Partica: hehe.. actually I wrote that hmm about a year and half ago.. the copyright thing keeps getting bumped up.. I have more on Poetry.com if you are interested..

'Lost in the Matter
between Why and Not?
The Pain is Hidden
in a Well Lit Spot'

Excellence on words makes the dots
forming sentences and the blank spots

thoughts
feelings

a simple sound
as it hits the ground

emptyness
can make a difference
though

so

when words seems like yelling
the empty spots could be telling

more..

Copyright Josetta - January 30th, 2005

Godiva:

Drunk tank full to overflowing
Mollyflockers wall to wall
Coming twice as fast as going
Time gets big; tank gets small.

Dominoes slap on the table
Bloods play bones in tank next door
Bust a bone, if you be able
Red Death stick it good some more.

Three days past my kickout time
Ask to phone; don't get the juice--
Crime times crime just equals more crime
Cut the mollyflockers loose.

Will I make the Christmas kickout?
Will commissary come today?
Will they take my blood for Good Time
Or just take my guts away?

Some snitch found my homemade outfit!
They've staked a bull up at the still!
They've scoped the plants we were sprouting
At the bottom of the hill.

They punched my button, pulled my covers
Blew my cool, ruint my ruse
They've rehabilitated this boy
Cut this mollyflocker loose

The fish that nibbles on the wishing
Let him off his heavy rod
The gowned gavel-bangers fishing
Cut them loose from playing God.

Back off Johnson, back off peacefreaks
From vendettas, from Iraq
Cut loose the squares, cut loose the hippies
Cut loose the dove, cut loose the bomb.

You, the finger on the trigger
You, the hand that weaves the noose
You hold the blade of brutal freedom--
Cut all the mollyflockers loose.

I remember when I wouldn't hold your hand
To cross the street; How did it feel?
Were you proud that I was growing? Did you smile?
Or was it painful? The withdrawal of intimacy:
Sign that I would soon become a stranger?
Our closeness always was unspoken. Without touching,
How would we share? How exchange those feelings
Keeping us together? The answer was, we didn't.
Finally we shared a roof but little else;
But for random handshakes, nothing would have joined us.
I must say the fault was mine. It took me years and lives
To know the power of touch. Finding you again
I found you newly shy, as if we'd traded places.
Very little time was given me to show you what I'd learned.
As you lay there, breathing only, once again I held your hand.
Did you know that? Did you see?
How did it feel?

alanback: WOW!

alanback: Thats beautiful! Thank you for sharing that, alanback!

Stardust:
Radiant 36 9:
Thank you
I wrote that for my father after he passed away a few years ago.

alanback: Very touching!! You should write more.

alanback: I am sorry your father passed away. You must have loved him very much.

Love is probably the most written about subject in the poetry world. So with Valentine's Day around the corner,let's have a little contest.Post your original poetry compositions here and we can vote on them!
Winner gets full praise and kudos from other members!

Stardust: lovely!

Dolittle: Seems the muse doesn't strike me that often. What I have written is mostly available at my web page, www.alancathcart.com

alanback:Thanks for the addy, I will go read your poetry!

Dolittle: www.poetry.com
search author.. Higgs, Cathryn.. those are mine.. as well as the Cathryn Ann one.. :) Enjoy

Also wanted to comment on Alanbacks site.. very nicely done Alan.. it is great in this day and age to see such a loving couple.. and I mean that sincerely.. you two truly seem to have a great relationship.. and a lovely family..

Soul Survivor

(I have permission from Houdini's Ghost to do this!)

Desert Hike

I also have permission from Raymond French to post this.
As with the first one, there is an option to see more work by these excellent poets, well worth doing.

alanback: very moving.

Cecil Day~Lewis ~ who also wrote books as Nicholas Blake. 1904-1972

'Shall I be gone long?
For ever and a day
To whom there belong?
Ask the stone to say.
Ask my song'

is on his gravestone.

alanback: Thank you for sharing your moving site, Alan.. Very genuine style of writing you have!

Thanks for your kind words. I am very fortunate indeed.

Stardust: Who will be in the jury and can they also send in poems and until when can we post our Valentine's Poetry?

Radiant 36 9: I'm open to suggestions. Here are my ideas...

Anyone can vote.
Anyone can submit an original poem.
Deadline for entries is midnight Feb 13 (EST).
It is not ethical to vote for yourself.

Who is keeping tally of the votes? Can a person submit more than one poem?

ScarletRose: Thanks for that info, I will check it out. I love poetry but am not good at writing.

a) What is about lyrics e.g. in German language?
b) It should only be allowed to post own stuff.

Sumerian: Yes, this board is international, but we mainly communicate in English. Correct please, me if im wrong! :-)

b) It should only be allowed to post own stuff. --> is that a question or a remark?

to Radiant 36 9: a) "Yes, this board is international, but we mainly communicate in English" ==> as you will have noticed, I communicate using the English language as good as it might be possible for me. But my question was not targeting the way, how a poem should be discussed, but how it should be written. I am convinced that it is very hard to write a serious poem using not one's own native language.
b) "It should only be allowed to post own stuff. --> is that a question or a remark?" ==> both. This is my opinion, and I wanted to know, whether that is handled here that way.

Sumerian: For anyone considering submitting an original poem for the contest in a language other than english,might I suggest an english translation accompany it.
I know the english translation will lose the effect of the original,but I'm sure voters will bear that in mind when voting.

Cerebro: I haven't decided how the voting process should work and I am open to suggestions and ideas.
Entrants are encouraged to submit as many poems as they like. A poet's favourite may not necessarily be their best.

Tuesday: Yes,because it's a Valentine's Day contest,the theme should be centered around love.
If all goes well with this contest perhaps we'll have another one after the 14th to include any theme

to Stardust: to translate a poem is about the hardest task at all for a translater. Will English language poems then also be translated into German, the widest spreaded native language in western Europe?

Sumerian: Since the majority of participants in this discussion board speak english,that is the preferred language of the contest.

I see no reason why a player can't post in his own language if he chooses, knowing that the majority of readers will not understand . . . it might even be an opportunity for others to post their own translations!
Personally, I love the cadence and resonance of German verse, even if I don't get all of it.

Since the subject is love, does this mean specifically romantic love, or does it include friendship and other types of love?

Cathy1: If you would wish a friend a happy Valentine's Day,or a family member or even a pet,then I think we should include all kinds of love for our little contest :-)

This deep forever love...
is it real?

Can it be all I've ever needed
more than i can feel?

To know you
to see you
just to watch you from afar

what joy
my heart aches
my love actually grows
stronger
more vibrant
daily

Is it possible to love this much
will it break my heart
tomorrow
forever

until the sands of time
run out

And as I watch you
you drift further from me
I will never leave
because
for you
my Son
my Love only grows...



July 6,2004

this is a poem- the wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees, the moon was a ghostly galleon tossed up on cloudy seas, the road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor and the highwayman came riding,riding,riding the highwayman came riding over the purple moor.

he had a french cocked hat on his forhead, a bunch of lace at his chin, a claret velvet cloak. his pistol butts a twinkle, his rapier hits the twinkle under the jewwled sky.


by me aged 9.

Bebs:

Nice poem--but it is not by you.

In fact, many of us older folks probably had to memorize this poem, or part of it, when we were in school many years ago. I know I did.

Cathy1: that was a joke- diddnt you get it?

Cathy1: Alfred Noyes

http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~emma/poetry/poetry.html

Cathy1: bet you diddnt get the joke.

ArtfulDodger: hello? it was a joke.

Bebs: :) I'm still trying to figure out the joke. ;)

ArtfulDodger: every one should know it wasnt by me.