Famous Quoted Line Poetry Contest

Congrats YesNo.

(I thought a close approximation that stuck to the theme might work.)

Thanks, Pendragon! Sorry for the late response.

The next quote is from E. E. Cummings: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/E._E._Cummings

I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing
than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance.

Deadline: January 26th

On this page is the text of the poem "you shall above all things be glad and young" containing the quoted lines: http://www.abuddhistlibrary.com/Budd...20cummings.htm

i'd rather - feather the skies and
learn - sing with birdsong spring
from one bird - one feather has all the song
how to sing - in one egg lies all birdsong feathering the skies

than - dark night frightnight
teach - teachers see nolight
ten thousand stars - deep frightskies blightsight
how not to - never never-ending nightblight
dance

- little star with birdsong filling nightskies

I'd rather see the midnight sky than lights of cities in the dark
I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance
I'd rather hear a loved one's last faint whisper than a million voices spewing hate
I'd rather know I touched a single life than feel ten thousand slip away
I'd rather know a little of everything than be fool enough to think I know it all
I'd rather taste one sweet victory than savor a million defeats
I'd rather smell one tiny flower than inhale the essence of war and blood
I'd rather write a single poem than pen manifestos to rock the world
I'd rather live a single life and face my problems than live forever and live a lie...

Pendragon
(C) January 7, 2014

How Marilyn Got Her Coo

Stepping onto Apollo's parquet plain,
Marilyn hosts her troupe in solid gold.
Spandex fleece for a shimmering cotillion,
her choreographed dream was about to unfold.

But gods doth tease and sway our hopes
Marilyn's train crashed; a desultory dance.
In solitude she peered through Coleridge "fleecy veil",
to the zodiac gods for a second chance.

Helen abides in Aquarius' forest;
the goddess Lark whose trills do please.
Her soft refrain, the quest of mortals
(during the '40's, she was Artie's squeeze.)

Marilyn gazed into the firmament.
Helen's visage perched on Aquarius' hand.
Pondering a thought she snapped a Hemlock
and quoted the following in Psamathe sand:

"I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing
than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance."
At this melancholic plea, Helen tipped the urn
pouring dulcet nectar on her cords to enhance.

Dawns warming rays lifted Marilyn's voice
beyond Olympus to the fifth dimension.
No longer burdened with parachute pants,
her coordinate reached at right ascension.


Inspirations:

Marilyn McCoo and Solid Gold
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IKNrTxP9U-8

Helen Forrest and Artie Shaw
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PkFexfgZ3CA

5th Dimension
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kjxSCAa...%3DkjxSCAalsBE

A Song To My Mother, A Dance With My Father



I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing
Than gather all the hymns of the morning
Or all the notes and rhythms of May spring.

It is my curse to sing lullabies as firstborn
And as a son to a mother beaten and torn
It is my destiny to offer a song then mourn.

My raging feet know the mad lyrics of the tango
But my mouth only whistles the bass and its flow
As my hands’ revenge goes deep and very slow.

Inside this world of iron bars and concrete walls
Where I wait for rare letters and quick phone calls
I sing to the ceiling and dance until the curtain falls.

I’d rather slide on a blade, hop and step on a lance
And tumble to the orchestra of my fate and chance
Than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance.

miyako, that is beautiful.

Crikey! I think I'll pass, the standard's too high for me.

I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing
than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance.
that is because a bird is a music heard
all over the fern
its twitter earns
symphony sterns compare to its learn
a star bothers not it is too high up
to cult
who cares if it dances as long as it lances
giving the view a moving prance
that is better then a dance
anytime of the salse.
sky is lured.

YesNo I think this one is time's up ;)

Right, cacian. I'll get a response tomorrow morning.

Here are the results. Thanks to all who participated!

windblown: This poem represented an interesting technique. If I just read the part after the hyphen, there is a nice series of rhyme on the "light" sound with hope in the first stanza and fright in the second.

Pendragon: The first line about the midnight sky and city lights seemed to go well with the last where one lived a life well facing one's problems as compared to living an eternal lie.

Gilliatt Gurgle: The line where the Gods "tease" and "sway our hopes" keeps coming back to me. I usually think of them as more blunt. Nice homage to Marilyn.

miyako73: I liked the last two lines. They flowed with the meter. It seems as if this is from the perspective of the father in prison or a son who is imprisoned and who remembers a beaten mother.

cacian: You make a good point in this poem. The bird and its song are more significant to us than those stars.

I have no clue who really should win this and I was thinking of procrastinating further because I can't decide.

But I have delayed too long.

The winner: miyako73

Okay... here it is:

Let's use this by Neruda:

“It was at that age
that poetry came
in search of me.”

Deadline: On the last second of February

The Age of Poetry

From the first moments breath,
it seemed a flutter,
something caught just in the eye-corner,
yet tantalizing out of reach,
and completely beyond comprehension.
it remained, something taunting,
a laughter in the wind,
a stalker in the shadows,
a seducer of dreams.
then there came the long winter-like hush,
and I shall not know
if it was I who caused offense,
or if it cruelly discovered
fairer game to engage in
catch-me-if-you-can,
forget-me-not,
masquerades.

There descended
the long era of darkness,
and even if at times I wanted to strangle it,
now I am the one to become suffocated,
left voiceless,
the precarious time
of angst rages
unchecked rebellion
a need for destruction,
both internal and external,
It was at that age that poetry came
in search of me once more,
now clearly defined,
no longer a phantom
but a raging force
not to be denied
but ready to be harnessed,
to create worlds,
bring ruin to civilizations,
to speak of that which
has no words.

Singing a New Song

Looking back on my life and how it has been
Do I really want to walk down those roads again?
Youth and inexperience were ruining my life
Feeling like I should be pleasing people all of the time
About the day I woke up and realized I could see:
It was at that age that poetry came in search of me...

So I follow my heart, walk my own path
I no longer fear the icy certainty of death
If people don't understand and they get in the way
I just smile and whisper, "Have a nice day!"
The music of nature and the sounds of the sea:
It was at that age that poetry came in search of me...

I won't say it isn't lonely or the road doesn't grow dark
But beneath the cloak of midnight you can see the faintest spark
People that I tried to please, still shake their heads and turn way
So tell how is that any different, they never chose to stay
Eyes now filled with brightness, a better life I see:
It was at that age that poetry came in search of me...

Pendragon
(C) February 6, 2014