The Shape of Poetry

Morning all!
 Gearing up for another busy Saturday here, but thought I'd share this quickly.
 Been looking into different forms and styles of poetry lately and came across "concrete" or "shaped" poetry, and one of the best examples of this that I've seen is the little gem below.
 Not something I've ever tried to do myself but I may well give it a go in the near future and see what I can come up with.
 Have any of you done similar works in the past? Be interesting to get your thoughts.
 Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!
<img src="http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/1013397_10151785224283436_908504457_n.jpg" width="432" height="560" />

How To Be A Sensitive Poet

Morning Everyone!

Hope the weekend is treating you well!

Came across this little gem from the mind that brought us Futurama and The Simpsons- Matt Groening's "How To Be A Sensitive Poet".

Name that poet!

Morning All!

Today I thought we'd play a little game of "Name that Poet";

How many of these world famous literary faces do you know?

Which one is your favourite?

Also, can you spot the face that shouldn't be there?

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

What lies behind us and before us...

Morning all!
Hope the weekend is treating you well so far; been productive for me so far, which is always a good thing.
Came across this and thought I'd share it- I quite like the idea of poetry and quotes on jewellery as it's quite a rarity, I also really like the verse itself:

"What Lies Behind Us and What Lies Before Us are Tiny Matters Compared to What Lies Within Us"
If you're interested in the origins of that verse, check out this link:
http://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/01/11/what-lies-within/
It's most often attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson though no evidence has been found that he actually wrote it.

What do you think?

Have you every come across these lines before?

Quiet please, poet at work...

Morning All!
Gonna be a busy weekend over this way so thought I'd share this early today- seems it's been as productive a week for Nekatu Poetry as it has for me.
I came across this little sign which I thought was quite amusing- may stick it on my office door, or better yet on a t-shirt!

Would be especially useful for the times when I'm trying to work through a really long poem as there seems to be no end of distractions and interruptions when I set out to do that!
Today I thought I'd share a little poetic short story I wrote a while back, it's not my usual style but I quite like it and I hope you do too, be warned though, it is quite long...
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Stark Eye Night (written 03/10/10)
Lights are dimmed in hallways dark,
But for a door marked “Thomas Stark”,
A shadow steps up to the door,
One knock, two, and then one more,
“Come in, please”, our hero cries,
In she comes, tears in her eyes,
“Help me, please! My baby’s gone!”
“They said you’d help- that you’re the one!”
Tom takes her in and sits her down,
A stunning girl despite her frown,
“Of course I’ll help- I’m here for you-”
“Please tell me what I need to do!”
She smiles then- a sight to see,
Her hair like golden destiny,
“Oh, thank you! I’m so very glad!”
“She’s run away- I feel so bad!”
Now Thomas looks on in a haze,
Confused and lost and in a daze,
“You’re baby’s run away?” he says,
“I’ve never heard of such a phrase!”
She laughs- a sound so sweet and light,
He watches her- each curve so right,
“Oh, silly me, I should have said-”
“I’ve lost my dog- right from her bed!”
So Thomas laughs- the story clear,
“Ah, now I see; and don’t you fear!”
“When was it that you saw her last?”
“What is her name? we must move fast!”
Our lady stands and takes Tom’s hand,
Her hands are soft- no wedding band,
“Her name is ‘Sparkles’, such a dear-”
“I saw her last two blocks from here!”
Young Thomas guides her to the door,
He grabs his coat from off the floor,
“We’ll find her- don’t you worry, miss!”
“and when we do, perhaps a kiss?”
Her blushing cheek caused Tom to smile,
On they went to search each mile,
No more than two or three roads gone,
They heard a bark from the next one,
“Sparkles? is that you my dear?”
“please come back home- I need you near!”
A massive mound of mammoth fur,
Came rushing at them in a blur,
“Is that your baby ‘sparkles’, love?”
“I hope it is… heavens above!”
As Sparkles ran towards them both,
Young Thomas took a solemn oath-
To stand his ground and be man,
As falling was not in his plan,
Yet when the dog had made a stop,
Both man and woman there did drop,
Yet both did laugh and cry with joy,
As Tom felt like a playground boy,
Then standing up, she took his arm,
and on they walked now safe from harm,
With Sparkles loyal at their side,
They returned safe and went inside,
And thus our hero won his prize,
While staring deep into love’s eyes.
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Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

 

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Morning all!
Hope the weekend is treating you well so far- been pretty good so far here.
I came across this image this morning, a poetic take on the classic "why did the chicken cross the road" joke and it got me thinking; poetry is often a very sombre and serious art form and very seldom funny or vaguely amusing (at least not intentionally!)
Have any of you come across any comical poets? Would be interesting to see the styles they use and how they convey their messages.

Is there such a thing as “bad” poetry?

Morning Everyone!
Been a busy week over this way, but a fairly productive one.
I came across this little image earler this morning and thought I'd share it with you; aside from the comedy element it does raise a very interesting question, is there really such a thing as "bad" poetry?
Personally I feel that poetry is about self expression and putting your thoughts to paper; the best poems will connect deeply with a multitude of readers, but with approximately 7,095,217,980 people in the world surely anything that anyone writes has to connect with at least one other person?
As a writer/poet/artist/anyone creative I think all you can really hope for is to make a conneciton with at least one other person in the world through your chosen art form; and if you make that connection it surely validates your work.
What do you all think though? Would be interesting to get your thoughts!
Anyway- hope you're all having a good day so far and that the rest of the weekend treats you well

Secret of the Soul

 They often said she had a soul much older than her years,
a force that dwelled within her heart that conquered all her fears,
a wise and gifted creature born of suffering and strife,
some noble fallen angel who had watched her all through life.
 They often asked how she could paint the colours of the soul,
a talent that she never claimed was in her to control,
a simple canvas painted by her crude and untrained hand,
conveyed both thoughts and feelings the whole world could understand.
 They often sought her guidance on their own attempts at art,
a task she felt unworthy of deep down inside her heart,
a challenge just to find the words each one would like to hear,
unable to relay her thoughts on all they held most dear,
 They often found her hard to fathom when they came to meet,
a sense of something hidden in the shuffling of her feet,
a different personality to what they would expect,
but her work and reputation were enough for their respect.
 They often thought about her when they looked at all she'd done,
a life spent in reflection in the shadow of the sun,
a stranger in the world though never far from any friend,
forever cloaked in mystery until the very end.