getting killed by poetry
is such a sorrowful
fulfillment
of hopeful dreams
feet banned from walking
streets of cities
may fly the soul
to life and freedom
'there is no need for words'
yes, sadness is speechless
but lips kissed gently
may soften strife
your passionate words
could not warm you
and clothes
were too late
hereby I remember
the words
you forgot
to say:
catch my dying words
beloved:
love me forever
tenderly
myra
2007/60
Author notes
Requested information:
Osip Mandelstam:
Born: January 15 [O.S. January 3] 1891
Warsaw, Congress Poland
Died: December 27, 1938
transit camp "Vtoraya Rechka" (near Vladivostok),
USSR
Somewhat more on Osip M.:
Osip Mandelstam wrote "... several poems which seemed to glorify Stalin (including Ode To Stalin), but in 1937, at the outset of the Great Purge, the literary establishment began the systematic assault on him in print, first locally and soon after that from Moscow, accusing him of harboring anti-Soviet views. Early the next year Mandelstam and his wife received a government voucher for a vacation not far from Moscow; upon arrival he was promptly arrested again.
Four months later Mandelstam was sentenced to hard labor. He arrived at transit camp near Vladivostok and managed to pass on a note to his wife back home with a request for warm clothes; he never received them. The official cause of his death is an unspecified illness.
Mandelstam's own prophecy was fulfilled:
"Only in Russia poetry is respected – it gets people killed. Is there anywhere else where poetry is so common a motive for murder?"
Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osip_Mandelstam
A contest entry
- CCCP by unknownpleasure.
301 points, ended March 28, 2007, 7 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 11 of 11
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Writing poetry can be like opening gateways to other places and times. The aware author knows what is behind the gate, but so do those who the ones who hold power in this world. Poetry that gains much acclaim in this world usually does not fiddle with the locks of any gate behind wich are things to be found that have the ability to damage the maintenance and expansion of power. Write on matters that reflect on worlds that powers to be do not wish to be visited and you end up on some list on which are names of those who opened forbidden doors. I spit on temporal power, because I recognize none. It has shed its right to have authority by trapping life in a huge polygon of gates behind which truth exists, denying each and every being inside it access to it. Mandelstam opened such a gate and was sent to the infamous Gulag, like many others before and after him. In the meanwhile this ignorant world continues to enjoy safe and compliant poetry abundant of splenderous form, void of any meaning whatsoever. The people are so bloody ignorant that they cannot even be blamed for being that way. The ones that decide which gate may be opened or not are responsible for the sad state this world has been in for centuries. They will all pay for that dearly in ways beyond their imagination - a fate behind one gate they are incapable of opening even if they wanted to. Thank you for creating and sharing. I truly enjoyed reading and pondering your poem and author comments. Thank you for creating and sharing. Ack,
Chris
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What a very interesting write from you, it held me spellbound and even moreso when I read the authors notes. So many poets speak their heart and minds and are persecuted for it. Lovely penning.
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wow myra the words you used were beautiful and it is a lovely tribute to a poet even if he is passed well done hun
loved the flow and the captivation of words used
xxxxx love M xxxxx
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excellent
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This explains the number of recent attempts on my life. I am unable to fight back, as I am being killed with kindness, so it's entirely unfair! This is a wonderful history lesson complete with contemporary art to complete the thought. Are you tryin' to culture me? Good luck! Three bunnies who assassinate anyone writing better poetry than you. (They're obviously useless)
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thank-you, Myra, for bringing this poet into the present day - May we, as a community, begin to write poetry that is "respected" Blessings and best wishes, ~richard
Maybe if we did, maybe - we just might change the world.
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How great it must be to write something that reaches the ears of Stalin himself, and to then die for it. A dream come true for the poet inside of me turned martyr. Good write.
-Jake
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Nicely done
You took a bad event and turned it into something that read beautifully. Great job and keep up the good research on your work. Pen on... -
This is a poem that carries a lot of emotion and mixed feelings. It is like love which is not allowed to bloom but in this case, almost all are natural causes. I like the way you brought out all your emotions strongly.I love this poem
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I know not the person of whom you write but the passion of life lives on in your words. Good luck in the contest.
Sincerely,
Leo Long
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beautiful, Myra, beautiful and brilliant
you have written a beautiful piece of art here, and though it is hard to actually know your intentions because I dont know who the title name person is, i can easily ignore this because he was probably a dissident who died or was killed in a gulag for his passionaate words for freedom, there is a feeling in this, to me, that he forgot love... to me, perhaps not to you, this suggests he actually died for something less than what he might have died for, because in the CCCP, united soviet socialist republic, that's all there was left, love, and all else, all kinds of protest did nothing but leave grieving families behind, yet i feel also a strong love of the courage and necessity for brave insurrection in this world.
this is a beautiful poem. ,,,Danni
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