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An elegy before the fact. A friend requested that I write her a farewell address, a dry-run for the final round, a dress rehearsal for her funeral, & so I've tried to picture how I'll find her...
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Very impressive, Mike. To great effect the blank verse and the metrical substitutions. Especially re the penultimate line - which features as well one of the most touching enjambments I've ever...
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Thank you, Dutch. I'm glad to hear that the enjambment didn't unbalance the closure. I was a little afraid it would. I was also afraid that the repetition of the first line would come off artificial....
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MIKE-THOUGHT THE FIRST AND LAST LINE WORKED BEAUTIFULLY. VERY INTERESTED IN THE ALTERNATINGSLANT RHYMES. THE LAST SYLLABLE OF ALTERNATING LINES PRODUCES THE SAME SOUND. HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHEN THIS IS...
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A--that's a very good question. One of the mysteries of poetry to me is that I often cannot say what I was thinking when I made a decision. Some kind of muse-inspired forgetting. I venture something,...
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Hi Mike. I never come here... well, hardly ever. When I do I realise that I might have missed some great poetry. Like this.You must know what a stodge I am about rhyme ( ) and yet I read this through,...
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Mike. I heard you read this one recently and enjoyed it then, but I was able to get much more out of it in this format. I enjoy spoken poetry because I can get more of the emotional nuances that come...
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Thanks, Jude--Actually the woman asked for the poem "on spec," she being just a friend who knows I'm a poet but doesn't follow the reading circuit. You're right about the typo, of course. I'm very...
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Mike:A masterful poem. Others have addressed technical matters and certain phrases. I would like to touch upon the choice of subject matter. Of course, any subject matter, pretty much, is potential...
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Mike,Impressive indeed.One aspect struck me and I do not know whether it was intentional.The written poem describes an unwritten one, i.e. the elegy and turns out to be some kind of an elegy in...
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Mike,Very nice poem and touching. It wouldn't matter if you did not slant it or if you indented alternate lines. The poem is about substance, and substance it has in plenty.Best wishes,Paddy
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