#charleston poetry

[big-low-t]

Come walk among the trees with me

Along the trail we will find some peace

Maybe we will see a deer or two

And listen to the creek that meanders through

We'll stop and gaze at the wild flowers

It's just you and me, the woods are ours

All the birds are singing their morning tunes

It's so pretty here, but so are you

Spending time in the forest is absolute bliss

A perfect place for our first kiss

Hand in hand our eyes do lock

It feels to me like time has stopped

Our lips come together under a pine

And with that, I am yours, and you are mine

[emcroissant]

I’ve started to migrate over to tumblr from twitter, just in case 😔 I’ve made a good tl and algorithm over there and need to make one here. So here’s a bit about me!

I’m 23, she/her/hers, ✡️🇮🇪🇮🇹, American, demisexual bisexual

I’m a MA student studying architectural history at a uni in the UK

I received my BA in Historic Preservation and Jewish Studies

I write fanfic but I also love writing about non-fiction topics

I’ll tag my interests below, so if you see this on your feed, chances are we have something in common! ☺️

I’d like to keep my moots 18+, not necessarily because of sexual themes, but I do talk about other stuff a lot.

[manwalksintobar]

The Cat and the Saxophone (2 A.M.)  // Langston Hughes

EVERYBODY Half-pint,— Gin? No, make it LOVES MY BABY Corn. You like Liquor, don’t you, honey? BUT MY BABY Sure. Kiss me, DON’T LOVE NOBODY daddy. BUT ME. Say! EVERYBODY Yes? I’m your BUT MY BABY sweetie, ain’t I? DON’T WANT NOBODY Sure. BUT Then let’s ME, do it! SWEET ME. Charleston, mamma! !

[lbsedlacek]

Chasing Sunsets

New poetry book, Chasing Sunsets, of poems about Charleston, Daniel Island and of course Sunsets, now available! There’s nothing better than watching a good sunset. All the colors: orange, red, yellow, pink are a sight to see. The sun blazes across the sky then dips down to sleep on that end of the earth at night.This new book of poems by award winning poet LB Sedlacek involves the setting sun…

[ukdamo]

Charleston

Afaa M. Weaver

In a fountain at the harbour, children wash themselves in water spraying in the heat. They count themselves dark and light. The aircraft carrier sits in the moist nothing of salt water, tons of tons weighing in the soft splash. We count our wishes, to be free, to be at ease, to be in abundance. Above us spirits whirl in a thunderhead.

On steps across from the slave mart, I peel an orange for the slow rip of its flesh in my thumb, the sweet dotting of my nose with its juice. I suck the threads of it, gaze at the wooden doors now closed, at the empty space inside with iron hooks. I can see the white folks' heads checking available cash in front of naked Africans chained, bereaved, and listening to a cruelty yet to be born. I can smell the congregation of odours, humans fresh from slave ships or working in fields, and humans fresh from beds of fine linen, sleeping with fingers in Bibles and prayers.

This is not a petty thing because we have a rental car with an air conditioner, a tape player, and various cushions. We have come far to do this, to gaze out from the banks of this plantation river to the rice fields, to walk in Charleston. I keep the heat from threatening my life, and I wonder if I could have survived slavery to be old, if being old is all there is to live to be. I walk around the slave quarters and hear African languages speaking in magnolias.

[randomrichards]

SEEDS OF CHANGE:

Organic farmer

Makes garden for prisoners

Reforms prison food

[rickpoet]

A piece from "The Low Country Shvitz" dedicated to Charleston, and America, and Cookies. Check out the book at poetrysuperhighway.com/shvitz

[castrotophic]

not sure if anyone is interested in this but here is a list of the most joyfully vital poems I know :)

You're the Top by Ellen Bass

Grand Fugue by Peter E. Murphy

Our Beautiful Life When It's Filled with Shrieks by Christopher Citro

Everything Is Waiting For You by David Whyte

Lawrence Ferlinghetti Is Alive! by Emily Sernaker

Instructions for Assembling the Miracle by Peter Cooley

Catalogue of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay

Barton Springs by Tony Hoagland

Footnote to Howl by Allen Ginsberg

Song of the Open Road by Walt Whitman

Tomorrow, No, Tomorrower by Bradley Trumpfheller

At Last the New Arriving by Gabrielle Calvocoressi

To a Self-Proclaimed Manic Depressive Ex-Stripper Poet, After a Reading by Jeannine Hall Gailey

In the Presence of Absence by Richard Widerkehr

Chillary Clinton Said 'We Have to Bring Them to Heal' by Cortney Lamar Charleston

