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Saturday, October 28, 2017
Beauty
This week's prompt courtesy of Tasha:
It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and so far as I can tell, this is true. So fellow poets...for this prompt, What for you constitutes beauty? What do you find beautiful, and why?
This is a cleave poem I'd been working on. Still not sure it's there yet, but it sort of fits the theme.
NOTE: FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW CLEAVE POEMS. You read the words twice. First time you read down the columns, i.e. read column 1, read column 2. Then you read across the columns as if the were one line, i.e. line 1 of column 1 and line 1 of column 2 become one line...
NOTE 2: I had a hell of a time formatting this since the comments won't allow me to center or use tables with HTML. On top of that, the font with which you type in the comment is different from the font that displays. So, please excuse the underscores and misalignments. Just remember what is to the left of the "-" is column one, what is to the right is column 2. It was the best I could do.
PRETTY UGLY
________ pretty - ugly ________ much - like the troll ___ she expected - in the mirror not _____ fairy tales - the assumption of __ happy endings - happily ever after didn’t understand - a good life ________ reality - is only ___ a normal life - for a princess _______ for her - who is beautiful
holy crap on a cracker! that is awesome! wonderfully done and fits the them perfectly. a difficult format. I have tried often and never succeeded. this is awesome.
With a form like this it is sometimes difficult to get my original intention across. It doesn't say nearly what I wanted but poems sometimes do what they do. My attitude toward beauty is that it is overrated and that a "normal life" is actually a good thing. I think our culture is way to obsessed with beauty, and perhaps that's because I am not, but I also have to say I think it's easier to accept the physical changes of aging when you have never been beautiful. It's not something I had to give up because I never possessed it. To quote a Billy Bragg song, "For the girl with the hour-glass figure, time runs out very fast."
There is beauty to be found where least expected: in dried blossoms clinging to bare bushes against an autumn sky slowly dimming. or wrinkled faces gazing at small children, listening to their laughter and remembering.
I applaud the homely for its quiet elegance, its small soft voice speaking a unique and special loveliness like a cracked pitcher that belonged to a cherished aunt or a rusted iron fence gleaming in the sunset glow. These warm my heart and draw my eye.
I cherish beauty that goes unnoticed amidst the flash and filigree that draws the crowd. I want to embrace the tattered and torn that form patterns of valor against the starkness of harsh reality, precious beauty, quiet and shy, velvet to the stroking hand.
Bravo!! This is my attitude also. I have always wanted to start a rebellion of "plain people." I mean, if a white woman played a hispanic, asian or black woman on screen, there would be an uproar. But always, a beautiful, or at least very attractive, woman plays homely/plain woman on screen, and most times they apply make up and such and "become beautiful" by the end of the movie. Drives me nuts.
Yep!!! I agree entirely with you and Victoria's comment! I watched a movie one time called "the ugliest woman in the world" and by the end of the movie she was very attractive.
This is a oldie but goodie I have always loved. I will also write a new poem for the prompt, but this one just popped into my kind and I couldn't resist.
Beauty is in the hands of my sister, Linda and niece, Ar;ene As they paint love rocks for me to hide For other to find and hopefully put a smile on their face and brighten their day.
Beauty is in the eyes of my sister, Victoria Who sees good in every child and dedicates Her life to teach them to become caring adults Whether through a classroom or a dojo.
Beauty is my brother Joe’s sense of humor That makes me laugh even on my worst days Who finds comedy where others would find drama Hilarity fills his heart and brings joy to others.
Beauty is in the smile of my brother Vinny When he talks of his family and his love Sheila The look in his eyes when he holds his grandson Or speaks so proudly of his son Chas.
Beauty is family regardless of how hard we fight We love as passionately and will always be there To support each other, hold each other up when we are down Beauty is as beauty does….beauty is love.
I just woke up realizing what I had done and was going to change it! but since you already commented I will not delete and fix it. OMG! where was I? I guess Breanne reminds me so much of Arlene. I hope I didn't hurt her by doing that.
Breanne reminds me of Arlene too. And I love the poem. Beauty is where we find it. All you have to do is look. Now I have another poem I want to post but it's about "love" not beauty so I'll post it here as a comment. It's one of my "kid poems."
SPRING LOVE
I look for love, some kind of sign, a love for me, a love that's mine. I look in every place I know but only see my brother Joe out on the porch swing with a book. He pets Miss Kitty as I look out in the yard. I look above, a goldfinch sings. I don't find love or anything. Some flowers bloom. The roses smell like mom’s perfume.
