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Staff Picks for July 2009!
We are into the second half of 2009 and it seems as if 2010 is already round the corner.
This is the season of date fruits in this country. They are there everywhere, waiting to be plucked. That reminds me - I have a date to keep up with you guys. So without further delay, let me bring to you the staff picks for this month.
The first poem for this month is a haiku by induce. "This is a beautifully evocative piece with a very fresh presentation. I love the way this poet continues to expand my personal definitions of poetry and craft" is what RZS has to say about this poem.
3 Aye M
3 Aye' M Rain.
gutters telling stories
I'm a fish!
Scenes from a Railway Station by Ramonez
is my poem pick for this month. "This poem has some wonderful imagery and metaphors. The scenes are etched out so well that it gave me a feeling of being 'there'".
Scenes from a Railway Station
The Garden:
Platform thirteen,
a mechanical garden
of cerebral-grey gravel,
cigarette butt daisies (yellow – and white, if you squint),
and clear plastic bags that dance over the tracks
with the arrogance of dead autumn leaves come to life
on a breezy afternoon.
The Weather:
Despite the nagging wind
and the tomato sauce-and-grease coloured leaves
pirouetting like a troupe of cabaret dancers (on methamphetamines),
the air is stuffy,
overcast
iron pillar tree trunks support
a giant silver cloud (no sign of a silver lining just yet)
through which the sun breaks
in sporadic, dust-fibered puppet strings,
interrupted only
by the five-second hiss-and-sputter cloud bursts,
which thunders from a camouflaged loudspeaker
somewhere overhead.
The People:
An elderly lady
with an Edith Piaf hair-do and red wine lips
who sits
alone on a bench –
smoke bubbling from her nose
while she hums a hymne a l’amour.
A little girl,
rag doll under arm,
pointing and giggling at one of the gardeners
whose mustache makes lip somersaults,
to the sound of shrill (plastic-blue) whistles that spill from his mouth,
Get out of the flowerbed!
The hotdog vendor
(aka Autumn Leaf Producer),
gawking around for the next lucky customer
with prison tattoo green eyes
and a mustard-teeth-smeered sneer.
The street mother without a bra
(revealing Victoria’s Secret),
tripling around with charcoal-covered feet;
she holds out liquorices-laced fingers
for just enough for a bit of milkohol
The pedophile –
yes, you’ve seen him before;
the one wearing the Oxford shoes (brogued at the cap),
whiskey-stained tee, and rumpled grey suit over the arm
that covers his briefcase of magical toys.
And you.
Bogeyman's pick for this month is Cusps by halibutfry. He says, "I enjoyed this and glad ee cummings inspired you - he is one of my favorite poets. Good economy of words and nice vocabulary."
Cusps
His life is no hyphen, no stealthy
compromise across the perchance
wayside arching for
renown. ee cummings said
his death is no sideways frown in pro
se declaration, and my computer grew
dim with dormancy for the
windy socket
of his decorum, wine glasses missing
their fragrant cusps.
My pick for Young Poet this month is katiep. There is a freshness and authentic appeal in her poems.
Bogeyman chimes in and says that her poems are sincere and unpretentious. He likes I'm set apart. He says - "it is a typical teenage poem, but i liked the spirit of it - her vision of a kinder world where no one is lonely. I Need a Hero poem truly reflects one's need for a hero (a role model) at this difficult age."
"My pick for July comes from the Old Masters section. There's so much to learn in reading a piece like this, Richard Hugo's " Death of the Kapowsin Tavern". Clarity and economy of phrasing brings his vision to the reader", is what loisseau has to say on why he chose this poem.
Death of the Kapowsin Tavern
I can’t ridge it back again from char.
Not one board left. Only ash a cat explores
and shattered glass smoked black and strung
about from the explosion I believe
in the reports. The white school up for sale
for years, most homes abandoned to the rocks
of passing boys—the fire, helped by wind
that blew the neon out six years before,
simply ended lots of ending.
A damn shame. Now, when the night chill
of the lake gets in a troller’s bones
where can the troller go for bad wine
washed down frantically with beer?
And when wise men are in style again
will one recount the two-mile glide of cranes
from dead pines or the nameless yellow
flowers thriving in the useless logs,
or dots of light all night about the far end
of the lake, the dawn arrival of the idiot
with catfish—most of all, above the lake
the temple and our sanctuary there?
Nothing dies as slowly as a scene.
The dusty jukebox cracking through
the cackle of a beered-up crone—
wagered wine—sudden need to dance—
these remain in the black debris.
Although I know in time the lake will send
wind black enough to blow it all away.
