:28 AM »
Well each year I plant two tomato plants because there is NOTHING Like one ...I am enclosing the lyrics to the song June is busting out all over from Carousal and this was site gave it as it happened in the play with the characters names included .. I love this song because it is the way I always felt about this month..hope it brings back some memories as it does to me...

Nettie
March went out like a lion
Awakin' up the water in the bay;
Then April cried and stepped aside,
And along came pretty little May!
May was full of promises
But she didn't keep 'em quickly enough for some
And the crowd of doubtin' tonuses
Was predictin' that the summer'd never come

Men
But it's comin' by dawn,
We can feel it come,
You can feel it in your heart
You can see it in the ground

Girls
You can see it in the trees
You can smell it in the breeze

All
Look around! Look around! Look around!

Nettie
June is bustin' out all over
All over the meadow and the hill!
Buds're bustin' outa bushes
And the rompin' river pushes
Ev'ry little wheel that wheels beside the mill!

June is bustin' out all over
The feelin' is gettin' so intense,
That the young Virginia creepers
Hev been huggin' the bejeepers
Outa all the mornin' glories on the fence!
Because it's June...

All
June, June, June
Just because it's June, June, June!

Nettie
Fresh and alive and gay and young
June is a love song, sweetly song

All
June is bustin' out all over!
The saplin's are bustin' out with sap!
Love hes found my brother, Junior,
And my sister's even loonier!
And my Ma is gettin' kittenish with Pap!
June in bustin' out all over

Nettie
To ladies and men are payin' court.
Lotsa ships are kept at anchor
Jest because the captains hanker
Fer the comfort they ken only get in port!

All
Because it's June... June, June, June
Just because it's June, June, June!

Nettie
June makes the bay look bright and new
Sails gleamin' bright on sunlit blue

All
June is bustin' out all over
The ocean is full of Jacks and Jills,
With the little tail a-swishing'
Ev'ry lady fish is wishin'
That a male would come
And grab 'er by the gills!

Nettie
June is bustin' out all over!
The sheep aren't sleepin' anymore!
All the rams that chase ewe-sheep
All determined there'll be new sheep
and the ewe-sheep aren't even keepin' score!

All
On acounta it's June! June, June, June
Just because it's June, June, June!

Babi

  • Posts: 6732
Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #423 on: June 01, 2009, 09:36:39 AM »
Quote
the knife
sinks
into living flesh,
red
viscera
[/color]

  Barb, I'm going to have trouble slicing tomatoes for a while, after reading that!

 Anna, I loved that song, and could hear the singers again as I read it.

I immediately thought of  "Summer is icumen in".  The song is a medieval English canon (notated 1240). It is the only known six part music written before the 15th century.  This is a modern translation.

Summer is a-coming in,
Loudly sing, Cuckoo!
The seed grows and the meadow blooms
And the wood springs anew,
Sing, Cuckoo!
The ewe bleats after the lamb
The cow lows after the calf.
The bullock stirs, the stag farts,
Merrily sing, Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo, well you sing, cuckoo;
Don't you ever stop now,
Sing cuckoo now. Sing, Cuckoo.
Sing Cuckoo. Sing cuckoo now
!
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

bellemere

  • Posts: 862
Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #424 on: June 02, 2009, 09:48:03 PM »
Doing this from memory.  Jump in if I mess up

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease has all to short a date,.
Sometime to hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is he gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines
By chance or nature's changing course untrimmed
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor use that rare perfection that thou owest,
Nor shall death brag thou wanderest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thour growest.
   So long as men can breathe and eyes can see
   So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
                                         -Shakespeare

bellemere

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Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #425 on: June 03, 2009, 08:21:27 AM »
Well,I see one goof.  "use" should be "lose" that rare perfection.  Sorry.

