From the Being Human poetry anthology, edited by Neil Astley. I have read mostly collections so it’s cool dipping and diving through this anthology. I like this piece by Hirshfield whose work I am familiar with. This poem totally spoke to me about a moment that was happening in my life, just yesterday. Nothing serious, but will tell about it soon.
What’s your favourite poem and how did it relate to your life that day?
Tags: burlap sack, Jane Hirshfield, poems, poetry
Check out this months round-up of the past few week’s favourite poems. Neruda, Jordan, Storni… in fact they’re all worth a re-visit.
YOUR favourite poems include:
Alright here goes my favorite poem by
Sarojini Naidu, an Indian poet and a freedom fighter.
LIKE this alabaster box whose art
Is frail as a cassia-flower, is my heart,
Carven with delicate dreams and wrought
With many a subtle and exquisite thought.
Therein I treasure the spice and scent
Of rich and passionate memories blent
Like odours of cinnamon, sandal and clove,
Of song and sorrow and life and love.
-Sarojini Naidu
Tags: Alfonsina Storni, Emily Dickinson, Jane Kenyon, pablo neruda, poetry, Sarojini Naidu
London, UK, 9 May 2012. Creative Fruits, La Petite Congolaise and Salongo Arts are pleased to announce their new design partnership ‘VisibleByDesign’ bringing together the talents of Ameena McConnell (CF), Laurence Kanza (LPC), and Munirah Olton (SA).
As a creative partner, VisibleByDesign will take part in the (10th) London Design Festival (14-23 September 2012) at the Victoria & Albert Museum and launch their first design offering in the first week of the festival programme Initiating a programme of activities, exploring innovation and design dialogues across the creative sectors of interior design, textiles and the visual arts, they will place a particular lens on Women.
This lady has a very colourful background having travelled and lived in many parts of Western Europe and South America. She was a single parent, wrote about the erotic asides to life and given the era in which she lived, blazed a feminist trail with her perspective on the battle of the sexes. Her disregard for men was quite obvious. In 1938, broken hearted and ailing with breast cancer she died at sea under sad and suspicious circumstances if not, a somewhat dramatic explanation of events.Storni was only very recently brought to my attention by a fellow blogger and I don’t know enough of her work yet, to call her a firm favourite. However, the trilogy I have selected says so much of who this extraordinary lady was in quite a short space. Enjoy.
My melancholy was gold dust in your hands;
On your long hands I scattered my life;
My sweetnesses remained clutched in your hands;
Now I am a vial of perfume, emptied
How much sweet torture quietly suffered,
When, my soul wrested with shadowy sadness,
She who knows the tricks, I passed the days
kissing the two hands that stifled my life
Little little man, little little man,
set free your canary that wants to fly.
I am that canary, little little man,
leave me to fly.
I was in your cage, little little man,
little little man who gave me my cage.
I say “little little” because you don’t understand me
Nor will you understand.
Nor do I understand you, but meanwhile,
open for me the cage from which I want to escape.
Little little man, I loved you half an hour,
Don’t ask me again.
Teeth of flowers, hairnet of dew,
hands of herbs, you, perfect wet nurse,
prepare the earthly sheets for me
and the down quilt of weeded moss.
I am going to sleep, my nurse, put me to bed.
Set a lamp at my headboard;
a constellation; whatever you like;
all are good: lower it a bit.
Leave me alone: you hear the buds breaking through . . .
a celestial foot rocks you from above
and a bird traces a pattern for you
so you’ll forget . . . Thank you. Oh, one request:
if he telephones again
tell him not to keep trying for I have left . . .
Tags: adventure, Breast cancer, poems, poetry, Single parent, South America, women
Tags: art, death, esther poyer, experimental, funeral, life, music, news, poetry, short film
Call it a compilation, call it a round-up, or highlights? I like, highlights 
Here’s what’s been, this last month on the poetArt:
Travelling Light
This Man’s Watch
blind date, a poetry film
Sorry I Missed You, a poetry film
Goodbye Again
Saturday Night at the Movies, poem prompt
Saving Your Darlings, poem prompt
Responses in progress!
The Hang Over, just for laughs
Tags: bereavement, dating, God's Acre, highlights, NaPoWriMo, Poem prompt, poetry
Me.
JourneyBits, these are my seven things:
1.
My name is Esther and I’m still growing into my name.
In fact, probably I have already. Yesterday, a lady in
class told me I look like her friends daughter, identical,
she said. This happens fairly often, otherwise they’ll
know a grandmother or aunt with the same name as I.
2.
Each and every time I mention my sixteen year old son to
new friends and acquaintances they are quite surprised.
