' Live-Poets Society ' – A Corner For Poetry

[MrM]

Candle

~~

On the bed I rest
I look at a lit candle
No smoke is rising
The red flame contains itself
Like my soul trapped by the flesh

~~~

 

~ hits the meditation gong ~

 

[MrM]

This probably hasn't been covered by anything because it doesn't really hold to any 'standard' but since we were talking abou Tankas and their subject and emotional agreement I thought I'd share a Native American style poem. Most Native American poetry conveys a message that binds the person to his environment which, in turn, binds and defines the writer's (speaker's) soul. They are parables in a lot of ways. Anyway, I wrote this one one day as I was feeling some of my Cherokee spirit rising above some of the other parts of me that are my American dukes mixture of cultures.

 

Navajo Sunset

https://www.gayauthors.org/story/mrm/MPoetry/4

[Emi GS]

1 hour ago, MrM said:

This probably hasn't been covered by anything because it doesn't really hold to any 'standard' but since we were talking abou Tankas and their subject and emotional agreement I thought I'd share a Native American style poem. Most Native American poetry conveys a message that binds the person to his environment which, in turn, binds and defines the writer's (speaker's) soul. They are parables in a lot of ways. Anyway, I wrote this one one day as I was feeling some of my Cherokee spirit rising above some of the other parts of me that are my American dukes mixture of cultures.

 

Navajo Sunset

https://www.gayauthors.org/story/mrm/MPoetry/4

 

Very intriguing form you have presented here for us. I liked it very much that I might try it very soon. Let us know if there are any strict rules about the form. 

[MrM]

21 minutes ago, Emi GS said:

 

Very intriguing form you have presented here for us. I liked it very much that I might try it very soon. Let us know if there are any strict rules about the form. 

 

Our resident Poetry Professor ( @AC Benus ) might have a format to use for Native American style verse. 

 

What I know about it is that you should, like Tanka, have to place the reader where you are and then you have to tie that to what you are feeling as a writer.

 

An addition for Native American verse is that you need to make a spiritual connection between your natural environment and your place in it. Nature is sacred and all creatures are spirits. The coyote for the Navajo is especially sacred as he is an avatar of the Creator as well as a tester and trickster. He is also a visitor of recompence. Give to him and he will return the favor. Take from him and he will take from you. In that way he embodies the very nature of Nature and Mother Earth.

Edited September 6, 2017 by MrM

[Parker Owens]

Tanka for Today:

 

Morning mists whisper

silent secrets in my ear,

obscuring my thoughts,

hiding my geography,

to shroud my imagining.

[Headstall]

Sudden stream of air

Careens indecisively

Through silent forest

Magnifying eeriness 

As it sets me shivering

 

Just happened... a creepy moment, like I had sudden, invisible company....

[Parker Owens]

1 minute ago, Headstall said:

Sudden stream of air

Careens indecisively

Through silent forest

Magnifying eeriness 

As it sets me shivering

 

Just happened... a creepy moment, like I had sudden, invisible company....

 

Oh, oh, very well described. I like this. 

[northie]

There's a reason why forests feature so much weird tales ... 

[Parker Owens]

The wind breathes gently

over brightly colored lea

and murky forest;

softly it sings with your voice,

calling me back to summer.

 

[BDANR]

On 9/12/2017 at 1:40 PM, Headstall said:

Sudden stream of air

Careens indecisively

Through silent forest

Magnifying eeriness 

As it sets me shivering

 

Just happened... a creepy moment, like I had sudden, invisible company....

It sounds very creepy too. Kind of unsettling. Forests sure can be very mysterious. Nice poem.

[Headstall]

15 minutes ago, BDANR said:

It sounds very creepy too. Kind of unsettling. Forests sure can be very mysterious. Nice poem.

Thanks, BDANR... my forest feels different ever since  

[asamvav111]

On 9/13/2017 at 2:24 AM, Parker Owens said:

The wind breathes gently

over brightly colored lea

and murky forest;

softly it sings with your voice,

calling me back to summer.

 

Beautiful new word learnt: Lea

 

Beautiful tanka.

 

New poem after a long while:

https://www.gayauthors.org/story/asamvav111/euphoria-and-other-poems/8

[BDANR]

1 hour ago, asamvav111 said:

Beautiful new word learnt: Lea

 

Beautiful tanka.

