#formative poems

[aboutbirds]

One must have a mind of winter To regard the frost and the boughs Of the pine-trees crusted with snow; And have been cold a long time To behold the junipers shagged with ice, The spruces rough in the distant glitter Of the January sun; and not to think Of any misery in the sound of the wind, In the sound of a few leaves, Which is the sound of the land Full of the same wind That is blowing in the same bare place For the listener, who listens in the snow, And, nothing himself, beholds Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.

Wallace Stevens, "The Snow Man," from Collected Poetry and Prose

[juha-art]

ELECTROCHEMISTRY- No one will ever want to sleep with you.

Litany in Which Certain Things Are Crossed Out, Richard Siken

[taitavva]

[Worlds in Worlds — Danusha Laméris]

[rowanisawriter]

deeply embarrassing being god born in ancient greece i think, everyone knows the exact place and detailed story of your conception, “yeah that’s aeneas his mom and dad fucked at the foot of mount ida” i would die. i would die every time someone addressed me by my full name “aeneas son of anchises who everyone knows aphrodite fucked at the foot of mount ida” god

[katerinaaqu]

Like...people who think Achilles and Patroclus are lovers that's great and good for you (I consider myself one of them who interprets them as both lovers and friends because they are not mutually exclusive. I love both interpretations equally)

However if you guys criticize people who want to interpret them as friends and companions and you say "oh there is no way he would go through that end if they were *just* friends!" Or if you consider friendship a "downgrade" then I am glad I am not friends with you...

Because to me friends are like family and I would jump through the fire for them and I wouldn't stop at nothing for them. I don't need to bed someone to care deeply for them.

Be kind and let people interpret their favorite characters as they want. Of course the same goes for the other side too!

[sachaabadeer11]

I want a love without any doubt. I wanna be able to say, I love this person without ever thinking I might be looking stupid for saying that. I wanna look into your eyes and see the multiple universes where you and I always align. I wanna love myself through you. I want the relationship to be so pure, so fun, so youthful, but at the same time so mature. Every time I hold your hand I wanna feel like I’m being electrocuted. And every time we kiss I wanna feel like we’re the reason why this world stops revolving. I wanna spend hours in bed just talking and laughing, never sleeping, and then just deciding, “hey let’s go chase the sunrise real quick.” I wanna make love to you mentally, I wanna caress you with my poetry. I want love to feel like the first time again. And when we’re apart I wanna miss you missing me missing you. I want the butterflies in my stomach to evolve into moths. I want real. I want our connection to transcend the physical and dive into the depths of our souls. I want our love to be a masterpiece painted with the strokes of our passion and understanding. I want our love to be an eternal flame, illuminating the darkest corners of our lives.

[slices-of-naranja]

do any of my friends know the love I carry in every word i say to them. When I add too many words, drag on a joke that’s over, when I message them despite the fact the conversation barely ended five minutes ago? every word i speak is an intimacy that’s laced with outright adoration for them as people and all the little details that make them who they are. Do you know I love you? Do y’all know how much of you I try to commit to memory? How much I try to make you smile? do y’all know the love I feel for you?

[basilpaste]

& he forgives you dogs are like that so loyal dead dogs are just happy you're here Let Dead Dogs Lie, Silas Denver Melvin (from Grit)

〔You grit your teeth so hard that they shatter into fangs.〕

[mariathechosen1]

Digging too deep:

Philosophical obsession to the point of self destruction

[Image description: A collage consisting of 10 different photographs and quotes, all related to digging and holes. From top to bottom:

A wikipedia headline that says “Law of Holes”.

A close up of a shovel, digging into loose dirt.

An excerpt from a wikipedia article about the law of holes: The law of holes or the first law of holes, is an adage which states: "if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging." It is used as a metaphor, warning that when in an untenable position, it is best to stop making the situation worse.”

A lyrics excerpt from ‘The Song With Five Names’ by Will Wood: You can break a shovel when you break new ground / You dig dirt up when you dig deep down / You should know better than that by now / It's not profound to know that you could never know!

A blurry photograph of a dark rectangular hole in the ground, seemingly a grave. The hole is so dark the bottom of it isn’t visible. Besides the hole there is a pile of dirt.

A lyrics excerpt from ‘Hand Me My Shovel, I’m Going In!’ by Will Wood and The Tapeworms: Gotta get to the bottom of this/ Gotta get to the bottom of this / Gotta get to the bottom of this / Gotta gotta get, gotta gotta get, gotta get / Gotta get to the bottom of this / Gotta gotta get, gotta gotta get, gotta get / Gotta get to the bottom of this / Gotta gotta get, gotta gotta get, gotta get / Gotta get to the bottom of this / If it kills me

An excerpt from a wikipedia article about the law of holes: The second law of holes is commonly known as: "when you stop digging, you are still in a hole."

A photograph of a deep round hole. There’s a ladder going down into it and the bottom of the hole isn’t visible.

