Poetry: Read More/Blog More – A Monthly Event! -Month 3

Today is the month 3 wrap-up for the Poetry: Read More/Blog More monthly meme. Lu has Mr. Linky this month. She also will be announcing a give-away!

I was planning to read Jason's poems this month. I had found them and was all set to read some of them... Then time went by and here it is the day before my post has to be up! The first few are rather long, so I don't think I could do them justice in one evening. It was bad enough I read all of these poems in one night, but I didn't want to not have anything to post.

“The Morning Again It Was In the Dusty Pines” by Mary Oliver
I wasn't able to find this poem online...

“The Kingfisher” by Mary Oliver (Read March 26, 2012) (Poem found here)
I like poems about nature because I can usually picture the scene. This poem by Mary Oliver uses great imagery and metaphors to create a wonderful poem. I think she captures what it is to be a kingfisher very well and is believable while doing so.

Photo Credit
Kingfisher

“Electrical Storm” by Mary Oliver (Read March 26, 2012) (Poem found here.)
I had to laugh when searching for this poem brought me to Lu's blog.  Anyway, this also captures very well the scene that it is illustrating. I don't think Casey has experienced an electrical storm before, but the cat in this poem got a bit wet from it. I agree with Lu that the last two lines make the poem because they illustrate the destruction that is started in the beginning. It is always sad when storms happen and cause the trees, bushes, etc to lose their pretty flowers. The cat is smart to stay in the warm bed!

“Separation” by W. S. Merwin (Read March 26, 2012) (Poem found here.)
This poem is only 3 lines, but wow, I have to say it makes complete sense to me.

“What the Body Told” by Rafael Campo (Read March 26, 2012) (Poem found here.)
This is a poem that you almost wouldn't think would work, but he finds a way to make it successful. It is interesting that the human body can be used as a metaphor for so much more. It is also a poem about the simple notion of struggling to be successful at what you are attempting to do, in this case be a doctor. He also brings up making your parents proud and never entirely feeling like you have.

“Cultural Stakes: or, How to Learn English as a Second Language” by Kevin A. González (Read March 26, 2012) (Poem found here.)
This is a long poem, but very well done. He easily takes the idea of divorce and addiction and combines the two from the viewpoint of a child. He captures how they see the world very well, but he also shows what they learn from those days of observing. It is never easy to be a child of divorce, but sometimes you just have to make the best of it.

“To You” by Kevin A. González (Read March 26, 2012) (Poem found here.)
This was interesting. I always find it a bit strange when authors include themselves as characters in their books, but where poetry is a more personal experience it does work a bit better. That being said, I thought it a bit strange that he seems himself as 'Kevin A. González' and not as a more informal version of the name. It's a bit of a depressing poem at that.

“Hanging Fire” by Audre Lorde (Read March 26, 2012) (Poem found here.)
Another poem that seems to capture adolescence well. The jumbled, almost run-on sentences of the sub-conscious as you think about everything that is happening around you. There is also a bit about the mother and possibly a bit of isolation because of it. It was a good poem.

“Never to Dream of Spiders” by Audre Lorde (Read March 26, 2012) (Poem found here.)
I am not sure I entirely got this one. I think I will have to read it over a few more times... Poetry is something you need to be able to concentrate on and I think there are too many distractions tonight.

“Dirge Without Music” by Edna St. Vincent Millay (Read March 26, 2012) (Poem found here.) (Or listen to it being read here.)
I have a really hard time thinking of what to say about poetry. I have a book out from the library that is supposed to help with that... I still have only read chapter one. I have lots of projects on the go at the moment... Anyway, even listening to it all I can think to say is it is a wonderful poem for imagery and wording. It captures a feeling that the reader expressed in her voice easily.

“Hearing your words, and not a word among them” by Edna St. Vincent Millay (Read March 26, 2012) (Poem found here.)
This poet really does have a way with words, that's for sure. This is a poem about nature, but it is also about people. I think what she is trying to say is how you speak and words do not always carry, but I am not entirely sure... I tend to be bad at poetry analysis. I'm trying!

“Inland” by Edna St. Vincent Millay (Read March 26, 2012) (Poem found here)
This poem made me think what I often think... I wish I still lived nearer to the water. I live closer than some people, of course, but I used to live closer.