Favourites from various threads

There are some fine poems in threads such as "not sure how many words", "all of a sudden pasion suddenly" "everyday erotica" and "the illustrated woman" that do not have companion threads. I may have missed some but this is the thread to highlight your favourites. I'll start with.....

The Art of Pessimism by KatieJones. This appeals to me for it's honesty and clever language.

Your turn.

Thanks!

Hmm, let me think.

I loved DM's poem in the Illuminated Woman thread. In particular the line, "Physically we cannot get
closer than two skins apart".

Loved Tess' poem "Orientation" .

Especially the end lines,

"There are secret places
here that only you and I
explore, cul-de-sacs and
narrows to slip into and
hide. Scent of sea and,
on my tongue the same
sweet salt." Love it's perfect, subtle and clever description.

Loved Ange's poem on that thread as well for the same reasons. Soft hand with a hard topic to handle well.

And finally, I enjoyed EE's last poem on the "Not Sure How Many Words' thread because I was not sure about intended meaning upon first read but it gave me a lot to 'grab onto" and it made me think and read again and again until I was able to construct a meaning from it. May not have been his meaning but I'm not sure if that matters.

I'm probably missing other poems I have enjoyed so I will come back.

There are so many

good poems on the forum of late it is hard to single out a few, but I really like these. (I could name more but I'm trying not to procrastinate getting ready for summer houseguests V.3.)

I find HarryHill's poems to smithpeter in the writing live thread very moving. That is partly because they are honest and searching but also because I remember and still dearly love smithpeter. I know those poems would make him smile.

darkmaas has written some poems in the 5 senses thread that are somehow both raw and delicate, just great stuff.

Katie has come back to us with a display of amazing writing, much of it in the 5 senses thread, but she has a very recent one in not sure how many words that really grabbed my attention.

And I love most everything eagleyez writes here in his not sure thread. Shocking, eh? He is usually more interested in writing fiction, but his poems are little gems to me. He has a way of taking in everything that is happening around him, bits and pieces of conversations, things he sees or reads, things he hears and throwing it down in a way that says something larger. He's really a dharma bum at heart. I often read through his thread in amazement.

And I gotta say that I patiently wait every week to see GreenMountaineer's poem of the week. I would (and do) read anything he has here.

Oh and Tzara is back and wrote a poem about teen idols in poem a week that is still rattling around my head. I think it's inspiring a poem in me but it's not baked yet.

I could go on and on but this really was a drive-by post.

bflagst wrote this in the 007 thread way back in 2009. I love this for its vivid simplicity.

A not simple anti-poem (maybe!), a meditation on the state of the world from Smaugfire. Written here in 2002.

Angeline wrote this double glosa in celebration of CharleyH and Lauren tying the proverbial knot and in answer to CharleyH's Istanbul challenge. I was too awestruck to comment on it but I will say the twining of 3 poems into one luscious mix makes me envious.

champagne1982 said:

Angeline wrote this double glosa in celebration of CharleyH and Lauren tying the proverbial knot and in answer to CharleyH's Istanbul challenge. I was too awestruck to comment on it but I will say the twining of 3 poems into one luscious mix makes me envious.

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Good grief! I totally forgot about that poem. Thanks for finding it.

Wow ........ impressed

In 2004 people on the forum were arguing about--wait for it--people one-bombing poetry submissions. Yes, some things never change. And back then we wrote poems about it in a thread called One is the Loneliest Number. There is all kinds of one-derfulness in that thread. Check out the poems there from Champagne, Liar, jd4george, tathagata and boo_merengue, among others.

champagne1982 said:

Angeline wrote this double glosa in celebration of CharleyH and Lauren tying the proverbial knot and in answer to CharleyH's Istanbul challenge. I was too awestruck to comment on it but I will say the twining of 3 poems into one luscious mix makes me envious.

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that was . . . wonderful!

This sequence from the 5 senses thread is worth unearthing. I do miss jamison.

I went way back to this thread (which is well worth re-reading) and found this . I know it is among Angeline's submissions but it the context in which it appears in flyguy's thread that struck me.

Tristesse2 said:

This sequence from the 5 senses thread is worth unearthing. I do miss jamison.

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I can only speak for my half of that equation and say it is but a dim echo of this poem.

Tristesse2 said:

I went way back to this thread (which is well worth re-reading) and found this . I know it is among Angeline's submissions but it the context in which it appears in flyguy's thread that struck me.

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I forgot about that poem and now I intend to tinker with it! That thread is also notable to me because it's the one where Annaswirls introduced me to Wallace Stevens.

Thank you for finding these wonderful threads.

Tristesse2 said:

This sequence from the 5 senses thread is worth unearthing. I do miss jamison.

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That's my poem and Jamison is me. That's my real name. I thought you all knew that. I deleted that alt as well but couldn't get it back when I returned since someone else yanked it. I think "Bali Low and High" is on Neonurotic's sub page now.