Midsummer by Charles Simic

Today by Frank O'Hara

Naturally by Stephen Dunn

Life is Slightly Different Than You Think It Is by Arthur Vogelsang

Ode to My Husband, Who Brings the Music by Zeina Hashem Beck

The Imaginal Stage by D.A. Powell

Lucky Life by Gerald Stern

Beginner's Lesson by Malcolm Alexander

Presidential Poetry Briefing by Albert Haley

A Poem for Uncertainties by Mark Terrill

On Coming Home by Lisa Summe

G-9 by Tim Dlugos

Five Haiku by Billy Collins

The Fates by David Kirby

Upon Receiving My Inheritance by William Fargason

Variation on a Theme by W. S. Merwin

Easy as Falling Down Stairs by Dean Young

Psalm 150 by Jericho Brown

Pantoum for Sabbouha by Zeina Hashem Beck

ASMR by Corey Van Landingham

A Welcome by Joanna Klink

From Blossoms by Li-Young Lee

At Church, I Tell My Mom She’s Singing Off-Key and She Says, by Michael Frazier

Hammond B3 Organ Cistern by Gabrielle Calvocoressi

Sorrow Is Not My Name by Ross Gay

You Can't Have It All by Barbara Ras

We Were Emergencies by Buddy Wakefield

To the Woman Crying Uncontrollably In the Next Stall by Kim Addonizio

[cinader]

Vanessa Lee-Miller, Yvette R. Murray

Tony Robles interviews two poets, Vanessa Lee Miller in Great Britain, and Yvette R. Murray in Charleston, SC. And… some spoken word recordings by Vanessa Lee-Miller, Katherine Dunn, Reg E. Gaines, Q.R. Hand jr., Yvette R. Murray, Avotcja and Lord Buckley

Listen & Be Heard Podcast Episode 27 Subscribe at Spotify Subscribe at Apple Subscribe at Google Language Activism and Downtown Research Tony Robles interviews two poets, Vanessa Lee Miller in Great Britain, and Yvette R. Murray in Charleston, SC. And… some spoken word recordings by Vanessa Lee-Miller, Katherine Dunn, Reg E. Gaines, Q.R. Hand jr., Yvette R. Murray, Avotcja and Lord…

[big-low-t]

State Capital

.

Gold leaf tax-gilded dome

Covering shit-filled corridors

Where old white demons call it home

.

Talk out of both sides of their mouths

While taking over the table nudges

From corporate money pouches

.

With one hand under the table

Sucking up bribes from the rich

And cutting funding for disabled

.

Tax citizens every time they move

Not bothering or even caring

All under the coal baron's hooves

.

Keep the regulations low they say

While the cancer rates soar

Should probably vote yourself a raise

.

But they are putting in such hard days

It takes a lot of work to polish manure

Do you understand sarcasm anyway?

.

Even our districts are gerrymandered

Making most votes inconsequential

Like anything we want even matters

.

[imaginemirage]

"How Do You Raise a Black Child? From the dead. With pallbearers who are half as young as their faces suggest and twice the oxen they should be."

Cortney Lamar Charleston

[sunskate]

so im kinda new to ice dance, but which team, current or past, do you think has the best and most difficult lifts?

well, VM haha - i love them so much that you can accuse me of being biased, but there are many objective reasons they were the best at this - @macaroni-rascal made a wonderful post about their lifts and what made VM exceptional at them:

and the gifset by @bartowskis she mentions is great too

iconic VM lifts are so numerous that @macaroni-rascal didn't even mention their incredible serpentine lift from Pink Floyd or the one in the Charleston program both just after her first surgery where she rolls down his body and perfectly but blindly puts her hand on his skate, and there are more - their body control and awareness of each other was just unparalleled. as were their skating skills, their strength - it allowed them to do incredibly difficult lifts and make them look easy. and to do them in such a musical way - they were the best

[lucifer-misadventures-au]

Morningstar's Symphonic Tear's AU: The Children of The Fallen and Their Titles

Pride

Arthitus 'Arthur' Morningstar | The First Son of Pride | The Child of The Cosmos

Charleston 'Charlie' Morningstar | The Second Son of Pride | The Child of The Artistic

Lancelot 'Lance' Morningstar | The Third Son of Pride | The Child of The Blossoms

Hexter 'Hex' Morningstar | The Fourth Son of Pride | The Child of The Virtual

Vladimir 'Vlad' Morningstar | The Fifth Son of Pride | The Child of The Technological

Cain 'Ain' Morningstar | The Sixth Son of Pride | The Child of The Musical

Abel 'Ab' Morningstar | The Seventh Son of Pride | The Child of The Agricultural

Seth 'Eth' Morningstar | The Eighth Son of Pride | The Child of The Poetry

Wrath

Keith Morningstar | The First Son of Wrath | The Child of The Craftsmanship

Draven Morningstar | The Second Son of Wrath | The Child of The Ammunition

Blaze Morningstar | The Third Son of Wrath | The Child of The Rumination

Lust

Gloria Morningstar | The First Daughter of Lust | The Child of The Methodical

Leo Morningstar | The First Son of Lust | The Child of The Sentiment

Ceil Morningstar | The Second Son of Lust | The Child of The Ameliorate

Gluttony

Esper Morningstar | The First Son of Gluttony | The Child of The Jaunty

Ember Morningstar | The First Daughter of Gluttony | The Child of The Merriment

Greed

Manny Morningstar | The First Son of Greed | The Child of The Industrial

Nyla Morningstar | The First Daughter of Greed | The Child of The Succeeding

Envy

Elizabeth Morningstar | The First Daughter of Envy | The Child of The Determination

