Day: July 11, 2016

Everyone has a vocation: To be who they know that they are.

 

I think my vocation is sacred
I keep seeing visions of God
He’s like a bright light
Exceedingly right
Does anything seem to be odd?

I have a calling to follow
I just do not know the details
I pray and I wait
By yonder lychgate
Do vocations ever get into the Sales?

I would like it if I could buy one
I’ll give you all the money I’ve saved
Sell my idea?
My dear,no fear!
Just consider how well I’ve behaved.

Everyone has a vocation
To be who they know that they are.
Yet I am not me
Without you to be
Here in my arms by the fire.

I’ll get an answer tomorrow
As I dream of God during the night
She will give me an image
And the much needed courage
To go on till I see the Light.

The problem is one of translation,
For God speaks in symbols not words
Symbols are wells
in which truth dwells.
And the Spirit swoops down like a bird.

Why not find your vocation?
It’s possible whatever your age.
Attend to your dreams
and how your life seems
Vocations are now all the rage.

Oh, what art

The gift for  imitation   is an art
Needs eyes and face and mind to work as one;
And who would dare to play the darkest parts?

To reproduce another being’s heart;
To manifest a self  till acting’s done.
The gift for imitation is an art

To  play another, may one’s soul contort;
Although a little demon may be fun.
But who would dare to play the darkest part?

I’d sooner play a demon than a tart
Especially if I had a  piper and a drum
The gift for imitation, oh,  what art.

When we play  adult games we have no charts
And we know too many use a gun
But who would  dare to play the darkest parts?

We  face a trump and devils may become
Our fellow citizens   till all’s undone.
The  gift for  imitation   is an art
Yet  will  he dare to play the darkest part?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Theodore Roethke:The Waking

https://youtu.be/IxY2g4mR8Xk

 

We think by feeling. What is there to know?
I hear my being dance from ear to ear.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Of those so close beside me, which are you?
God bless the Ground! I shall walk softly there,
And learn by going where I have to go.

Light takes the Tree; but who can tell us how?
The lowly worm climbs up a winding stair;
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.

Great Nature has another thing to do
To you and me, so take the lively air,
And, lovely, learn by going where to go.

This shaking keeps me steady. I should know.
What falls away is always. And is near.
I wake to sleep, and take my waking slow.
I learn by going where I have to go.

Villanelles:what I think so far

Let’s start with one of the most well known poems by Dylan Thomas

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on that sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Dylan Thomas

Form: Villanelle

I enjoyed writing some villanelles;I found it hard too.One reason is clear.
Look at the first three lines in the above poem.Lines 1 and 3 are going to be repeated several times.They also come together to end the poem.
This means they have to be good.These lines  in Thomas’;s poem are often quoted.As it happens I disagree with them as advice but I think they are marvellous as poetry.And who takes advice from poets?
So thinking of  two good lines before you start… or even one good line to begin with is something I have found more difficult than I do with sonnets.Of course I only began last week so I can’t be surprised by my lack.
However I found the repetition and the sounds were very enjoyable and memorable.More so after I had tried to write my own.And that is one good reason for writing poetry.You  will enjoy other people’s poetry much more, if it is good.As we don’t see what Dylan Thomas threw away we don’t know how much effort  and work was involved in writing his beautiful poem.Sometimes I have done nearly 30 revisions to a poem.Sometimes I put one on Facebook,not for my family to read,but just moving it and re-reading it often suggests an improvement.Sometimes  someone reads it but not always.But it’s good for me.
If I can think up another first line,I shall continue  my study.

 

 

How to pronounce ” awry” 

SecretBunker

My best friend and I both came across this word in books as children and thought it was pronounced aw-ri.So we were amazed to hear people say “a wry”

Nr 1:How not to pronounce awry

I could tell you a nice little story
But awry is not pronounced aw-riii.
That unsettles my mind
Which is somewhat unkind.
And what’s more Lowry doesn’t rhyme with story either so I am stuck here on the page for ever
.
Never mind,I weren’t hopin’ for’t glory
.[ That verb usage is common in Lancashire]
Nr 2 for correct pronunciation of awry
My bedroom is all awry
My bed is an tart apple pie.
But it’s cosy and warm
And does me no harm
Though sometimes in a dream I up-fly
Is your marriage awry like mine?
Is your partner somewhat less than divine.
Well give thanks to the Lord
For indeed it is hard
To live with a god all the time.
The bedroom was indescribably neat
Nothing was awry but a sheet
It lay on the floor
inside of the door
Just where I put my black feet.
My awry home was disliked by the doc
Yet he wore an unmatched pair o’ socks
But being full of tact
I never told him that fact..
I just made certain our eyes never locked.

Being poor [USA based but relevant to other countries

 

https://benirwin.me/2013/12/03/20-things-the-poor-do-every-day/

One thing than makes me angry is when rich people blame poor people for being poor.Some of course  do have problems but many  work hard at more than one job paid the minimum wage.

Liminal and subliminal

Broad-bodiedChaser2016

 http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day

Liminal [Merriam Webster]

play

adjective LIM-uh-nul
 PrevNext

Definition

1 : of or relating to a sensory threshold

2 : barely perceptible

3 : of, relating to, or being an intermediate state, phase, or condition : in-between,transitional

Examples

“Kipling is drawn to images of his characters sitting in perilous places, because he aims to communicate a liminal anxiety about identity and imperial history.” — Tom Paulin, The Times Literary Supplement, 8 Mar. 2002

“Solnit suggests that separating the feeling of becoming lost from a feeling of fear leads to a certain kind of spiritual growth. In that liminal space, between what we know and what we can’t imagine, we are remade.” — Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 24 May 2016

 

Did You Know?

The noun limen refers to the point at which a physiological or psychological effect begins to be produced, and liminal is the adjective used to describe things associated with that point, or threshold, as it is also called. Likewise, the closely related word subliminal means “below a threshold”; it can describe something inadequate to produce a sensation or something operating below a threshold of consciousness. Because the sensory threshold is a transitional point where sensations are just beginning to be perceptible, liminal acquired two extended meanings. It can mean “barely perceptible” and is now often used to mean “transitional” or “intermediate,” as in “the liminal zone between sleep and wakefulness.”