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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
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?
5 Star Review of Tapestry
I was pleasantly surprised to find that my Poetry book, “Tapestry”, had received a 5 star review today! The review was written by indie author, Kay Glass, and left me feeling utterly speechless! Poetry has always been a passion of mine, and with every word written, a piece of me, the author is forever imprinted. As subjective as poetry is, extreme criticism is a risk that every poet takes when they have decided to share their work with others. Kay’s incredibly touching review of “Tapestry”, was everything I had hoped a reader would feel when reading my poetry! I am blown away by her review and cannot possibly thank her enough!!
Here is the link to her review of “Tapestry” – http://kayglassauthor.wordpress.com/2012/07/08/book-reviews-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ehhhh
Kay Glass has written the Paranormal/Romance Series, “Just One Bite” – with a total of three books, so far…“Love Bite”, “Bitten By Regret” and her newest, “Taste of Grief”, due to be released 7/16/12. She is currently holding a giveaway for a signed copy of “Love Bite”, so be sure to enter for your chance to win the first book in the series! I highly recommend that you check out the series and follow her blog for updates on what she’s working on next!
Many, many thanks Kay! 🙂
*Contest Alert* – Riddle Me This!
“Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.”
– Edgar Allan Poe
“Poetry is a sensual assault on your senses.”
– Solitaire Parke
There is a rhythmic cadence to poetry that no other form of writing can equal. It is the only known method to transfer a person’s thoughts and feelings at the emotional level without sacrificing their intellect. Poetry sets up a flow that can be as lazy as a Summer’s day or as torrid as a raging River. It allows you to play with your vocabulary for an emotional outcome as dense as armor or as filmy as gauze. It penetrates the heart and can cause tears to cleanse the soul.
The rhyme scheme does not matter, only the fervor that you place within it. Gentle and damaging, it speaks to us all. Simple as breathing or as a riddle that can vex you to the core. That being said…Riddle Me This…
Here is a poem, veiled as a riddle and a mystery. The first person to guess its meaning and leave the answer as a comment will win a signed copy of my new Poetry book “Tapestry”! Two copies of “Tapestry” in ebook will also be up for grabs!
THE ENDLESS FLAME
by Solitaire Parke
A ring of fire with the strength of four.
The mist is rising and calls for more
Than scorched remains it holds below.
But summons from the heat it sows
Aromas from the flesh it sears
And stings the eyes with stubborn tears.
A frozen wasteland in darkened white.
Day breaks without heat as its wall ignite
In a crystalline layer of myriad glass.
This snow bank’s eternal and time cannot pass.
Yet moved from the haven above time and space,
It warms in the sunlight – immortality erased.
Lush and tropic, it rains on cue.
The heat is stifling as waves pour through
This forest of afterthoughts we’ve left behind.
A sea of sensations that no one will find.
Then like parchment it dries in the hot summer air
As the cycle repeats itself year after year.
Solitaire Parke - Sci-Fi/Fantasy Books 