Your most favoritest poem

[damppanties]

There's a thread on the Author's Hangout going on about favorite stories on Lit. So I thought of starting one here about your favorite poems. This is an attempt to find good work which might otherwise be missed by going through all the posted poems.

So just post the three poems you think are the best on Lit. Yes, I know there are too many out there and so many are good but really, please, just three okay?

There has to be a link with each one.

You can post your own work too.

edited to say: You could also explain what you like in the poem. Usually there's something you fall in love with - the central theme, the opening lines, the rhyming... anything.

 

[WickedEve]

This is tough. I've been here a year and I've read many good poems. I don't even think I could list just 3 favorite poets! I can think of over a dozen poets right off the top of my head who write very good to great poetry here at lit.

 

[Angeline]

Eve is right

but I will say that on occasion I read something here that just blows me away. Such was the case for me with this poem:

In Memory of Naomi by Risia Skye

oh and here's another

Mystery Lost by Daisie

 

[damppanties]

This is tough. I've been here a year and I've read many good poems. I don't even think I could list just 3 favorite poets! I can think of over a dozen poets right off the top of my head who write very good to great poetry here at lit.

I know, I really do. But, as I explained, I want this thread to be a place where you can find good poetry without having to sift through each and every poem here on Lit. So please do make an effort. And I had actually planned on asking for one choice.

 

[damppanties]

Re: Eve is right

but I will say that on occasion I read something here that just blows me away. Such was the case for me with this poem:

In Memory of Naomi by Risia Skye

Oh my God!! Wow... I still have goosebumps on my arms from reading that. Too good Angeline, thanks so much for pointing me there.

 

[JUDO]

Tough, really tough...

You know, DP, unless you've kept track of them day by day as the new poems are posted (which I have not) and read a lot of the poets here anyway (which I have over the last two years), this is really an impossible request.

There are simply too many good poems here.

And as you might expect, they are good for a wide variety of reasons. So, figuring out the two or three best? Forget it.

For hints, I would go to the top lists (yes, both of them), and to our two threads here "The NEW POEMS list" and "new poems." At least there for the last eight or nine months, you get a semi-weekly paring down of someone's opinion of what might be worth a look-see.

I would reccomend some authors (not in any particular order): SA Storm (if any of his poems are still posted here), Zawadi (also known as "daughter"), Angeline, Risia Skye, smithpeter (what a body! ...of work), HomarPindar, Redwave (for fun and profit!), WickedEve (nasty & insightful), Lauren.Hynde, OT, Blue Dolphin, just pet (intelligent & passionate), WriterDom, nakedangelina, Cymbidia, Senna Jawa, Rybka, Killermuffin, debbiexxx, perkybaby, Cordelia, Katpurrs and Karmadog.

There are several others whose work I love, but whose names (at the moment), do not come to me. I am particularly forgetting this one "Goth" girl who writes really great stuff. Oh well...

Best of luck.

- Judo

 

[karmadog]

An impossible task is right, but here are three, in no particular order, that I really, really like. I could have picked many more by the same authors, and I could have picked many other authors, but these three poems popped into my head. I can't say that I necessarily understand them, but I like women and I don't understand them either, so there.

Angeline is absolutely awesome, I could have picked almost anything on her page, but I picked this one:

What Basie Knew

Four/four and you get there baby
Find the space between the notes
The sweet center that moves the music
Swinging harder than the sounds

Angeline is particularly good when she rights about music. Her love for and knowledge of jazz are obvious in her writing. Her writing is rhythmic and sensuous.

Senna Jawa is a challenging poet (an understatement), but he is also undeniably gifted. Again, I could have picked many other poems.

STREETCAR ISLANDS [the street's...]

the street's dust settled on my teeth
the street name's escaping my lips fate
I don't complain just take
a knife and stick it deep between my ribs

I'm not sure if the spacing ended up 100% right, if it didn't, my apologies, SJ. I do not understand this poem, but it gives me a feeling of regret. Of a lost love, perhaps. Yet strangely peaceful.

smithpeter is so good and so prolific that I had to pick two, but again, there are many others that are terrific.

Radon Daughters

Looking for someone to fit the frame of fancy
The image and gentle punch of pictorial
For real touch, actual kink for link
Like of lick to teasle lo squeasle

This was one of the earliest poems that I read on Lit. smithpeter, true poet that he is, said that he had been at an air quality seminar and they mentioned 'radon daughters' and a poem was born. To smithpeter, poetry is everywhere. I envy that.

Dogwood

Not in point or concept
Would any but a fool
Attempt to sway a delicate
White pink flower to a cage

This poem is absolutely lush.

Please read more, much more poetry. It's good, and oh-so-good for you.

 

[damppanties]

Tough, really tough...

You know, DP, unless you've kept track of them day by day as the new poems are posted (which I have not) and read a lot of the poets here anyway (which I have over the last two years), this is really an impossible request.