I look again, and then I see that love is here, a love for me. I love the flowers, love the trees. I love the goldfinch and the breeze. I love to watch Miss Kitty play. I love her colors, orange and gray. I love the porch and love the swing I love the warmth that comes with spring. I love my mom and dad. Y'know, I even love my brother Joe.
I feel the love that's in the air and see that love is everywhere.
i don't have a family bonita. but i know what you mean. hey do want to adopt me? i only need feeding and changing once a day. hope you don't mind me sticking my first beauty poem up here. it's about how i've always found the universe to be stunningly beautiful.
WHY THE UNIVERSE WORKS....EEERRR MOSTLY
the strong force binds the quarks, the leptons in to atoms the electro magnetic force shapes the atoms in to matter gravity pulls us all together and the weak force makes us burn sometimes gravity is too heavy when it drops bombs but what the hell is dark matter? and just exactly mr einstein, how do black holes turn and how do even light they spurn and why does the speed of light act like a planetory tether?
" earth - located in the unfashionable end of the galaxy.....mostly harmless " the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy - douglas adams.
of course most of it is symbolic. thanks for reading - love - paul.
Love comes naturally... Jaden is 10 and small for his age Damien is 2 and loves to be held
the 2 year old was whining so the 10 year old picked him up Damien literally melted onto Jaden's body
it was beautiful to see Damien's head tucked into Jaden's shoulder arms all wrapped tightly; legs wrapped around Jaden's waist
Jaden said his head on Damien's head to make the picture complete the beauty nearly made us cry
we tried to separate them because Jaden's so small but neither one was having it! Jaden said, "he's not heavy" Damien closed his eyes and said, "I love you"
And he wrapped even tighter and closer than before this was the first time these two had ever met Love comes naturally...
that is beautiful! children give and receive love so freely. it's sad we stop doing that as adults and put limits and conditions on who we love. beautiful poem. thank you for sharing that moment in time.
i can't keep track of who's who in your family wolfie. once again hope you don't mind me tagging a poem on to your's. this is about the most beautiful creature on the planet, but also the craziest.
LOST RAZORS
damn!! she's gone again, with her razor blade collection covered in blood, according to my last recollection
how do you save someone who doesn't want to be saved? or even bathed
gotta save her.....gotta.....gotta or this evil world will rot her why does she do all the things that hurt 'er?
it rained like lost goodbye's since you cut our ties left with nothing but whys?
love this site. to quote that large austrian gentleman " i'll be back ". - love and peace - paul.
It's fine to put a poem in my comments, omegapaf, but I do wish you would leave me a word or two to let me know if you liked my poem too. By the way, I have e-mailed you several times and they all come back saying you are not an e-mail address...and two of the letters were very long. I talked about the change of seasons and Courtney and all sorts of neat stuff...
damn computers wolfie. never got your e - mails. bonita's 'puter has gone insane and some of my comments and reply's wont send.....should we just write each other letters in pencil and paper instead? it would probably save time. ahh just noticed the problem. had to put an extra f in my e - mail. it is now omegapaff@gmail.com or to quote paul simon, you can just " call me al " ha ha. anyone is welcome to e - mail me. when i'm not in a disasterous relationship, i can be quite fun - love and peace - paul.
met a lady on the late night train a single tear ran down one cheek we started talking absorbing each other's pain talked and talked about music, religion and how we are both a freak
then she told me she was married to an idiot, who doesn't understand her told me things, she hadn't told anyone in twenty year those uncaring guys really rankle my fur
had to get off at my train stop to avoid being locked out of my house of flop
gave her a kiss on the hand hope she gets her dream of moving to a distant land
probably never see her again but on that train, emotion will remain.
This was a couple of lines I’d started with no particular direction, so I thought I’d see if there was any way I could lead them to beauty. And I was being somewhat contrarian. I figured people would be writing about unconventional beauty, so I decided to write about conventional beauty.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder With what eyes do I behold? What I see as beautiful May not be so seen by another, Though we may eye the same thing.
Perception guided by belief judges. The education of the eye by fashion, taste, tradition, tells the beholder to label what is seen as beautiful or not.
