  Poetry
This week: Trivialities Can Be Used in Poetry Too! Edited by: fyndorian
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Some odd/random facts for you!
A sneeze travels about 100 miles per hour.
Earth has traveled more than 5,000 miles in the past 5 minutes.
If you were to stretch a Slinky out until it’s flat, it would measure 87 feet long.
A ten-gallon hat will only hold ¾ of a gallon.
A “jiffy” is the scientific name for 1/100th of a second.
10% of the World’s population is left handed.
You can’t hum while holding your nose closed.
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Ghost Lights
A lone standing lamp casts
a golden glow on the boards, lighting
the darkness of mid-stage.
No shade, but shadows
retreat. Mere safety provision
yet the superstitious insist
it keeps the ghosts at bay
much like that English play never
muttered theater side.
That puddle of warmth staged
far from pit of orchestrated doom
means home and that
the play goes on for darkness
signals the quiet of the unspoken words
when the marquee waits empty.
Ghost lamps are still used to keep folks from falling or tripping when the theater is dark. Some theaters keep their lights aglow all night long. Once, purely a safety measure, it grew to have multiple meaning, fueled by superstition, theory and most notably, the closed and darkened theater when the show was closed. At once a lonely sight and yet comforting vision, the meanings behind the image are quite thought-provoking.
Odd phrases, their origins can be fodder for poetry. Searching out and digging for meanings can lead you down paths to new ideas.For example, the phrase 'one fell swoop' - which today means 'something happening all at once' used to mean (from Macbeth<--that play never mentioned theater side) a swift (no pun intended) and brutal murder. It came from swoop, movement of a bird of prey upon its victim and fell (originally from the Old French word fel that meant merciless.
Having 'cold feet' about something; feeling hesitant about a decision or perhaps a commitment? The term goes back to the 1700s when the men during the Revolutionary War were freezing cold in the winter snows. Their feet were often numb and walking became most difficult, making for slow, painful movement. When they had cold feet, they basically couldn't run - either away from danger or to engage the enemy, often meaning they were shot where they stood.
Ever try to 'get someone's goat'? It is a racing term! A nervous horse could be calmed by placing a goat in its stall. Competitors were 'get their goat' or removed the goat in hopes that the nervous horse would not do well in the race! Likewise, when the goat stayed put and the race went well, another phrase comes to mind - the jockey won the race 'hands down.' This come from his having such a lead that the horse basically coasted to the win and the jockey, relaxing the reins, put his 'hands down' because he knew he had the win.
Running your own race against the clock? Might be time to 'pull out all the stops' and go 'balls to the wall.'At least that is the current meaning. Once upon a time, it meant loud! The player of an organ would pull out the 'stops' or knobs that controlled the volume he would play at. Pulling out all the stops meant he could get the most volume possible. 'Balls to the wall' is an aviation term referring to the balled knobs on the stick used to increase or slow a plane's speed. Pushing the stick (and accompanying knob) as far forward as it could go against the control panel or wall, meant an increased speed.
Playing with odd phrases gives you an additional opportunity to combine both old and new meanings, to play with the metaphors conjured by either or both and enhance your phraseology in your poetry.
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Emotional thoughts about lifes trivial events
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papadoc1 writes: Wow! What a great newsletter! I truly valued this one, it combined elements of a poet's POV while they write/read their own work; the process is of course repeated by all of those who read and wonder - Is this what the author truly meant by such-n'-such? How could one KNOW for sure? Such philosophical battles with others - be they school teachers of Lit Professors - to find their exact reasonongs and questioning the "facts" of teachers who all along seem perfectly poised to over-rule and correct a student in the classroom for taking a differing POV - all point towards a real need to develop a sense of perspective on the one hand, and on the other hand develop a "voice" that daresay a veteran who simply dismisses what their students think because...well...its because they are STUDENTS. Boy, have I ever MET UP WITH TEACHERS LIKE THIS who are narcissists of the worst variety. THIS newsletter was truly a fact-filled and powerful in that a mother-daughter bonding was even more solidified by the combined reasoning power of both of them! How I lovedLovedLOVED the fact that it turns out that the author of the poem WAS in the classroom that day! Ah yes, this is a NL for all time memories! It was a classy read and it combined two brains together and...glory be unto God Above, a well-deserved come-uppance for that opinionated (sic) person just the same! THANK YOU for this awesome NL - one of my all-time favorites!!!
oldmonty says: A good News Letter. Points made the could inspire. I think I will write about a bridge.
tucknits comments: Thank you for featuring my poem, Day-drops. I am humbled and surprised.
I also loved the lesson - yes, I say less because I feel as though i were back in my high school literature class. It's a compliment because I was fortunate to have a very knowledgeable literature teacher who said exactly what your daughter relayed" What makes a good poem great, is that different people get different things from it." (paraphrased). Thank you for sharing this very valuable lesson and your own personal experience.
copenator adds:Thank you for sharing with us this time.
I am also thankful that you shared the poem you wrote about in the article.
It is a marvel to be sure.
Your skill with the written word causes the reader to think and it's evident that you have been at this for years.
I present a poem for your consideration that is close to my heart as it deals with my mom's passing on 2/1/2000.
vpbanjo says: As I read through your article, I had the feeling that the poem discussed in the class had been written by you. The details of this story gave me much food for thought as far as the authors meaning within a poem, the possibilities, and how a setting may be far from the actual situation written about. Thank you for producing this information and sharing.
vaughanjones says: WOW! What an inciteful newsletter release that contains gems of truth. As a poet, by choice, not to downplay my other writings, I witness one hundred percent with your message and theme. Thank you very much.
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Poetry: November 30, 2016 Issue [#8001]
