Site-Wide Comment Activity: All Authors | PostPoems

Site-Wide Comment Activity: All Authors


Starward commented on: Red Fox by rachel 3 years 37 weeks* ago* Please forgive a second: Please forgive a second comment posted so soon after the first one---on both this poem and the Siren poem---but I just had to tell you how impressive this one, and the other, are on a second reading. Like the best poems on this site, or anywhere else, these poems become more resonant, more impressive (and, given their subject matter, even more chilling) on the second read. And I am sure I will be reading them repeatedly---the same way I read Aickman's or Sarban's tales. When I was a child, of elementary school age, I was asked why I wanted to watch, repeatedly (although not televised as often as I wanted) the old Universal horror films of the thirties and forties, since, upon a first viewing, I knew the story and how it ended. And I realized, at that early age (one of the few learning experiences that I did not foul up), that the first viewing was to get the story; the second viewing, and all subsequent viewings, was to relish the artistry with which it was presented. Reading your poems about the siren and the fox, yesterday, I was struck by the same realization, which was proven again this afternoon. Although I now know how the "story" in each poem ends, I will continue to read them in order to enjoy the artistry of your presentation. [ go to comment ]
Starward commented on: Forest Siren by rachel 3 years 37 weeks* ago* Having mentioned this, and: Having mentioned this, and the fox poem, in a comment on the Buttercup essay, I needed to revisit these two again. And reading the siren's words is an even more intense experience than on the first reading. And, once again, I am reminded of several of my favorite tales from the horror or ghost story genre. And that is one of the most important aspects of your poem, that it resonates some part of the literary tradition to which it belongs---just as, for example, one is reminded of Homer while reading Vergil, and of Mallarme while reading Stevens or Eliot. A lot of Poets on this site impress me; but few have impressed me as much as you have in these two poems. They are equally moving; and, in certain aspects, equally chilling. I applaud your work most sincerely. [ go to comment ]
Starward commented on: Buttercup in the Sidewalk by rachel 3 years 37 weeks* ago* With the utmost respect, I: With the utmost respect, I must differ with the assertions in the first paragraph: you are a great poet. The two poems I read yesterday, about the siren and the fox, respectively, are among the finest poems I have ever read---not just on postpoems but anywhere. (I have been reading poetry for a little more than forty-nine years, so I have some credibility to back up these words.) You are an excellent Poet, and I put a capital on that out of profound respect for your work, and for you. [ go to comment ]
Starward commented on: Satans Pretty Flowers by Spinoza 3 years 37 weeks* ago* Indeed they are; and for a: Indeed they are; and for a "chief of sinners" (to borrow Saint Paul's phrase) like me, it takes nearly a lifetime to figure that out. [ go to comment ]
Spinoza commented on: Buttercup in the Sidewalk by rachel 3 years 37 weeks* ago* Very much enjoyed reading this: This was like a good supper, when you haven't had a good supper in ages. Very much enjoyed reading this [ go to comment ]
Spinoza commented on: Autumn in Georgia by onelilartist 3 years 37 weeks* ago* Took me back : Enjoyed this beyond words. Made me think of my own childhood jaunts in the forest. [ go to comment ]
Spinoza commented on: The Chair by shar 3 years 37 weeks* ago* melancholy sweetness: I was taken along by the story within. Funny how objects act as embers of the past. A chocolate vanilla swirl of melancholy sweetness. [ go to comment ]
Spinoza commented on: Braids Of Life by shar 3 years 37 weeks* ago* the perfect title: The rippled pattern of generations though time… a very interesting thing to ponder. Braids of Life – was the perfect title. Enjoyed this. [ go to comment ]
Spinoza commented on: " Surviving " by onelilartist 3 years 37 weeks* ago* A glowing Gem – From the Archives: This is just as alive, and impactful, as the day you wrote it. It’s touching, and loving, and heart wrenching – and a whole well of beautiful soul feelings in one place. We’ve had some incredible gems on Post Poems over the years. This is one of them. And I read it the second time, while listening to the song… Nat King Cole - "September Song" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIAbmT6WH2U [ go to comment ]
georgeschaefer commented on: COOL KIDS by georgeschaefer 3 years 37 weeks* ago* I think the cool kids in high: I think the cool kids in high school are the biggest assholes on social media now. They're still trying to recapture that expired glory. [ go to comment ]
georgeschaefer commented on: BASIC MATHEMATICS by georgeschaefer 3 years 37 weeks* ago* raise glass and pour into: raise glass and pour into mouth. Hopefully, the math will eventually add up [ go to comment ]
crypticbard commented on: Silence of my Soul by dhicks01 3 years 37 weeks* ago* The rhythmic flow of these: The rhythmic flow of these lines bring the reader to the imminence of the silencing of the soul. One feels with the poetic narrator and moves with the emotive language. Thanks for sharing. /RIk. [ go to comment ]
Starward commented on: Red Fox by rachel 3 years 37 weeks* ago* I will begin by likening this: I will begin by likening this poem to my most favorite tale by Robert Aickman (who is acclaimed by many, including myself, to be the most brilliant writer of horrific tales in the twentieth century): Pages From A Young Girl's Journal (which is now online in a pdf format), in which he juxtaposed beauty and charm with a mounting sense of horror. You have done exactly that, but in a far briefer format. I also offer this compliment, which I mean with all the sincerity of which I am capable: had Aickman been a poet, he would have written poems like this one of yours. I like the way you deploy the four stanzas into a kind of outer and inner balance: the first and last stanzas (which I call the outer) emphasize the speaker's predatory nature; the second and third, the inner, emphasize the speaker's beauty and attractiveness. Back in 1991, when I completed my first reading of the Young Girl's Journal, I was a litte shaken up as I considered how fascinated I found its speaker to be, despite what she willingly and eagerly became. And then, I realized that this was exactly the effect Aickman wanted me, and all of his readers, to experience. And this same effect drenches your poem as I have read it. Like your Siren poem, which I just read, this poem has impressed me so much that I feel that any comments I make, no matter how superlative or evenextravagant, are insufficient in the poem's brilliant, provocative, and eminently successful presence. [ go to comment ]
Starward commented on: Forest Siren by rachel 3 years 37 weeks* ago* Wow! I did not expect to: Wow! I did not expect to begin my Saturday morning with a reading of such a brilliant poem, but here it is, right in front of me! And I applaud the strategy you have deployed: what appears to be moving toward a love poem in the second stanza, suddenly swerves into a horrific tale. And like the best of such tales (whether in verse or prose), historically, you do not depict, tritely, the gore and grue (like in a slasher film), but wisely leave such details to the reader's imagination (and the imagined is usually far more terrifying than the depicted). Since my senior year in high school (back in the days of the dinosaurs, lol), I have loved, and collected, and loved some more contemporary poems that make use of ancient myth. You have brought a siren forth from ancient myth; you have kept the poem brief (and I think ancient Callimachus would have applauded this poem as much as I do), and you have allowed my imagination to participate by filling in the blanks that you have, wisely and adroitly, left open for your readers. This is one of the most memorable poems of this genre that I have read in a long, long time, and I am sure I will be revisiting it often. I just cannot praise this poem enough! [ go to comment ]
patriciajj commented on: 2008 by allets 3 years 37 weeks* ago* I agree, we don't need: I agree, we don't need another rant or blame fest, but real ideas like these. I'm all in. Well penned motivation. [ go to comment ]