I was talking with my eldest child recently about poetry. For the most part, I don't really care for it much at all. There are a few though, that catch my fancy. My favorites are: The Purple Cow, Gelett Burgess I never saw a Purple Cow, I never hope to see one; But I can tell you, anyhow, I'd rather see than be one. The remainder in no particular order Casey at the Bat, Ernest Thayer If, Rudyard Kipling Most any limerick, especially those that have the word "Nantucket" in them.
Mountain Lion by D. H. Lawrence. I'd never seen this recited before, found this on YouTube https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cok78FFTj2k&feature=youtu.be
In general, I'm not a fan of poetry, it's a form of expression I generally have little time over for, but I find some poems to be remarkably moving nonetheless. Here dead we Lie by A E Housman Here dead we lie Because we did not choose To live and shame the land From which we sprung. Life, to be sure, Is nothing much to lose, But young men think it is, And we were young.
I've heard it said that everyone has at least one piece of poetry inside their mind. I wrote mine in August 1943, after passing through Adrano in Sicily shortly after the British 78 Div infantry had taken the town. "Darkness had fallen as we entered the town, but t'was light enough still to see, the shattered ruins of what had been, a town, in Sicily. It wasn't much to call a town, compared with those of greater size. It wasn't built for modern war and now a stinking heap it lies, Rotting beneath the azure skies, of Sicily. It seemed as if an angry God had run amok with gory hands, Then dropped a veil, a canopy, of dirty, blinding, choking sands And as to wreak his vengeance more, had propped a body in each door We drove on by with sober thought, Of those poor bastards who'd been caught, We grimaced at the sick, sweet, smell, of this small piece of man made hell This could be you, the bodies said, This could be you, soon gone, soon dead We hurried by, enough to be, Alive that day, in Sicily" Ron Ps Forgot to mention that I was amused (and a tad flattered) that an italian website had spotted my offering online and had posted a translation in Italian https://timoleonte.wordpress.com/2013/11/07/la-poesia-dedicata-ad-adrano-da-ron-goldstein/
If I have to recite a poem, I go for this one as it's the shortest of the ones I can remember, otherwise some very dreary days spent in Lit classes and tutorials come back all too vividly... as a result of which I am forever not a fan of Whitman, Owen, Lorca, Chaucer or Ovid. I eat my peas with honey; I've done it all my life. It makes the peas taste funny, But it keeps them on the knife. Ogden Nash Other favourites of mine, and my kids, bit of a theme: Cautionary Tales for Children, Hilaire Belloc http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27424/27424-h/27424-h.htm Max und Moritz, Wilhelm Busch http://germanstories.vcu.edu/mm/mmmenu.html Der Struwwelpeter, Hoffmann http://io9.gizmodo.com/5913747/the-best-scenes-from-the-most-demented-german-childrens-book-ever-published ( tempted to get this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Struwwelhitler-Schrecklichkeit-Reprint-English-Original/dp/3866710143 )
Ron , remarkably moving and gives me insights into you considerably writing skills as notable in your novelette. I do like poetry but the word covers a vast range of styles from limericks to free verse, from deep and poignant to simply delightful. My favorite poet is e.e. cummings whose work covers the range described above and more. He is hardly for everyone . I use to spend considerable time trying to write poetry, the play of words to me, but quit near 30 years ago and not a word since. I have a Serbian pen pal that writes beautiful poetry in English! Most impressive. They pop up on my screen ever so often. Thanks, Jeff, a complex subject dear to me. Gaines
Always been partial to Poe and Frost since I was a younger. No idea why. Poetry wither grabs ya or it doesnt
Gaines Thanks for your too flattering comment. As I've writen only one poem in my long life it was entitled to have been of some interest Even more satisfying for me was coming across this image of Adrano on the Imperial War Museum site which was EXACTLY as I'd remembered the town and, for me anyway, justified my poem https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/The_British_Army_in_Sicily_1943_NA5782.jpg Ron
Although I was initially shocked at Leonard Cohen's explicit (for the sixties) poems when I was in my 20's, I have remained a lifelong fan. My family joke that his songs are 'suicide music' but he is very astute and funny. Just listen to 'Closing Time' and 'I'm Your Man'.
Finding that picture, which indeed verifies your poem, is quite a coup. The Imperial War Museum is a treasure chest. I went to Google Eath and looked up Adrano, Sicily. By Sicilian standards it is a thriving city with many modern buildings. You should take a look. I was not being kind, the picture you found told me the reality of your words. Gaines
Generally, I'm a fan of Frost, Poe, and the Romantic poets like Keats, Shelley and Byron. I also like,e. e. cummings. I heard him on a record in college. The word usage in poetry fascinates me.
I am not a huge poetry fan, but I do appreciate well written and interesting creative writing of all kinds. In college I gravitated towards prose because I didn't want to be bothered with rhyme and meter. It seemed like too much work, I guess. I do enjoy working out a limerick from time to time, though. (Remember Poppy's limerick thread?) On a more serious note, the Poetry Foundation website has a collection of War Poems. Many familiar poets and poems, as well as some less well known: Yeats, Tennyson, Kipling, Whitman; Charge of the Light Brigade, Battle Hymn of the Republic, Gunga Din.
Picture reminded me of Lebanon...(80s) Ron that was an exceptionally good poem...im sure veterans from other conflicts can instantly relate...no glory just the reality of life and death.
