Our Picks
Top content from across the community, hand-picked by us.

Window
badger11 posted a topic in Photography, Drawing, and Painting,
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Picked By
tonyv,Morn of night
Omar posted a topic in Showcase,
A nibbling ache I have no
responsibility to.
It was- But a shearing blad
Of delusion that must be paid
with blood.
The hammer swang,The knife twisted
And I finally could hear the pulse
Of my ear.
The white Rose smiled
For her envy, at last,
smudged red.
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Picked By
tonyv,Charles Simic Is Dead
tonyv posted a topic in Showcase,
"A New York Times review from 1978 would note his gift for conveying 'a complex of perceptions and feelings' in just a few lines.
"'Of all the things ever said about poetry, the axiom that less is more has made the biggest and the most lasting impression on me,' Simic told Granta in 2013. 'I have written many short poems in my life, except written is not the right word to describe how they came into existence. Since it’s not possible to sit down and write an eight-line poem that’ll be vast for its size, these poems are assembled over a long period of time from words and images floating in my head.'"2
Amen. For me, it's not about the narrative, it's about the mood. If I want a story, a narrative, I'll watch Kubrick's classic adaptation of King's "The Shining." Now, there's a spectacular example of cinematic art, and what a narrative! But when I want a poem, I want a musical mood to be immersed in through language.
There may be those who knew Simic, who may step up and tell me that I don't know what I'm talking about--"That's not Simic!"--and it may be true. I have read only a few of his poems, and both were included in a tattered, old book I have in my library called "How to Read a Poem."3 One of them was "Empire of Dreams."
Had I been quicker on the draw, I might have tried to meet Simic, or Heaney, seeing that they were, at some times, geographically accessible to me. But had I done that, what could I really have expected from them? Criticism? Should I have asked them if my poems are any good? Damn straight, they're good. What we have here at PMO are living poets whose poems are good, and for now I'm pleased to be a part of this collective of the living.
Good
Flip your hair and flash your eyes
I know it makes you feel
good, move your body, real,
good, thrill them when they fantasize.
In Too Deep (Arthur Younger Remix)
1. Charles Simic
2. Charles Simic, Pulitzer Prize Winning Poet Dies at 84
3. How to Read a Poem by Burton Raffel. New York: The New American Library; 1984.
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Picked By
tonyv,Pinay with a quarterstaff (Notional Ekphrastic) (Edited)
Assaf1981 posted a topic in Showcase,
She may be small,
She may even
Be southeast Asian.
Yet do not
Discount her so soon,
For she is nimble,
And she is quick.
This young lady,
Barefoot,
And wearing standard
PT gear
And wearing a small pin
Depicting a flag:
A red and blue flag,
With a triangle
At the hoist,
Depicting a sun
At it’s centre
And three stars
At each point
Of the triangle.
As said before,
Discount her not,
For looks do deceive.
For, Behold;
With her staff;
Graceful as a cat,
She swings and thrusts,
And parries,
With the grace of a cat,
Taking down
All foes,
Whether human
Or occultic,
Winning it all,
For her homeland,
For her host country,
And for her
countrywomen
In her special regiment,
And even for
her homeworld;
The planet Earth!
However,
most importantly,
she also fights
For her Lord and Saviour,
As evidenced by
Her genuflecting,
With her head bowed,
And her staff held
In an upright manner!
See! Above her,
against the
unadorned
Background,
A pair of rings,
Green, floating rings,
Resembling eyes,
Hover above,
Seemingly spectral,
To which she pays
No notice.
What are those rings?
Are they the eyes
Of a friend,
Sent by her Lord
And saviour to guide
And protect
Her and her regiment?
Or are they
the eyes of
A supernatural
Malefactor,
The likes of which
She is sworn to fight?
That, dear reader
Is the mystery
behind this painting!
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Picked By
tonyv,Handcuffed Gymnast
Assaf1981 posted a topic in Showcase,
There you see her,
This ginger kid,
A teenager;
Barefoot,
In a navy blue
leotard,
Down on her knees,
Admiring her new
Bracelets! Bracelets-
Bound together
By a long, thin chain.
She shakes her arms
This way and that,
Yet the bracelets
Maintain their hold,
On either wrist,
Tightening further.
How she got them,
There’s but two theories:
One theory says
That she got them
After a loss,
From a wrestling match!