Babi

  • Posts: 6732
Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #426 on: June 03, 2009, 09:01:15 AM »
No apology necessary, Bellemere. I'm impressed that you could remember a
Shakespearean sonnet that accurately.  I'm doing well to remember something I read yesterday!  :(
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

BarbStAubrey

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Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #427 on: June 03, 2009, 09:56:24 AM »
ah how lovely Bellemere -  how often we have heard of the "Darling Buds of May" weren't those words used in a song from Camelot?

Rushing around today packing and getting everything in order so that I can leave in the wee hours of tomorrow morning for my Daughter's in North Carolina - Ty graduates having earned all these wonderful scholarships to the Collage of his choice - the Savannah School of Art - and so a big family gathering is happening as we celebrate with him.

All sorts of Rushing poems - most about rushing water but here is a fun and outrageous poem about rushing. .

Rushing in Nerja

I met a flustered lady in the midday sun
Rushing in the plaza like a bandit on the run
Scurrying to buy her liquor on the cheaper side of town
"Finlandia !" she said, a vodka of renown

She touched me with her trembling hands
Bronzed and decked in golden bands
She kissed me with her pouted lips
And held me in her feeble grip

"I must go' she said
For Don Quixote de la Galway
Lies waiting in my bed


And here is a typical Rushing poem about the countryside.

I've Heard the Rushing
  
  I’ve heard the rushing of mountain torrents, gushing
Down through the rocks, in a cataract of spray,
Onward to the ocean;
Swift seemed their motion,
Till, lost in the desert, they dwindled away.

I’ve learnt the story of all human glory,
I’ve felt high resolves growing weaker every day,
Till cares, springing round me,
With creeping tendrils bound me,
And all I once hoped for was wearing fast away.

I’ve seen the river rolling on for ever,
Silent and strong, without tumult or display.
In the desert arid,
Its waters never tarried,
Till far out at sea we still found them on their way.

Now no more weary we faint in deserts dreary,
Toiling alone till the closing of the day;
All now is righted,
Our souls flow on united,
Till the years and their sorrows have all died away.

James Clerk Maxwell
 
 
“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

fairanna

  • Posts: 263
Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #428 on: June 05, 2009, 11:19:31 AM »
The following poem used to describe for me the month of June...and the first verse for some reason I memorized ..I always forget there are other verses and I post them all...Was June so special because it was the month when school was out and the lazy days arrived? I know it was special when our children were home all the time and we had time for traveling and camping and seeing what our country and nature had to offer.. it was so long ago and it was a peaceful time..easy to visit the places in America , without guards everywhere and having purses checked at the entrance to things you wanted to see..I am GLAD in my heart and in my SOUL that life was nicer then and life was sweeter.....

What Is So Rare As A Day in June

AND what is so rare as a day in June?
Then, if ever, come perfect days;
Then Heaven tries earth if it be in tune,
And over it softly her warm ear lays;
Whether we look, or whether we listen,
We hear life murmur, or see it glisten;
Every clod feels a stir of might,
An instinct within it that reaches and towers,
And, groping blindly above it for light,
Climbs to a soul in grass and flowers;
The flush of life may well be seen
Thrilling back over hills and valleys;
The cowslip startles in meadows green,
The buttercup catches the sun in its chalice,
And there's never a leaf nor a blade too mean
To be some happy creature's palace;
The little bird sits at his door in the sun,
Atilt like a blossom among the leaves,
And lets his illumined being o'errun
With the deluge of summer it receives;
His mate feels the eggs beneath her wings,
And the heart in her dumb breast flutters and sings;
He sings to the wide world, and she to her nest,-
In the nice ear of Nature which song is the best?

