Weekly/Fortnightly Poetry Suggestions

[pschempf]

That could be the next Fortnightly if you wish BC Michele.

Sure. Spring will be almost sprung by then!

In LA, maybe; not up here in the Frozen North!

Ya - I thought that was a little optimistic - 9° F here this morning with what they charmingly term "Wintry Mix" forecast for tomorrow.

[msfry]

I'd love to BC a Fortnightly of this one. Amazingly, it is not yet in our catalog! I am recording this whole book right now, but none of the poems will show up in a search of any of them by individual name.
https://archive.org/details/voicesofnightoth00long/page/47

Endymion
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807 - 1882

The rising moon has hid the stars;
Her level rays, like golden bars,
Lie on the landscape green,
With shadows brown between.

And silver white the river gleams,
As if Diana, in her dreams,
Had dropt her silver bow
Upon the meadows low.

On such a tranquil night as this,
She woke Endymion with a kiss,
When, sleeping in the grove,
He dreamed not of her love.

Like Dian’s kiss, unasked, unsought,
Love gives itself, but is not bought;
Her voice, nor sound betrays
Its deep, impassioned gaze.

It comes,—the beautiful, the free,
The crown of all humanity,—
In silence and alone
To seek the elected one.

It lifts the boughs, whose shadows deep,
Are Life’s oblivion, the soul’s sleep,
And kisses the closed eyes
Of him, who slumbering lies.

O, weary hearts! O, slumbering eyes!
O, drooping souls, whose destinies
Are fraught with fear and pain,
Ye shall be loved again!

No one is so accursed by fate,
No one so utterly desolate,
But some heart, though unknown,
Responds unto his own.

Responds,—as if with unseen wings,
A breath from heaven had touched its strings
And whispers, in its song,
“Where hast thou stayed so long!”

[KIBBONAFIDE]

I just recorded this poem for a larger nonfiction piece, so it wouldn't be searchable on its own. It's about a French hero of WWI who perished at age 22 after 2 years and 54 victories, four being in one day, which the French called, at the time, the Magic Quadruple. The "Ace of Aces", he was commander of The Flying Storks.

I couldn't find anything about Mary Siegrist, the poet, but here's the source and Guynemer's wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Guynemer

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/49455



THE ONGOING

“Loose me from fear and make me see aright
How each has back what once he stayed to weep—
Homer his sight, David his little lad.”

He will not come, the gallant flying boy,
Back to his field. Somewhere he wings his way
Where the Immortals keep; where Homer now
Has back his sight, David his little lad;
Where all those are we dully call the dead,
Who have gone greatly on some shining quest,
He takes his way. That which he quested for,
That larger freedom of a larger birth,
Captains him, flying into fields of dawn.

He has gone on where now the soldier-slain
Arise in light. Somewhere he takes his place
And leads his comrades in untrodden fields.
For never can these rest until our earth
Has ceased from travail—never can these take
Their fill of sleep until the Scourge is slain.
And so they keep them sometimes near old ways
In the accustomed fields—now flying low,
Invisible, they cheer the gallant hosts,
Bidding them be, as they, invincible.

He will come never back! But we who watched
Him take the upper air and steer his boundless path
Firmly against the foe, we know that here
Death could not penetrate. Life only is
Where all is life, and so, before us, keeps
Always the vision of his faring on
To unpathed fields where his great comrades wait,
And, joyful, take him for their captaining—
The brave Adventurer,
The gallant flying Boy!

MARY SIEGRIST.

[aradlaw]

I'd love to BC a Fortnightly of this one. Amazingly, it is not yet in our catalog! I am recording this whole book right now, but none of the poems will show up in a search of any of them by individual name.
https://archive.org/details/voicesofnightoth00long/page/47

Endymion
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807 - 1882

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner Michele, you can set this up for tomorrow if you wish.

[msfry]

Endymion is set up and ready to go.

[msfry]

Here's a good'un, in the catalog once, but not as a weekly or fortnightly. Kind of sing-songy. Lemme know if and when and I'll set it up.

http://www.ellawheelerwilcox.org/poems/pagolden.htm

A GOLDEN DAY, by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

The subtle beauty of this day
Hangs o'er me like a fairy spell,
And care and grief have flown away,
And every breeze sings, "All is well."

I ask, "Holds earth of sin, or woe?"
My heart replies, "I do not know."
Nay! all we know, or feel, my heart,
To-day is joy undimmed, complete;

In tears or pain we have no part;
The act of breathing is so sweet,
We care no higher joy to name.
What reck we now of wealth or fame?