A wrestling match
Against another
Like herself
In stature, dress,
And skills,
Yet different from her
In age, ethnicity,
And even profession,
For it has been
Rumored that her foe
Was a cop back
In her homeland!
If this story’s true,
Then all those flips,
Handsprings,
Cartwheels,
Light punches,
And light kicks
Availed her little,
For she surely
Lost the match,
Since the terms
Of that match were
That whoever lost
Would be forced
To wear those bracelets,
But for how long
Would she have
To wear those bracelets?
Another story
Goes like this:
She wore them willingly,
As part of a show,
Yet why is she
Down on her knees?
Could it be practicing,
So that she could break
Into those bracelets?
Would she be able
To perform well
On the balance beam,
And on the floor,
When the big day comes?
If so, it’d be a first;
A first for gymnastics!
After that,
there’s but one problem:
After the event,
How’s she gonna
take them off?
Would her coach
Or her teammates
Be able to help her
Unlock those bracelets?
Also, what about
Her wrists? They’re
Gonna be real sore,
Lemme tell you!
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Picked By
tonyv,Abergavenny Small Press
badger11 posted a blog entry in PMO Members' Promotional Blog,
https://www.asppublishing.co.uk/john-winder-a6
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Picked By
tonyv,
Fevers of the Mind
badger11 posted a blog entry in PMO Members' Promotional Blog,
https://feversofthemind.com/2022/07/07/poetry-art-not-walking-by-phil-wood-lia-brooks/
All the best.
Phil
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Picked By
tonyv,Klecksograph
badger11 posted a blog entry in PMO Members' Promotional Blog,
https://www.kleksograph.be/
Best
Phil
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Picked By
tonyv,Visions of Love
bill kamen posted a topic in Showcase,
At a bar on the boardwalk by the sea
the jukebox keeps on playin’ visions of love
and it takes me back to when I first saw you
swayin' to the rhythm of the waves
eyes as blue as the sea
the wind in your hair
pink ribbons everywhere
I stopped to stare
you did your best to make a boy aware
your swayin’ arms reached out letting me in
the touch of your hand calmed the storm within
your shinning light touched my mind, body, and soul
I saw it in your eyes
I felt it from your heart
Love was all around me
You made it so easy
the way you loved me
made it so easy with every little thing you did
Unconditional, unconditionally
You loved me unconditionally
We set sail upon the waters
you were the wind in my sails
drifting onto the sea of love
tides rolled by, waves of love
swept into my heart
The smile on your face, your laughter
brought me back from the depths of heartache and pain
I felt alive for the first time in my life
Anchored on the vessel of embodiment
cherishing the freedom from within
A rainbow appeared in the far horizon
and that girl
You made it so easy
the way you loved me
made it so easy with every little thing you did
Unconditional, unconditionally
You loved me unconditionally
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Picked By
tonyv,The Violin
bob posted a blog entry in General Discussion Blog,
The Violin
It was an average size theater, capable of seating two hundred persons. Tonight it was filled to capacity. The variety of entertainment presented during this evenings program was very enjoyable. There had been two vocal solos; a small singing group; an orchestral presentation; twin pianos duet, and a flautist. The twenty minute intermission which allowed a comfort break was over, and the second half of the evenings program was near completion, except for a female violinist who was last on the program.
Auditorium lights overhead dimmed.; muffled sounds emanating from the audience diminished except for an occasional cough. Dark red, velvet curtains slowly opened accompanied with faint clicking of a few worn rollers as they moved along the rail, from which the curtains were suspended. The crowd hushed...another cough.
From the left wing of the stage a lone figure emerged, illuminated by a small spot light beaming down from overhead. He strode toward a Grand piano stationed at left-center of the stage. Placing sheets of music against the upright rest on the piano, he seated himself on a frail looking bench, raising slightly to adjust his tuxedo tails. Not satisfied, he raised and seated himself twice more, before looking beneath the key board. There he tapped lightly with his foot, on the pedals of the piano. Adjusting a small lamp above the music rest, he fingered through the sheet music assuring himself everything was in readiness. Finally, he nodded slightly toward the right side of the stage.
