What's your favorite poem -- if you have one?

Moose68Bash

This is, perhaps, a crazy discussion to start on an audio forum, but I thought it might be fun.

So, here goes with two of my favorites:

The Lake Isle of Innisfree
by
William Butler Yeats

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee;
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.

###

The Windhover
by
Gerard Manley Hopkins

I caught this morning morning's minion, king-
dom of daylight's dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding
Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing,
As a skate's heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding
Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding
Stirred for a bird,—the achieve of; the mastery of the thing!

Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here
Buckle! AND the fire that breaks from thee then, a billion
Times told lovelier, more dangerous, O my chevalier!

No wonder of it: shéer plód makes plough down sillion
Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear,
Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermillion.

[Deleted User]

Here's one of mine:

Under bare Ben Bulben’s head
In Drumcliff churchyard Yeats is laid.
An ancestor was rector there
Long years ago, a church stands near,
By the road an ancient cross.
No marble, no conventional phrase;
On limestone quarried near the spot
By his command these words are cut:
Cast a cold eye
On life, on death.
Horseman, pass by!
—Under Ben Bulben, W.B. Yeats

This is Yates' last poem and describes where he wanted to be buried in Ireland. He was first buried in France, but 10 years later he was moved to where he could rest under the shadow of Mt. Ben Bulben. This poem is engraved on his marker.

mhardy6647

Interesting and challenging topic/question. thanks for posting it.

well -- my favorite is probably Poe's Annabelle Lee... but, ironically, the poem that I probably most quote is one writ by a poet that I generally cannot tolerate: Anecdote of the Jar by Wallace Stevens.

I find its imagery of manipulation of our environment (literal and figurative) quite powerful and useful. In fact (as a useless aside), Anecdote of the Jar inspired my "home grown Polk" photo... ;-)

DSC_5417 by mhardy6647, on Flickr

Anecdote of the Jar
BY WALLACE STEVENS

I placed a jar in Tennessee,
And round it was, upon a hill.
It made the slovenly wilderness
Surround that hill.

The wilderness rose up to it,
And sprawled around, no longer wild.
The jar was round upon the ground
And tall and of a port in air.

It took dominion everywhere.
The jar was gray and bare.
It did not give of bird or bush,
Like nothing else in Tennessee.

source: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poem/3778

Bottom line: I have to think about it some more... :- P

Hermitism

A Poem For When You're Stressed:

Picture yourself by a stream.
Birds are singing in the crisp, cool mountain air.
Nothing can bother you here.
No one knows this secret place.
You are in total seclusion from that place called the world.
The soothing sound of a gentle waterfall fills the air,
with a cascade of serenity.
The water is clear.
You can easily make out the face of the person,
whose head you're holding under the water.

There now, feeling better?

Moose68Bash

Kenneth Swauger wrote: »

Here's one of mine:

Under bare Ben Bulben’s head
In Drumcliff churchyard Yeats is laid.
An ancestor was rector there
Long years ago, a church stands near,
By the road an ancient cross.
No marble, no conventional phrase;
On limestone quarried near the spot
By his command these words are cut:
Cast a cold eye
On life, on death.
Horseman, pass by!
—Under Ben Bulben, W.B. Yeats

This is Yates' last poem and describes where he wanted to be buried in Ireland. He was first buried in France, but 10 years later he was moved to where he could rest under the shadow of Mt. Ben Bulben. This poem is engraved on his marker.

His is one of the greatest epitaph's I've seen. Here's an image of Yates's grave stone:

Msabot1

The Charge Of The Light Brigade.....a tribute to those who do their duty...while staring death in the face....and knowing of the probable outcome....

cnh

I don't particularly like poetry but I do admire some Ancient Chinese and Japanese poets, they are more direct and to the point...nothing flowery or pretentious or purposely Labyrinthian. And I NEVER bother to "remember" verses if I can help it...there are so FEW worth remembering, but there are some, I guess!

Li Po (Li Bai) was considered one of the greatest poets of the Tang Dynasty (China) and this poem resonates with anyone who has a rebellious and/or artistic "spirit"!

"Drinking Alone under the Moon," by Li Bo

Among the flowers, a single jug of wine;
I drink alone. No one close to me.
I raise my cup, invite the bright moon;
facing my shadow, together we make three.
The moon doesn't know how to drink;
and my shadow can only follow my body.
But for a time I make moon and shadow my companions;
taking one's pleasure must last until spring.
I sing — the moon wavers back and forth.
I dance — my shadow flickers and scatters.
When I'm sober we take pleasure together.
When I'm drunk, we each go our own ways.
I make an oath to journey forever free of feelings,
making an appointment with them to meet in the Milky Way afar.