Okay, shocked. I think they think I was a gym slip mum.
He has great wit and much charm for one so young.
3.
There’s this guy from around the way who keeps hitting on me.
It’s playful rather than harmful. He has a nice smile, he’s very
tall and handsome, but he’s just not the one. I’m not being picky.
4.
I love cats. I have cats. Two. A mother and daughter,
Hennessy and Maxi (who incidentally grew into her
head). They keep me company. This is a cool thing
right now, but if this continues I may well become,
‘the cat lady.’ Noooooooooo!
5.
I prefer girly nights in (or out) with fizzy wine, nibbles
and ice-cream, to Saturday night dates with the
‘potential’ man of my dreams.’ … Okay that’s a lie,
but I love girly-get-togethers for sure.
6.
I am writing a great novel.
7.
I love food. I describe myself as ‘the consummate foodie.’
I recently discovered ‘the diet of my life’ (I know, I cringed
too, but it is what it is). I am learning how to ‘eat cleaner’
and it has changed my outlook on life. Visit The Living Fruits
where I ‘vlog’ on this journey.
~
I thank You.
Tags: blogging, Hennessy, life, poem, poetry, relationships, versatile blogger award, women
If you are nominated, you’ve been awarded the Versatile Blogger award.
Go forth and multiply.
Tags: creativity, poems, poetry, Versatile Blogger, writing
How nice, I’ve just been nominated for The VBA. It’s always nice to receive appreciation or acknowledgement for the things we do, no matter how grand or intimate the praise. Thank you to Journey Bits for nominating me. She is a stay-at-home-mom (what better job? None other) who says this about her blog, ‘Journey Bits is written like a reality TV show.’ Love it.
I get a badge too:
Click here for the VBA rules, my nominations and 7 things about me.
Tags: creativity, fun, inspiration, poems, poetry, the versatile blogger award, writing
Exquisto! Pablo Neruda tells poetry to film. Now I really have no words. I’m literally melted into a heap of cherry blossom, about to be blown away by a graceful breeze. Watch.
Tags: love poems, pablo neruda, poem, poetry, romance, spain, spanish
Congratulations 30/30 NapoWrimo supremos (sorry)! Have you enjoyed the ride? Do tell…
Thank YOU for sharing your work, yourself, your soul (that’s poems for you!) I have had a great month, reading folks I generally follow and an unexpected and fabulous flourish of new folk.
Ever since doing this for the first time in 2009, April has been this month of wild and creative creativity. This time around, I started a Youtube channel which features video poems (my talking head) and poetry films! I had to exclaim over the poetry films, which are a complete inspiration, seemingly out of nowhere that once I had the idea I had to pull off. It is not entirely out of my remit of creative things to do as I have a background in film making. When I say background I mean – a love, love, love of cinema, particularly World Cinema and French film, a BA in Film etc, and past jobs as a Production Assistant/ Co-ordinator/ Manager with Granada TV/ ITV/ April Films / Tartan Films etc etc. Mostly, I remember always wanting to be one of the creatives. Guess it’s no surprise how I’ve ended up here. Doing my art.
It feels like full circle. After quite some time, my enthusiam for film making has (unexpectedly) returned. The means of shooting, producing and showing films has changed radically, which I find fascinating as well as exciting. These poetry films and video poems are filmed either on a iPhone 4s or a flip Cam (hardly high-end), but it is amazing what is possible even on this level with mostly daylight, indoor evening hues and a surprisingly cool and versatile editing package (iMovie 09). It’s enough to get creative with, play and show your work. I plan to go bigger. Slightly higher production values for a slicker product.
What else? Ah.. yes. There’s another side to me. Consummate foodie. I love to cook. I’m just giving you the heads-up just in case you find yourself on youtube (also, gardening :))
Finally. Last, but not least. Without further ado… thank you kindly for your feedback and compliments. I have enjoyed the comment chats this last month and long may they continue. I have loved reading your work, not to mention the ‘troopers,’ the dad poet, ye shall know me by my fruits (aka. I HAVE A VOICE), dark pines photo, the laughing housewife (aka Tilly Bud), elliebloo, poeticinspirations, palestinerose, cerebralcausality, shiftingshades, doug, and slpmartin. Not forgetting ‘the likers’ (people, put your blog titles in the gravatar profile thing!) Thank you ALL.
I’ll be poeming, video poeming, prompting and stuff and stuff on poetArt in the coming weeks, so I will see you anon.
Short or long… until next time… ♥ ♥
Tags: art, Filmmaking, NaPoWriMo, poems, poetry, World Cinema
your thoughts