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Weekly poetry thread



Aunt Dora Baggins
Immortal


Jan 17 2013, 4:22pm


Views: 448
Weekly poetry thread

 I love pretty much everything Emily Dickenson wrote, but this one is my favorite of hers.

To make a prairie

by Emily Dickinson

To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,
One clover, and a bee.
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"For DORA BAGGINS in memory of a LONG correspondence, with love from Bilbo; on a large wastebasket. Dora was Drogo's sister, and the eldest surviving female relative of Bilbo and Frodo; she was ninety-nine, and had written reams of good advice for more than half a century."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"A Chance Meeting at Rivendell" and other stories

leleni at hotmail dot com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Kassandros
Rohan


Jan 17 2013, 5:31pm


Views: 343
my first poem of the new year

day ten

five days together,
scrambling around swamps and shorelines,
passing the binoculars back and forth,
taking photographs and flipping through Sibley's -

cedar waxwings foraging in a tree,
a kestrel hovering intently over a field,
brown pelicans plunging into the sea -
we saw fifty-nine species of birds,
at least if you count the dead ones.

i found an intact bivalve shell half-buried in the wet sand;
you told me i should keep it.

*

now, five days later,
i'm sitting at home wondering what happened.
my headset rests unused next to my monitor,
on skype, a question mark appears next to your name,
and the two halves of that bivalve shell sit on my shelf;
they must have broken on the way home.

i flip through my photos,
and i think about that young razorbill we found,
pristinely feathered in black and white,
his body lying lifeless in the sand.

(© 2013 Cassander)

all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us...

(This post was edited by Kassandros on Jan 17 2013, 5:39pm)


Aunt Dora Baggins
Immortal


Jan 17 2013, 6:55pm


Views: 311
Wow, that's pretty vivid

and sad.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"For DORA BAGGINS in memory of a LONG correspondence, with love from Bilbo; on a large wastebasket. Dora was Drogo's sister, and the eldest surviving female relative of Bilbo and Frodo; she was ninety-nine, and had written reams of good advice for more than half a century."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"A Chance Meeting at Rivendell" and other stories

leleni at hotmail dot com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Kassandros
Rohan


Jan 17 2013, 7:27pm


Views: 315
Thanks

It's all very literal, I'm afraid. Sometimes life just drops metaphors in your lap and all ya can do is present them.

If you'd like to see the razorbill: http://cassander42.deviantart.com/...-Razorbill-348762984

There's so much more i left out, too:

During the evening of day 5, we went to see The Hobbit in 2D. It was my second viewing and her first. It was our first movie together. Our first traditional date - i.e. dinner and a movie, just the two of us, rather than hiking, exploring, and birding like we usually had done. We held hands through the whole movie, and she squeezed mine excitedly whenever Smaug was on screen.

Before the movie, she told me she liked how my hair looked down after my hairtie broke and i was going to get a new one. I was planning to try to figure out how to wear it that way more often without it getting in my face. I wonder how Thorin does it.

It's kind of odd to be broken up with by someone who's obviously still in love with you. She said she thought the relationship was wrong at this time, though, for a variety of complicated reasons I can't quite get into now. And she said she needed a long vacation from me. How exactly do you handle something like that? I'm utterly confused and quite crushed.

all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us...


silneldor
Half-elven


Jan 18 2013, 12:15am


Views: 320
I do think that although this has been around for ages,

it is quite worthy for reflection this time of year.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Robert Frost
















Aunt Dora Baggins
Immortal


Jan 18 2013, 12:21am


Views: 317
Yep, I've got that one by heart <3 //

 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"For DORA BAGGINS in memory of a LONG correspondence, with love from Bilbo; on a large wastebasket. Dora was Drogo's sister, and the eldest surviving female relative of Bilbo and Frodo; she was ninety-nine, and had written reams of good advice for more than half a century."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"A Chance Meeting at Rivendell" and other stories

leleni at hotmail dot com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Aunt Dora Baggins
Immortal


Jan 18 2013, 12:23am


Views: 312
I'm so sorry.