[Translation by Paul Rouzer]



cnh

Moose68Bash

mhardy6647, I've tried twice to post a comment on your post, but for some reasons neither has been posted.

The gist of what I wanted to say is:

I think Anecdote of the Jar" is about how man's creation orders and brings value to the "randomness" or "chaos" of nature, rather than about "manipulation of our environment." The poet selects words from the multitude of all words that are available, orders them, and creates value and beauty. When you put your Polk speaker boxes in the field, you brought order and value to nature in your photograph. Even a simple product of man's industry -- jar -- placed in a natural context brings order out of "chaos."

Just a thought.

Mikey081057

Mine all start with "There once was a man from Nantucket....."

Honestly for me its Robert Frost - Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

poemhunter.com/poem/stopping-by-woods-on-a-snowy-evening-2/http://

mhardy6647

Moose68Bash wrote: »

mhardy6647, I've tried twice to post a comment on your post, but for some reasons neither has been posted.

The gist of what I wanted to say is:

I think Anecdote of the Jar" is about how man's creation orders and brings value to the "randomness" or "chaos" of nature, rather than about "manipulation of our environment." The poet selects words from the multitude of all words that are available, orders them, and creates value and beauty. When you put your Polk speaker boxes in the field, you brought order and value to nature in your photograph. Even a simple product of man's industry -- jar -- placed in a natural context brings order out of "chaos."

Just a thought.

I don't disagree; I was probably being (uncharacteristically) succinct in trying to collapse the concept into a few words :- P That said, my distinct impression is that Stevens didn't think that impressing order on chaos was a good idea. I don't think that the order adds value in Stevens' view. I thought it was a critique of Man's driving need to impose order on randomness -- to see faces in the clouds; constellations in the stars :- )

Don't you think that the last stanza stands in stark contrast to the others -- it sounds kind of bleak to me...

It took dominion everywhere.
The jar was gray and bare.
It did not give of bird or bush,
Like nothing else in Tennessee.

(but I'm a scientist not an English major, so I could be wrong!)

DISCLAIMER - I read Stevens in a Contemporary American Letters class (distribution requirement!) at Hopkins when I was an UG. The JHU writing seminars department has some pretty distinguished alumni -- I am not among them :- P

MrBuhl

The Road Not Taken is my all time classic - but one of my favorites has always been this Ron Padgett ditty:

Words to Joe Ceravolo -

I think tonight I am beginning to understand some impulses
That a friend of mine Joe Ceravolo seems to have been having
And which others have certainly had
Which makes no difference
But which might make him seem terribly silly for a while
And which if I’m right I’m beginning to feel myself
About now and therefore sympathize with
It’s a cheap sympathy when you have to come about it like this
But who cares

Listen, Joe Ceravolo
You’re OK

Moose68Bash

MrBuhl,

Clever, entertaining, and thought provoking!

Hail to Joe Ceravolo!

Moose68Bash

mhardy6647 wrote: »

Interesting and challenging topic/question. thanks for posting it.

well -- my favorite is probably Poe's Annabelle Lee... but, ironically, the poem that I probably most quote is one writ by a poet that I generally cannot tolerate: Anecdote of the Jar by Wallace Stevens.

I find its imagery of manipulation of our environment (literal and figurative) quite powerful and useful. In fact (as a useless aside), Anecdote of the Jar inspired my "home grown Polk" photo... ;-)

DSC_5417 by mhardy6647, on Flickr

Anecdote of the Jar
BY WALLACE STEVENS

I placed a jar in Tennessee,
And round it was, upon a hill.
It made the slovenly wilderness
Surround that hill.

The wilderness rose up to it,
And sprawled around, no longer wild.
The jar was round upon the ground
And tall and of a port in air.

It took dominion everywhere.
The jar was gray and bare.
It did not give of bird or bush,
Like nothing else in Tennessee.

source: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poem/3778

Bottom line: I have to think about it some more... :- P

"Anecdote of the Jar" is a great poem. I don't think of it so much as a "manipulation" of nature as a statement about how man's creations, no matter how simple, impose order on nature -- one might even say they add value to nature by turning chaos into value. Just a thought. It's like taking the chaos that would result from putting together a random selection of words vs. carefully selecting words to create a poem like "Anecdote of the Jar."

Moose68Bash

mhardy6647 wrote: »

Interesting and challenging topic/question. thanks for posting it.

well -- my favorite is probably Poe's Annabelle Lee... but, ironically, the poem that I probably most quote is one writ by a poet that I generally cannot tolerate: Anecdote of the Jar by Wallace Stevens.

