Weather Poetry

I went to a poetry group, the subject of the day being 'weather poetry.' The weather may affect our moods, or our moods may be conveyed by reference to the weather. I thought these poems were relevant, by Robert Graves:

MIST

Fire and Deluge, rival pretenders
To ruling the world's end: these cannot daunt us
Whom flames will never singe, nor floods drown,
While we stand guard against their murderous child
Mist, that slily catches against love's throat,
Shrouding the clear sun and clean waters
Of all green gardens everywhere-
The twitching mouths likewise and furtive eyes
Of those who speak us fair.

GOLD CLOUD

Your gold cloud, towering far above me,
From which I climb from darkness into sleep
Has the warmth of sun, rain's morning freshness
And a scent either of wood-smoke or jasmine;
Nor is the ascent steep.

Our creature, time, bends readily as willow;
We plan our own births, that at least we know,
Whether in the lovely moment of deat
Or when we first meet, here in Paradise,
As now, so years ago.

J A Lindon

I have been spending half an eternity looking for references to J A Lindon on the web. I first became curious of his work after recalling, from many years ago, of a spoof of "Poem in October" called "Poem in Tubwater."

It appears that many of his poems were only published in newspapers. However, he is credited with creating the first vocabularyclept poem!! This is when a poet is given the words from a poem, in alphabetical order, a,a,a, an, and, etc. and given the task of creating a new poem. He also did this 'blind' as due to an oversight he did not know what the previous poem was.

Although accedited as from Weybridge, he contributed to the 'Word Ways' magazine of Butler University, Indianappolis, where he wrote acrostic poetry as well as articles on poetic problems.

He was also very 'into' palindromic poems (read forwards/backwards by letter, word or line.)


Here is a spooky example of his (line) palindrome poetry (to be read at halloween!)

DOPPELGANGER

Entering the lonely house with my wife
I saw him for the first time
Peering furtively from behind a bush -
Blackness that moved,
A shape amid the shadows,
A momentary glimpse of gleaming eyes
Revealed in the ragged moon.
A closer look (he seemed to turn) might have
Put him to flight forever-
I dared not
(For reasons that I failed to understand)
Though I knew I should act at once.

I puzzled over it, hiding alone,
Watching the woman as she neared the gate.
Night after night.
Night after night
He came, and I saw him crouching,
Watching the woman as she neared the gate.
I puzzled over it, hiding alone-
Though I knew I should act at once,
For reasons that I failed to understand
I dared not
Put him to flight forever.

A closer look (he seemed to turn) might have
Revealed in the ragged moon
A momentarty glimpse of gleaming eyes
A shape amid the shadows,
Blackness that moved.

Peering furtively from behind a bush,
I saw him for the first time,
Entering the lonely house with my wife.



PS Is the fear of palindromes really aibohphobia?

Gourmet For Two

We have dined on buttered breasts


Heaped on a plate


Sucked on olive oiled artichoke hearts


It is a gourmet dish for middle aged lovers


The smile you hold before your lips


Gives you satisfaction


Words tumble from your mouth


I recognise the question markLodged between your teeth


You have written my poem written


On a lettuce leaf


Now for the first time I understand you.





Anonymous - does anyone know the author of this?

Glass Houses

Although I knew you lived in a glass box

I was unaware (until yesterday)

How fragile you are.

- They say there is a pitch

A tone beyond the human ear

That shatters brittle transparency

Yesterday

I came to you and turned the key

In your door

Discovered crystal splinters

In your bed

What shoud have been your head

Dripped across the floor

Liquid gleamings

- But I swear

I made no sound

I swear.


Anonymous - does anyone know the author of this?

Untitled

Even in sleep my heart a captured predator

Behind the cage of your ribs

Bombed back into the stone age

Penetrating to be a man

The one out of the picture book of the old war

Madness drop by drop
In the sweat of imaginary embraces

The coming nights a breast scraped clean

Rise in the breath of an obsession

Lovers on paper

Imprisoned in four-colour print:

Five twists of tobacco with

Your back a chorale
Your muscles a blues

By BB King

Your sex a mystery of the doors

In bed in summer, in stir

At night at night, we were one we are one We woke up we wake up

Near each other next to us

The other a skeleton

The world the law
Watch out keep your eyes shut

Keep your ears shut

Divine stations in the underground shelters

Adjourn yourself they will bomb you back

Into the stone age

They want you back with them.

Anonymous - does anyone know the author of this?

Free Fall

Imagine my shock

When I found that the world

Had closed for a day

Shut like a shell: Shut like a shop

Right up, for a day and a night

My basket useless, my money

Valueless as sugar paper

No shops - no props

The day caves in aboout me dangerously

The street heaves into nightmare

I alone in a dead world

Oh if the street would wake

Into the six mile smile

That sustains me as a prayer

Sustains everybody here

But the world is shut!

There are no props: No open arms

No shops!

Anonymous - Would anyone know the author of this?