"In the beginning was the Word...."
"Reality is only an illusion,
albeit a very persistent one."
Albert Einstein
I recently discovered one of the most amazingly concise and thorough descriptions imaginable regarding what makes a poem "good". It was written by Hale Chatfield, and I'm including here a link to the article: www.poetrypower.com/poetry.htm#what
I found this very helpful, and hope you will also.
Tribute:
Mona Van Duyn was born in Waterloo, Iowa, in 1921. During her lifetime, she won many prestigious awards for her published poetry, including the Pulitzer Prize. She was the first woman to serve as Poet Laureate of the United States and she was a Chancellor of The Academy of American Poets. She died on December 1, 2004 in St. Louis, Missouri. She will be missed. Below, I have presented one of my favorite poems...it just happens to be Ms. Van Duyn's. (I highly recommend reading this one out loud!)
What the Motorcycle Said
by Mona Van Duyn
Br-r-ram-m-m, rackety-am-m, OM, Am:
All-r-r-room, r-r-ram, ala-bas-ter-
Am, the world’s my oyster.
I hate plastic, wear it black and slick,
hate hardhats, wear one on my head,
that’s what the motorcycle said.
Passed phonies in Fords, knocked down billboards, landed
on the other side of The Gap, and Whee,
bypassed history.
When I was born (The Past), baby knew best.
They shook when I bawled, took Freud’s path,
threw away their wrath.
R-r-rackety-am-m. Am. War, rhyme,
soap, meat, marriage, the Phantom Jet
are shit, and like that.
Hate pompousness, punishment, patience, am into Love,
hate middle-class moneymakers, live on Dad,
that’s what the motorcycle said.
Br-r-r-am-m-m. It’s Nowsville, man. Passed Oldies, Uglies,
Straighties, Honkies. I’ll never be
mean, tired, or unsexy.
Passed cigarette suckers, souses, mother-fuckers,
losers, went back to Nature and found
how to get VD, stoned.
Passed a cow, too fast to hear her moo, "I rolled
our leaves of grass into one ball.
I am the grassy All."
Br-r-r-am-m-m, rackety-am-m, OM, Am:
All-gr-r-rin, oooohgah, gl-l-utton-
Am, the world’s my smilebutton.
These are a few of my favorite things:
DeeCrepit
fleetingshadows
oneroleofmany
TillyMay
artis
astralshepherd
AshesToDiamond
queenie
EstherG
silica
AutomaticPilate
stompsalot
twistedpisces
ScarletTanager
whims
macandrew
HappyWanderer
NurseChilly
Odyssey
AnnD
unfathomable
Desiree Dark
Maureen
kvwriter
Samplette
philophant
Ashi
Jensenn
Ohbi Bohb
to name but a few of the talented
poets on this site
"What is a poet? An unhappy person
who conceals profound anguish in his heart
but whose lips are so formed that
as sighs and cries pass over them
they sound like beautiful music." - Kierkegaard
The Moo Cow Moo
By Edmund Vance Cooke
My Papa held me up to the Moo Cow Moo
So Close I could almost touch,
And I fed him a couple of times or two,
And I wasn't a fraid-cat, much.
But if my Papa goes in the house,
And my Mama she goes in too,
I keep still as a little mouse
'Cause the Moo Cow Moo might moo!
The Moo Cow's tail is a piece of rope,
All ravelled out where it grows;
And it's just like feelin' a piece of soap
All over the Moo Cow's nose.
And the Moo Cow Moo has lots of fun
Just switchin' his tail about;
But, if he opens his mouth - why then - I run,
'Cause that's where the Moo comes out.
The Moo Cow Moo has deers on his head,
And his eyes stick out of their place,
And the nose of the Moo Cow Moo is spread
All over the Moo Cow's face.
And his feet are nothing but fingernails,
And his mama don't keep 'em cut,
And he gives folks milk in water pails,
When he don't keep his handles shut.
But if you or I pull his handles, why
The Moo Cow Moo says it hurts.
But the hired man sits down close by
And squirts, and squirts, and squirts.
The poem above is the first I ever remember hearing,
told to our class by my 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Ward.
I never forgot the poem...and I never forgot Mrs. Ward.
Any who have read my poetry will immediately realize the great
impact this piece has had on me. It not only gave me
a love of poetry that has lasted over 40 years,
but it probably influenced my style more
profoundly than any poem I've read since.
There's certainly more beautiful poetry out there,
and I've read many poems that are funnier;
there are thousands that are more perfectly rendered.
But, for me...as with that first kiss...this will always be
the one that lives in my heart.
Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just
common sense, dancing. -- Clive James
Stuff about me that I can't imagine anyone wanting to know:
First, and most importantly,
the beautiful dog whose image
graces this page is Lucy.
She is my best friend, and
you will often find her romping
through my poetry.
I love to play with fire...that is, I have a torch
and love to make glass beads with it...
though I produce beads only a mother could love.
I love to read, and devour anything from
Sci-Fi to autobiography...
whatever strikes my fancy at the moment.
