Category Archives: poems
Exploring the Beauty of Poetry
THE TREES
My ears detect the sigh of trees.
The smell of salt from the ocean breeze
That touches sweat upon my brow,
And brings my thoughts to here and now.
The leaves have sung a sweet refrain,
Of spoken love and conquered pain,
That only comes to those who dream,
Though never knowing what it means.
The branches filter out the sun
And cool the day until it’s done.
But dropping garments on the ground,
They float and fall without a sound.
Profuse they stretch to meet the sky
And touch the clouds that chance sends by.
Living in a plaintive maze
While watching nature through her days.
A solitary vigil here
That cloaks the world throughout the year.
A living carpet that forever stands,
In every heart…In every land.
Poetry is a type of creative writing found in cultures around the world. It is a type of literature or artistic writing that attempts to stir a reader’s imagination or emotions. The poet does this by carefully choosing and arranging language for its meaning, sound, and rhythm. The author is attempting to communicate a message through the piece, and it can be a powerful teaching tool. It is a unique and captivating form of literary art that evokes human emotions and is often interpreted differently by each reader. Poetry, more than any other form of writing, allows the author to convey their ideas and feelings and communicate those expressions to others in a way that may be encouraging or thought provoking.
Poems can be structured, with rhyming lines and meter, the rhythm and emphasis of a line based on syllabic beats. Poems can also be free-form, which follows no formal structure. You can read all about the different forms of poetry here –
My book of poetry is called TAPESTRY, and can be found on my website here –
Review –
“There is as much beauty and wonder inside this book as there is on the cover.
I don’t profess to know a lot about poetry. I just know I like to read it.
It moves me the way a wonderful painting or other piece of art does.
I don’t have to understand it, I just have to feel it.
Tapestry moved me in many ways. It still does.
I keep it on my ottoman and when I’m not busy, I sit quietly and open the book to a random page and lose myself.”
I hope you will take the time to enjoy some poetry now and then. It is food for the mind and soul.
Solitaire
Exploring the Beauty of Autumn with the Poetry of John Keats and Robert Louis Stevenson
Autumn is a great time to settle down in a comfortable chair and read some of your favorite poetry. Below are some classics you might enjoy. You might also want to check out Tapestry by Solitaire, which has been compared to the style of Edgar Allen Poe, having a classic medieval tone.
TO AUTUMN
John Keats (1795-1821)
SEASON of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.
Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
Or on a half-reap’d furrow sound asleep,
Drows’d with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
Steady thy laden head across a brook;
Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,
Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.
Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,—
While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
And touch the stubble plains with rosy hue;
Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
Among the river sallows, borne aloft
Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.Autumn Fires
Robert Louis Stevenson
In the other gardens
And all up in the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail!
Pleasant summer over,
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The grey smoke towers.
Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall!
Solitaire
Exploring the Beauty of Poetry
THE TREES
My ears detect the sigh of trees.
The smell of salt from the ocean breeze
That touches sweat upon my brow,
And brings my thoughts to here and now.
The leaves have sung a sweet refrain,
Of spoken love and conquered pain,
That only comes to those who dream,
Though never knowing what it means.
The branches filter out the sun
And cool the day until it’s done.
But dropping garments on the ground,
They float and fall without a sound.
Profuse they stretch to meet the sky
And touch the clouds that chance sends by.
Living in a plaintive maze
While watching nature through her days.
A solitary vigil here
That cloaks the world throughout the year.
A living carpet that forever stands,
In every heart…In every land.
Poetry is a type of creative writing found in cultures around the world. It is a type of literature or artistic writing that attempts to stir a reader’s imagination or emotions. The poet does this by carefully choosing and arranging language for its meaning, sound, and rhythm. The author is attempting to communicate a message through the piece, and it can be a powerful teaching tool. It is a unique and captivating form of literary art that evokes human emotions and is often interpreted differently by each reader. Poetry, more than any other form of writing, allows the author to convey their ideas and feelings and communicate those expressions to others in a way that may be encouraging or thought provoking.
Poems can be structured, with rhyming lines and meter, the rhythm and emphasis of a line based on syllabic beats. Poems can also be free-form, which follows no formal structure. You can read all about the different forms of poetry here –
My book of poetry is called TAPESTRY, and can be found on my website here –
Review –
“There is as much beauty and wonder inside this book as there is on the cover.
I don’t profess to know a lot about poetry. I just know I like to read it.
It moves me the way a wonderful painting or other piece of art does.
