Sunday, April 18, 2010

National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry MonthErotic Horizon has suggested for bloggers to do something poetic. So here are a couple of my favorites.

 

 

[in Just-]

by e. e. cummings 

in Just-
spring          when the world is mud-
luscious the little
lame balloonman

whistles          far          and wee

and eddieandbill come
running from marbles and
piracies and it's
spring

when the world is puddle-wonderful

the queer
old balloonman whistles
far          and             wee
and bettyandisbel come dancing

from hop-scotch and jump-rope and

it's
spring
and

         the

                  goat-footed

balloonMan          whistles
far
and
wee
 
FOG 
by Carl Sandberg
 
   The fog comes
on little cat feet.

It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.
 
 
 
 
 
 

16 comments:

  1. Oh, I had forgotten about the mud-luscious world! Thanks for the reminder, Wren.

    The second one gives me the giggles now, after having cats. Based on the cats I know, that fog would be leaving dents on cars...

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  2. Glad you're a fan of balloon man!

    My son's cats are fog-like (or ninja-like, maybe). One second, you're alone. Turn around, turn back and there are cats there, in your face. But, they have made their share of dents, too!

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  3. Fabulous poems, Wren. I love ee cummings.

    The fog poem has such a great central image, although if it were my cat she'd pounce at the nearest skyscaper :).

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  4. Jen: Eek! The image of kitty fang coming through a window as one sits in one's skyscraper office...

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  5. Chris: Yeah, that is a bit like the stuff of nightmares :).

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  6. Now I have an image in my head of huge cats forming out of tendrils of fog, invading the city, stirring terror in the hearts of all high-rise dwellers...

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  7. Wren, you've chosen two of my favorites! I teach these two poems every semester.

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  8. I used to teach them, too, Eyre!

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  9. I'm such a poetry philistine, but even I remember the fog coming in on little cat feet and the goat-footed balloon man. Good to see these again. Great choices, Wren!

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  10. Hi Wren..

    Thank you for taking up the challenge...

    I love Sandberg - Although I will admit my two fav or his are The Shovel Man and The Soiled Dove...

    Fog is beautiful...

    Thank you for sharing those two - I have not read a lot of EE Cummings - but I will be visiting more of his works now...

    P.S. - I love the fog pic, very apt..

    E.H>

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  11. Hi Val! I've loved both these poems for a loooong time, but of course hadn't actually thought about them recently. This was a nice visit. :)

    Hi E.H. - e.e. cummings has strange and beautiful and visual poetry. There's a lot to sink your teeth into.

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  12. I agree Wren - One poem I can remember clearly from Cummings is Dying is fine)But death...

    It's a relatively short piece, and took me a while "to get" and even when I did - I still didn't...

    I do find him a powerful poet - but only in small doses for me...

    I will try to read more of him though.

    E.H>

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  13. Woot! The balloonman poem was the one that hooked me on cummings! Thanks for the reminder, Wren.

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  14. E.H> I can understand the need for small doses. ee requires a fair bit of analysis, I think!

    K.Z. - You're welcome :)

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  15. I love ee cummings. The Fog I'd never read, thanks for sharing.

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  16. Hi Lily!
    Thanks for stopping by. The Fog is one of my favorites - so much in so few words!

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