Thoughts on poetry

[Heather]

What's poetry? It's not real but maybe it's more than real. It's dreaming while you're awake.
CARYL CHURCHILL, A Dream Play

[keats]

To me, a great Poet is one who creates their own images and opinions and are quoted instead of trying to quote others opinions.
But that is just my opinion.

[manfredvijars]

That's great! Who wrote that Neil? ...

[keats]

Some crappy Poet

[Heather]

One breath taken completely; one poem, fully written, fully read -- in such a moment, anything can happen.
JANE HIRSHFIELD, Nine Gates: Entering the Mind of Poetry

[Maureen K Clifford]

that Jane Hirschfield sheila must have lived on a property - 9 bloody gates! Stone the crows!

[DollyDot]

I love all those quotes Heather.

Maureen, those gates!!! The ones with the strung barbed wire and a gidgee post you stick in the circle of wire at the bottom then another at the top and then the wire bites you. I think they have a special name but it escapes me ... and then, thank God some one had the good sense to build a grid!!

Now poetry -

Not Bush poetry but beautiful nevertheless - the first few lines of -

Porphyria's Lover
By Robert Browning 1812–1889

The rain set early in to-night,
The sullen wind was soon awake,
It tore the elm-tops down for spite,
And did its worst to vex the lake:

...but it's the following words that stuck with me and I remember quoting them in an English exam (many years ago)and they came to mind as I was reading through everyone's comments -

That moment she was mine, mine, fair,
Perfectly pure and good: I found
A thing to do, and all her hair
In one long yellow string I wound
Three times her little throat around,
And strangled her.

Thanks for reminding me of these beautiful words. I just had to go and read the whole poem again...
... and so poetry when one can't sleep. A great tonic!

Cheers
Dolly

[Maureen K Clifford]

Cockies Gates Dot - cursed bloody things - Ross wrote a great poem about them , which I used here - http://www.theaustraliatimes.com/emagaz ... sue2/#p=28


I like the poem you have quoted Dot - strangled with her own hair - OOOH...who ever would have thought

[Heather]

Good to see you here Dot. Murder by a strand of hair - ooh, chilling. Think I'd better get mine cut!

[DollyDot]

Hi Maureen
Yeah Cockies gate - invented by a man for sure. I hated them but if you were riding shotgun you had to open them except if you had a broken leg!!

Yes Maureen and Heather eerie isn't it. She wasn't able to 'lie with anyone else' after that. The moral is get in and strangle him first with your hair.
Though seriously the words are great. The images the words conjure up are so vivid. I know what my poetry lacks but....

Thanks ladies!

Dot