Winter's Anger
#1
(Could I have this moved to the novice forum for a more in-depth critique?)

I decided on the persona for this poem, see if you can guess what it is:

Winter's Anger, First Edit


I was out gathering wood in the pale sunlight
Of winter, then I saw a bloody form in the white
Yes, I found a lump misshapen.
I gave it a thump
And uncovered the bump;
Just a rabbit, a coney, a lapin.

I knew it had frozen to death
From the cruel winter's breath,
Unable to make it home.
While I with my coat
And plenty of hope
Back to my hearth did roam.

'Twas there in my cabin I saw the rabbit--
Or a spirit, the creature thereof.
I nearly jumped from my boots
At the sight in the room,
And the spirit disappeared, in a puff.

I rubbed at my eyes,
Shocked and surprised,
For the death was no fault of mine.
Left not knowing what to think
Fearing my sanity was over the brink,
I pondered and wondered, "For what crime?"

With trembling limbs I crept into bed
And slowly, so slowly, rested my head;
Fear cowered over me like snow.
I awoke to the cold,
And never less bold,
I found that I could not go.

The fire in its place did fade
Yet within my hut I stayed;
The rabbit, again, was there.
It munched on a carrot
Though frozen and hairless
Such a spectre, sad and sere.

The loathsome creature blocked the door
And I heard the angry wind roar
As my cabin shook in the fury of the storm.
When at last the blizzard abated
And when at last the foul spirit had faded
Crushed by a tree, my front porch lie forlorn.

Were it not for the spectre, I would be dead
And my tale here would never be read.
But was it real, or merely a vision?
Each day I leave a carrot on a stone
And by the next morning, behold, it is gone;
I had survived winter's anger arisen.

Original

I'm not really all that comfortable with sharing my poems, and I'm kind of afraid to find out just how bad I am, but here goes nothing:

Winter's Anger

One day I walked a trudging through the snow
The temperature outside at twenty below,
When I spied a lump mishapen.
I gave it a thump
And uncovered the bump;
A rabbit, a coney, a lapin.

It had frozen to death
From the cruel winter's breath,
Unable to make it home.
While I with my coat
And plenty of hope
To my hearth did roam.

'Twas there in the cabin
I saw the rabbit,
Or a spirit, the creature thereof.
I nearly jumped from my boots
At the sight in the room--
The spectre disapeared in a puff.

I rubbed at my eyes,
Shocked and surprised,
For the death was no fault of mine.
No, it was a warning,
For the next morning
As I found out in time.

With trembling limbs I crept into bed
And slowly, so slowly, rested my head;
Fear cowered over me like snow.
I awoke to the cold,
And never less bold,
I found that I could not go.

The fire in its place did fade
Yet within my hut I stayed;
The rabbit, again, was there.
It munched on a carrot
Though frozen and hairless
Such a spectre, sad and sere.

The loathsome creature blocked the door
And I heard the angry wind roar
As my cabin shook in the cold winter's day.
When at last it abated
And when the rabbit had faded
A tree on my woodshed did lay.

Were it not for the spectre, I would be dead
And my tale here would never be read.
But was it real, or merely a vision?
Each day I leave a carrot on a stone
And by the next morning, behold, it is gone;
I had survived winter's anger arisen.

(P.S. Please tell me about any spelling errors, spellcheck doesn't seem to work in Mozilla Firefox. Thanks!)
*Warning: blatant tomfoolery above this line
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#2
Hi and welcome. Smile

I found this engaging and think it's certainly worth it for you to take some time with it. Some of the rhymes are forced, some lines twisted for their sake, the meter slips sometimes, but those are all things you can remedy. I've only read it through a few times but here are a few notes.

(02-18-2014, 03:13 AM)kindofahippy Wrote:  I'm not really all that comfortable with sharing my poems, and I'm kind of afraid to find out just how bad I am, but here goes nothing:

Winter's Anger

One day I walked a trudging through the snow "walked a trudging" is wordy for no gain.
The temperature outside at twenty below,
When I spied a lump mishapen. misshapen
I gave it a thump
And uncovered the bump; nice lines, I'd cut "and".
A rabbit, a coney, a lapin. I like the repeat because I like the words. Smile

It had frozen to death
From the cruel winter's breath,
Unable to make it home.
While I with my coat
And plenty of hope
To my hearth did roam. On a bitter night you roamed? Nah.

'Twas there in the cabin warning: I don't mind 'twas, but I've been given hell for 'tis and whilst.Big Grin
I saw the rabbit,
Or a spirit, the creature thereof.
I nearly jumped from my boots
At the sight in the room--
The spectre disapeared in a puff. disappeared

I rubbed at my eyes,
Shocked and surprised,
For the death was no fault of mine.
No, it was a warning,
For the next morning
As I found out in time.

