Poetry

Poetry
by Don Paterson

In the same way that the mindless diamond keeps
one spark of the planet's early fires
trapped forever in its net of ice,
it's not love's later heat that poetry holds,
but the atom of the love that drew it forth
from the silence: so if the bright coal of his love
begins to smoulder, the poet hears his voice
suddenly forced, like a bar-room singer's -- boastful
with his own huge feeling, or drowned by violins;
but if it yields a steadier light, he knows
the pure verse, when it finally comes, will sound
like a mountain spring, anonymous and serene.

Beneath the blue oblivious sky, the water
sings of nothing, not your name, not mine.

Mad World

If you can find the Gary Jules version of this song, do. I believe it's on the Donnie Darko soundtrack.

Mad World

All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places, worn out faces
Bright and early for their daily races
Going nowhere, going nowhere
Their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression, no expression
Hide my head, I want to drown my sorrow
No tomorrow, no tomorrow

And I find it kinda funny
I find it kinda sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles
It's a very, very
Mad world, mad world

Children waiting for the day they feel good
Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday
Made to feel the way that every child should
Sit and listen, sit and listen
Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me, no one knew me
Hello teacher, tell me what's my lesson
Look right through me, look right through me

And I find it kinda funny
I find it kinda sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles
It's a very, very
Mad world, mad world
Enlarging your world
Mad world

Happy Valentine's Day

Poetry on a postcard.

God Says Yes To Me

A poem that will never cease to throw me off or make me think.

God Says Yes To Me
by Kaylin Haught

I asked God if it was okay to be melodramatic
and she said yes
I asked her if it was okay to be short
and she said it sure is
I asked her if I could wear nail polish
or not wear nail polish
and she said honey
she calls me that sometimes
she said you can do just exactly
what you want to
Thanks God I said
And is it even okay if I don't paragraph
my letters
Sweetcakes God said
who knows where she picked that up
what I'm telling you is
Yes Yes Yes

(from Poetry 180, arranged by Billy Collins)

Post Secret

This week's batch of Post Secret entries are better than most. The concept still intrigues me, even though the site's gone a little down the tubes regarding cleanliness and propriety. When the secrets people post actually make sense, when they point to a common human condition--that's when I think they are most poignant. They are the things everyone thinks and no one says.

Moderation Is Not a Negation...

There are days I wish I could shout this poem at the majority of the world. But most of them wouldn't get it. (Editorial note: Thanks, Jason. I figured there was some html tag for formatting, but I was too lazy to look it up. Thanks for the assistance.)
Moderation Is Not a Negation of Intensity, But Helps Avoid Monotonyby John Tagliabue

Will you stop for a while, stop trying to pull yourself
           together
for some clear "meaning"--some momentary summary?
           no one
can have poetry or dances, prayers or climaxes all day;
           the ordinary
blankness of little dramatic consciousness is good for the
           health sometimes,
only Dostoevsky can be Dostoevskian at such long
           long tumultuous stretches;
look what that intensity did to poor great Van Gogh!;
           linger, lunge,
scrounge and be stupid, that doesn't take much centering
           of one's forces;
as wise Whitman said "lounge and invite the soul."  Get
           enough sleep;
and not only because (as Cocteau said) "poetry is the
           literature of sleep";
be a dumb bell for a few minutes at least; we don't want
           Sunday church bells
           ringing constantly.