Poetry Thursday - Pretty Words
"The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say. "~Anaïs Nin
Pretty Words
Poets make pets of pretty, docile words:
I love smooth words, like gold-enamelled fish
Which circle slowly with a silken swish,
And tender ones, like downy-feathered birds:
Words shy and dappled, deep-eyed deer in herds,
Come to my hand, and playful if I wish,
Or purring softly at a silver dish,
Blue Persian kittens fed on cream and curds.
I love bright words, words up and singing early;
Words that are luminous in the dark, and sing;
Warm lazy words, white cattle under trees;
I love words opalescent, cool, and pearly,
Like midsummer moths, and honeyed words like bees,
Gilded and sticky, with a little sting.
---Elinor Wylie
For those of you who are following the "Most Beautiful Birds Meme - take a look at the list on the Stokes'blog
Pretty Words
Poets make pets of pretty, docile words:
I love smooth words, like gold-enamelled fish
Which circle slowly with a silken swish,
And tender ones, like downy-feathered birds:
Words shy and dappled, deep-eyed deer in herds,
Come to my hand, and playful if I wish,
Or purring softly at a silver dish,
Blue Persian kittens fed on cream and curds.
I love bright words, words up and singing early;
Words that are luminous in the dark, and sing;
Warm lazy words, white cattle under trees;
I love words opalescent, cool, and pearly,
Like midsummer moths, and honeyed words like bees,
Gilded and sticky, with a little sting.
---Elinor Wylie
For those of you who are following the "Most Beautiful Birds Meme - take a look at the list on the Stokes'blog
posted by Endment at 2:05 PM
14 Comments:
Wonderful poem, and I love seeing an Anais Nin quote.
That birding blog has amazing photographs. They must travel the world to see some of those birds. Wow. Spectacular. Thanks for the link.
Ditto rd's comments. Thanks for the intro. to the Stokes' blog - new to me. People to learn from. I hope this post means you've recovered from your ursine adventure.
sigh. really lovely poem. and how beautifully you were able to make the rhyming work without it sounding forced even a little. very impressive. my favorite image from the piece is the gold-enamelled fish. i'm off to check out the link to stokes blog
Thanks for the link to the Stokes' blog; that photo of the painted bunting jumped right out at me!
I too love Anais Nin.. beautiful prose.
I'd take a look at the Stokes' blog, but I've never been able to take them quite seriously. I find them a bit 'hokey'. Probably because I've never met a birdwatcher in the field dressed in their Sunday best complete with diamond earings ;)
I love the quote at the top and then also the poem. So true and so beautiful. Really lovely.
a.
wonderful poem. I love smooth words, like gold-enamilled fish, too.
I also love that quote by Anais Nin. This is the deep challenge of living the life of a writer.
So many images! "...honeyed words like bees, Gilded and sticky, with a little sting." yummy
rexroth'w daughter
hope you have a great weekend! The painted bunting really caught my eye when it came up on the link
pam in tucson
bears seem to have gone for a day or two... we usually have several visits in the spring and fall -- that is why we work so hard not to be too attractive to them -- if we can avoid it :=)
justjohanna
welcome - glad you like the poem
thanks for the link - don't you love those photos?
deb
I got zapped when I saw the bunting... Pretty spectacular
cindy
What can I say --- perhaps she doesn't have any old jeans :=) The photos are spectacular!
andrea, jessie and sarah
so glad you enjoy them
I love collecting new words and new word patterns.
That is a beautiful poem. There is so much in it - I love the line about the white cattle under trees ... the last four lines are especially beautiful. Thank you for posting that. Thanks too for the bird blog - what beautiful birds! So much colour ...
Hi (again) Just googled Elinor Wylie and found another poem you might like as it mentions birds! I liked it anyway ... here it is ...
The Little Clock
Half-past-four and the first bird waking,
Falling on my heart like a thin green leaf.
If you are alive, your heart is breaking,
If you are dead, you are done with grief.
Half-past-five and the birds singing sweetly,
World washed silver with the rain and the wind.
If you are a saint, you have lived discreetly,
If you are a sinner, you have surely sinned.
Half-past-seven and the birds singing madly;
Sun flames up in the sky like a lark,
If there are things to remember sadly,
Wait and remember them after dark.
this is beautiful. thank you for introducing me to this poet. my favorite line: I love bright wordsd, words up and singing early
oh....how enchanting! for those of us who love words this poem is not only music to read but is especially meaningful.
headed over to your link. your blog is so lovely to visit. :)
chiefbiscuit
Thanks for the additional poem - I found the words used by Elinor Wylie express my thinking - I long to be able to use words in a similar way.
liz elayne
thank you for visiting
sky
I am glad you hear the music
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