Bartholomew 'Bart' Morningstar | The First Son of Envy | The Child of The Nautical

Sloth

Lunalith Morningstar | The First Daughter of Sloth | The Child of The Medicine

Maria Morningstar | The Second Daughter of Sloth | The Child of The Herbalism

Ronette Morningstar | The Third Daughter of Sloth | The Child of Poisoning

------------------------------------------------

Their Titles are based on their Passions, take a guess on what they are

[randomravager]

okay! The list:

Richard siken - ive read crush fucking loved it, the way he structures lines is so glgkfkgk to me also as i have an intrest in queer history: “there are many names in history but none of them are ours”

Ariana brown - queer poet but mainly poetry about being black and mexican, ive read her stuff on poetry foundation, and she has spoken poetry on bandcamp which is fucking amazing.

Cortney lamar charleston - ive only read a few poems, Devotion, Elegy for a False Sense of Security, and When I Grow Up I Want to Be a Matyr. I need to read more of his stuff. The structuring of his poems isnt my favorite but eh still good

Danez smith - LOVE. I think ive read all the poems that are on poetry foundation? I should look for more ngl. Read Dear white america. Please. I love it. Also, 17 year old in a gay bar is so glfkfkgkfl. Alternate names for black boys???!?!?!? LOVE IT FUCKING HURTS. The poem Jumped! Reminds me of the whole intricate rituals thing, the intamacy of violence and whatnot. And the poem Sideshow???? Ugghghgh

Ocean Vuong - just read night sky with exit wounds a few days ago. Loved it. Understood like none of it but i fucking loved it. Need to reread it to take down quotes this time so i can put them on my QuoteWall tm. Also so i can google the meanings and get hurt a second time

Justice Ameer - read two poems, fucking died. You know.

Courtney Peppernell - currently reading pillow thoughts. Heartbreaking

Allen Ginsberg - read a few of his poems. Despite it being his most popular poem, Howl was definately not my fav. The whitman style rambling is not my favorite. I loved America. Homework is also good. I should learn more history to understand whats going on in a lot of his poems lol. Ive also been meaning to look into more beat generation poets

uhhh theres prob more idk

dude im so excited to read these

[bisluthq]

fave poetry? any suggestions where to start? The only poetry I read is Halsey and Florence's poetry books

oh there’s so much. If you really haven’t explored much poetry aside from that and school, I’d also recommend “starting” with the classics: Byron, Tennyson, Eliot, ee cummings, Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Jorge Luis Borges, Mary Robinson (I have a real soft spot for her because she was a bit of a Taylor in that she was very famous for her very messy personal life and kinda the first victim of celeb culture in some ways and she responded to that by being extremely prolific as a writer), Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes etc. All of those are extremely interesting to me and I’d recommend reading their collections rather than the “famous” poems because some of my favourite ones aren’t the ones most commonly taught in schools.

in terms of current contemporary poets, some of my faves are Koleka Putuma (really cannot recommend her collection or individual works highly enough), Anne Carson (super fucking weird lol but I love that about her), Kaveh Akbar (he has a lot of poems on trying to stay sober and I love and relate to those a lot), Cortney Lamar Charleston (I don’t relate to most of what he says but it’s very interesting and well written), Douglas Kearney and just for funsies check out Amber Tamblyn’s stuff (because she also writes about fame a lot so if you like Taylor, that should be interesting to you).

this is a good starting point imo. Let me know if you like any/all of them and I can always recommend more because I read a lot of poetry.

[soul-plant]

Twenty Sixth Summer

Summer is the air conditioner starting to make a funny sound.

It's my bare foot on the gas pedal

Speeding down a dark highway

My skin still wet, hair dripping, and smelling like the river.

Summer is baking in the sun until we can't stand it

Before we dive into the freezing water, slipping over the rocks in our bikinis.

We come to a place on our hike

And little bundles of leaves and sticks are wrapped up like presents

Waiting for our discovery

Tiny blessings

Summer Rain

The mimosa blooms have fizzled out, but I was pleased with how long they lasted.

At night, the sky is so hot that it cracks

Softly splitting

The clouds light up for an instant

I watch from my window

Flying down the interstate

Smiling and crying to a Tom Petty song;

"There's a dream I keep having

Where my mama comes to me

And she kneels down over by the window

and says a prayer for me."

Summer is the stairs leading to a waterfall

I've been here before?

The wind and the mist is powerful

I can feel something come over me

As I watch my sister play on the rocks

Summer is a broken heart

Writing poetry again

Almost lighting Daddy's porch on fire.

Twice.

Falling asleep on the couch

Open windows, the screens ripped and torn

Hot nights on the rooftop,

Running across the street to the jazz bar

Summer looks different now,

But some things don't change

Like the moon following us home from Charleston

The smell of sun tan lotion

And my dirty feet.