The past---what matters it to me?
The pain it gave has passed away.
The future---that I cannot see!
I care for nothing save to-day---

This is a respite from all care,
And trouble flies---I know not where.
Go on, oh, noisy, restless life!
Pass by, oh, feet that seek for heights!

I have no part in aught of strife;
I do not want your vain delights.
The day wraps round me like a spell,
And every breeze sings, "All is well."

[skipg]

Slightly off-topic, apologies in advance! I am a total newbie still poking around the pinned topics, figuring out the lay of the land, but this thread threw a wrench into those plans! I have been devoured by one of the recommendations in the original post, There Will Come Soft Rains by Sara Teasdale. It's 1am and I think I'm going to need to devour the entire Flame and Shadow collection before I can sleep. What an amazing recommendation, I don't know how to put into words the invigorating joy of being introduced to a poet that rekindles my long-dormant appreciation for poetry so brightly that I'm eager to be sleep-deprived for tomorrow because it's just such a good read.

Just wanted to say thank you for that totally unexpected consequence of joining this community! I wish I knew more about how things work here so I could claim that one, but maybe eventually...

[msfry]

Slightly off-topic, apologies in advance! I am a total newbie still poking around the pinned topics, figuring out the lay of the land, but this thread threw a wrench into those plans! I have been devoured by one of the recommendations in the original post, There Will Come Soft Rains by Sara Teasdale. It's 1am and I think I'm going to need to devour the entire Flame and Shadow collection before I can sleep. What an amazing recommendation, I don't know how to put into words the invigorating joy of being introduced to a poet that rekindles my long-dormant appreciation for poetry so brightly that I'm eager to be sleep-deprived for tomorrow because it's just such a good read.

Just wanted to say thank you for that totally unexpected consequence of joining this community! I wish I knew more about how things work here so I could claim that one, but maybe eventually...

Hello, Skip. I can see you are excited about Librivox. Join the club.

I recommend you wait awhile before trying to BC a project, but you can always record and submit it to the current Short Poetry Collection (which you will find listed in the Readers Wanted, Short Works forum).

This poem was a featured Weekly Poem back in 2010 but I'm sure others might like to read it by now. To see what Librivox has in its catalog, just do a search from the Home Page (see menu bar above), and a list of every instance of that title will appear. HINT: don't include apostrophies. Try it for There Will Come Soft Rains and you will see it has been submitted several times. You can also search Sara Teasdale to see what else of hers is available for your listening pleasure.

[skipg]

Thank you, Michele! I definitely plan on learning a lot more before attempting to BC anything myself haha. I'm starting out participating in the current weekly poetry reading and it's a blast so far! Thank you for the search tips, checking it out now! Being a listener has taken on a different facet now that I'm trying out recording myself, there's so much talent to learn from here.

[msfry]

Thank you, Michele! I definitely plan on learning a lot more before attempting to BC anything myself haha. I'm starting out participating in the current weekly poetry reading and it's a blast so far! Thank you for the search tips, checking it out now! Being a listener has taken on a different facet now that I'm trying out recording myself, there's so much talent to learn from here.

Don't forget the Fortnightly Poems too! Both the Weekly and Fortnightlies end on Sunday, and a new one begins on Monday. And you can always submit a poem to this Suggestions forum, with a link to the text at least, and the text itself if you can. Someone else may be willing to BC it.

[Newgatenovelist]

Hello Skipg! It's marvellous that you've discovered Teasdale, even if it does mean that you stayed up to read her! I hope you enjoy recording and find many more poems that grip you in the same way.


I came on to post a suggestion for a weekly or fortnightly: A Match by Algernon Charles Swinburne. It was last recorded for LV in 2012, so perhaps it's due for another outing! The text is from http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35402.

A MATCH

If love were what the rose is,
And I were like the leaf,
Our lives would grow together
In sad or singing weather,
Blown fields or flowerful closes,
Green pleasure or grey grief;
If love were what the rose is,
And I were like the leaf.

If I were what the words are,
And love were like the tune,
With double sound and single
Delight our lips would mingle,
With kisses glad as birds are
That get sweet rain at noon;
If I were what the words are,
And love were like the tune.

If you were life, my darling,
And I your love were death,
We'd shine and snow together
Ere March made sweet the weather
With daffodil and starling
And hours of fruitful breath;
If you were life, my darling,
And I your love were death.

If you were thrall to sorrow,
And I were page to joy,
We'd play for lives and seasons
With loving looks and treasons
And tears of night and morrow
And laughs of maid and boy;
If you were thrall to sorrow,
And I were page to joy.

