| January 2018
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2023-11-27
I love these vignettes quite a lot. Poignant and affecting!
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| Trouble
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2023-11-26
I quite like "the / Sublime terrain of / Always and forever." It's sonically and imagistically pleasing. Well done!
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| i propose
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2023-11-26
It's always a joy to read your work. There's a lot I adore here: the slow progression of events, the narrativization, the O'Hara-esque 'I do this, and I do that.' I really like "the earth tilts on its axis," at the end, the kind of panning out from the scene and giving the reader a detail from outside the world of the story.
By the way, there's so much maple syrup here in this place, I see it at all the stores all the time, lol. Good to read your poetry after a long time, otp!
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| i believe in ...
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2023-11-26
That's a good thing to believe in! Always in awe of your assured lines, their measured cadence, Tom. :)
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| Cheap Imitations to Court Inspiration
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2023-11-26
lol
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| The Outlaw & Poet Known as Black Bart
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2022-08-08
Such a curious fellow, I must say! Black Bart would've made headlines today and gone "viral." Thanks for the sketch about this obscure dacoit-cum-poet. A joy to read! :)
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| Yucky Garbage
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2022-07-15
I like how the poem jumps into a hypothetical future and shows the readers a glimpse of what's possible in contrast to the reality presented in the first stanza—nicely done!
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| Dakota
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2022-07-15
This poem left me with a desire to visit Dakota and see its beauty in its entirety. A heartfelt homage to a landscape dear to the poet's heart. Nicely done!
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| * A M P U T A T I O *
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2022-06-17
I can say the same thing about Sanskrit. It's almost dead; the only people who use it are academic researchers. It's sad really, to see all the great and ancient languages of the world dwindle and slowly disapper.
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| What Happened
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2022-06-17
This is rather intriguing!
Leaves a lot of room for readers to ponder, of what went behind the story . . . you know.
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| Prairie Grass
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2022-06-17
Beautiful! I think the minimalism suits the poem's overall theme very well — as these sparse lines capture the essence of the vastness of nature.
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| Workshop at the Library
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2022-04-20
A great way to meet old and new friends and flex your writing muscles. I'd love to be a part of the library workshop. Someday.
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| EDS
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2022-04-20
I'm awfully sorry to hear that. Sending you positive vibes and healing thoughts from this side of the world. :)
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| I cannot decide what is like you
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2022-04-18
This is wry and fun and beautiful. I especially like the many metaphors you use to describe the lady in the poem, akin to Shakesperean thought.
Though you say, "[you] cannot make metaphor / on so little sleep," you do the opposite in the poem. Nicely done!
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| Han Shan
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2022-04-18
Mystical.
Tea, a cottage in the mountains, travelling on foot or by boat, poems written on rocks, the solitary life through and through — can't miss them in the quintessential classic Chinese poetry!
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| The Pasture
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2022-04-11
An invitation so welcoming that it's impossible to decline. This short poem makes me want to lend a hand to Frost in his yearly spring clearing — a work that's lyrical, delightful, and charming in equal measure. Thanks for posting!
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| She clutched to herself
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2022-04-05
This is an interestingly rich portrayal of a lady who seems to lead a vibrant yet turbulent life. Nicely done!
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| Inscription
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2022-04-05
Something that happens with who we write to all the time. Lines appear in our dreams, only to slip away in the haziness of early morning hours. If only there were a way to inscribe our dreamy visions into something concrete. Thanks for posting!
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| Thermostat
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2022-04-05
Very amusing! ;)
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| The Muse
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2022-04-01
Very relatable!
The Muse is fickle and she does not tarry. When she arrives, poets should jump off their beds and start scribbling furiously — honest.
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| Mending a Chair
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2022-04-01
Beautiful!
I can see the Frostian imagery of rural life of physical toil breaking in, giving the poem a deeper layer of meaning. Overall, it's nicely done!
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| A Book.
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2022-04-01
Ah, the joys of perusing "prancing poetry" and travelling across the world from the comforts of our rooms.
This is perhaps the only Dickinson poem that's so accessible and doesn't wallow in obscure imagery. Curiously enough, there aren't any dashes — in this one — which is her otherwise signature style.
Thanks for posting!
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| Paradise Lost, Condensed
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2022-03-25
This is hilarious! An antithesis of Milton's deadpan seriousness!
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| Widower
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2022-03-25
Such as a piercing image - half a pair of scissors. Hauntingly sad! Reminds me of the great Chinese poetic tradition, especially of Li Bai and Han Shan.
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| Wednesday Headclear
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2022-03-23
Beautiful snippets of life (with musings of the ultimate end in between) peppered with heady romanticism, methinks! I especially like the routine of writing at four in the morning with a good cuppa joe. And spending the last twenty years on cheap beers sounds so Bukowski-esque! Nicely done, overall. :)
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| No Turning Back
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2022-03-23
Vivid and visceral, this packs a punch! :)
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| Home & Away
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2022-03-22
Sounds like the beginning of a nice day, with coffee and bacon at your assistance! A perfect prelude to writing a poem - and possibly ending it with celebratory rounds of mulled cider!
