12-15-2015, 11:49 PM
WOW, everybody, I'm so happy about all the feedback I've received. I really didn't expect all that, but I'm very honored to have received it. I haven't read everything yet, in detail, but on skimming over the responses, I see many, many good tips, and I so appreciate all the links that pertain specifically to issues that I've raised. Those will really get me off to a good start in trying to figure out what this poetry mumbo jumbo (lol) is all about. And I can more than fully see that this is the place to be to advance my journey, leading me to my goal to out-Shakespeare Shakespeare -- (yeah, right, I hear you all think ... lol).
I'm sorry I haven't responded sooner, but I have been totally swamped the last two days. But in my thinking in the meantime, I now know that I want to revise my simple poem to make it the best that I'm capable of, at this stage in my development. And, in the future, I want to make learning poetry a much higher priority in my life. Also, I know that I won't have the poem done before Christmas, but that won't be a problem. So far, it's clear to me that I need a transition between the real-life falling leaves in fall, a cycle in nature, to the more-abstract concept of emotional ups and downs in one's life, cycles in one's personal growth. And I want to make it more metaphorically poetic, instead of so boringly didactic, as it now is. I'm going to stick with this poem and revise it slowly over time, as I learn more "tricks of the trade." They say you can't beat a dead horse, but this poem will be an exception to that rule, as I raise that critter from the dead!
I don't know when I'll make my next post to show the latest edit of the poem, because I first have to learn so much more about poetry fundamentals. I think first I'll try to respond to the comments that each of you made, and I'll probably have some more questions. That will be after Christmas, in all probability. And then, I'll tackle the poem again, after a lot of studying.
Thanks again, everyone, and Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, or whatever blah blah rocks your boat.
Sincerely,
Larry B.
I'm sorry I haven't responded sooner, but I have been totally swamped the last two days. But in my thinking in the meantime, I now know that I want to revise my simple poem to make it the best that I'm capable of, at this stage in my development. And, in the future, I want to make learning poetry a much higher priority in my life. Also, I know that I won't have the poem done before Christmas, but that won't be a problem. So far, it's clear to me that I need a transition between the real-life falling leaves in fall, a cycle in nature, to the more-abstract concept of emotional ups and downs in one's life, cycles in one's personal growth. And I want to make it more metaphorically poetic, instead of so boringly didactic, as it now is. I'm going to stick with this poem and revise it slowly over time, as I learn more "tricks of the trade." They say you can't beat a dead horse, but this poem will be an exception to that rule, as I raise that critter from the dead!
I don't know when I'll make my next post to show the latest edit of the poem, because I first have to learn so much more about poetry fundamentals. I think first I'll try to respond to the comments that each of you made, and I'll probably have some more questions. That will be after Christmas, in all probability. And then, I'll tackle the poem again, after a lot of studying.
Thanks again, everyone, and Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, or whatever blah blah rocks your boat.
Sincerely,
Larry B.
I drift like a wave on the ocean.
I blow as aimless as the wind.
I blow as aimless as the wind.