It sounds so utterly painful. :-(


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"For DORA BAGGINS in memory of a LONG correspondence, with love from Bilbo; on a large wastebasket. Dora was Drogo's sister, and the eldest surviving female relative of Bilbo and Frodo; she was ninety-nine, and had written reams of good advice for more than half a century."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"A Chance Meeting at Rivendell" and other stories

leleni at hotmail dot com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Eowyn of Penns Woods
Valinor


Jan 18 2013, 2:22am


Views: 306
Ah, but do you have it ...

...by the hand?
I'm about to! =)

**********************************


NABOUF
Not a TORns*b!
Certified Curmudgeon
Knitting Knerd
NARF: NWtS Chapter Member since June 17,2011


Aunt Dora Baggins
Immortal


Jan 18 2013, 2:37am


Views: 303
Nope :-D

I don't understand patterns at all; I just crochet by the seat of my pants, so to speak. You are amazing!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"For DORA BAGGINS in memory of a LONG correspondence, with love from Bilbo; on a large wastebasket. Dora was Drogo's sister, and the eldest surviving female relative of Bilbo and Frodo; she was ninety-nine, and had written reams of good advice for more than half a century."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"A Chance Meeting at Rivendell" and other stories

leleni at hotmail dot com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



silneldor
Half-elven


Jan 18 2013, 2:43am


Views: 297
Fancy that!

How cool is that. Good form Eowyn:).

......Do you knit mail orderSmile















silneldor
Half-elven


Jan 18 2013, 2:50am


Views: 303
I think YOU are amazing too.

Memorizing all that you do.

Both of you are cause for smiling about. Always full of surpriZes:)















Aunt Dora Baggins
Immortal


Jan 18 2013, 2:52am


Views: 308
I once heard Garrison Keillor sing that

to a tune I know you would recognize if I could only think of the name. It's a famous tango. Anyway, when my son was little, about thirty years ago, I used to sing it as my fingers crept up his legs to tickle his tummy. He was usually shrieking with laughter long before the tickle part (which came on "To watch (long pause) his-woods-fill-up-with-snow."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"For DORA BAGGINS in memory of a LONG correspondence, with love from Bilbo; on a large wastebasket. Dora was Drogo's sister, and the eldest surviving female relative of Bilbo and Frodo; she was ninety-nine, and had written reams of good advice for more than half a century."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"A Chance Meeting at Rivendell" and other stories

leleni at hotmail dot com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Aunt Dora Baggins
Immortal


Jan 18 2013, 2:53am


Views: 302
I don't *try* to memorize.

Things just stick. Like all the verses to the Gilligan's Island song :-/


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"For DORA BAGGINS in memory of a LONG correspondence, with love from Bilbo; on a large wastebasket. Dora was Drogo's sister, and the eldest surviving female relative of Bilbo and Frodo; she was ninety-nine, and had written reams of good advice for more than half a century."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"A Chance Meeting at Rivendell" and other stories

leleni at hotmail dot com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



silneldor
Half-elven


Jan 18 2013, 3:03am


Views: 318
Garrison Keillor

has a wonderful speaking or singing voice. I love his Lake Wobegon stories and once in a while i catch his poetry thread on the radio.

Ha, tickle man. With me i'd attack lil'sil with tickle everythings, birds, bugs, airplanes, spiders but with just sound effects. Mrs. sil had the song related departmentLaugh















Kassandros
Rohan


Jan 18 2013, 3:06pm


Views: 304
Some things that are popular are also good.

Tolkien and Frost are two excellent examples.

This is still a wonderful poem, no matter how often it is quoted. I think it must be the most popular work of art that whose primary theme is contemplating suicide.

all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us...


Kassandros
Rohan


Jan 18 2013, 3:09pm


Views: 309
Well, I've made it a week now.

Just focusing on making it through one day at a time. Still haven't recieved the species list from her or her photographs or the sketches she did of us, which she said she'd send soon. All I can do is wait, though. And I have my own promises to keep - I owe a few people some poetry that I've been behind on.

Thank you.

all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us...


silneldor
Half-elven


Jan 18 2013, 8:56pm


Views: 312
I do not see it.

I see a celebration of beauty. I see it as yet another festival for the spirit.















Kassandros
Rohan


Jan 18 2013, 9:27pm


Views: 307
The speaker is considering laying in the snow to die.

He's stopped, where the owner of the woods won't see him - if he weren't doing something he shouldn't, why should it matter if the owner sees him? And his horse senses that unnatural thing too, hense giving his harness a shake. The horse represents the instinctive will to live.