Now is the high-tide of the year,
And whatever of life hath ebbed away
Comes flooding back with a ripply cheer,
Into every bare inlet and creek and bay;
Now the heart is so full that a drop overfills it,
We are happy now because God wills it;
No matter how barren the past may have been,
'Tis enough for us now that the leaves are green;
We sit in the warm shade and feel right well
How the sap creeps up and the blossoms swell;
We may shut our eyes but we cannot help knowing
That skies are clear and grass is growing;
The breeze comes whispering in our ear,
That dandelions are blossoming near,
That maize has sprouted, that streams are flowing,
That the river is bluer than the sky,
That the robin is plastering his house hard by;
And if the breeze kept the good news back,
For our couriers we should not lack;
We could guess it all by yon heifer's lowing,-
And hark! How clear bold chanticleer,
Warmed with the new wine of the year,
Tells all in his lusty crowing!

Joy comes, grief goes, we know not how;
Everything is happy now,
Everything is upward striving;
'Tis as easy now for the heart to be true
As for grass to be green or skies to be blue,-
'Tis for the natural way of living:
Who knows whither the clouds have fled?
In the unscarred heaven they leave not wake,
And the eyes forget the tears they have shed,
The heart forgets its sorrow and ache;
The soul partakes the season's youth,
And the sulphurous rifts of passion and woe
Lie deep 'neath a silence pure and smooth,
Like burnt-out craters healed with snow.

James Russell Lowell

Babi

  • Posts: 6732
Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #429 on: June 06, 2009, 09:04:45 AM »
Lowell is always so good, isn't he?  I found an old childhood poem that belongs here, I think.

Bed in Summer by Robert Louis Stevenson

In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people's feet
Still going past me in the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

bellemere

  • Posts: 862
Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #430 on: June 06, 2009, 07:26:32 PM »
I remember trying to convince my children that it was time to go to bed while the day was still light.

This is what DuBose Hayward gave George Gershwin to work withl
Or maybe it was the other way around;

Summertime! and the livin' is easy.
Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high.
Oh, your daddy's rich
And your ma is good lookin',
So hush little baby, don't you cry.

One of these mornings,
You're gonna rise up singing'
And you'll spread your wings and you'll take to the sky.
But till that mornin', there's nothing can harm you.
With Daddy and Mammy standin' by.
Summertime!


2

Babi

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Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #431 on: June 07, 2009, 09:28:04 AM »
Oh, thanks for printing "Summertime", BELLEMERE.  I love that song, and it is one I can still 'hear' in my memory. :)
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

BarbStAubrey

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Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #432 on: June 08, 2009, 11:37:10 AM »
Been busy visiting and like the poem building a revery.

To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,
One clover and a bee,
And revery.

- Emily Dickenson

“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

fairanna

  • Posts: 263
Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #433 on: June 08, 2009, 08:30:46 PM »
While in High School we were allowed to choose a class  in our Junior Year if we had completed the credits for graduation ,. I can see the teacher but his name I cant recall  ..his class was a drama class ..which included a variety of drama venues  one being poetry ...and to me an introduction to new poets ,,.one being Edna St Vincent Millay,,so I checked to see if she had written a poem about summer..as usual not the usual poem ..there was always a touch of sadness in her poems.. not really sadness but a wistful sort of feeling that appealed to a young girl on the rim of being a young woman  and here is her poem about summer ..which sound so Millay ...

 
I Know I Am But Summer To Your Heart
   
 
  I know I am but summer to your heart,
And not the full four seasons of the year;
And you must welcome from another part
Such noble moods as are not mine, my dear.
No gracious weight of golden fruits to sell
Have I, nor any wise and wintry thing;
And I have loved you all too long and well
To carry still the high sweet breast of Spring.
Wherefore I say: O love, as summer goes,
I must be gone, steal forth with silent drums,
That you may hail anew the bird and rose
When I come back to you, as summer comes.
Else will you seek, at some not distant time,
Even your summer in another clime.

Edna St. Vincent Millay
 
 

Babi

  • Posts: 6732
Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #434 on: June 09, 2009, 08:08:19 AM »
 ANNA, I find myself unsure whether Miss Millay was wise, or too unaware of
her own worth.  I can't imagine being willing to be someone's 'summer' only.