 

New poem after a long while:

https://www.gayauthors.org/story/asamvav111/euphoria-and-other-poems/8

Good to see another addition to your poetry collection. I'll read soon!

[Mikiesboy]

new poem ... Please Slam the Door

[Parker Owens]

2 hours ago, Mikiesboy said:

new poem ... Please Slam the Door

 

Everyone should read this. I thought it excellent. 

[AC Benus]

On 9/6/2017 at 11:06 AM, MrM said:

 

Our resident Poetry Professor ( @AC Benus ) might have a format to use for Native American style verse. 

 

What I know about it is that you should, like Tanka, have to place the reader where you are and then you have to tie that to what you are feeling as a writer.

 

An addition for Native American verse is that you need to make a spiritual connection between your natural environment and your place in it. Nature is sacred and all creatures are spirits. The coyote for the Navajo is especially sacred as he is an avatar of the Creator as well as a tester and trickster. He is also a visitor of recompence. Give to him and he will return the favor. Take from him and he will take from you. In that way he embodies the very nature of Nature and Mother Earth.

@MrM & @Emi GS 

 

I had some time to look into this. There are two broad areas to consider: traditional lyrics and contemporary poets in the Native American tradition. The lyrical forms I saw today are all pretty short and basic. They are meant to serve as a collective manta to be repeated in whole or abbreviated form to alter brain waves and place one in contact with the divine. 

 

In the 19th century, there seemed to have been a bridge period where wise sayings were collected in poetic form. More complex than lyrics, they nonetheless attempted to convey the spiritual aura of the effect of preforming the traditional lyrics. This gentleman's website has some beautiful ones. I'll share one. http://siouxpoet.tripod.com/index.html

 

 

Instructions for Living - Lakota

 

Friend, do it this way - that is,
whatever you do in life,
do the very best you can
with both your heart and mind.

And if you do it that way,
the Power Of The Universe
will come to your assistance,
if your heart and mind are in Unity.

When one sits in the Hoop Of The People,
one must be responsible because
All of Creation is related.
And the hurt of one is the hurt of all.
And the honor of one is the honor of all.
And whatever we do effects everything in the universe.

If you do it that way - that is,
if you truly join your heart and mind
as One - whatever you ask for,
that's the Way It's Going To Be.
                         - Spoken wisdom by White Buffalo Calf Woman -

 

 

As for what elements to contain when writing in the contemporary Native American tradition, I think MrM has laid them out very nicely. A subjective POV within the poem, a reflection on the outward conditions (usually the natural world), and an inner connection of the two within the poem. 

 

Thanks for the challenge; I had fun looking these up  

[Mikiesboy]

Thanks for posting that @AC Benus  i needed it today ...

[MacGreg]

I needed it, too, @AC Benus. The message resonates with me and my own beliefs about how we are all intricately connected to the universe and to each other. A gentle reminder today...

[MrM]

1 hour ago, AC Benus said:

@MrM & @Emi GS 

 

I had some time to look into this. There are two broad areas to consider: traditional lyrics and contemporary poets in the Native American tradition. The lyrical forms I saw today are all pretty short and basic. They are meant to serve as a collective manta to be repeated in whole or abbreviated form to alter brain waves and place one in contact with the divine. 

 

In the 19th century, there seemed to have been a bridge period where wise sayings were collected in poetic form. More complex than lyrics, they nonetheless attempted to convey the spiritual aura of the effect of preforming the traditional lyrics. This gentleman's website has some beautiful ones. I'll share one. http://siouxpoet.tripod.com/index.html

 

 

Instructions for Living - Lakota

 

Friend, do it this way - that is,
whatever you do in life,
do the very best you can
with both your heart and mind.

And if you do it that way,
the Power Of The Universe
will come to your assistance,
if your heart and mind are in Unity.

When one sits in the Hoop Of The People,
one must be responsible because
All of Creation is related.
And the hurt of one is the hurt of all.
And the honor of one is the honor of all.
And whatever we do effects everything in the universe.

If you do it that way - that is,
if you truly join your heart and mind
as One - whatever you ask for,
that's the Way It's Going To Be.
                         - Spoken wisdom by White Buffalo Calf Woman -

 

 

As for what elements to contain when writing in the contemporary Native American tradition, I think MrM has laid them out very nicely. A subjective POV within the poem, a reflection on the outward conditions (usually the natural world), and an inner connection of the two within the poem. 