There are simply too many good poems here.

And as you might expect, they are good for a wide variety of reasons. So, figuring out the two or three best? Forget it.

Ohhhh-kaaayyyyy.... so how about three best ones every week that come to your mind? Each person posts the best three every week.

For hints, I would go to the top lists (yes, both of them), and to our two threads here "The NEW POEMS list" and "new poems." At least there for the last eight or nine months, you get a semi-weekly paring down of someone's opinion of what might be worth a look-see.

Yes, I did go there. I wanted to restrict the number of poems each person suggests. That way, what you think is absolutely the best comes out. No consolation prizes. In those threads you just post as many as you like - and then they're all new.

Top lists... didn't work for me really. They're dominated by the votes and I'm not too fond of the voting system. Some of which I thought were great were nowhere in the top lists. I don't think they even got ten votes!

 

[JUDO]

DP -

The lists and what I have told you is all that I can give you. I do not file my poems by "best." There is what I like and what I don't. The likes are so varied, it's like comparing apples with hand grenades.

Sorry.

- Judo

 

[WickedEve]

I do have poems that pop into my mind when I think about my personal favorites and I'll give you one. This may not be one of my top 3 favorites from the entire site, because for me that's a difficult task to choose my 3 most favorite.

A poem that I recommend you read is The Longness of Liz by smithpeter. This is a beautiful erotic poem that simply describes a woman named Liz.

Perhaps a better approach to this thread is to ask for good poetry recommendations and not necessarily a reader's top 3. I think that makes the task seem too overwhelming.

 

[damppanties]

I do have poems that pop into my mind when I think about my personal favorites and I'll give you one. This may not be one of my top 3 favorites from the entire site, because for me that's a difficult task to choose my 3 most favorite.

A poem that I recommend you read is The Longness of Liz by smithpeter. This is a beautiful erotic poem that simply describes a woman named Liz.

Perhaps a better approach to this thread is to ask for good poetry recommendations and not necessarily a reader's top 3. I think that makes the task seem too overwhelming.

Thanks for the poem WickedEve. It was quite cool

My reason for asking for the top 3 was simply that I didn't want to flood the thread. There would be like 3 responses and 56 recommendations.

But okay people, just respond as and when you wish.

In search of good poetry...

 

[Wicked-N-Erotic]

For some reason this peom touched something in me.
Wicked

AmericanDemon - A Boy's Lessons A Man's Scars

 

[Guest]

Me too,

I agree with you, WnE. I found it a difficult read - because of the story it unfolds. Cudos to AD for having the guts to put it down in black and white. Bottom line -- poetry doesn't always have to be all sweetness and light.
GP

 

[OT]

RE: favorite poems

what i like about Lit

some are deep
some are hot
some erotic
most are not

some are silly
some are sad
if you want the truth
some are bad

I don't think I have a favorite or three. Call me fickle, but my favorite changes by day. What I enjoy most about this site is the variety.

Where else can you find such a smattering of sonnets, free verse and haiku? It matters not whether I'm in the mood for something technically tight or maybe something gushing with emotion and cliche', Lit provides one-stop shopping. Even the "bad poetry" usually has a line or two that I like.

So, DP, although you pose a good question, you'll get no answer from me

(something I remember from filling college blue books, oh so long ago ... if you don't know the answer, babble and pray for partial credit.)

On last thing (maybe to eek out one more point or perhaps to lose one): I really do think that the best way to enjoy the poems around here is to simply relax and read, surf and poke. When you least expect it, a good one will drift by. The best poetry is discovered poetry.

 

[Angeline]

Little Wooden Head

OT, your AV makes me giggle and think of that song from Pinochhio. I feel like it's staring.

DP, aren't we a difficult bunch? I'm gonna post some more titles for you later.

 

[damppanties]

AD's poem - yes, I agree with you WNE.

Angeline - difficult bunch... hmmmm... yes. But then I've got replies too

And I finally got down to reading karmadog's recommended poems and I was like "WHAT??!!!!!" - which means something like when it's represented graphically. lol

Judo - no problem. You pointed me in the right direction even if you couldn't take me to it.

And OT (what does OT mean?) - "something I remember from filling college blue books, oh so long ago ... if you don't know the answer, babble and pray for partial credit." Ohhhh how true... I'm a student. I knowww!!

 

[OT]

And OT (what does OT mean?)

First, just in case there was any confusion, it pronounced OH-TEE (as opposed to "ott")
It's no big secret, but rather than tell you the mundane truth, we'll both be happier if you dream up something incredibly clever.

 

[karmadog]

And I finally got down to reading karmadog's recommended poems and I was like "WHAT??!!!!!" - which means something like when it's represented graphically. lol

?!?

And, OT, is it Old Testament? If so, I fear your wrath!

 

[OT]

And, OT, is it Old Testament? If so, I fear your wrath! [/B]

rofl. NOT!

