Saturday, October 22, 2011

It Is Not Really Necessary

Someone left this comment in response to my poem over at Poetry Northwest and I am posting it here because I love it so helplessly much:

***

Hi,

I guess I am too old, and not familiar at all with the poet’s expression that is called poetry. It seems that putting lines into a narrow column is the criteria. Poetry of old was written in Stanzas that bore complete thoughts or at least were followed by a stanza that completed the above stanza. Some of the poetry by exquisite poets at least had a rhythm, were not typical, but at least understandable to a limited degree depending on the times in which they were written. There is also such a thing as free verse, and maybe that is what it is all about. I really don’t know what the poet above is driving at: the past atrocities of whitemen??? Maybe. Is she of Native American descent??? If so, perhaps I am right. I would like to have known what point was she trying to put across. It is not really necessary. I don’t understand and I don’t care for the overall composition.

Maybe it is because I am rather limited in my degree of knowledge of this country or of far past times. I mainly majored in Science, not social, but biological. I just don’t get modern poetic expression because it seems to follow its own rules. That is about it,and I do write poetry most of it with a degree of recognizable old fashioned rhyme. I am not saying because of that it is good.

I suspect my poetic expression would not be of any interest to a publication of your nature. Thanks for reading, hope I did not offend anyone, not meant too.

An Old Guy in His 70′s,

Tony

***

TONY I LOVE YOU 

I LOVE YOU TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH

Dear God in Heaven,

When will you transfigure me into an Exquisite Poet

Signed,

A Past Atrocity of Whitemen???

12 comments:

Radish King said...

The poem is so fucking amazing it made my bones fall out. I have a feeling Tony got rejected by the review.

They believe they are still the body of their animal,
strung and stood up with wire, filled with fat
organs of baby looks.


You put both jerky and a rainbow in a poem. When I read it I could see my breath like when a ghost is in your house and I knew the poem would change me and it did. Poor Tony. Lucky me.

love,
Rebecca

Radish King said...

I meant in your comments. The jerky etc. AND HOLY CRAP YOUR PHOTO!!!!


oxoxoxox

Patricia Lockwood said...

Ahahahaha that photo is so crazed, I am incapable of taking an appropriate author photo

THANK YOU MY WOMAN

Whimsy said...

I loved that poem because, weird as it is, it is so beautifully consistent: "Their numbers dwindled, the survivors grew smaller, and he was forced to sell / their skins for spectacles instead."

Also, I spent many hours in an observation car going back and forth to Chicago. It was mostly glass, and I could see miles and miles of Iowa under water. There was nothing warm-blooded out there.

Hugs,
J

Ms. Moon said...

Madame Radish King sent me over. Hello. I hope you don't mind if I read your blog.
Yours truly...Ms. Moon

Elizabeth said...

I'm here visiting from Radish King and look forward to reading your poetry and blog.

The gentleman's "comment" reminded me, instantly of something Gertrude Stein would have written or at least, approved of. Something about that phrase: "It is not really necessary."

Richard Epstein said...

"Some of the poetry by exquisite poets at least had a rhythm, were not typical, but at least understandable to a limited degree depending on the times in which they were written."

4:30 in the morning works best for me.

deirdre said...

Oh this is so funny, I was just reading over at Poetry Northwest and read your amazing poem and then read Tony's comment and I never made the connection at all when I read your poem, I kind of thought of you as anonymous forgetting that I had prior knowledge of your name and Tony's comment was so sincere and sorrowful and then someone said, oh Tony, don't even bother reading if you don't like it and you don't have to comment at all which made me sad too b/c Tony was just trying to say something that I felt was valid for him and many others and I'm so glad you love Tony and allow him room to be and your poem is incredible too.

deirdre

Patricia Lockwood said...

Awwww I love all of you

Deirdre, I know, Tony's comment touched my heart very much and I would not want anyone to say a loud word to him ever

I want all poems everywhere to rhyme for Tony, or to seem to rhyme for him

Anonymous said...

This man didn't make it past the cold war :/

lanyardquirk said...

"Poetry of old was written in Stanzas." Nissan Stanzas.

Unknown said...

So I like poetry very much. Once I have been in South America and there was a contest of poetry in Spanish. It was great, it is a very different culture. I have stayed in some buenos aires apartments. You should try this sometime.