There is one more poem that caught my eye and which I wanted to feature this month - Up by ColorsToDreamIn. "The surreal images gave this whole poem a dreamy quality which I found very appealing."
Up
In the dream place --
where your reflection never wavers
-- the image of you
stays with me.
And your smile is strong
like the day is long.
And your arm
cradles no needles.
and I say,
"Take my hands.
We're free,"
and then I cry a little;
but not too much.
"Just enough," you say.
And, "It's over," I say.
and then we're smiling,
and you're laughing,
and we're falling
into the carousel spin of rolling down hillsides;
the bare-armed warmth
of sun swept summer days.
And we're enough.
And we're over it;
we're above it,
beyond it --
both of us,
together
-- and there is no fear in looking downwards...
or back...
...and when you laugh there is silver
on your tongue,
and in your mouth,
tinkling like tiny bells;
and you look so happy.
You look serene;
and I'm so happy
to be there
with you.
And we're both so happy together,
the two of us....
And there is no pain.
And there is no wanting;
no desire...
And the only way to move
is up.
"This is a poem in a more traditional format than many I have chosen as a staff pick before. The title sparked my interest right away... a perfect mix of description and ambiguity. The poem itself is a delight to read, it reminds me of Robert Louis Stevenson poetry I read as a child. This would be a good inclusion for a new age garden of verses. I love it", is what RZS has to say about this poem by MidnightPoet.
Observatory on Saturn's Ring
Follow me into this place
the caverns of a secret space
to gaze into the sacred lace
of harmony's design
Blooming stars unwinding slow
we bind into the afterglow
and see how far it is we go
to leave them all behind
Distance holds her gentle sway
like children we have come to play
and ask of it to give away
the cause to realign
Sitting here upon the ring
we free our mind with painted wings
and wonder what the future brings
to creatures so benign
loisseau's haiku pick is spence's Induced Ku #1. "I wonder what kind of pipe he was smoking for this wry ku", says loisseau.
Induced Ku #1
Smoking pipes of peace
Universal inner thought
Sit back, kick back- Chill!
My best critic for this month is Huberjack. His expertise in form and knowledge of meter in poetry is worth mentioning. His critiques are always encouraging and helps the poet to improve further. It can be checked out in The ringing of the phone and I Am About To Come Alive (Kyrielle). We hope to see him more in the forums with his expert comments.
Congratulations to all the poets chosen and see you all in August with another round of staff picks.
Submitted by mamta on Monday, July 06, 2009 (09:11:31) (694 reads)
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| "Features: Staff Picks for July 2009!" | Login/Create an Account | 10 comments |
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Re: Staff Picks for July 2009!
(Score: 1 )
by katiep on Friday, July 10, 2009 (17:56:50) |
wow! thank you sooo much! i didnt event hink people read my poems! lol thank you!
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Re: Staff Picks for July 2009!
(Score: 1 )
by katiep on Saturday, July 11, 2009 (21:13:46) |
*think
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Re: Staff Picks for July 2009!
(Score: 1 )
by MidnightPoet on Tuesday, July 07, 2009 (13:35:02) |
Wow, what an unexpected honor. Thank you RZS and congrats to everyone.
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Re: Staff Picks for July 2009!
(Score: 1 )
by mamta on Monday, July 06, 2009 (05:22:49) |
Congratulationssssssssssssss!!!! 
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Re: Staff Picks for July 2009!
(Score: 1 )
by scarsbeauty on Monday, July 06, 2009 (12:29:49) |
wow congratulations to you all (-; i didnt get to read all of these chosen poems; however they must have a certain feel thats beautiful! (-;
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Re: Staff Picks for July 2009!
(Score: 1 )
by Huberjack on Monday, July 06, 2009 (16:50:31) |
Congrats to all the poets chosen here as Staff Picks. All are deserving.
Also, thank you, mamta, for considering my critiques worth mentioning. I have learned a lot from the poets here and plan to return the favor as often as I can.
Jack
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Re: Staff Picks for July 2009!
(Score: 1 )
by induce on Tuesday, July 07, 2009 (00:29:10) |
Thank you so much, I'm glade to be included with such great writes annnd a little dizzy.
Cheers to GotPoetry!!! you do work wonders.
words,
andye
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Re: Staff Picks for July 2009!
(Score: 1 )
by Ramonez on Tuesday, July 07, 2009 (05:31:27) |
Thanks for picking me. Congrats to everyone else. Keep writing.
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Re: Staff Picks for July 2009!
(Score: 1 )
by stillhere2008 on Thursday, July 23, 2009 (11:43:22) |
congrats to each and everyone of you.. good work
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