This one is so beautiful a: This one is so beautiful a reading experience that I had to read it twice at once, just to make sure I was actually reading it, and not just dreaming of a poem like it.
I have been reading Poetry: I have been reading Poetry for fifty years, as of this past April; so I think that gives some credibility to the sincerity with which I say this is one of the most beautiful poems, both in content and in format, that I have read in all that time. This is the first poem of yours that I have read, and I am far more impressed than I usually am with a first poem on a first reading. Wow!!!!
I find this poem..: I find this poem difficult to understand. Have you given any thought to combining it with 'Ten Kneecaps on a Child Asteroid'? Then you'd really have something! I am the walrus. No goo goo. Just g'joob. Come back Wednesday.
PS - I totally agree with you. This is a very sound poem. Not sure about its author though.
I, of course, will tell: I, of course, will tell myself that I didn't really waste those hours because I wrote this poem. The hours whiled away not in vain.
the kids all love the drama: the kids all love the drama and the overly romanticized storylines. I'm an old man now. All I want is a dry, quiet place to take a nap.
Fantasy at its most: Fantasy at its most captivating, time-honored and picturesque. I can almost hear a woodland stream and glimpse fantastical creatures. If you could bottle this enchantment, I would be hooked!
Smiles and cheers.
Dreamy, engaging ambience: Dreamy, engaging ambience here! With astonishing word-sculpting, three senses were set ablaze and I was right there delighting in hypnotic peace as "recalcitrant thoughts wash away". The phrase "silent, brooding zitar" was particularly striking and mood-altering.
Your gift is on full display in this poetic experience. Throwbacks or recent work, it's all pure bliss!
Thank you so very much for: Thank you so very much for that comment. I just tried to imagine Lenin's version of Marxism applied to a rural village rather than the entire Soviet Union. I think the results would be the same---regardless of the scale---because no good thing can be founded on wholesale murder..
Beautiful: Sometimes these missteps are necessary, which I guess makes them more like stepping stones like you said. That you can look back at your former self in this way (honestly & reflectively) is proof of growth. Great write as usual!
Presenting the opening..: Presenting the opening scene of the most amazing story to ever hit the silver screen, 'The Land Before Time':
'Stewardess, oh stewardess'
'Yes sir. May I help you. Would you like another cup of coffee?'
'No. I would NOT like another cup of coffee! Why do you always ask me if I want a cup of coffee? If I want a cup of coffee I'll tell you I want a cup of coffee! Do you understand?
'Yes sir. I certainly do. No coffee for you right now. How can I help you?'
'How long before we land? I need to know, how long before we land!
'We'll be landing in a few minutes sir. Just sit back and relax'
'I can't sit back and relax! You don't understand. I have no time!'
'Sir, calm down. You shouldn't..''Time! This happens every time! Time after time!! Time before time!! Time during time!!'
'John, can you assist me? I having a problem with a passenger. Seat 22A. Yes'
'What are you doing? Who the hell is this guy? Why is he restraining me? I must land. You must land this plane immediately!! Running out of time!!
'John, the sedative should be taking effect. Hold him down!'
'We have to land! Land before time! Land before zzzz...'
Coming to theatres for Thanksgiving. 'The Land Before Time'. Don't miss it!
I’m forever grateful to the: I’m forever grateful to the people in your life who instilled in you an appreciation for poetry and the ability to read a poem like no one else I’ve ever known. That skill, and your conviction (of course, eloquently stated in various ways in many of your comments) that writing poetry is a sublime vocation, not just a hobby, has reignited my own passion for the craft.
So I’m reading your amazing analysis, an illumination that is deeply perceptive, motivating, spot-on and thrilling in its unparalleled insight, and thinking: he gets it! He pinpointed, not only the center of gravity, but my heart’s assignment, my inner goal, my reason to stop everything on a chaotic day and allow a little light to seep through the cracks of our cynical, weary, nonsensical world. That’s a gift so precious even Pop Stevens couldn’t have given a voice to its worth.
My deepest and infinite gratitude.
Your poetry often reminds me: Your poetry often reminds me of what Boris Pasternak wrote in 1960:
"Poetry is a rich, full-bodied whistle, cracked ice crunching in pails, the night that numbs the leaf, the duel of two nightingales, the sweet pea that has run wild, Creation's tears in shoulder blades."
He would have applauded your unsparing indictment of a social experiment turned into a cruel, colossal failure. With the right touch of wit and searing reality, your poem is an excellent cautionary tale. Great one!
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