Long or short, new or old- I'd love to see what everyone's favorite poems are!
Post as many as you like, but please make sure to add the title & author if you know them. If not, maybe someone else can help you find out!
Feel free to comment on & discuss as well of course~
I'll start with a couple of my favorites:
Fire & Ice by Robert Frost Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice.
Invictus by William Ernest Henley Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.
Posted: Sun Feb 18, 2024 11:05 pm
Koetto
Oh my gosh, I used to read poetry books in highschool but I haven't for many, many years. I'd love to get back into it though. I'm not good at writing poems myself, though I tried in school here and there. But I do enjoy reading the ones that others have made. They are so clever and imagery provoking.
I do also like nursery rhymes and used to read them even as a teen. ^^
Oh my gosh, I used to read poetry books in highschool but I haven't for many, many years. I'd love to get back into it though. I'm not good at writing poems myself, though I tried in school here and there. But I do enjoy reading the ones that others have made. They are so clever and imagery provoking.
I do also like nursery rhymes and used to read them even as a teen. ^^
Ooh, I like old nursery rhymes! The originals that have been shortened/changed over time. I myself like older, classical poetry- I have this book & it's one of my favorites, and it's pretty cheap on ThriftBooks!
Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2024 11:45 am
Invictus is one my mother taught me when I was young and it will always have a special place in my heart.
Yes, they are very fascinating, the way they were originally written and then seeing the changes made to them over time. A lot of them give me a sense of peace or joy, as well as nostalgia. That's why I enjoy reading them. Thanks for the link to the book. I take your word that it's probably pretty good and may give it a read sometime. Thank you for sharing with us.
Do you also like Haiku? Japanese poetry? I like those too but I am not good at writing them myself.
Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2024 11:01 pm
Sybelle
Ohh, you mean the poem Koetto shared earlier? It's a cool sounding one, to be sure! cat_biggrin
Is it from a novel or is it just a poem by itself?
Ohh, you mean the poem Koetto shared earlier? It's a cool sounding one, to be sure! cat_biggrin
Is it from a novel or is it just a poem by itself?
It's a stand-alone poem, I got it from the old poetry anthology book I linked in my previous post (which is cheap on ThriftBooks btw). William Earnst Henley wrote it as a teen in the hospital while recovering from a leg amputation.
It's helped me through a hell of a lot in life, I'm constantly reciting lines from it to myself, and I have the whole thing memorized by nowwhee
Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2024 11:08 pm
Kasumi Roseglimmer
Koetto
Yes, they are very fascinating, the way they were originally written and then seeing the changes made to them over time. A lot of them give me a sense of peace or joy, as well as nostalgia. That's why I enjoy reading them. Thanks for the link to the book. I take your word that it's probably pretty good and may give it a read sometime. Thank you for sharing with us.
Do you also like Haiku? Japanese poetry? I like those too but I am not good at writing them myself.
I do! I used to write a lot of haiku yearssss ago when I had a DevintArt account but that's all looong gone, I don't remember any & stupidly didn't save any but I remember there were a couple that I wrote and was so proud of that I couldn't stop reading them over and over again even though I wrote themsweatdrop
((Sorry, I combined both your replies into one post, lol))
Ohh, okay. Well that’s good to know. Wow, that’s really cool! He sure has some talent. It’s an amazing poem. I’ll probably end up buying it from ThriftBooks at some point. I just have to wait n’ see if I have any money left over after my rent comes out this week. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like to have to lose some or all of his leg. He certainly has a formidable will and endurance. I can see how its words would be encouraging and inspiring when facing equally difficult times, yourself. You stare the evil in the face but you don’t let it win, or ever get you down. That’s awesome. It reminds me of some characters in anime and other media who I love, as well. ^w^ I’m impressed that you were able to memorise it by heart and I’m happy that it has been a source of support and encouragement during your darkest hours. <3 I hope it continues to help and inspire others.
Yeah, there’s just something different and fascinating about haiku, isn’t there? X3 It’s neat that you used to write some as well. I still have a DeviantArt account but I haven’t drawn, so I haven’t posted anything in years. I want to get back into drawing again and have been wanting to for years now. I need to spend less time on the computer lol. I would have been interested to see your haiku poems. But if you ever write any more, feel free to share them. Oh, and you know that one, Fire & Ice…is that from the fantasy novel of the same name? If it is, it makes me want to get the book and read it, because I never managed to finish reading it as a teen. Ha ha. There were a lot of distractions in that time of my life. It’s a shame they are all gone now, but I hope you can write new ones. Maybe I’ll also try my hand at writing haiku again and share them here in this thread. If I can understand how to make them properly, that is… And there’s nothing wrong with being proud of or enjoying your own work. I write self indulgent fanfiction about my niche interests and end up reading my own stuff because no one else is making things that fit my interests, otherwise.
Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2024 11:39 pm
Kasumi Roseglimmer
Koetto
((Sorry, I combined both your replies into one post, lol))
Ohh, okay. Well that’s good to know. Wow, that’s really cool! He sure has some talent. It’s an amazing poem. I’ll probably end up buying it from ThriftBooks at some point. I just have to wait n’ see if I have any money left over after my rent comes out this week. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like to have to lose some or all of his leg. He certainly has a formidable will and endurance. I can see how its words would be encouraging and inspiring when facing equally difficult times, yourself. You stare the evil in the face but you don’t let it win, or ever get you down. That’s awesome. It reminds me of some characters in anime and other media who I love, as well. ^w^ I’m impressed that you were able to memorise it by heart and I’m happy that it has been a source of support and encouragement during your darkest hours. <3 I hope it continues to help and inspire others.
Yeah, there’s just something different and fascinating about haiku, isn’t there? X3 It’s neat that you used to write some as well. I still have a DeviantArt account but I haven’t drawn, so I haven’t posted anything in years. I want to get back into drawing again and have been wanting to for years now. I need to spend less time on the computer lol. I would have been interested to see your haiku poems. But if you ever write any more, feel free to share them. Oh, and you know that one, Fire & Ice…is that from the fantasy novel of the same name? If it is, it makes me want to get the book and read it, because I never managed to finish reading it as a teen. Ha ha. There were a lot of distractions in that time of my life. It’s a shame they are all gone now, but I hope you can write new ones. Maybe I’ll also try my hand at writing haiku again and share them here in this thread. If I can understand how to make them properly, that is… And there’s nothing wrong with being proud of or enjoying your own work. I write self indulgent fanfiction about my niche interests and end up reading my own stuff because no one else is making things that fit my interests, otherwise.
(Efficient! I like it!)
JSYK, ThriftBooks has a neat buyback program where you scan the barcode or type in the ISBN of your books & if they're interested in buying them back from you it'll let you know! You can either get the payout to PayPal or use it on-site to buy more books! It's worth checking out~
Fire & Ice is also a stand-alone poem, actually! Both it and Invuctus are quite old, they qualify as classical poetry. Invictus was published in 1888, Fire & Ice in 1920 (it's over 100 now!). Classical old poetry is my favorite tbhheart
& if I ever write any more haiku, I'll DEFINITELY make a haiku thread & post them here (and send you a PM with the link to make sure you see it)!
Another great old poem by Robert Frost is "Nothing Gold Can Stay", famously featured in the YA novel "The Outsiders" by S. E. Hinton:
Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf's a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf, So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day Nothing gold can stay.
Hence the novel's most famous phrase: "Stay gold, Ponyboy!"
Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2024 11:04 pm
Koetto
Thanks for the info about ThriftBooks. That's useful and good to know.
Ahh, okay, so it just happens to share the name with that novel, I see. Wow, that is very old. It's fun to read classical poetry though. They used different words and ways of speaking and thinking than we do now. I think we lost some things through the ages so it's nice to be able to have a peek back in history.
And okay, that sounds good. cat_biggrin I always like seeing what other people have made or crafted.
And thanks for sharing the other poem by Robert Frost. Maybe I should read Outsiders someday and see what I think of it. ^_^
If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain, Or help one fainting robin Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain.
“Hope” is the thing with feathers
By Emily Dickinson
“Hope” is the thing with feathers - That perches in the soul - And sings the tune without the words - And never stops - at all -
And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard - And sore must be the storm - That could abash the little Bird That kept so many warm -
I’ve heard it in the chillest land - And on the strangest Sea - Yet - never - in Extremity, It asked a crumb - of me.
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