My taste in music is ecclectic, but my favorites are:
Spanish/classical guitar
Old blues - Billie Holiday rules
Old rock'n roll and the better of the new stuff:
Three Doors Down
Fuel
Nickleback
The Offspring
Trapt
I am a rabid RPG fan...
and, no...I don't play on-line.
I play at home, alone, the way God & Microsoft intended.
After a hard day at work
(where they won't let me kill the bad guys),
it's great to come home and play Elderscrolls
(where I can kill as many of 'em as I want!)
I love to laugh...although I have a twisted sense of humor -
yes, I am the one who sits behind you at the theater
and laughs at all the places where no one else is laughing.
I have also driven two husbands away,
primarily by laughing in the midst of big fights....
I mean, at some point, doesn't it just get too funny not to laugh?
I just found a poem that I fell in love with at first-read:
Regret
By Alice E. Clear
Your gossamer bridge
Stretched across my path.
Being a woman,
I am grieved to see
Your frail web shattered.
I have a love for weavers,
And a grief for dreams.
"If as a society, we ... started to teach our children
how to live to be happy. How to live to inspire.
How to live to feed their soul. Maybe we would
spend less time trying to prevent all the many ways we can die
while living out our lives as we should."
twistedpisces AKA JayLynn
(a very smart AP friend & great poet)
All that's left is my poetry....so help yourself.
I'd love feedback...and, I can handle
reality, so let me know if there's something
that you see in one of my pieces that
needs some work...I mean, you'd tell me if my
kid had a hole in his pants, right?
So...same thing.
It's mine. I love it. And I want it to look good.
Oh, yeah. Thanks for dropping by!
- Last seen on May 29 5:09 PM. Member since November 4, 2003.
- I'm a dreamwine poet for 3923 comments.
- My mood is , and quote is "Unstable".
- I am a woman from Oregon (United States)
- When I'm not writing, I'm a lifeskills teacher..

































- I have 3,923 comments, 8 contests, 270 poems, 2 stories
My Poetry
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The river canyon stands
testament to the battle -
Feedback is welcome.
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Would appreciate critical input. This is pretty rough. Just scratched it out and need new eyes to help spot the places that need sanding.
My Stories
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She watches him as he salts his meal. He has always applied a liberal dousing of those small white crystals to any dish placed before him. He never tastes the food793 lines, 6 comments, January 19, 2005. In <200 lines, Fiction
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Stepping incautiously into the clear slow-flowing stream, I was caught unprepared by the sharp, sudden pain that assailed me. A thin thread of red extended from my right954 lines, 14 comments, March 20, 2004. In <200 lines, Other
Guest Book
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EstherG : Oh my god!!! on February 17You're back!!! So lovely to hear from you. I don't have time to message you properly right now, but I will VERY SOON, and will comment on your most recent posts too! Hope you're ok and that you're still writing...and it really is lovely to see you back here XXX
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Mark Rickerby on February 15Hey ol' pal,
Thanks for your comment on my silly Christmas tree poem. lol Glad it gave you a chuckle. I just read your author page and enjoyed it thoroughly. Lots to inspire and uplift there. Love the moo cow poem. It's great that you remember what originally inspired you to become a writer. Most don't know, like that old Neruda poem, Poetry. I'll copy it below in case you haven't read it. It has always been one of my favorites of his.
I see you're still calling me HappyWanderer up there, unless someone else has acquired my old name. Only my oldest friends here know me as HW.
I hope you've been happy and well. Give Lucy a kiss on the nose for me. I'm off to read Chatfield's article now.
Mark
Poetry
And it was at that age...Poetry arrived
in search of me. I don't know, I don't know where
it came from, from winter or a river.
I don't know how or when,
no, they were not voices, they were not
words, nor silence,
but from a street I was summoned,
from the branches of night,
abruptly from the others,
among violent fires
or returning alone,
there I was without a face
and it touched me.
I did not know what to say, my mouth
had no way
with names
my eyes were blind,
and something started in my soul,
fever or forgotten wings,
and I made my own way,
deciphering
that fire
and I wrote the first faint line,
faint, without substance, pure
nonsense,
pure wisdom
of someone who knows nothing,
and suddenly I saw
the heavens
unfastened
and open,
planets,
palpitating plantations,
shadow perforated,
riddled
with arrows, fire and flowers,
the winding night, the universe.
And I, infinitesimal being,
drunk with the great starry
void,
likeness, image of
mystery,
I felt myself a pure part
of the abyss,
I wheeled with the stars,
my heart broke loose on the wind.
- Pablo Neruda
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queenie on February 14you couldn't even imagine the pleasure i felt when i saw that you were on the site. i can say that i can't wait to read what you have posted. my appetite is craving a poetic buffet and i know i am about to be sated.thank you for everything and i want you to know that you were on my mind and always in my heart.
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Maureen : Hi Deb, on January 16, 2008Long time, no see. I hope if you ever visit AP again, you'll say hello to me. Hope all is well with you.
Happy New Year!
<3 Maureen