Here's one by William Henry Davies

When on a Summer's Morn

When on a summer's morn I wake,
And open my two eyes,
Out to the clear, born-singing rills
My bird-like spirit flies.

To hear the Blackbird, Cuckoo, Thrush,
Or any bird in song;
And common leaves that hum all day
Without a throat or tongue.

And when Time strikes the hour for sleep,
Back in my room alone,
My heart has many a sweet bird's song --
And one that's all my own.
 


I like the idea of 'common leaves that hum all day without a throat or tongue'.
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

ALF43

  • Posts: 1360
Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #435 on: June 09, 2009, 01:20:10 PM »
Summer is a season and like Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 I always think of summer when I read this:

To every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant,
and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill and a time to heal;
a time to break down and a time to build up;
A time to weep and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn , and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing'
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

I love that verse and used to be able to recite it verbatim.  I'm getting old because I got it all fouled up and had to go to my King James. :P
Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind.  ~James Russell Lowell

BarbStAubrey

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Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #436 on: June 10, 2009, 12:52:25 AM »
   The Summer Rain
     
     My books I'd fain cast off, I cannot read,
'Twixt every page my thoughts go stray at large
Down in the meadow, where is richer feed,
And will not mind to hit their proper targe.

Plutarch was good, and so was Homer too,
Our Shakespeare's life were rich to live again,
What Plutarch read, that was not good nor true,
Nor Shakespeare's books, unless his books were men.

Here while I lie beneath this walnut bough,
What care I for the Greeks or for Troy town,
If juster battles are enacted now
Between the ants upon this hummock's crown?

Bid Homer wait till I the issue learn,
If red or black the gods will favor most,
Or yonder Ajax will the phalanx turn,
Struggling to heave some rock against the host.

Tell Shakespeare to attend some leisure hour,
For now I've business with this drop of dew,
And see you not, the clouds prepare a shower--
I'll meet him shortly when the sky is blue.

This bed of herd's grass and wild oats was spread
Last year with nicer skill than monarchs use.
A clover tuft is pillow for my head,
And violets quite overtop my shoes.

And now the cordial clouds have shut all in,
And gently swells the wind to say all's well;
The scattered drops are falling fast and thin,
Some in the pool, some in the flower-bell.

I am well drenched upon my bed of oats;
But see that globe come rolling down its stem,
Now like a lonely planet there it floats,
And now it sinks into my garment's hem.

Drip drip the trees for all the country round,
And richness rare distills from every bough;
The wind alone it is makes every sound,
Shaking down crystals on the leaves below.

For shame the sun will never show himself,
Who could not with his beams e'er melt me so;
My dripping locks--they would become an elf,
Who in a beaded coat does gayly go.

Henry David Thoreau
“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

Babi

  • Posts: 6732
Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #437 on: June 10, 2009, 08:31:03 AM »
 I love those verses, too. ALF.  I love the song based on them, too. "Turn, turn, turn."

  I would have greatly enjoyed joining Thoreau in the meadow, lying under the early sun with a clover pillow, but I really would prefer to watch the rain from under a roof.  Being drenched never made me look like an elf.   ;)

 
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

ALF43

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Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #438 on: June 10, 2009, 09:26:26 AM »
Babi- WHAT??? "Turn, turn, turn" is a song based on that verse.  Am I thinking of the right one?  Turn, turn, turn, like a ring of fire?  No, that's Johnny Cash isn't it?
Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind.  ~James Russell Lowell

Babi

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Re: Poetry Page
« Reply #439 on: June 10, 2009, 09:43:40 AM »
ALF, here are the lyrics I was referring to. I find the last line especially poignant.
The opening lines are the chorus.

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to build up,a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones,
a time to gather stones
 together

[chorus]

A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracing

[chorus]

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time to love, a time to hate
A time for peace, I swear its not too late
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs