Poetry

Visual arts, music, poetry and other forms of art.
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Heith
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Poetry

Post by Heith »

I've always enjoyed poems greatly, though my knowledge isn't very vast on the subject. So I thought to make this topic. Feel free to share poetic works that you feel to be somehow significant to your Work. Texts old and new are welcome.

For some reason, I tend to prefer short poems to long ones. And the imagery I enjoy is often, well. Horribly gothic, I must admit. I don't think I've ever enjoyed a poem that speaks of "modern life", for example, going to the mall, driving cars or drinking coffee. I've also noticed that I can't read poetry books if the font isn't pleasing to the eye, or if the lines are placed in a way that feels wrong somehow.

I've enjoyed Hermann Hesse's poems very much, perhaps for the reason that the book I have is such a pleasure also visually. Here's one poem from said book, death-themed.



On A Journey

Don't be downcast, soon the night will come,
When we can see the cool moon laughing in secret
Over the faint countryside,
And we rest, hand in hand.


Don't be downcast, the time will soon come
When we can have rest. Our small crosses will stand
On the bright edge of the road together,
And rain fall, and snow fall,
And the winds come and go.


(Translated by James Wright)
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Insanus
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Re: Poetry

Post by Insanus »

I haven't really read any poetry in ages. I used to write some for myself, but then I "grew up" in the negative sense of the word. Nowadays, when I try to write poems, they end up being blasphemous riddles & aphorisms. Too much Crowley & koans, ha. This one might be called

"Fra Insanus feeling frustrated not being able to express any ideas clearly with words"

Hooray! My soul is dead!
Mom, look, I managed to break the Eternal Silence!
-Oh, (a) well.

:)

Actually, I lied a bit. I have read some good poetry lately, but I just can't remember the author's name. It was something you'd hate from your heart (:D) as it was very melancholic coffee-cigarettes-boredom-themed stuff. Very calming.

Oh, and Lady Gaga's new song called Aura feels very significant to my work!
Does that count?
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Heith
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Re: Poetry

Post by Heith »

Insanus wrote: Oh, and Lady Gaga's new song called Aura feels very significant to my work!
Does that count?
I don't know :D Perhaps, if it is meaningful to you.

I've found Havamál to be often inspiring. But it's so long I won't quote the whole thing. Just a small part.

Cattle die, kindred die,
Every man is mortal:
But the good name never dies
Of one who has done well
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Insanus
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Re: Poetry

Post by Insanus »

I'll explain a bit.


I killed my former and
Left her in the trunk on highway 10
Put the knife under the hood
If you find it, send it straight to Hollywood


-Intro to Gaga's Aura I mentioned.

I killed my former self , right?
Highway 10 as the 10th sephira, Malkuth, the physical world which is a spiritual wilderness (highway). The hood implies secrecy & under it is of course something real. Sword through the heart, knife under the hood, more of this self-sacrifice theme.
"If you find it, send it straight to Hollywood", meaning that the knife itself is property of Hollywood, a place of appearances & lies, rather than honesty & true self. Creating child-stars being the modern way of child-sacrifice has been discussed in these forums already if my memory serves me right. The self-sacrifice here being precisely that one sacrificed his/her ego to the whole willingly.
The rest of the song is identifying with the scarlet woman on various levels after that sacrifice has been made.

But of course, being overly analytical & looking for meanings just ruins the original work, which is probably precisely why I don't often times care about poetry too much :D
Being receptive & appreciating is hard work! I'll try to find something inspiring to post soon.
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Heith
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Re: Poetry

Post by Heith »

Insanus wrote: I'll try to find something inspiring to post soon.
I believe that such things come naturally in due time :)

I don't really follow popular music, so this track by Lady Gaga was unfamiliar to me (still haven't listened to it though). You're not the first one to interpret her lyrics or videos to teem with occult symbolism and meanings, which I guess isn't surprising, as such imagery affects the mind strongly.
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Insanus
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Re: Poetry

Post by Insanus »

Heith wrote:
Insanus wrote: I'll try to find something inspiring to post soon.
I believe that such things come naturally in due time :)
Me too. But I don't think trying is terribly unnatural :)
Here goes for nothing:

Alone With Everybody

the flesh covers the bone
and they put a mind
in there and
sometimes a soul,
and the women break
vases against the walls
and the men drink too
much
and nobody finds the
one
but keep
looking
crawling in and out
of beds.
flesh covers
the bone and the
flesh searches
for more than
flesh.

there's no chance
at all:
we are all trapped
by a singular
fate.

nobody ever finds
the one.

the city dumps fill
the junkyards fill
the madhouses fill
the hospitals fill
the graveyards fill

nothing else
fills.

Anonymous submission.


-Charles Bukowski
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Jiva
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Re: Poetry

Post by Jiva »

I've always like Goethe's version of Faust. One of my favourite sections is near the beginning when Mephistopheles appears in Faust's study:

I am the spirit of perpetual negation;
And rightly so, for all things that exist
Deserve to perish, and would not be missed -
Much better it would be if nothing were
Brought into being. Thus, what you men call
Destruction, sin, evil in short, is all
My sphere, the element I most prefer

I don't really know much about poetry though and haven't read very much. Most of the stuff I like is based on aesthetic qualities rather than any deeper meaning. A lot of it's also in older forms of English which can be difficult to understand.
'Oh Krishna, restless and overpowering, this mind is overwhelmingly strong; I think we might as easily gain control over the wind as over this.'
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Heith
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Re: Poetry

Post by Heith »

Again I've no idea why I bought the English translation a few years ago. Maybe out of curiosity. The book is waiting for a its rightful owner me thinks. It's poems by Aleksis Kivi.

Here's one-


Song of my Heart

Grove of Tuoni, grove of night!
There thy bed of sand is light.
Thither my baby I lead.

Mirth and joy each long hour yields
In the Prince of Tuoni's fields
Tending the Tuonela cattle.

Mirth and joy my babe will know,
Lulled to sleep at evening glow
By the pale Tuonela maiden.

Surely joy hours will hold,
Lying in thy cot of gold,
Hearing the nightjar singing.

Grove of Tuoni, grove of peace!
There all strife and passion cease.
Distant the treacherous world.



(translated by Alex Matson)

Kivi's best poem is Squirrel's Song, but unfortunately the English translation fails miserably.
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Einheri
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Re: Poetry

Post by Einheri »

My first time, when I try to translate my text in english, so the "grammar" may contain some roughness, but here we go....

Inside the well

The verge of meadow of the autumn evening,
hedge of the ruins of the old inner ward,
lying on the ground leaved behind by the time.

The wind rises up, rises up the rain,
remove the yellow leaves from the trees.

in a meadow of high grass,
will arise circle of stone.

Packs the secrets on the inside,
not to tell those rest of the world.

Wild growth standing water,
covers the doubts under the shroud,
and the wind still rises.


-
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Sebomai
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Re: Poetry

Post by Sebomai »

While the grammar could use a tiny bit of work, overall your poem is exquisitely beautiful. It made my heart ache in a wonderful way.
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