And he is resisting something, because he says, "but I have promises to keep." What else would be do by staying out all night in the snow in the middle of nowhere on the darkest night of the year? He's considering sleeping in the snow - a way to die. But, because he has "promises to keep" - responsibilities - he goes on. And he still has much to do in life ("miles to go") before it is time for him to die ("before I sleep").

And, the alternative besides going miles before sleeping, would be sleeping right where he is. Out in the snow. Death.

I'm not making this up or anything - it's a pretty standard interpretation of the poem. Sleep is very often a symbol of death in literature.

That being said, I'm not saying you can't read the poem differently. Just explaining what I meant since you asked.

all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us...

(This post was edited by Kassandros on Jan 18 2013, 9:29pm)


Eowyn of Penns Woods
Valinor


Jan 18 2013, 11:54pm


Views: 284
I used to do that, too, but as someone not afraid of "OMG - teh Maths!"

involved, I find myself creating more of my own knitting patterns -- charted -- these days, and rarely do any instapattern or free-form crochet now. I find the very formulaic structure and the rhythm of knitting comforting, though sometimes I do get lazy about the math. I bet there's someone here who could help with that... ;) Did I mention that modern knitting patterns are easier to read than most crochet patterns? IMO, anyway. Try to convert you? Me? *smiles angelicly*

Aaand, to get this somewhat back on topic, I've seen Shakespeare on a scarf, but I really hope to get around to doing the Beowulf socks someday! =)

**********************************


NABOUF
Not a TORns*b!
Certified Curmudgeon
Knitting Knerd
NARF: NWtS Chapter Member since June 17,2011


Eowyn of Penns Woods
Valinor


Jan 18 2013, 11:56pm


Views: 283
*holds up sign* "Will knit for small custommade wooden objects!" ;) //

 

**********************************


NABOUF
Not a TORns*b!
Certified Curmudgeon
Knitting Knerd
NARF: NWtS Chapter Member since June 17,2011


Aunt Dora Baggins
Immortal


Jan 19 2013, 12:10am


Views: 280
Well, I never say never...

because I've taken up new hobbies all my life. But right now I'm not inclined to take up knitting. And while I'm sure I could understand patterns, I'm pretty bad a copying things correctly (my students know all about that--I always tell them "never believe anything I tell you with numbers") so counting stitches sounds like a problem for me, especially when I get into that meditative state.

My brother knows how to knit, though, and he made me a pair of socks once :-)

Anyway, I do love all the cool things you do. If you do the Beowulf socks, be sure to put a photo here!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"For DORA BAGGINS in memory of a LONG correspondence, with love from Bilbo; on a large wastebasket. Dora was Drogo's sister, and the eldest surviving female relative of Bilbo and Frodo; she was ninety-nine, and had written reams of good advice for more than half a century."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"A Chance Meeting at Rivendell" and other stories

leleni at hotmail dot com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



(This post was edited by Aunt Dora Baggins on Jan 19 2013, 12:11am)


silneldor
Half-elven


Jan 19 2013, 12:35am


Views: 272
Interesting proposition!

We ought to think on it. Any ideas?















silneldor
Half-elven


Jan 19 2013, 4:01am


Views: 335
I found this is one interpretation.

But Whitman i read, was just depressed for the inability to buy Christmas presents for his kids because of poor results at the market. Not to the point of suicide, just depression and duty, the bells being a momentary cheering element to move on .

But in the end it is the reader/interpreter that signals its meaning. A Rorschach lightning rod to draw and then reflect back the bend of the spirit at the moment. Just like what can be expressed in this reference. I read different references but they signal just more impressions.

Again what matters to each of us i think, is what we personally feel, learning what the inward plunge will tell us.

I take this for a unhindered moment, removed from the stresses of society at large, to move away from the possible misinterpretations of prying eyes to delve into the comfort of peace and wonder of the moment. I love to walk into the woods at times like this. For me it produces an 'eternal moment' if you will. A simple singularity of focus. A draw from the usual business of random thought. usually centered around the 'survival mode'

The horse may be wondering, of course, the change from the usual, or it may be shaking off the cold snow that was accumulating, feeling it more upon stopping.

