Site-Wide Comment Activity: All Authors

crypticbard commented on: Sitting With Stars by patriciajj 4 years 17 weeks ago
The Heavens do and ever shall: The Heavens do and ever shall declare the glory of the Creator. And what a wonderful poetic journey partaken of by Reader and Poet as night walk and meditation lifts up praise and worship, delight and wonder. The power up in S2 as the moon ascends in majestic lines and diction: 'untethered, unmoored, unselfed!' followed by the release of song in Chorus: 'tree, water, owl, and all other creatures' become God's voice to Creation. Indeed this is the soundtrack of our very being. The rising crescendo in S5 unfolding the reflections of the light of night on ripples of water, skies and moons on repeating loop of sorts, dappling; tuly a mirror of Eternity and Consuming Fire, inimitable passion. This beauty does not end but releases in a send off, as scales falling off eyes, vision and provision from Providence; and that available as an eternal witness and testimony. Thanks ever so much for sharing. /Rik.
[ go to comment ]
Starward commented on: be not deceived by Pungus 4 years 17 weeks ago
Again, very impressive.  My: Again, very impressive.  My only negative criticism would be the relegation of a smaller poem to the notes section.  That poem, being written, deserves to have an equal place among your other poems.  It just does not belong in a notes/comment section.  But otherwise, both of these poems are, as is customary with your work, highly (and even eerily) evocative.
[ go to comment ]
Starward commented on: oops in the chicken coop by Pungus 4 years 17 weeks ago
So eerily evocative I had to: So eerily evocative I had to stop and re-read it, just to make sure of what I was reading.  And yes it was, a horrific tale depicted in highly poetic language.  I am just amzed at your talent, and have enjoyed my readings of your work this afternoon.
[ go to comment ]
Starward commented on: scorched summit by Pungus 4 years 17 weeks ago
I re-read this again, and I: I re-read this again, and I am even more amazed.  Your lines are shorter than Saint John Perse's, but no less evocative, and some of the vistas you describe are as haunting, and as well described, as his.  Your tendency to raise more questions than you answer means your Poetry can never be pegged into a cubicle, but will always resonate to the reader, leaving the reader (and, right now, this reader) wanting more, a whole lot more.
[ go to comment ]
Starward commented on: the castle crumbles by Pungus 4 years 17 weeks ago
I am overwhelmed by this;: I am overwhelmed by this; just overwhelmed.  In these few lines, you have created an entire world, different than ours; a background of mystery; and a foreground that raises more questions than it answers.  Please---please---please, don't ever (like James Dickey in mid-career) seek to slacken or loosen your enormous talent.  This kind of poem is your forte and, if I may put it more tritely, the domain of which you are one of the masters.  I have said that your work reminds me of Mallarme's poetry; it also reminds me of some of Lord Dunsany's tales, and those of his chief imitator, H. P, Lovecraft.
[ go to comment ]
Starward commented on: benevolent moonshine by Pungus 4 years 17 weeks ago
Wow!!! And again I say,: Wow!!! And again I say, WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!  You compress so much atmosphere effect in so few lines, and that is always a sign of very classic talent.  I apologize for having fallen behind in my reading, but I am glad to have read this today.  With every poem of yours that I have read in the past, and this one today, I am the more and more convinced that you are a Symbolist Poet of the highest accomplishment.  I was reading some of Mallarme, just last night, but I like this poem better.
[ go to comment ]
georgeschaefer commented on: BOWL OF PHO by georgeschaefer 4 years 17 weeks ago
allways a filling meal: allways a filling meal
[ go to comment ]
patriciajj commented on: Our Self In Everything by saigrafio 4 years 17 weeks ago
An expansive, strikingly wise: An expansive, strikingly wise and existential contemplation that unearths the folly of going about our lives as usual and living, in hollow apathy, in the "angst of unknowing". You expressed this spiritual hunger with crafty insight:   "We largely remain unconscious in the tendrils of events. In our inner and outer wilderness lies a primeval forest; an Entire landscape from which we come and go without a Reckoning without a resolution of why we have being."   Then you went on to unveil an exciting phenomenon taking place as "Something is moving behind this curtain of draped amnesia". The shift is a "transformation without convulsions" yet earth-shattering in its power.   A deliciously thought-provoking and brilliant exploration of our spiritual evolution.   
[ go to comment ]
bishu commented on: Content by Jesster 4 years 17 weeks ago
Great to see you dear HW: I miss myself on PP. But please don't think you're not in my mind . I'm plagued with time constraints. I wish you well
[ go to comment ]
crypticbard commented on: BOWL OF PHO by georgeschaefer 4 years 17 weeks ago
We had some pho for dinner: We had some pho for dinner tonight! Right on!
[ go to comment ]
Starward commented on: Content by Jesster 4 years 17 weeks ago
And now, in this world, we: And now, in this world, we have entered a "nuclear winter" of discontent, to tweak a phrase from Shakespeare's play, Richard III.
[ go to comment ]
Starward commented on: Update by Starward-Led 4 years 17 weeks ago
Please forgive me for failing: Please forgive me for failing to acknowledge this comment.  No disrespect was intended.