And DP, as for the poems by SP and SJ -- they are acquired tastes.

bourbon and dark beer aren't easy at first either, but in my humble opinion, all four are well worth the effort.

 

[Angeline]

My Favoritist Poem by Me

Want to see chutzpah? Here's some. I want to post my poem by me that I love here. I sent this poem to--well let's say a famous NYC magazine with major literary cojones (around here--whistling distance of NYC--if you got no moxie, you don't survive). Of course, they won't accept it, but darnit I think it's good enough and we're supposed to get some snow (!) here later, so here it is:

Wanting Snow

i.
Wanting snow
wanting gray anticipation
of harbinger clouds looming
of crackle dry air stinging

until

one flake

and then another

and then still more fall

and group and mass,
filling the air
overtaking the sky

down

down

gracing the ground
in an illusion of purity

punctuating branches
in complex simplicity

ii.
In fallen snow
life imitates art

white lines cross narrow surfaces
delicate as pen and ink illustrations
moving like a codex on the flight of birds

wider curving swaths frame streetlamps
strangely iridescent and compelling
play Sisley light over landscape

and late at night when my city’s
blanketed expanse seems
unending in stark contrast

Steigliz is reborn
stalking New York City

camera in hand
capturing relentless ice.

iii.
Cities in snow are beautiful
sifted drifts rest against
wrought iron spike fence

deadly crystal stilettos
hang half-hid in gables

gargoyles perch bemused
and sport milk mustaches

They should be ashamed
of themselves!

All this motion of
architecture rearranged

so that the silence in
a map of single footsteps
is louder than the
clanging of skyscrapers.

iv.
Early morning
is best for snow walking

silence and solitude
broken by ice
crunched by boots

crashing glass of icicle
falling

and the steady hiss of breath
puffing pocket in wool scarf

later I’ll be a face in a window.
swaddled in hot chocolate
and Segovia.

 

[karmadog]

I like it. I think they'll buy it.

I submitted an essay to a famous New York mag once. They sent me a quarter sheet of very, very cheap paper that had a form rejection. 'We cannot use your submission at this time. Thank you for submitting.' No signature, no scathing remarks, nothing. I was very disappointed. I thought they would really despise my essay rather than just be indifferent.

I had to Google Sisley. My art education is weak.

 

[damppanties]

First, just in case there was any confusion, it pronounced OH-TEE (as opposed to "ott")
It's no big secret, but rather than tell you the mundane truth, we'll both be happier if you dream up something incredibly clever.

Omnipotent Thing
'Oaty'
One Two
Otherwise There
Out There
Obviously Total
Obsessive-compulsive Tyrant



Just having fun with OT.

 

[damppanties]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And I finally got down to reading karmadog's recommended poems and I was like "WHAT??!!!!!" - which means something like when it's represented graphically. lol
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


?!?

I meant they were way ahead of where I am right now.



Angeline - Thank you. That brought wonderful images.

 

[Angeline]

A Few More I Love

Again, let me say up front that there is no dearth of wonderful poetry at Lit, but you do have to seek it out. Here are some more I think are terrific.

Senna Jawa is IMHO very very good. He twists words and ideas in ways that are original and striking. Read him, read him, read him. This poem is a masterful example of what he can do.

the cities of the city by senna jawa

smithpeter is, well, just a wonderful poet. I agree with karmadog--sp seems to be able to make poetry from everything. This is one of my favorites of his because the words are as sweet and sincere as the message it conveys.

Spending Time Near Her Face by smithpeter

nakedangelina has quietly built a body of terrific poems here. There is something very powerful that comes across to me in her poet's voice. Here's a good example of what she can do.

Leaving Utopia by nakedangelina

I have more, but that's it for tonight!

 

[karmadog]

Again, this is not to say that these are the 'best' poets and poems, nor even that they are my 'favorites'. These are just poems that I really liked.

Walk beside me, Not behind me! by Xtaabay

Thousands of people,
never intended to survive,
gather to dance.

And you,
so very egalitarian,
bark, "Walk beside me, not behind me!"

This theme has been mentioned a couple of times on this board recently. This is a more sophisticated treatment. Xtaabay has many other wonderful poems. She blows me away.

Disposing of Little Men by WickedEve

Little men lying in fields,
like forgotten ribbons from hair,
destined for the black bird's nest.

I love this poem. Eve is showing off her sense of humor here (I hope).

Two Blocks Off Jackson Square by JUDO

By moonlight, an ingenue strides briskly and gay
For an alcove along old Jackson's Way.
Her cheeks flushed tonight with marrow's gold.
Bright mind alight with naiveté.

I came across this while looking for a different poem and it caught my eye (living near New Orleans as I do). For me, it's unusual for a poem to hook me with its story, but this one did. She creates a sense of beautiful dread. Great poem, JUDO. I hadn't read this one before.

If you don't like these, try some other ones by these poets. They each write in a wide variety of styles and tones. JUDO has 101 (!) submissions.