The repetitive end seems like a mantra to ease the mind back into the world at large, duty certainly being one of them. But those are just my 'reflections'

Whitman also said he cared little for others' myriad interpretation of his work. He did not mind that they did, he just did not want to be there when they did. I can understand that.















Annael
Immortal


Jan 19 2013, 5:48pm


Views: 291
I have a personal context for this

One of my favorite teachers in college was a man named Willi Unsoeld, who was famous for being part of the two-man team who first climbed Everest by the West Ridge (with Tom Hornbein, who is also a family acquaintance). They made it to the summit only a couple of hours before sunset. The plan was to descend by the traditional South Col route - a route neither of them knew. They made it partway down before realizing that they would have to bivouac for the night.

Now, on most nights, the air at that height is so cold it's death to stop moving - as anyone who's read Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air or seen the documentary Dying for Everest will know.. But miraculously, that night the air was still (so no windchill) and warmer than usual. Tom's feet were freezing so Willi offered to warm them on his stomach, but when Tom asked if he could return the favor, Willi said "no, I'm fine." He wasn't - he lost all but one little toe to frostbite.

They had radios & were in contact with base camp. When they said that they were going to stop for the night, the folks below urged them to keep going because they feared if they didn't, that would be it. But Willi recited those those lines "I have promises to keep, and miles to go before we sleep" (including Tom). The promise was to his wife that he would return safely.

So when I read that poem, I think of Willi.

Willi did die in the snow 16 years later, in an avalanche on Mount Rainier. As much as he was grieved (2,000 people came to his funeral), everyone also felt it was how he wanted to go.

The way we imagine our lives is the way we are going to go on living our lives.

- James Hillman, Healing Fiction

* * * * * * * * * *

NARF and member of Deplorable Cultus since 1967

(This post was edited by Annael on Jan 19 2013, 5:51pm)


Tintallë
Gondor


Jan 20 2013, 12:03am


Views: 269
One of my very favorites, recallling those moments

of serenity in my life, when I take time to stop everything and just be.

Frost is pretty much my favorite poet, and this is one my father used to read to me so it holds a special place in my heart.

Until this thread my impression was unspoiled by others' interpretations, but the beauty of poetry is that it conveys to each according to each individual, and so I am content.


silneldor
Half-elven


Jan 20 2013, 12:11am


Views: 256
Man, talk about two canny individuals!

That's a story Annael, and powerful use of poetry.
Willi lived a life didn't he? He surely did.

Is there word on Tom?















Kassandros
Rohan


Jan 20 2013, 1:55am


Views: 250
Never meant it was the only way to see it.

Also didn't realize that this wasn't a universal interpretation, or perhaps I would have used different terms.

all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us...


silneldor
Half-elven


Jan 20 2013, 2:53am


Views: 258
I really do not know about how universal

that tangent is. That is Ok Kass:). I guess its 'relevance' is a matter of personal 'tolerance' or 'attraction' to it. If that makes sense.

I guess i feel about such as i do about, say, the myriad tattoos that depict skulls. knives, open wounds and that sort of depravity (having 2 lotr's themed tattoos), if i may use that word.

If i may, i feel that death may serve as an 'advisor' of sorts, it not to be infused into the fiber of life. The fiber of Life is to be filled with wonder, mystery, awe, beauty and love. Life can be transcendent. Life has risen to the point to reach that potential. So i 'see' things in terms of that 'mode'. Call me a romantic if you will, perhaps that is what i am. So be it:).















Tintallë
Gondor


Jan 20 2013, 5:01am


Views: 247
Frost himself took issue with that interpretation -

in fact, he often sharply criticized those who analyze poems for hidden meanings. I rather love that about him, but I freely acknowledge that my love is partially born of the battle scars inflicted upon me by lit teachers over the years, no doubt armed with Ciardi's How Does A Poem Mean? as their standard. I believe Ciardi described Frost's poem as the author's death wish, or some such.