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| Seashell
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2022-03-21
Gentle and heartfelt.
I like the imagery of seashells: hard and rare and the size of a baby's ear. I think it fits well with the poem yet to be written.
Nicely done!
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| Poetry Has Never Been a Favorite
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2022-03-19
I understand the feeling very well.
I laboured through classical (18th and 19th-century) poetry when I was just starting to read. Later, I found the modern verse much more relatable, though it's nowhere approachable or accessible. Contemporary poetry, on the other hand, is all about race and gender and sexuality . . . written by academics!
Perhaps slow reading (or reading the poems repeatedly) would help. Or understanding the socio-political context of the work or the poets. :)
P.S. I hope you're doing well and in good health.
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| A February Day
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2022-03-18
Guess humans never learn ... even after two world wars, we're back where we were. It's woeful and loathsome, really!
You've caught that sentiment well in the poem.
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| Cambridge
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2022-03-18
A very evocative piece, recalling the stores and landmarks long gone. Nicely done!
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| had enough
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2022-03-18
Exactly my thoughts these days ... a chance to shed the previous life and start everything anew!
The more time I spend reading the news, the more I appreciate the bygone days, the 60s particularly, with its unrestrained society infused with pure happiness.
Very relatable sentiment, otp!
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| Visions and Revisions
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2022-03-14
Happens every time!
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| Afternoon Contemplation
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2022-03-14
A perfect place for peace and meditative contemplation. Methinks it nourishes the mind and the soul! :)
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| Imagiste
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2022-03-09
Pound would love this as much as I did. Perfectly aligns as per his manifesto on a few don'ts by an Imagiste.
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| Impotence
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2022-03-06
"Nature will proceed on its ordained path ... / While bombs and guns reap the grapes of wrath"
So true. I like how the poem neatly sums up what we've all been feeling these days. Nicely done, Joe.
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| word game
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2022-03-06
Though poetry feels like a trifling word game, it does have some power to influence peoples' thoughts — and dare to "change the world." However, given the situation, I think many would choose the latter option.
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| Made for Each Other?
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2022-03-06
This made me smile. :) The thing about magazines like The New Yorker is anything that's printed on them sounds too important — it comes with an air of authority, ha!
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| crime
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2022-02-28
I was thinking about the same yesterday — what good is poetry when the world is burning?
Though we live within our tiny bubbles, we are undoubtedly affected by what's happening around the world, and finding a balance between inner-self ("the mind reels") while not completely losing ourselves ("blood is shed / this is real") is a pesky task.
Guess humans, the world leaders, never learn despite years of wars and endless suffering! As to the answer to your last question, I don't know!
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| Ramblings 584
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2022-02-28
There's a word for this: "ghosting" — abruptly ending communication with someone without an explanation.
I know how it feels when someone doesn't respond or reciprocate our sentiments, even if it's only online, and sometimes I feel like I've been guilty of being uncommunicative when I should've answered. It's a very relatable work indeed!
And apologies for my erstwhile radio silence, but I've been trapped in too many trivial tasks. :)
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| The Rain? It stays.
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2022-02-13
Beautiful indeed. It's both sensual and dream-like, which I adore. And I think the short, snappy lines works to establish the rhythm of the rain in the poem. Nicely done!
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| Marine
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2022-02-11
A beautiful ode to your sister. Each quatrain is well composed and nicely done. Good work!
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| tangible
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2022-02-11
I like the idea of preferring tangible instead of something intangible or abstract, like faith. Nicely done!
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| Clear and Generous
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2022-02-11
Nicely done! I especially like the visual aspect of the poem in the second stanza, with images illuminating from within the church window. Good work, as always!
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| caprice
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2022-02-03
Ooh la la, this is smooth and sensual and seductive.
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| My PAGE of RAGE
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2022-01-24
Better out than in, eh?
Expressing the rage on the page can be therapeutic, as they say!
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| Only Problem with Me
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2022-01-24
Very witty!
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| precious grains
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2022-01-24
Love the haiku-esque quality of the poem!
I just completed reading The Dharma Bums, and your work reminded me of Smith's conversation with Japhy -- and the way they compose haiku when climbing Matterhorn Peak.
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| far from home
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2022-01-24
There's a sense of yearning and celebration in this one, which I simply adore. I like how you've juxtaposed the spatial descriptions with the story of Odysseus and Penelope. Nicely done!
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| Deadly
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2022-01-15
I utterly and wholeheartedly concur that ghazal can be a "medium for comical effect." I cherish each couplet, so much fun and peculiar experimentation with the language.
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