Poetry Forum

I see you have continued the story of the previous poem set in Venice, and the added information about Maria seems at odds to the impression I had before. I had not viewed her as deceitful, but clearly that is the case: "She’d left the taste of strawberry salve on Murano glass, the perfume of o...

I loved this read and for me, the title fits well, as I see it, referring to the Virginia Woolf classic collection of essays in which, "Above all, he is guided by an instinct to create for himself, out of whatever odds and ends he can come by, some kind of whole--a portrait of a man, a sketch o...

Thank you Ros for your poem, No Unicorns. Your lines about turning your back to the sun to see a rainbow triggered these thoughts of my world.

Steve

A new path Others see you bright and shiny above the soggy grey carpet of clouds hanging low over my world. I hear you walking back and forth tending your roses, spilling water that soaks through dirty with potting soil, staining my shirt, plastering my hair in unsightly clumps, soiling my shoes. T...

Wow Suzanne. A rewarding poem to read, and yes, as mentioned, a mystery of sorts. You have woven a story that begs for completion, a sequel. Your title hooked me: I return to Venice That, combined with the description of the cafe holiday spirit and line, "imagine the number of days is has repea...

What an enjoyable read with lots of amazing feeling and imagery. Thanks
I'm not sure if I'm quite getting the reference to Man-of-war in the context but doesn't matter at all. Love this poem and the last stanza is superb

Steve

JJ, An enjoyable read. I liked it--full of imagery and sense of place. I like how you bring in Maria. Would this be considered a prose-poem? I was bothered by a few little things: that two lines ended with Bream, "prima donna assoluta" didn't seem to work for me where it was, and I wondere...

Donna and Suzanne,

Thank you for sharing. Large re-write is in the works!

Steve

Loved this. Summersandalus is great. Still smiling.
Steve

JJ

I enjoyed this a lot, and of course Kudos to you for taking on a Sestina. Also, enjoyed the reference to Guernsey from where my forebears hail.

Steve

Thank you all for the great feedback. Here is another stab at it.
Steve

I liked how you stated, "ignore," listing the large horrible things to ignore, followed by "focus on," bringing us in to a small intimate space within the context of the horror. WOW

This is one that is going into my archive of great poems. Amazing.

Steve

I love this poem and can visualise it clearly. Great metaphor. The only phrase that caused me pause was, "thinning glass." Do you mean thinning, as in panes are missing, or actually thinning? I live in a very old house and one of the things I have observed is how, as they age, the panes th...

What a pleasure to read. I especially liked your,

built rings round the verandah
only visible in blackness

Steve

Who says ads don't work?

Thanks. All power eventually crumbles, right?

Amazing architecture indeed. Thanks all

Thanks for the encouraging comments!

WOW! Thanks Suzanne, Brian, Ian, Mic, C, Peter, and Moth for taking the time to express your thoughts. I am extremely grateful. You have inspired me, and rightfully challenged me to do much better. I am sorry for the slow response in getting back to this. I'm in the final stage of a Master's program...

Suzanne,

I very much like the way you develop the idea and contrast.
I think the title brings out and adds meaning in the last stanza as well

Thanks for sharing

Steve

I want you to ask Sometime when the light is fading sinking behind that dark blue expanse when we wiggle sand between our toes and hear the waves settle in for the night I will take your hand and hold it neither of us will need to say a word of past hurts and focused lives that created absences we w...

Hi Suzanne, I love this poem. To me it seems a powerfully sad love poem. I got that from the bird having flown in through a heart-shaped window. Considering that the bird was trapped and died, the word "nestled" bothered me in S1. You imply the bird fought to the end. Nestled just didn't s...

Tower of London against the Shard

Thanks Jane and David.

Yes, this was taken at the Tower of London, with remnant of the ancient Roman wall. The tall glass building is called the "shard" so the contrast struck me

Cheers

Steve

Thanks Mac, David, and Suzanne for your comments. I very much appreciate them. Mac, I'm interested in that you felt it was "listy." The references I used are commonly used in presenting artichokes. I wondered about including so much, but liked the flow and rhythm. I certainly need to edit ...