You may find this interesting:

From Mark Richardson, author of The Ordeal of Robert Frost:

"During Frost’s own lifetime… critics sometimes set [Frost's] teeth on edge with intimations about personal themes in the poem, as if it expressed a wish quite literally for suicide… Louis Mertins quotes him in conversation:

“Now Ciardi is a nice fellow–one of those bold, brassy fellows who go ahead and say all sorts of things. He makes my “Stopping By Woods” out a death poem. Well, it would be like this if it were. I’d say, “This is all very lovely, but I must be getting on to heaven.” There’d be no absurdity in that. That’s all right, but it’s hardly a death poem. Just as if I should say here tonight, “This is all very well, but I must be getting on to Phoenix, Arizona, to lecture there. ” (Mertins 371) [The Ordeal of Robert Frost, p. 190]

I would like to be clear and say that I mean no offense by this - I just think it's kind of interesting to know how others interpret poems vs. the poet's own statements on their interpretations. Ultimately, the beauty of poetry is that it speaks personally to each individual. I'm glad this one never spoke to me of suicide but I can see how one could interpret it that way.


Kassandros
Rohan


Jan 20 2013, 5:16am


Views: 243
Well, I don't really see it as a hidden meaning.

I did read over some of the back-and-forth about Frost and the critics. It seemed like he took issue with them attributing suicidal desires to him personally, and back then, such things were very much taboo. I also don't make out the poem to mean that Frost was constantly suicidal or anything. And more specific than suicide, the poem speaks about the allure of the wild and joining it, even if in this case, that seems to mean the speaker would die.

Anyway, i really didn't mean to ruffle any feathers. Just hadn't heard any interpretations before that didn't involve the possibility of death in the poem. I hadn't done thorough research on it either, though.

all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us...


Annael
Immortal


Jan 20 2013, 4:51pm


Views: 243
well . . .

I think any artist needs to be prepared for people to see something other in their work than what they intended. In fact, if the work's any good at all, it will resonate with other people on in many different ways. I also think that if an artist's any good, they will express things in their works that they might not consciously intended at all.

That said, I always read that poem as meaning that he got caught up in the beauty of the moment. There's nothing I find more beautiful or restful myself than a tramp through snowy woods in the evening.

The way we imagine our lives is the way we are going to go on living our lives.

- James Hillman, Healing Fiction

* * * * * * * * * *

NARF and member of Deplorable Cultus since 1967


Ethel Duath
Half-elven


Jan 20 2013, 9:09pm


Views: 210
Can't resist--here's a link to an interpretation discussion

I just found. It's also one of my favorite poems because I believe in stopping and soaking in nature, and found, especially as a child, that many people don't really think that's so important. At least all sorts of grownups kept trying to hurry me along when I wanted to stop and contemplate. The suicide idea took me so much by surprise when I learned of it in high school, I completely suppressed the memory of it until now! Anyway, here's the link:

http://answers.yahoo.com/...0070409171857AAhZGvK


Ethel Duath
Half-elven


Jan 20 2013, 9:16pm


Views: 226
Frost in Middle Earth?

I've never seen this one before, but it almost belongs in the Nature/gardening thread! And it mentions Elves and some other Middle-Earth-evocative sorts of things, if one is "primed" like we are to notice them. (I wonder if Frost would have enjoyed Tolkien.)

A Line-storm Song by Robert Frost
The line-storm clouds fly tattered and swift, The road is forlorn all day, Where a myriad snowy quartz stones lift, And the hoof-prints vanish away. The roadside flowers, too wet for the bee, Expend their bloom in vain. Come over the hills and far with me, And be my love in the rain. The birds have less to say for themselves In the wood-world’s torn despair Than now these numberless years the elves, Although they are no less there: All song of the woods is crushed like some Wild, easily shattered rose. Come, be my love in the wet woods; come, Where the boughs rain when it blows. There is the gale to urge behind And bruit our singing down, And the shallow waters aflutter with wind From which to gather your gown. What matter if we go clear to the west, And come not through dry-shod? For wilding brooch shall wet your breast The rain-fresh goldenrod. Oh, never this whelming east wind swells But it seems like the sea’s return To the ancient lands where it left the shells Before the age of the fern; And it seems like the time when after doubt Our love came back amain. Oh, come forth into the storm and rout And be my love in the rain.


Ethel Duath
Half-elven


Jan 20 2013, 9:22pm


Views: 218
This is absolutely gorgeous (and heart-wrenching)

A young family member of mine has been going through something similar. It's baffling, and debilitating, I know. You deserve a lot of credit for writing about it, and creating beauty out of, and into a difficult and confusing grief.

May there be light, living birds, and unbroken shells in your very near future.