If you were April's lady,
And I were lord in May,
We'd throw with leaves for hours
And draw for days with flowers,
Till day like night were shady
And night were bright like day;
If you were April's lady,
And I were lord in May.

If you were queen of pleasure,
And I were king of pain,
We'd hunt down love together,
Pluck out his flying-feather,
And teach his feet a measure,
And find his mouth a rein;
If you were queen of pleasure,
And I were king of pain.


Erin

[lymiewithpurpose]

I have a poem I would like to BC for one of our Weekly/Fortnightly poems. It may be a bit darker than the ones I have seen so far, but it still intrigues me. The source is at http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/kiplin02.html#7, and it is by the magnificent Rudyard Kipling:

Edgehill Fight

Naked and gray the Cotswolds stand
Beneath the summer sun,
And the stubble fields on either hand
Where Sour and Avon run.
There is no change in the patient land
That has bred us every one.

She should have passed in cloud and fire
And saved us from this sin
Of war--red war--'twixt child and sire,
Household and kith and kin,
In the heart of a sleepy Midland shire,
With the harvest scarcely in.

But there is no change as we meet at last
On the brow-head or the plain,
And the raw astonished ranks stand fast
To slay or to be slain
By the men they knew in the kindly past
That shall never come again--

By the men they met at dance or chase,
In the tavern or the hall,
At the justice bench and the market place,
At the cudgel play or brawl--
Of their own blood and speech and race,
Comrades or neighbors all!

More bitter than death this day must prove
Whichever way it go,
For the brothers of the maids we love
Make ready to lay low
Their sisters' sweethearts, as we move
Against our dearest foe.

Thank Heaven! At last the trumpets peal
Before our strength gives way.
For King or for the Commonweal--
No matter which they say,
The first dry rattle of new-drawn steel
Changes the world today!

[KIBBONAFIDE]

I just recorded this poem for a larger nonfiction piece, so it wouldn't be searchable on its own. It's about a French hero of WWI who perished at age 22 after 2 years and 54 victories, four being in one day, which the French called, at the time, the Magic Quadruple. The "Ace of Aces", he was commander of The Flying Storks.

I couldn't find anything about Mary Siegrist, the poet, but here's the source and Guynemer's wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Guynemer

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/49455



THE ONGOING

“Loose me from fear and make me see aright
How each has back what once he stayed to weep—
Homer his sight, David his little lad.”

He will not come, the gallant flying boy,
Back to his field. Somewhere he wings his way
Where the Immortals keep; where Homer now
Has back his sight, David his little lad;
Where all those are we dully call the dead,
Who have gone greatly on some shining quest,
He takes his way. That which he quested for,
That larger freedom of a larger birth,
Captains him, flying into fields of dawn.

He has gone on where now the soldier-slain
Arise in light. Somewhere he takes his place
And leads his comrades in untrodden fields.
For never can these rest until our earth
Has ceased from travail—never can these take
Their fill of sleep until the Scourge is slain.
And so they keep them sometimes near old ways
In the accustomed fields—now flying low,
Invisible, they cheer the gallant hosts,
Bidding them be, as they, invincible.

He will come never back! But we who watched
Him take the upper air and steer his boundless path
Firmly against the foe, we know that here
Death could not penetrate. Life only is
Where all is life, and so, before us, keeps
Always the vision of his faring on
To unpathed fields where his great comrades wait,
And, joyful, take him for their captaining—
The brave Adventurer,
The gallant flying Boy!

MARY SIEGRIST.

I think you’d make a great weekly/fortnightly coordinator Campbell! You are attentive to your projects and you are great with new folks!

After Campbell has had her chance I would love to try it as well someday. When I originally posted this suggestion I wasn’t ready but I know my way around a little better now that I have a solo I’m working on. No rush just thought I’d add this to the discussion. Love the poetry projects!

[lymiewithpurpose]

I think you’d make a great weekly/fortnightly coordinator Campbell! You are attentive to your projects and you are great with new folks!

After Campbell has had her chance I would love to try it as well someday. When I originally posted this suggestion I wasn’t ready but I know my way around a little better now that I have a solo I’m working on. No rush just thought I’d add this to the discussion. Love the poetry projects!

Thank you so much, that means a lot to me! Yes I quite enjoy BCing and helping newbies around (although I am still a fairly newbie myself ). You definitely should try it too! I have never seen you in a BC role before, but from your interactions you seem very friendly and on top of things so I'm sure you would be great .

[KIBBONAFIDE]

Thank you for your confidence in me, too! I haven’t really delved into PLing yet so doing something like this would be a good way to get into it, I think.