Today's poet

[Hes]

I liked the autumnal lines from Mountain Goatess.

For Sunbeam Alpine, I also like the poetry of Ted Hughes:

A Childish Prank

Man's and woman's bodies lay without souls,
Dully gaping, foolishly staring, inert
On the flowers of Eden.
God pondered.

The problem was so great, it dragged him asleep.

Crow laughed.
He bit the Worm, God's only son,
Into two writhing halves.

He stuffed into man the tail half
With the wounded end hanging out.

He stuffed the head half headfirst into woman
And it crept in deeper and up
To peer out through her eyes
Calling it's tail-half to join up quickly, quickly
Because O it was painful.

Man awoke being dragged across the grass.
Woman awoke to see him coming.
Neither knew what had happened.

God went on sleeping.

Crow went on laughing.

Ted Hughes

[Harry H Howgill]

autumn brown leaves fall
winter draws on and vest
spring hopes and dreams dwell

I've only just got that second time round.

"Winter draws on and vest" is a brilliant line. Very subtle and very funny.

[Harry H Howgill]

I just tried reading the section about the seasonal bit of haiku and what a lot of twaddle! I kept skipping pages and would still come back to more of the same. Blimey there are an awful lot of rules (subtleties they might argue) about haiku the real pros can get their knickers in a twist about. 5,7,5 insistance is the least of their worries. Life is too short methinks.

Like you, I believe there are people on this forum who write far better haiku, unrestrained by whatever convention is or isn't in vogue by the so-called experts. I too feel inspired by that fact and would love to put my money where my mouth is. I've started thinking of a project already. It definately involves hills, running, wildlife and friendships. I know I'm one step behind you on that and am looking forward to seeing the result.

I agree with you about Wing Beats HHH. I have been reading the notes at the back and there is quite a bit about using the birds' names as seasonal words (that haiku are supposed to contain). I disagreed with their list somewhat. They have curlew down as a winter word and, for me, its about summer but that's to do with where I live. It's a mine field methinks. I also think the haiku were written prior to the book idea coming into being so probably they existed on their own and needed the birds' names but it does come across as a bit clunky in the anthology at times.

Some of the haiku were quite mediocre, I thought, but then a few of them are wonderful, really evocative. It did make me think that you, Derby Tup, Stef, myself and many others have written equally good (if not better) birdy haiku at times. Anyway, I am feeling inspired by that fact.

[freckle]

I liked the autumnal lines from Mountain Goatess.

For Sunbeam Alpine, I also like the poetry of Ted Hughes:

A Childish Prank

Man's and woman's bodies lay without souls,
Dully gaping, foolishly staring, inert
On the flowers of Eden.
God pondered.

The problem was so great, it dragged him asleep.

Crow laughed.
He bit the Worm, God's only son,
Into two writhing halves.

He stuffed into man the tail half
With the wounded end hanging out.

He stuffed the head half headfirst into woman
And it crept in deeper and up
To peer out through her eyes
Calling it's tail-half to join up quickly, quickly
Because O it was painful.

Man awoke being dragged across the grass.
Woman awoke to see him coming.
Neither knew what had happened.

God went on sleeping.

Crow went on laughing.

Ted Hughes

I really adore this poem, I love the imagery and the notion of two people being driven by unconscious forces, helpless by desire.....nice one Hes

There has been a wealth of good choices and orginal work on here over the past few days which I am just catching up on. It was great to see you back MG with a contribution and Hes I am really excited by your book idea (your haiku were gorgeous as ever)...also HHH you are being very enigmatic about your project, I am really looking forward to seeing what enfolds...the future is bright, the future is poetried!

ps ...sunbeam I am really looking forward to seeing Jo shapcott and Don paterson at the lit and phil in town be good to catch up with a fellow fell poet again, if anyone can make the journey to newcastle details can be found here....http://www.litandphil.org.uk/html_pages/LP_news.html

[freckle]

I think is a pretty stunning poem from the forward book of poetry 2010.


Altogether Elsewhere
Tess Taylor

They multiply, these cities of the heart.
Rooms we stop to rest our bodies in.

Brief beds: One California night
I saw humpbacked coastal ranges,

and scotch-tinged, wet from naked swimming,
woke to smokestacks and dawn in Queens.

Light split the branches of new trees.
Stage set lives implied themselves from props.

Now morning, with its birds, construction sites,
sun on a western feeway, city garden filled

with lavender, with childhood light
this midsummer too will go soon.

O unfinishable rooms,
homes that feel so real so briefly,

I feel you incomplete me, incompletely.

[stevefoster]

To search and never find
Is better than not to search
I find
Just popped into my manflued head.

[freckle]

To search and never find
Is better than not to search
I find
Just popped into my manflued head.

I like that...reminds me of shakespeares lines "tis better to have loved and lost then never have loved before" or summink like that! :-)

[freckle]

its national poetry day on the 7th october...i wonder how we should mark it....or whether we need to be involved at all?

http://www.nationalpoetryday.co.uk/national-events/

apparently the theme is "home"....knowing this thread we will just do our own thing anyway!

[stevefoster]

I like that...reminds me of shakespeares lines "tis better to have loved and lost then never have loved before" or summink like that! :-)

Summink along them lines

[Derby Tup]

its national poetry day on the 7th October.......knowing this thread we will just do our own thing anyway!