Jump to content

Good poetry – Simple lines that paint.


Recommended Posts


Poetry works for me. I am drawn to its shorter form. I like the cut of a good poem. Nice lines, well made, sta prest when you poke it! :).

I smile at words that have been chosen with care by the poet in question yet often have the appearance of being dropped from a great height in some haphazard fashion. The sound of those words when read aloud can often take you around a different corner.


Further, a poem I like most often speaks to me and me alone. A line will often offer up images far beyond the places I can reach. An example of this is from a favourite poem of mine ‘Death of an Irishwoman’ by Michael Hartnett. He is an Irish poet often lost amongst the booming drums of Irish poetry. ‘She was a summer dance at the crossroads, she was a card game where a nose was broken, she was a song that nobody sings.' Simple lines that paint beautifully to my mind someone I struggled for years to describe.


My love note to the poem is qualified however. And this is a point I feel that so often goes amiss when it comes to poetry and obstructs many looking for a way in. I don’t expect to like everything I read. While I read lots of poetry I dislike close to half of everything I read. A large proportion amongst this number sits unfinished in my hands. Of the remaining half perhaps 1 in 10 stays with me in thought for a period in time. Of those I will return to perhaps 1 in 3. The same could never be said for the books I read. Not even close.


A final question if I may? Are there any short lines from any poem that have captured something, anything in your life perfectly?



 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

~ e.e.cummings

 

I love the excerpt you've given from 'Death of an Irishwoman'.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

‘Leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky.’ I could have that alone for lunch and not have anything until dinner. :) Thank you for sharing.



 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...