Three stanzas in praise of “Letting In the Ghosts”

[PrinceMyshkin]

What else calls out to us?
Love, of course, the lustful wickedness
of war, the passing seasons,
and the work of other poets.

I have in mind Firefangled’s
magnificent “Letting In the Ghosts”
which requires us, almost, to learn
another way to breathe.

An easier way, a looser one,
to give each consonant its due
and every vowel be open to
the difference between them.

[~Sophia~]

You know, the problem with a poem like this is it just doesn't make any sense unless you post it this way


Letting In the Ghosts - by firefangled

The house at midnight hums with consonants.
Particularly the air-handler’s lay
soothes me as seasons pass the windows―
summer slowly and winter’s frozen tracks―
I bless the steadiness of ems and ars.

Falls are less unruffled, they tic-toc on
gables, like some anachronistic clock,
a quick knocking in counterpoint, as oaks
forgo acorns in incessant metronomic drops,
and blown leaves brush against the windowpanes.

When in April comes the hour between the days,
a lull with lilacs from the dead ground grows
and through the open windows lets the ghosts in,
a redolence in all the rooms, almost seen
in moonlight―hyacinth, peony and rose.



© Copyright 2010


Three stanzas in praise of “Letting In the Ghosts” - by PrinceMyshkin


What else calls out to us?
Love, of course, the lustful wickedness
of war, the passing seasons,
and the work of other poets
.
I have in mind Firefangled’s
magnificent “Letting In the Ghosts”
which requires us, almost, to learn
another way to breathe.

An easier way, a looser one,
to give each consonant its due
and every vowel be open to
the difference between them.
__________________

Let's pretend you become famous and your fans are eagerly hunting for every word you've ever written. They won't understand this poem if you don't include the poem by the author who inspired it. Maybe, it's okay here on Litnet because I'm certain everyone reads firefangled but I found myself flipping back and forth between his poem and yours. I think, if you ever hope to publish etc, you need to show his work too. JMHO

[PrinceMyshkin]

You know, the problem with a poem like this is it just doesn't make any sense if you don't post it this way



Let's pretend you become famous and your fans are eagerly hunting for every word you've ever written. They won't understand this poem if you don't include the poem by the author who inspired it. Maybe, it's okay here on Litnet because I'm certain everyone reads firefangled but, if you ever hope to publish etc, I think you need to show his work too. JMHO

Fair enough, but if you're looking to maximize your hard-earned Euros, bet it on the prospect that long before I become "famous," "Letting In the Ghosts" will be widely known, taught (alas, badly) in many high schools and possibly will have been set to music.

[~Sophia~]

perhaps but still, I think it honours him more to include his work and, it saves readers the problem of having to flip back and forth.

[paperleaves]

agreed! what a beautiful, honest tribute!

love
Kate

[MorpheusSandman]

It's a wonderful tribute from one great poet to another. I think I learn more and more as I read your poems, Prince, about the effective use of line breaks, punctuation, and free-verse form in a piece. I love how in the second line you start with "love", and the separate it with ", of course," from "lustful wickedness" and how that enjambs into the "war" of the third line. It's just brilliant. While I love the 3rd stanza I'm not sure about the second which is required to get there. There's something overtly dry about "I have in mind FireFangled's || magnificent "Letting in the Ghosts", and I think given the title and, especially if you included FF's poem before this you could get away with cutting that out and just alluding to it more subtly. Maybe use a play on the title or theme, for example.

[firefangled]

You truly humble me. You are too generous. This seems too much for one who is still a journeyman.

Thank you, Prince. Your last verse is a credo.

[PrinceMyshkin]

You truly humble me. You are too generous. This seems too much for one who is still a journeyman.

Thank you, Prince. Your last verse is a credo.

My "generosity" is nothing but the leftovers of my pleasure and gratitude after I've read this or another of your poems.

(I'm reminded, very in-apropos, of Calvin Trillin's brilliant line: "For thirty years my mother served leftovers. The original meal has yet to be found.")