 

Thanks for the challenge; I had fun looking these up  

 

Very much in keeping with the Medicine Wheel dance of the Lakota. The Medicine Wheel represents the Hoop of the People. Parts together in one circle revolving around the center that gives strength to the hoop which in turn holds the center together. I'm glad that the old wisdom is getting written down where once it was sung and danced.

[Parker Owens]

@AC Benus thank you very much for your investigation and study. 

[Drew Espinosa]

Whatever your thoughts on rap are, I hope you all take the time to watch this video:

 

It really goes in-depth on rhythm and rhyming, and the things discussed within the video could be applied to poetry in general.  

[Parker Owens]

A poem for this morning, and several others. 

 

The junco wakes before the dawn
disturbing all the crows;
their caws explode across the lawn,
and so the morning goes,
Bright cardinals then greet the day,
they call for a 'wet year;'
and kingfishers will fly away
across the waters clear;
the chorus swells with myriad sound
to penetrate my brain,
and vainly do I grope around,
I've overslept again. 

 

[AC Benus]

I've been doing 'autumn cleaning' this morning, and ran across a song I've never heard. It's preformed by the amazing Alberta Hunter, circa 1980. 

 

I hope you can watch the vid. Here are the lyrics:

 

Without a Song

by Billy Rose, Edward Eliscu, Vincent Youmans

 

Without a song the day would never end
Without a song the road would never bend
When things go wrong a man ain't got a friend
Without a song

 

That field of corn would never see a plow
That field of corn would be deserted now
A man is born but he's no good no how
Without a song  

 

I got my trouble and woe but, sure as I know, the Jordan will roll  
And I'll get along as long as a song, strong in my soul
I'll never know what makes the rain to fall
I'll never know what makes that grass so tall
I only know there ain't no love at all
Without a song

 

I've-a got my trouble and woe and, sure as I know, the Jordan will roll
And I'll get along as long as a song, strong in my soul
I'll-a never know what makes that rain to fall
I'll never know what makes the grass so tall
I only know there ain't no love at all
Without a song

 

 

_

[Parker Owens]

Just now, AC Benus said:

I've been doing 'autumn cleaning' this morning, and ran across a song I've never heard. It's preformed by the amazing Alberta Hunter, circa 1980. 

 

I hope you can watch the vid. Here are the lyrics:

 

Without a Song

by Billy Rose, Edward Eliscu, Vincent Youmans

 

Without a song the day would never end
Without a song the road would never bend
When things go wrong a man ain't got a friend
Without a song

 

That field of corn would never see a plow
That field of corn would be deserted now
A man is born but he's no good no how
Without a song  

 

I got my trouble and woe but, sure as I know, the Jordan will roll  
And I'll get along as long as a song, strong in my soul
I'll never know what makes the rain to fall
I'll never know what makes that grass so tall
I only know there ain't no love at all
Without a song

 

I've-a got my trouble and woe and, sure as I know, the Jordan will roll
And I'll get along as long as a song, strong in my soul
I'll-a never know what makes that rain to fall
I'll never know what makes the grass so tall
I only know there ain't no love at all
Without a song

 

 

_

 

I listened and fell for this right away....thank you!

[Headstall]

6 minutes ago, AC Benus said:

I've been doing 'autumn cleaning' this morning, and ran across a song I've never heard. It's preformed by the amazing Alberta Hunter, circa 1980. 

 

I hope you can watch the vid. Here are the lyrics:

 

Without a Song

by Billy Rose, Edward Eliscu, Vincent Youmans

 

Without a song the day would never end
Without a song the road would never bend
When things go wrong a man ain't got a friend
Without a song

 

That field of corn would never see a plow
That field of corn would be deserted now
A man is born but he's no good no how
Without a song  

 

I got my trouble and woe but, sure as I know, the Jordan will roll  
And I'll get along as long as a song, strong in my soul
I'll never know what makes the rain to fall
I'll never know what makes that grass so tall
I only know there ain't no love at all
Without a song

 

I've-a got my trouble and woe and, sure as I know, the Jordan will roll
And I'll get along as long as a song, strong in my soul
I'll-a never know what makes that rain to fall
I'll never know what makes the grass so tall
I only know there ain't no love at all
Without a song

 

 

_

Thanks, AC... that was a treasure to listen to. I loved her little changes in the lyrics... shows how lyrics are a living, breathing thing with each different performer.