Ethel Duath
Half-elven


Jan 20 2013, 9:49pm


Views: 226
Aack! It copied in without stanzas! Here it is the right way:

(Oddly, it looked fine when I was working in the post window, so I didn't catch the fact that it changed it after posting, until the editing time was up.Blush)

A Line-Storm Song


by Robert Frost.

The line-storm clouds fly tattered and swift,
The road is forlorn all day,
Where a myriad snowy quartz stones lift,
And the hoof-prints vanish away.
The roadside flowers, too wet for the bee,
Expend their bloom in vain.
Come over the hills and far with me,
And be my love in the rain.

The birds have less to say for themselves
In the wood-world’s torn despair
Than now these numberless years the elves,
Although they are no less there:
All song of the woods is crushed like some
Wild, easily shattered rose.
Come, be my love in the wet woods; come,
Where the boughs rain when it blows.

There is the gale to urge behind
And bruit our singing down,
And the shallow waters aflutter with wind
From which to gather your gown.
What matter if we go clear to the west,
And come not through dry-shod?
For wilding brooch shall wet your breast
The rain-fresh goldenrod.

Oh, never this whelming east wind swells
But it seems like the sea’s return
To the ancient lands where it left the shells
Before the age of the fern;
And it seems like the time when after doubt
Our love came back amain.
Oh, come forth into the storm and rout
And be my love in the rain.


(This post was edited by Ethel Duath on Jan 20 2013, 9:50pm)


Tintallë
Gondor


Jan 20 2013, 11:13pm


Views: 209
Loved the link/discussion! //

 


Ethel Duath
Half-elven


Jan 21 2013, 1:02am


Views: 210
I thought it was pretty enlightening

in all sorts of different ways!


Kassandros
Rohan


Jan 21 2013, 2:45pm


Views: 213
Thank you. //

 

all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us...


Kassandros
Rohan


Jan 22 2013, 5:00pm


Views: 194
I found the discussion very sad.

There are a couple reasonable replies in that thread, but the initial poster's comments just paint a really sad picture of the modern educational system. I'm not sure what the solution is, but introducing children to poetry and other literature as a thing to be studied and written about rather than a thing to be enjoyed seems to really stifle most people's love of reading. I found the kid's thoughts about explicating poetry entirely sad, almost as sad as the later commenter who said that you should never question authority, even when you're right.

Literature shouldn't be boring work that you do because you have to. So much of our schools aim to stifle of a love of learning rather than to educate. It's really hard to overcome those impressions. I am so glad for writers like Tolkien where children can find engaging literary texts that aren't completely stripped of their life in the education system. Well, perhaps they are these days...

Poetry tends to suffer the most, as most highschool English teachers seem to favor and understand prose far better than poetry.

all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us...


Kassandros
Rohan


Jan 22 2013, 5:07pm


Views: 201
Also...

Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening isn't great because it's a poem in which the speaker contemplates ending their life or because it isn't a poem about that. It's a great poem because of the excellent way it's written that contains so much for us to dig through. The words are very intentionally and beautifully used. And it's not a transient, shallow kind of beauty. It's deep and dark like the woods and you can really poke it around and see different things each time you read it. Often, I think the quality of a song or poem or novel can be measured only on repeated readings or listenings. Are there new things you notice? New depths? The poem presents us a seen and we can see admiring nature, considering mortality, or even Santa Claus, which I had never thought about before but find pretty funny.

Meaning in poetry is far less about what a poem mans than it is about how a poem means. How the poet uses words and the sounds those words make and the structure the words are put in to suggest various impressions.

all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us...


Ethel Duath
Half-elven


Jan 24 2013, 4:26am


Views: 205
Well, I had at least 2 reactions

I was happy when the first teacher posted her encouraging thoughts. I was discouraged that the student just "wanted to get through it" and not at all happy with that student's teacher. I liked the independent views expressed by so many.

And I agree with you here: "introducing children to poetry and other literature as a thing to be studied and written about rather than a thing to be enjoyed seems to really stifle most people's love of reading. I found the kid's thoughts about explicating poetry entirely sad, almost as sad as the later commenter who said that you should never question authority, even when you're right."

If I hadn't been such a passionate reader on my own, I likely would have learned to hate a wide variety of books in school English classes, simply because they were presented as "work"!