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Poems To Learn By Heart
Hi All
After reading this article
https://www.thecut.com/2020/04/now-is-the-perfect-time-to-memorize-a-poem.html
I wondered what contributors to the DUP would suggest for poems to learn?
As to my suggestion, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47708/coda-56d2285ab4d58
After reading this article
https://www.thecut.com/2020/04/now-is-the-perfect-time-to-memorize-a-poem.html
I wondered what contributors to the DUP would suggest for poems to learn?
As to my suggestion, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47708/coda-56d2285ab4d58
This Poem is Dangerous
by Elma Mitchell
This poem is dangerous: it should not be left
Within the reach of children, or even of adults
Who might swallow it whole, with possibly
Undesirable side-effects. If you come across
An unattended, unidentified poem
In a public place, do not attempt to tackle it
Yourself. Send it (preferably, in a sealed container)
To the nearest centre of learning, where it will be rendered
Harmless, by experts. Even the simplest poem
May destroy your immunity to human emotions.
All poems must carry a Government warning. Words
Can seriously affect your heart.
by Elma Mitchell
This poem is dangerous: it should not be left
Within the reach of children, or even of adults
Who might swallow it whole, with possibly
Undesirable side-effects. If you come across
An unattended, unidentified poem
In a public place, do not attempt to tackle it
Yourself. Send it (preferably, in a sealed container)
To the nearest centre of learning, where it will be rendered
Harmless, by experts. Even the simplest poem
May destroy your immunity to human emotions.
All poems must carry a Government warning. Words
Can seriously affect your heart.
Anonymous
A few personal poems I know off by heart.
• God help the wolf after whom the dogs do not bark by Ted Hughes: https://bit.ly/2NPz0pn
• Woman by Charles Bukowski: https://bit.ly/37BIVpF
• Neighbours by Patrick King (Can’t find this online anywhere so took a photo of it.)
I know a couple from DU too. Special ones along the way.
a p0em to learn by heart
versus
a p0em to learn by mind
when have we learned enough to be
ourselves within our own authenticity
without need
i’ve never memorized a p0em
not even one that has found its voice
in my own inkwell
thankyuuu for creating this discussion
silent lotus
Nice thread! Thank you guys!
https://www.govloop.com/for
https://www.govloop.com/for
I memorized these poems before:
Love Poem 1990 by Peter Meinke, featured in Poetry 180: A Turning Back to Poetry
When I was young and shiny as an apple in the good lord’s garden,
I loved a woman whose beauty like the moon moved all the humming heavens to music
Till the stars with their tiny teeth burst into song and I fell on the ground before her while the sky hardened
and she laughed and turned me down softly, I was so young.
When I was a man sharp as a polished axe in the polleny orchard
I loved a woman whose perfumes swayed in the air,
turning the modest flowers scarlet and loose
till the jonquils opened their throats and cackled out loud
when I broke my hand on her door and cried I was tortured
and she laughed and refused me, only one man in a crowd.
When I grew old, owning more than my share of the garden
I loved a woman young and fresh as a larkspur trembling in the morning’s translucent coolness,
her eyes had seen nothing but good, and as the sun’s gold rolled off her wrists with reluctance, she pardoned my foolishness,
laughed and turned me down gently, I was so old.
And when I fell ill, rooted in a deep house spotted with curses
I loved a woman whose bones rustled like insects wings through the echoing darkening rooms,
and the ceiling dropped like a gardener’s hoe toward my bed.
So I stretched out my hand to her begging my god for mercy
and she laughed and embraced me sweetly, I was so dead.
“Take Me in Your Arms, Miss Moneypenny-Wilson” by Patrick Barrington – from The Oxford Book of Comic Verse
Deaf to my cries, Miss Moneypenny-Wilson,
Deaf to my sighs, Miss B.,
Deaf to my songs and the story of my wrongs,
Deaf to my minstrelsy;
Deafer than the newt to the sound of a flute,
Deafer than a stone to the sea;
Deafer than a heifer to the sighing of a zephyr
Are your deaf ears to me. (…)
Love Poem 1990 by Peter Meinke, featured in Poetry 180: A Turning Back to Poetry
When I was young and shiny as an apple in the good lord’s garden,
I loved a woman whose beauty like the moon moved all the humming heavens to music
Till the stars with their tiny teeth burst into song and I fell on the ground before her while the sky hardened
and she laughed and turned me down softly, I was so young.
When I was a man sharp as a polished axe in the polleny orchard
I loved a woman whose perfumes swayed in the air,
turning the modest flowers scarlet and loose
till the jonquils opened their throats and cackled out loud
when I broke my hand on her door and cried I was tortured
and she laughed and refused me, only one man in a crowd.
When I grew old, owning more than my share of the garden
I loved a woman young and fresh as a larkspur trembling in the morning’s translucent coolness,
her eyes had seen nothing but good, and as the sun’s gold rolled off her wrists with reluctance, she pardoned my foolishness,
laughed and turned me down gently, I was so old.
And when I fell ill, rooted in a deep house spotted with curses
I loved a woman whose bones rustled like insects wings through the echoing darkening rooms,
and the ceiling dropped like a gardener’s hoe toward my bed.
So I stretched out my hand to her begging my god for mercy
and she laughed and embraced me sweetly, I was so dead.
“Take Me in Your Arms, Miss Moneypenny-Wilson” by Patrick Barrington – from The Oxford Book of Comic Verse
Deaf to my cries, Miss Moneypenny-Wilson,
Deaf to my sighs, Miss B.,
Deaf to my songs and the story of my wrongs,
Deaf to my minstrelsy;
Deafer than the newt to the sound of a flute,
Deafer than a stone to the sea;
Deafer than a heifer to the sighing of a zephyr
Are your deaf ears to me. (…)