[ go to comment ]
patriciajj commented on: Postcards from Eons Past (Images from the James Webb Space Telescope) by patriciajj 4 years 17 weeks ago
It is no small thing trying: It is no small thing trying to match your sublime and poetic impressions with an expression of gratitude equal to their value and depth, so I'll just say plainly:  thank you, great scholar, wordcrafter and interpreter of the cosmos, for such a generous evaluation filled with striking descriptions and profound personal experiences. That it brought forth memories of pivotal moments makes me feel that I've fulfilled an important purpose in my writing.   Your astonishing review is a gift I accept with deepest humility and immeasurable gratitude.   Sending prayers for your safety and comfort. Peace and every blessing. 
[ go to comment ]
Starward commented on: I Have Failed, But I Have Been Led Successfully Despite My Failures by Starward-Led 4 years 17 weeks ago
Thank you for your: Thank you for your understanding of this small essay, and also for writing and posting your poem, which I have just read a few moments ago.  You bestowed a great gift upon me with that mention in the Notes section.  Tp be connected to such a Poem, as stated by the great Poet herself, is a privilege of the rarest order.  Thank you so very much.
[ go to comment ]
Starward commented on: Postcards from Eons Past (Images from the James Webb Space Telescope) by patriciajj 4 years 17 weeks ago
I love to comment on a: I love to comment on a Patriciajj poem when it posts, because the posting and sharing of each of her poems is an event of importance and significance.  I think my previous comments have demonstrated my genuine admiration of this Poet and her tremendous cosmic vision; and while I am more grateful than words can express for being mentioned in the notes---quite an honor to be included---my motive for writing this comment is the same as it has been for all the other comments I have posted:  admiration for, and literary interest in, the Poet whom I believe embodies the very best aspects of postpoems as a website and a community of poets.    Reading this poem tonight is a special treat, because tomorrow I must face a painful medical procedure.  I have had several of these same procedures before, but I can never get used to them; and the night before is almost always loaded down with fears, real and imagined.  But this poem will give me some relief from that.     When I first viewed, on the nightly news, the preliminary photographs from the James Webb, I was overwhelmed by a plethora of thoughts going back to 1964, when the end credits of the series Outer Limits used to appear over a montage of astronomical photographs from (I believe, with faulty memory) Mount Palomar, which was then using a cutting edge telescope to obtain these images.  Since that time, the stars have been important to me, and the James Webb has taken us further toward them than any other human endeavor.  And one of the thoughts that kept revolving in my mind was, What will Patricia make of these?  I am not claiming to have inside knowledge of the poem's origin or the time of its appearance; but I was convinced that the photographs would provide some inspiration to her . . . because they have arisen from her chosen venue, the area of reality---human and cosmic---which she has chosen as the setting and subject of her magnificent poems.  And in her exploration and cartography of that subject, she never---and I do mean, NEVER---strikes a false note, and never strikes out.  She always knocks it right out of the park, in a textbook example (including this poem) that I would recommend to any new Poet studying the art and the craft of Poetry.      I think this poem perfectly captures the sense of awe and of inspiration that comes from viewing the JWST photographs, the same wonder that I, a six year old only child whose only siblings were books and depictions, felt when my parents' old-fashioned, twelve channel television brought before my eyes those marvelous Palomar photographs.  Astronomical photographs are not shackled by time:  they connect past, present and future; as does this poem.  The vision of outer space, and of the furthest distance, in time and physical length, that we can see---whether through the Lighthouse at Pharos, the royal observatory at Greenwich, the Hubble, or the JWST---gives us the impetus to construct cosmologies to explain what we can, and to acknowledge the mystery of what we cannot explain.  I happen to believe we are alone in this Cosmos, and that one of our specoes' vocation is to construct, extend, and adjust our cosmologies as a way for the Cosmos, into which we have been placed, to explain itself to itself.  It is not egotistical to believe this (and I can only speak for myself); it is, imstead, a good reason to restrain the ego so that it gives way to the presence of the Cosmos in our souls.     And Patricia's Poetry, of which this poem is one of her centerpiece examples, shows us how it is done.  Just as the constellations were named for poetic creations and symbols, by the astronomers (which means, star-namers; but they only assign stars to the names which the Poets have already created), so it remains a  task given to Poets to assign words and phrases in precise verbal constructions, as carefully chiselled as the finest statuary, in an explanation that Poets offer to their readers; that Patriciajj offers to us, who are privileged at postpoems to be her readers.  During the early part of my adolescence, I loved to read science fiction stories in which one or more characters seemed to have a deep connection to outer space.  I never, then, dreamed that a rare and small number of Poets, people who have really proven themselves to be Poets, retain and present that same deep connection.  Patricia is one of those poets.  I do not think that perspective can be chosen, the way, say, I might choose what necktie to wear, or what I request for supper.  The perspective that Patricia has, and that makes her so distinguished among all of us at postpoems, is a gift; it is a part of her nature, as deeply imbued in her as her DNA; and, to put a metaphysical spin on it, even more deeply imbued than DNA.     The JWST has provided us with a glimpse into the grandeur of the Cosmos.  This poem by Patriciajj is a celebration of that grandeur, and a lasting testimony to the effect upon us of that grandeur.      
[ go to comment ]