An excerpt from the transcript of episode 88 of The Magnus Archives: It was very strange. It was just the one word, solid capital letters in a small, neat typeface at the very centre of the page. It said ‘DIG’. I took that to be the title, and turned to the next page. ‘DIG’. Exactly the same. The third page. ‘DIG’. The fourth page. ‘DIG’. Dig, dig, dig, dig.

A lyrics excerpt from ‘Hand Me My Shovel, I’m Going In!’ by Will Wood and The Tapeworms: Looking down I could say heaven sent me / Hand me my shovel, I’m going in!

/end ID]

[‘Law of Holes’ - Wikipedia, ‘The Song with Five Names, a​.​k​.​a. Soapbox Tao, a​.​k​.​a. Checkmate Atheists! a​.​k​.​a. Neospace Government, a​.​k​.​a. You Can Never Know’ - Will Wood and the Tapeworms, ‘Hand Me My Shovel, I’m Going In!’ - Will Wood and the Tapeworms, MAG 88 ‘Dig’ - The Magnus Archives]

[knifeforkspooncup]

Black and White (a Good Omens Poem)

___

Pretend

We're in a film

No sound, colour, or sides

Would you kiss me then, in those shades

Of grey?

---

Form: cinquain poem

Prompt: kiss

[softinvasions]

[ and ] • Nov. 2023

only you resist      every ending reeling with grief     undone in perpetual longing   reconstructing how I looked when    you emboldened by that  deathless unreachable light    imagined singing and turned carrying on;             endless.

[aboutbirds]

The alphabet of the trees is fading in the song of the leaves the crossing bars of the thin letters that spelled winter and the cold have been illumined with pointed green by the rain and sun— The strict simple principles of straight branches are being modified by pinched-out ifs of color, devout conditions the smiles of love— . . . . . . until the stript sentences move as a woman's limbs under cloth and praise from secrecy quick with desire love's ascendancy in summer— In summer the song sings itself above the muffled words—

William Carlos Williams, "The Botticellian Trees," from Selected Poems

[quiltofstars]

Sarah's Galaxy, NGC 3628 // Michael Taivalmaa

Named for the English poet Sarah Williams (1837-1868), most famous for her poem "The Old Astronomer". The second half of the fourth stanza is widely quoted:

"Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light; I have loved the stars too truly to be fearful of the night."

[trickstersaint]

fr though you have to write bad poetry. poems are not handed down to you fully formed by god they are things that you have to work on and practice your skill at creating. nobody would expect you to sit down at a pottery wheel and end up with a perfect vase with no practice. it's a skill! art is a learned thing!! you have to make the shitty little pots with dents and marks and your fingerprints all over them in order to get better. and you're allowed to be proud of those first little pots you made too

[traumasurvivors]

Never Again

You broke me.

I won’t deny it.

An abundance of pieces,

I had to put back together.

But I did.

It won’t happen again

If you try to touch me,

You will bleed

On my jagged edges.

I have taken my body back.

You tried to make it yours.

Never again will you hurt me.

Any attempts will leave you

In pieces

Like you left me.

And when you are

Sobbing, on the floor

Shaky, covered in blood

Asking me why.

I will look at you so sweetly.

I will reassuringly shh your sobs.

And then I will tell you

“Because you asked for it”.

[katerinaaqu]

Epic the Musical:

Circe: Oh my! He cannot be transformed by my powers! What do I do?! What do I do?! Think think I need to protect my nymphs! Oh I know! He's a man after all! I'll seduce the hell out of him to get my power over him back! He clearly can defeat my entourage of wolves and lions all by himself! I mean he's damn immune to my magic! I am sure he can do anything with his sword!

Circe: *aggressive flirting*

Odysseus: Oh my gods oh my gods she is hot...what the hell?! Oh I am just a man! Forgive me... No! Wait! J can't! I love My wife way too much! Please let us go home! I miss my wife!

Circe: Awww that is so sweet! Of course darling. I was always a sucker for a good soap opera. Of course I'll help you free of charge and here's some useful tips for your trip! Drive home safely!

The Odyssey:

Circe: Oh my! This man actually had the AUDACITY to come in my home and threaten me! And he took all precautions (a God helped him no doubt). Finally a man I can consider worthy of standing by my side and not bad looking either!

Circe: Come on, darling. Remove your clothes and let's get down on it! Let's see what you've got!

Odysseus: (oh my! Forgive me Penelope that is the only way to save my men! Hermes told me not to refuse her a thing! She is a freaking goddess that commands all these wild beasts! Power over me or not she's a force to be reconed with!) F-Fine but I cannot do what you ask before I ensure my men are safe. Please release them first and then I will (gods gotta buy myself time! Ain't prepared!)

Circe: *does that*

Odysseus: *sighs* I guess we're doing this...

*A year later*

Odysseus: Okay men you had your fun but I can't keep entertaining her forever! We must go home!

Odysseus: Please Circe let me and my people go! We have to go back

Circe: Oh but can't you stay a bit more?

Odysseus: No...I miss my wife and son

Circe: Fine, my dear, if that's what you want... Your happiness is more important than my satisfaction and I love you so I shall let you go. You paid your price fully. Here are some useful tips for you, some provisions and good luck...