In my perusal of threads long dead, I found this in an oldie of Angeline's

Apple of His Eye

Almost anyone can eat an apple, toothless young and old excepted,
but even a few teeth and one can make slow albeit steady work of it.
Of course there are decisions to make: even apple eating begs decisions
made by eater or server before partaking: is it red or green and what variety?

There are so many choices: Gold Delicious almost pearlike in fragrance
color, mild taste though not so pliant in its flesh, and Granny Smith
a little sour and appropriately biting for the age of her name yet like so
many Grandmas satisfying, holding on to still a bit of sweetness with the tart.

Red delicious is the apple of my mind’s theater, in imagination ever
picture perfect orb of red of shine, its flesh crisp almost too juicy
so much so surely Evil Queen served Snow White Red Delicious--
one half filled with poison--knowing such innocence daren't question

tasty brilliance sweetly shared with kindly crone who frankly did share
unlike my father who colored the entire Snow White poster well except for sky
(he did let me color sky) at age six and thus I won the Snow White Poster Contest,
staying neatly in the lines for perhaps the only time in my life, and thus I confess

that really I was crooked out of line I confess here hiding near the end of poem
that I would pay you back if I remembered who you were but do know that
I felt a fraud upon the stage a baby still and yet aware to feign humility mounting the
stage, accepting the award, handing an apple to Miss Janet Cutter in gesture symbolic

of my child innocence yet empty till I saw my father’s eyes on me my orphaned father
ever at the dentist for the lack of childhood nutrition in the orphanage no fruit ever
always stopping at fruit stands always wanting the richness of red sweetness of flesh
my father in the audience awash in pride’s orchard and me the apple of his loving eyes.

champagne1982 said:

In my perusal of threads long dead, I found this in an oldie of Angeline's

Apple of His Eye

Almost anyone can eat an apple, toothless young and old excepted,
but even a few teeth and one can make slow albeit steady work of it.
Of course there are decisions to make: even apple eating begs decisions
made by eater or server before partaking: is it red or green and what variety?
...

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There is a photo of me, aged 6, grinning and sans front teeth, that appeared in our local newspaper when I won first prize in a poster contest. The poster was of Snow White laying in her glass coffin (macabre I know) surrounded by woodland creatures and with the poison apple, missing a bite, sitting on the coffin. It will not surprise you to know this was conceived of and executed by my father. I distinctly remember sitting at the dining room table and arguing that it was my poster and only being allowed to color the sky so I wouldn't wreck it. And then it won and I had to walk up on the stage and shake the mayor's hand and have my photo taken. How could I not write about it? How could they think a six-year-old did it? Now when I think of it, it just makes me smile.

Neonurotic said:

That's my poem and Jamison is me. That's my real name. I thought you all knew that. I deleted that alt as well but couldn't get it back when I returned since someone else yanked it. I think "Bali Low and High" is on Neonurotic's sub page now.

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I never knew that! But I'm happy to know now I've been missing you too and you were here all the time!

UnderYourSpell said:

I never knew that! But I'm happy to know now I've been missing you too and you were here all the time!

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Ha, surprise! Ange should've known though since she calls me Jamis.

Neonurotic said:

Ha, surprise! Ange should've known though since she calls me Jamis.

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I know and have since you posted under your name. I never out alts or new user names unless they are my own! I never thought Jamison being Neo was a big secret, though.

I do like calling you Jamis. I have for a long time, huh? And you've always been gracious about it. You may be twisted and perverted but you are also gracious.

Angeline said:

I know and have since you posted under your name. I never out alts or new user names unless they are my own! I never thought Jamison being Neo was a big secret, though.

I do like calling you Jamis. I have for a long time, huh? And you've always been gracious about it. You may be twisted and perverted but you are also gracious.

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I much prefer Jami-san because of Sasebo and his other Orient set poems.

UnderYourSpell said:

I never knew that! But I'm happy to know now I've been missing you too and you were here all the time!

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A lazy way of saying - me too.

champagne1982 said:

I much prefer Jami-san because of Sasebo and his other Orient set poems.

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I remember you calling him that. Sasebo is a great poem, I agree--one of my Jamis favorites. Hey you also named Tzara, T-Zed, I recall. We do like the nicknames around here.

This new poem from KatieJones in the Not Sure thread is wonderful. You need to read it carefully at least a few times to see how expertly she wove together theme, image and a very unobtrusive rhyme.

Angeline said:

This new poem from KatieJones in the Not Sure thread is wonderful. You need to read it carefully at least a few times to see how expertly she wove together theme, image and a very unobtrusive rhyme.

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Thanks, Ange! Always nice when someone notices the little things.

KatieJones said:

Thanks, Ange! Always nice when someone notices the little things.

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I do try to read carefully. Your poem deserved it.