With trembling limbs I crept into bed
And slowly, so slowly, rested my head; I'd change "so slowly" to "I".
Fear cowered over me like snow.
I awoke to the cold,
And never less bold,
I found that I could not go.

The fire in its place did fade
Yet within my hut I stayed;
The rabbit, again, was there.
It munched on a carrot
Though frozen and hairless
Such a spectre, sad and sere. I like "sad and sere."

The loathsome creature blocked the door
And I heard the angry wind roar
As my cabin shook in the cold winter's day.
When at last it abated
And when the rabbit had faded
A tree on my woodshed did lay. "Did lay" is one of those lines twisted for rhyme's sake.

Were it not for the spectre, I would be dead
And my tale here would never be read.
But was it real, or merely a vision?
Each day I leave a carrot on a stone
And by the next morning, behold, it is gone;
I had survived winter's anger arisen.

(P.S. Please tell me about any spelling errors, spellcheck doesn't seem to work in Mozilla Firefox. Thanks!)

I hope I didn't overdo it, and someone with more meter experience can probably help you with that, but these are some spots you can look at, you may not agree with my points, your poem.

Again, welcome, thanks for an interesting read.
billy wrote:welcome to the site. make it your own, wear it like a well loved slipper and wear it out. ella pleads:please click forum titles for posting guidelines, important threads. New poet? Try Poetic DevicesandWard's Tips

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#3
Quote:I hope I didn't overdo it, and someone with more meter experience can probably help you with that, but these are some spots you can look at, you may not agree with my points, your poem.

Hello, ellajam! Oh no, you didn't overdo it. On the contrary, your input is wonderful, and it helps me think about the format of my writing. Thank you. So, I have a few questions before my first edit:

Quote:One day I walked a trudging through the snow "walked a trudging" is wordy for no gain.

Should I delete the "a" and just keep "walked trudging", or is there a better line to put here that would keep the flow going?

Quote:And uncovered the bump; nice lines, I'd cut "and"

I like how "and" grammatically connects the lines together, it feels too jarring to me without it.

Quote:To my hearth did roam. On a bitter night you roamed? Nah.

I'm not sure what I was thinking, something along the lines of "collecting firewood" or "hunting"

Quote:'Twas there in the cabin warning: I don't mind 'twas,

Oh no, is it bad form to use archaic words? I like them as an escape from the present.

Quote:And slowly, so slowly, rested my head; I'd change "so slowly" to "I".

Interesting, I'll change that and see how it looks.

Quote:A tree on my woodshed did lay. "Did lay" is one of those lines twisted for rhyme's sake.

This is the most important line, and I want it to be heart-stopping. I'd need to think of a suspenseful stanza to lead up to it.
*Warning: blatant tomfoolery above this line
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#4
(02-18-2014, 06:04 AM)kindofahippy Wrote:  
Quote:I hope I didn't overdo it, and someone with more meter experience can probably help you with that, but these are some spots you can look at, you may not agree with my points, your poem.

Hello, ellajam! Oh no, you didn't overdo it. On the contrary, your input is wonderful, and it helps me think about the format of my writing. Thank you. So, I have a few questions before my first edit:

Quote:One day I walked a trudging through the snow "walked a trudging" is wordy for no gain.

Should I delete the "a" and just keep "walked trudging", or is there a better line to put here that would keep the flow going?

I'd walk or trudge or plod in any one word you prefer.

Quote:And uncovered the bump; nice lines, I'd cut "and"

I like how "and" grammatically connects the lines together, it feels too jarring to me without it.

Quote:To my hearth did roam. On a bitter night you roamed? Nah.

I'm not sure what I was thinking, something along the lines of "collecting firewood" or "hunting"

That's still not roaming, that's being out there with a purpose. Rabbits are freezing solid! Smile

Quote:'Twas there in the cabin warning: I don't mind 'twas,

Oh no, is it bad form to use archaic words? I like them as an escape from the present.

It's your poem, I was passing on reactions I've had to my usage of non-modern language.

Quote:And slowly, so slowly, rested my head; I'd change "so slowly" to "I".

Interesting, I'll change that and see how it looks.

Quote:A tree on my woodshed did lay. "Did lay" is one of those lines twisted for rhyme's sake.

This is the most important line, and I want it to be heart-stopping. I'd need to think of a suspenseful stanza to lead up to it.

I agree, but I don't find it heart-stopping as is. Maybe you could make it more forceful then change the line ending in "day".

Hopefully you'll get some more critiques to help you edit. Good luck with it. Smile
billy wrote:welcome to the site. make it your own, wear it like a well loved slipper and wear it out. ella pleads:please click forum titles for posting guidelines, important threads. New poet? Try Poetic DevicesandWard's Tips

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#5
I liked this ballad there are a few areas forced which takes away from the rhythm of this piece however, i did enjoy reading it.
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