Behind the opened curtain at the right wing, a young woman appeared, carrying a violin and bow. Clapping of the audience began the moment she appeared. She was wearing a light blue, strapless gown that flowed like water around her lithe body as she moved. Another spotlight followed her; its beam causing tresses of her long blonde hair to gleam like spun gold; clapping continued. At center stage she turned toward the audience...bowing slightly, acknowledging their enthusiastic greeting. Slowly, the applause faded, there was quiet except from somewhere in the audience again a light cough.
Turning toward the pianist she nodded. At first his fingers touched the ivory keys lightly, then grew more intense as he played the lead to her chosen song. Raising the violin, she placed it beneath her chin, nestling it against her slender neck. It felt cool there. Drawing the bow across its strings lightly; she persuaded the violin to speak, as only a violin knows how. Sweet strains poured forth from the instrument filling the auditorium with a near human-like quality. Crying softly at first...resembling a plea of pure loneliness. It moaned as though deeply wrought in sorrow, calling out to a lost lover, yet knowing there would be no response to its cries. Softly, its soulful anguish began to fade...
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Picked By
tonyv,
As One from the Snowfields
David W. Parsley posted a topic in Showcase,
Route to Navajo Mountain,
skitter of tumbleweed - land
and sky merge
like the face of Black God,
shadowy arms
canted to a common side.
Sounds of the ceremony
seal over distance
threading pop and hiss
of the engine with
stars ascending
paths the yeh-bi-chai took,
footfalls mute litany
along the galaxy’s ledges.
Small beneath the long ruin
of peaks
the road finds
the horizon’s shadow and follows.
Beneath those bodies
a man could walk
to the cliffs’ forgetful darkness,
that omnipotent mask.
A car goes by, headlights
soft probes on the highway.
Exhaust spreads
brief invisible fire in its wake.
Killdeer’s voice
starts from sleep at arroyo’s edge
and finds me from far away –
I am here! Here!
previously unpublished
© 2015 David W. Parsley
Parsley Poetry Collection
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Picked By
tonyv,
A Shameless Plug for the Reference Section
Tinker posted a topic in Literary Discussion,
However, with the recent change of format at PMO, the reference section went through extensive "clean up" and a little reorganization. I am really pleased with how it has turned out. There is certainly more out there to research and I will add it when I find it (I am searching all of the time.) but I think most of whatever is out there about the craft of writing poetry has now been documented here.
So if you have some time and are so inclined, scroll down the page check it out.. Or if you have writer's block and need some ideas to jump start your muse the world of poetry is a treasure box of ideas, maybe a new approach to an old idea is just what you need. See how the cultures of the world approach writing.....Explore the Craft of Writing From Around the World ...
Pick a genre, pick a culture, pick a structure, pick a technique or meter, explore! You might find it fun … [click on the title to continue reading]
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Picked By
tonyv,
Iambic Pentameter
tonyv posted a topic in Poetic Elements,
Many people have the misconception that a line of iambic pentameter must contain exactly five iambs. While five iambs in a row certainly does make an iambic pentameter, iambic pentameters are not limited to this configuration. Various substitutions (of other metrical feet) may be used within lines of iambic pentameter, and the lines will still be considered iambic pentameters … [click on the title to continue reading]
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Picked By
tonyv,Thursday is Blog Day at My Place
Tinker posted a blog entry in Tinker's Blog,
Lately I've been reading blogs at different poetry sites and I'm taking on a new perspective. I am going to try a weekly post to Tinker's Blog and I've chosen Thursdays. So here I am. Thursday, the day of the week when everyone who wanted to get something done took care of it on Monday through Wednesday and the procrastinators are waiting for Friday afternoon to take care of their business … [Click the title to continue reading]
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Picked By
tonyv,
The Revealing English Language
Tinker posted a blog entry in Tinker's Blog,
I just finished binge watching 8 seasons of an Australian TV show. I loved it; it takes place … (click on the title to read the rest)
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Picked By
tonyv,
Where's your "place"?
tonyv posted a topic in Literary Discussion,
I thought about my own place, the place I always knew I had since I started to write (though I hadn't, till now, realized it even was a place or considered that others might have such places, too). Mine is at the ends of the earth, of the universe even. Antarctica, the Arctic Ocean, the southern pole star, that "space between the stars" to which Frost alludes in Desert Places, the realm of the aurora -- I usually come to you from one of these places. (I have other places, too, but this is my primary far-seeing place.)
Do you have your own far-seeing place? Where is it? Do tell ...
Tony
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