On Listening to 'The Lark Ascending'...

I like the last 2 lines- really hitting. ;)Pia

I adore RVW - Norfolk rhapsody is my new fave - I think the third movement of symphony no 5 is possibly the most beautiful piece of music I have ever heard, I find it hard to listen to if that makes sense. Probably listened to Lark ascending more than any other classical piece and still love it. I really like how you capture that sense of knowing you should be doing something else yet just letting it go and letting the mind wander, I think vaughn williams music does that - the end to this is just beautiful. :-)

Blink and I miss one, you're so prolific, Tina! I really think this is one of my favourites of yours - a `letting it all out' kind of poem ending with those great last lines. Loved it.

This poem is your style, full of ZING! After reading your work, I feel energized. As you wrote this poem, I could envisage you dashing about words trailing behind in your mind. Then you LEAP upon a river bank and begin to scribble. Cheers, Richard LP

Richard LP said everything I wanted to say about this poem so stop reading right this instant and go read what he said several posts up from here and then (hopefully) you will grasp how wonderful this poem truly is. I particularly liked the clever storyline. When you write a poem like this you do what Berryman does in his dreamsongs by reworking the language to suit your own creative necessity. You say things that we all grasp at some elemental level but don't quite know how to articulate. Your language is simple but the eloquence and artistry transcend the commonplace.

Actually I didn't go far enough. Two more things: 1.) you can't teach someone how to write a poem like this in a masters of fine arts writing program at Yale or the University of Iowa (i.e. two of the most prestigious creative writing program in the US). You write a poem like this the way Neruda or ee cummings or Emily Dickinson or ... well you get the idea. Secondly, the reader senses the confidence and sure-footedness (admittedly a wierd choice of words) on the part of the writer. The writer knows what he/she is doing, what needs to be said and the best way to accomplish that process. Again, they don't teach this sort of artistic alchemy at the universities. It comes from another primal source altogether.

Tina, One last observation and I promise not to post another thing! Robert Creeley, the American imagist poet (i.e. his most famous poem was the Ball-Turret Gunner), who taught on the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said that there were essentially two types of poems: the type you write and all the rest that he characterized as 'Kleenex Poetry'. So what is Kleenex poetry? When you have a bad head cold or sinus infection, you grab a piece of Kleenex, blow your nose and promptly toss the wad of mucous-soaked Kleenex in the trash. Unfortunately, ninety per cent of the poetry written falls into this category; it is both regrettable and forgettable. You read the offering once and then promptly forget about it. When you write a poem like On Listening to 'The Lark Ascending'..., it's important to get feedback from other serious writers. On occaision, I've written something that I thought 'might' be exceptional but desperately needed confirmation to that effect. Otherwise we end up second-guessing ourselves and wondering if the writing truly measured up. When this many abctales followers tell you it's a gem, all the doubts fall away in a heartbeat. What you have is the diametric opposite of Kreeley's Kleenex poetry.

Tina, what can I say, that hasn't already been said, you have always been an inspiration to me, since I got to read your work. I think you truely have a following of great fans, not only in this piece, but in all of your work. keep writing Tina, you make a lot of people very happy. Jenny.

Okay, so I lied... just one more point and I'm totally done. The American poet, Theodoe Rothke, lived on a farm and his parents had greenhouses. Several of his most magnificent poems, such as 'On Moss Gathering' deal with nature, plants and small animals. One poem that he wrote about a baby field mouse that the young poet finds abandoned in a field starts out normally enough and then goes off on a stunning rant encompassing issues both mundane and of cosmic proportions. This poem of your reminds me of the Rothke poem, even though the subject matter is quite different. It's more a matter of tone and atmosphere, reading like a stream-of-consciousness piece where the reader must 'understand' whats going on at multiple levels. Okay. That's it. I'm done. No more.

Another trip to the archives producing gold!  This is our Facebook and Twitter Pick of the Day.

Picture:  Pixabay Creative Commons.

so glad this is pick of the day or I would not have read it and it's wonderful I keep wanting to read it over and over again.

I missed this before - great to see the archives delved into. You know with Silver Spun Sand there's always going to be that punchline. And I like how there's paint in the first verse and paint at the end, unconscious or not.

So glad to see this poem has got the accolades it deserves. Really miss Tina and her wonderful writing.

Jenny.