When Thursday comes around, it means another chance to celebrate words with others who love them, too. And this is no ordinary Thursday. It is the sweetest Thursday of them all in 2019. I am wishing a very special Happy Valentine’s Day to my blog readers. For this edition of THURSDAY THOUGHTS, I wanted to pick an especially sweeeeeeet site and nothing says “love” like the doting words of a good poet.
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.(Elizabeth Barrett Browning)
O my Luve’s like a red,red rose,
That’s newly sprung in June:
O my Luve’s like the melodie,
That’s sweetly play’d in tune.(Robert Burns)
Take this kiss upon the brow!And, in parting from you now,Thus much let me avow —You are not wrong, who deemThat my days have been a dream;Yet if hope has flown awayIn a night, or in a day,In a vision, or in none,Is it therefore the less gone?All that we see or seemIs but a dream within a dream.(Edgar Allen Poe)
Today’s spotlighted resource is a great place to get lost in the lovely art of poetry. Welcome to poets.org ~ the website of the Academy of American Poets.
Stop by the site for a journey through the art of poetry. It’s a great site for teachers to get access to poetry and related teaching materials; for writers looking to hone their craft or become inspired by great poets; for readers seeking words to touch them, inspire or simply move them in some way; and for prospective writers who want to explore writing in a completely different format.
Some will say that the joy of poetry is that it has no rules. Of course, that depends on your definition of rules. If by saying there are no rules, you are really saying that rhyming is not required, well, then, yes, that is true. But I say that the beauty of poetry is its rhythm. And just as not everyone can dance with ease, not everyone has the natural rhythmic capabilities to write good poetry.
I encourage you to sign up for this site’s poem-a-day email that lands right in your inbox. From the classics to unpublished work by contemporary poets, such words will conveniently stop by and give you verse to ponder for the rest of your day. It could be a lovely way to start your morning.
Given the time of year, you may want to stop by a special page the website has devoted entirely to love poems. Click here to check it out. It may be just the thing to put you in the most romantic of moods for an evening with a special somebody. Get lost in a classic poem or dig deeper and read one of the essays on love and poetry.
If you get a chance to visit the site, let me know what you think. I hope you’ll fall in love with poetry, too. You never know with poetry. Its grip can surprise sometimes. As always, thanks for reading. ~ Chris K.
P.S. here’s a little sample from my poem “Love Notes,” a different kind of love poem, found inside my anthology OUR SEASONS. I hope that you enjoy it, as well.
The song caresses me
Each note, each strum across the strings
Like long, lithe fingers grazing my skin.
Captured by a hook, lost in a lyric,
So often mesmerized by a melody,
I sit and listen, swept up and stirred
By luscious lyrics
Teasing my ear
With short, playful nibbles,
Like delicious words dripping
From a lover’s tongue.
ART: “Guitar Melodies” by Michael Creese
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