I don’t have to understand it, I just have to feel it.
Tapestry moved me in many ways. It still does.
I keep it on my ottoman and when I’m not busy, I sit quietly and open the book to a random page and lose myself.”
I hope you will take the time to enjoy some poetry now and then. It is food for the mind and soul.
Solitaire
“Thanksgiving” – Being Grateful
Remembrance – Samuel F. Pugh
O God, when I have food, help me to remember the hungry. When I have work, help me to remember the jobless. When I have a home, help me to remember those who have no home at all. When I am without pain, help me to remember those who suffer. And remembering, help me to destroy my complacency, bestir my compassion, and be concerned enough to help, by word and deed, those who cry out for what we take for granted. Amen.
He Is Good – Psalm 100
Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
Serve the LORD with gladness:
come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the LORD he is God:
it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,
and into his courts with praise:
be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
For the LORD is good;
his mercy is everlasting;
and his truth endureth to all generations.
“When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.” – Gilbert K. Chesterton
“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” – Willie Nelson
Thanksgiving Observance – by Author Unknown
Count your blessings instead of your crosses;
Count your gains instead of your losses.
Count your joys instead of your woes;
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears;
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean;
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth;
Count on God instead of yourself.
Thanksgiving Day – by Lydia Maria Child
Over the river and through the wood,
To Grandfather’s house we go;
The horse knows the way
To carry the sleigh
Through the white and drifted snow.
Over the river and through the wood,
Oh, how the wind does blow!
It stings the toes,
And bites the nose,
As over the ground we go.
Over the river and through the wood,
Trot fast, my dapple gray!
Spring over the ground,
Like a hunting hound,
For this is Thanksgiving Day.
Over the river and through the wood,
And straight through the barnyard gate!
We seem to go
Extremely slow,
It is so hard to wait!
Over the river and through the wood;
Now Grandmother’s cap I spy!
Hurrah for the fun!
Is the pudding done?
Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO MY FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND READERS! 
Solitaire
One way to Calm the Mind
We all know that life can be a real “challenge” from one day to the next – or more like one minute to the next on occasion. When we try to fit everything that is important to us, along with the mundane necessities into our daily schedules, it makes for one hectic lifestyle. It generally leaves our minds frazzled and our bodies in a constant state of stress. So what do we do to calm down?
Well, in the case of this writer, there are a few things that come to mind. I am of the creative “ilk”, so I put my thoughts and energies into several things. The obvious outlet for my creativity is writing. I am also a musician, (I play guitar – left-handed – check out my website under “About”), and so for many years I wrote songs and played with quite a few bands. A lot of my songs became poetry, along with many more poems which have been compiled into one of my books called “TAPESTRY.” Many of my poems have a medieval tone and some are quite classic and epic in nature.
Like novels, poetry can carry you to parts unknown, but may have very different emotional and spiritual effects from person to person. A poem can allow you to see things from a different perspective, can tell a story, and often has a very tranquil or calming effect. At the most basic level, poetry is important because it makes us think, it opens us up to wonder and the sometimes astonishing possibilities of language. It is, in its subtle yet powerful way, a discipline for re-engaging with a world we take too much for granted. So, here are a couple of mine, and if you would like to read more, check out “TAPESTRY”.
THE TRAVELER
I step upon the path
And strain my eyes to see ahead
I walk to strengthen my resolve
And resolve will make me walk instead
Throughout my life – toward the light
For answers to this strange and tangled thread
I move upon the road
And hasten toward the light I see
I run to manifest my hope
And hope it finds my inner need
Throughout my days – a thousand ways
For answers that are always plaguing me
I fly above the highway
And stretch my wings up to the sky
I soar because the dream is real
And real is cause to fantasize
Throughout the years – and all the tears
For answers to this haunting lullaby
EPITAPH
I sit here by the windowsill
And sometimes wonder while I’m still
If life is but a test of will
Or dreamlike with a wisp of smoke
To damn us all, as if it spoke
But now that I have gathered age
I see my life as one more page
Of teaching like a withered sage
To dream upon a younger man
As only one with my age can
And set into this world a passioned rage
For this to go on as before
The young must always yearn for more
Than living stolid, war to war
And hiding from their feelings lost
While living, though their lives are tossed
Onto the sand that marks the ocean’s shore
I hope you enjoy – Happy reading,
Solitaire
Do you have a favorite poet or poem?
Solitaire Parke - Sci-Fi/Fantasy Books 