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The Forum > General Discussion > What's Your Favourite Poem --- And, Why?

What's Your Favourite Poem --- And, Why?

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Good Morning Everyone,

Thanks for all your good wishes and
lovely poems. I'm sitting at my computer,
and fighting nausea. My colonoscopy is
scheduled for 1.30pm not this morning as
I originally thought, so it's going to be
a long day. I drank some cranberry juice
this morning at 7am - now nothing to eat and
drink until after the procedure. All I hope is that
I won't be the last on the list to be done -
last time they didn't take me in until after
4pm.

Anyway, Thanks again for your concern.
I must admit that I'm scared - as most of
you know I was diagnosed with colon cancer
3 years ago - they removed the tumour,
then again, I had to have minor surgery,
now the rectal bleeding's come back - that's why
I'm going in again.
Posted by Foxy, Monday, 10 May 2010 8:27:10 AM
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Foxy:"it's been a lousy day.
And, then all that antagonism from
some male posters - on other threads -
which I needed like a hole in the head ..."

Or, in other words "come and back me up against the awful men"

Dear me, foxy, you may be unwell, but that's just weak. I am sometimes unwell too, but I usually simply avoid posting if I'm not up to it. I don't try to play on my "weakness" to get others to help me out of a hole I've dug for myself. I bet you're a dab hand at waiting for a man to open doors for you 'n' all.

As for poems, I'm rather partial to a bit of Henry Lawson. Unlike the bucolic vision splendid of Patterson, Lawson embraced the squalid and the down and out. He wrote about real people who had to face real problems, albeit often in strangely surreal situations. He was a genuine working-class man who was an early supporter of Unionism and he lived what he wrote about. Most of all he was humorous and wrote of people who faced their travails with good humour. Belly would do well to place a copy of Lawson's Collected Works beside his copy of the squatter Banjo's writings.

I didn't much go for poetry as a boy or young man. I suspect that is pretty common. Allegory and metaphor were appreciated more as part of a good piece of prose than the oft-strained poetic examples. The first poem that really struck a chord with me as I recall was "Horatius" by Macauley, which tells Livy's tale of the defence of Rome by 3 brave men.
Posted by Antiseptic, Monday, 10 May 2010 8:29:21 AM
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Then out spake brave Horatius,
The Captain of the Gate:
"To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late.
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of his gods,

"And for the tender mother
Who dandled him to rest,
And for the wife who nurses
His baby at her breast,
And for the holy maidens
Who feed the eternal flame,
To save them from false Sextus
That wrought the deed of shame?

"Haul down the bridge, Sir Consul,
With all the speed ye may;
I, with two more to help me,
Will hold the foe in play.
In yon strait path a thousand
May well be stopped by three.
Now who will stand on either hand,
And keep the bridge with me?"

Just as in Livy's time, most people do not have the courage of their convictions. They want the benefits of their society but they do not want their society to demand anything from them. It falls upon the brave or silly few to do the dirty work while the rest watch.
Posted by Antiseptic, Monday, 10 May 2010 8:29:57 AM
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Dear Foxy

My thoughts are with you today. Please post on OLO ASAP.

"Hope" is the thing with feathers"

"Hope" is the thing with feathers—
That perches in the soul—
And sings the tune without the words—
And never stops—at all—

And sweetest—in the Gale—is heard—
And sore must be the storm—
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm—

I've heard it in the chillest land—
And on the strangest Sea—
Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb—of Me.

Emily Dickinson
Posted by Severin, Monday, 10 May 2010 9:04:02 AM
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Foxy,
Best wishes regarding the results of you examination today.

I was hopefull that Sandy Thorne's poem might cheer you a bit.

Perhaps you can read it again tomorrow.

You and I have had some interesting debates at times and you have always been a lady. It would be my pleasure to open any door for you.
Posted by Banjo, Monday, 10 May 2010 9:39:27 AM
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Foxy, I neglected in my last to also offer you my best wishes. While I enjoy "tweaking the dragon's tail", I don't wish you or anyone else here any ill. I wasn't aware that you'd had a tumour already removed, so that's a sobering piece of news indeed.

I hope all goes well and that the bleeding turns out to be nothing more serious than a nasty dose of campylobacter or something similar.
Posted by Antiseptic, Monday, 10 May 2010 9:52:27 AM
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