I find its imagery of manipulation of our environment (literal and figurative) quite powerful and useful. In fact (as a useless aside), Anecdote of the Jar inspired my "home grown Polk" photo... ;-)

DSC_5417 by mhardy6647, on Flickr

Anecdote of the Jar
BY WALLACE STEVENS

I placed a jar in Tennessee,
And round it was, upon a hill.
It made the slovenly wilderness
Surround that hill.

The wilderness rose up to it,
And sprawled around, no longer wild.
The jar was round upon the ground
And tall and of a port in air.

It took dominion everywhere.
The jar was gray and bare.
It did not give of bird or bush,
Like nothing else in Tennessee.

source: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poem/3778

Bottom line: I have to think about it some more... :- P

Another great poem.

I think it is more about how man's work brings order out of randomness, rather than "manipulation of our environment." In creating poetry from potentially thousands of random words, the poet selects them and orders them carefully to create a poem. In your photograph, you deliberately selected and placed the Polk speaker boxes in the field. That "ordered" the "random" landscape behind and around them. I think Stevens chose to write about a jar, because it is a very simple, commonplace creation of man's industry, but even it can bring order within nature.

"Annabel Lee" is, indeed, another beautiful -- and haunting -- poem.

Moose68Bash

Well, I guess I triggered another problem with the new Forum: I tried to post my comments about mhardy's post two or three times before one of my posts finally showed up in the thread. Now, after some time has passed, ALL of my attempts show up.

GO FIGURE!!!!

voltz

Poe's the Raven , I know I'm lame read some Poe or early greek stuff but that's about it.

mhardy6647

I've been thinking about poems all afternoon while you were posting that over and over again ;- )

Howzabout The Belle of Amherst's Because I Could Not Stop for Death?

Because I could not stop for Death
BY EMILY DICKINSON

Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.

We slowly drove – He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility –

We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess – in the Ring –
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –
We passed the Setting Sun –

Or rather – He passed Us –
The Dews drew quivering and Chill –
For only Gossamer, my Gown –
My Tippet – only Tulle –

We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground –
The Roof was scarcely visible –
The Cornice – in the Ground –

Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses' Heads
Were toward Eternity –

source: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/177119

I've never made it all the way through, but the first few lines of Allen Ginsberg's Howl are just gutwrenching...

cnh

Ginsberg Howled a lifetime and then, surprisingly, he paused and went quietly into the night like a Buddhist?

cnh

deronb1

"To Beat the Devil" - K. Kristofferson. More of a song really, but most of it is spoken. I'm too lazy to type it on my phone.

decal

Roses are red violets are blue.
With this new forum,
We really got the screw !!!!!!!!!

Moose68Bash

deronb1 wrote: »

"To Beat the Devil" - K. Kristofferson. More of a song really, but most of it is spoken. I'm too lazy to type it on my phone.

Lyrics are poems. Lyric poetry is one of poetry's oldest forms!

George Grand

When Jesse posts his favorite poem, I'll post mine.

Moose68Bash

George Grand wrote: »

When Jesse posts his favorite poem, I'll post mine.

George,

Do you think Jesse would plump for Ogden Nash's:

"Candy is dandy,
But liquor is quicker."

BTW: Ogden Nash is buried about a half mile from where I live.

jflail2

Jabberwocky

http://www.jabberwocky.com/carroll/jabber/jabberwocky.html

mhardy6647

As a born n' bred Baltimoron, I am of course a big fan of Ogden Nash.
He famously wrote what he claimed to be the shortest poem in the English language.

Fleas
Adam had'm

Moose68Bash

"Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green one red."

For sublimity with respect to the use of syntax and diction to create dramatic poetry, these lines from Act II, Scene 2 of Shakespeare's Macbeth are hard to beat.

George Grand

Tough call. Jesse and liquor, their paths don't cross.

cnh

Moose68Bash wrote: »

"Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green one red."

For sublimity with respect to the use of syntax and diction to create dramatic poetry, these lines from Act II, Scene 2 of Shakespeare's Macbeth are hard to beat.

Good stuff. And while we're on Shakespeare, and for all of us Trek-geeks, how about Picard's Hamlet retort to the Q?

What a piece of worke is a man! how Noble in
Reason? how infinite in faculty? in forme and mouing
how expresse and admirable? in Action, how like an Angel?
in apprehension, how like a God?

cnh

Moose68Bash

Amen, brother!

Moose68Bash

George Grand wrote: »

Tough call. Jesse and liquor, their paths don't cross.

Now, I understand the reason that Jesse's comments are always clear and concise -- regardless of the time of day!

TennMan

This is an old standard that most people know but it's one of my favorites:

"If," by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;
If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!