Riddle

[PrinceMyshkin]

There was a song
which had neither melody
nor rhyme nor reason
and yet
it was meant to be sung.

There was a man
who was not particularly handsome
nor witty
nor generous of heart
and yet
he felt he should be loved.

[zoolane]

There was a song
which had neither melody
nor rhyme nor reason
and yet
it was meant to be sung.

There was a man
who was not particularly handsome
nor witty
nor generous of heart
and yet
he felt he should be loved.

There are riddles
that puzzle us
although
we know they cannot
and never will be solved.



Hmm what I do think ? Verse 1 maybe nurse rhyme. Verse 2 maybe sugar daddy. Verse 3now got me struck lol.

[Hawkman]

Well, Prince, That first verse convinces me you have been listening to "Peter Grimes" by Benjamin Britten, or maybe something by Sir Michael Tippet :D they tell me it's art, though.

Best. H

[tailor STATELY]

Interesting riddle/puzzle.

For all its worth, my 2¢:

Your poem begged for symmetry, if that makes sense.

V1 L5 perhaps consider dropping the "it"

V2 L6 perhaps consider dropping the first "he"

Verse 3 seems the weakest. In the first 2 verses with the changes above I was able to read with a lyrical lilt; where verse 3 became a commentary - which is fine if you wanted a commentary.

As always with admiration,
I, a weak poet at best,
(one of my last pieces
was composed of email spam after all),

tailor STATELY

[Delta40]

Any man may be a song when loved

or there's many a good tune played on an old fiddle....

[hillwalker]

Verse 3 does round off the set but I also wonder whether we need to be told there are riddles when v1 and v2 do such a perfect job of showing us so.

H

[PrinceMyshkin]

Thank you, Zoolane, Hawkman, Tailor, Delta and


Verse 3 does round off the set but I also wonder whether we need to be told there are riddles when v1 and v2 do such a perfect job of showing us so.

H

Verse 3 seems to have given several of you a bit of trouble and I can see that it is overly explicit but in terms of the argument I meant to make 1 & 2 are only there to pave the way for 3. I & 2, in my view, are statements of what might wish to be but cannot...

[Lumiere]

The first stanza struck me; I stopped; read it again.

After I read the second stanza, my breath caught around itself and I had a sudden impulse to sob. (Consider this to your credit.)

I feel very strongly that the third stanza is superfluous;
to be frank, Prince, I wish it was not there!

I accept your explanation; I have no choice but to accept it; the poet is always right,
(or is it the reader that is always right?)

But....
forgive me if I pretend - no, insist as a sort of fervent delusion - that the third stanza doesn't exist.

Of course, if you - as the creator - feel the third stanza is right, then by all means! It's right! Simple.

In the Spirit of Friendliness and Exuberance for Poetry,
I love the first two.

In the Spirit of Friendliness and Exuberance for Poetry,
I don't like the third.

- L

[PrinceMyshkin]

The first stanza struck me; I stopped; read it again.

After I read the second stanza, my breath caught around itself and I had a sudden impulse to sob. (Consider this to your credit.)

I feel very strongly that the third stanza is superfluous;
to be frank, Prince, I wish it was not there!

I accept your explanation; I have no choice but to accept it; the poet is always right,
(or is it the reader that is always right?)

But....
forgive me if I pretend - no, insist as a sort of fervent delusion - that the third stanza doesn't exist.

Of course, if you - as the creator - feel the third stanza is right, then by all means! It's right! Simple.

In the Spirit of Friendliness and Exuberance for Poetry,
I love the first two.

In the Spirit of Friendliness and Exuberance for Poetry,
I don't like the third.

- L

Okay, buddy, how could I resist this. I've editted the original.

[NikolaiI]

thanks for sharing your beautiful poetry Prince.

[drago]

Evocative. The power of making one feel! I loved it. It moved me.

[symphony]

I read the original poem quoted in one of the posts and I'm glad you got rid of the third stanza.
The first stanza reminded me of, well, me.
The second, and now last, stanza friggin' pointed at me! (Not a man now am I, but you get the idea.)

I felt the line breaks in that last stanza could look more comfortable to me this way:


There was a song
which had neither melody
nor rhyme nor reason
and yet
it was meant to be sung.

There was a man
who was not particularly handsome
nor witty nor generous of heart
and yet
he felt he should be loved.

[GEETASHREE]

Prince, I liked your poem, riddle or no riddle though every human being has the desire to be loved, handsome or not.

[PrinceMyshkin]

Thanks Nikolai, Sarah, and Symphony:


Symphony: I read the original poem quoted in one of the posts and I'm glad you got rid of the third stanza.
The first stanza reminded me of, well, me.
The second, and now last, stanza friggin' pointed at me! (Not a man now am I, but you get the idea.)

May I congratulate myself on having provoked the first off-colour word from you - or is that thanks to your Canadian surroundings?


Prince, I liked your poem, riddle or no riddle though every human being has the desire to be loved, handsome or not.

"The desire to be loved" which, to me, is so much secondary to the desire, the will and the ability to love!