I see pierced bodies, distorted ears, Strange tattoos, odd hairstyles, And I do not find them beautiful yet surely many do. Why not? I am content to agree to disagree.
this is so true...beauty is what one perceives as beauty to them and it may not be what others see. also beauty is as beauty does. i know people who are physically pretty when I meet them but then I get to know them and they are so mean spirited they start to look ugly to me, where the homely person with a good heart becomes beautiful.
what is beauty, is it the way things look or is it deeper like a really good book wisdom is beauty for its fine meshing weave so vast and elegant it seeks not to deceive
a true child wonders dazzled by creation each new day a chance for another vocation take the beautiful air deep into your ghost feel the warming sun and thank your shining host
the light enables us to see the beauty that abounds so many different shapes and colors it pleases and astounds I'll hazard a guess that something to you is precious and rare for where is the beauty if there is no one to care
This is a cleave poem I'd been working on. Still not sure it's there yet, but it sort of fits the theme.
ReplyDeleteNOTE: FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW CLEAVE POEMS. You read the words twice. First time you read down the columns, i.e. read column 1, read column 2. Then you read across the columns as if the were one line, i.e. line 1 of column 1 and line 1 of column 2 become one line...
NOTE 2: I had a hell of a time formatting this since the comments won't allow me to center or use tables with HTML. On top of that, the font with which you type in the comment is different from the font that displays. So, please excuse the underscores and misalignments. Just remember what is to the left of the "-" is column one, what is to the right is column 2. It was the best I could do.
PRETTY UGLY
________ pretty - ugly
________ much - like the troll
___ she expected - in the mirror not
_____ fairy tales - the assumption of
__ happy endings - happily ever after
didn’t understand - a good life
________ reality - is only
___ a normal life - for a princess
_______ for her - who is beautiful
holy crap on a cracker! that is awesome! wonderfully done and fits the them perfectly. a difficult format. I have tried often and never succeeded. this is awesome.
DeleteInteresting...is that your opinion of beauty? Fascinating poem, very intricate.
DeleteVery intricate poem!!!!!! I understood the gist of it. Beauty is unexpected and not to be assumed. Am I right?
DeleteWith a form like this it is sometimes difficult to get my original intention across. It doesn't say nearly what I wanted but poems sometimes do what they do. My attitude toward beauty is that it is overrated and that a "normal life" is actually a good thing. I think our culture is way to obsessed with beauty, and perhaps that's because I am not, but I also have to say I think it's easier to accept the physical changes of aging when you have never been beautiful. It's not something I had to give up because I never possessed it. To quote a Billy Bragg song, "For the girl with the hour-glass figure, time runs out very fast."
Deletegeeezzz this is complicated. had to read the rules twice, before i got it. my first cleave poem. nice one - love and peace paul.
DeleteWorks both ways.
DeleteHomely Beauty
ReplyDeleteThere is beauty to be found where least expected:
in dried blossoms clinging to bare bushes
against an autumn sky slowly dimming.
or wrinkled faces gazing at small children,
listening to their laughter and remembering.
I applaud the homely for its quiet elegance,
its small soft voice speaking a unique and special loveliness
like a cracked pitcher that belonged to a cherished aunt
or a rusted iron fence gleaming in the sunset glow.
These warm my heart and draw my eye.
I cherish beauty that goes unnoticed
amidst the flash and filigree that draws the crowd.
I want to embrace the tattered and torn that form
patterns of valor against the starkness of harsh reality,
precious beauty, quiet and shy, velvet to the stroking hand.
Bravo!! This is my attitude also. I have always wanted to start a rebellion of "plain people." I mean, if a white woman played a hispanic, asian or black woman on screen, there would be an uproar. But always, a beautiful, or at least very attractive, woman plays homely/plain woman on screen, and most times they apply make up and such and "become beautiful" by the end of the movie. Drives me nuts.
DeleteYep!!! I agree entirely with you and Victoria's comment! I watched a movie one time called "the ugliest woman in the world" and by the end of the movie she was very attractive.
Deletesometimes there is a beauty only you can see tash. probably the best kind - love and peace - paul.
DeleteI’d leave out the first line. With it, the rest of the poem is proving a point. Without, it’s an exploration.
Deleteinteresting thought Tad. Thanks. And thanks to Victoria, Paul and Linda for their comments.
DeleteThis is a oldie but goodie I have always loved. I will also write a new poem for the prompt, but this one just popped into my kind and I couldn't resist.
ReplyDeleteWoops, meant MIND
ReplyDeleteyes there is beauty in everything if we look with an open heart
ReplyDeleteBeauty
ReplyDeleteBeauty is in the hands of my sister, Linda and niece, Ar;ene
As they paint love rocks for me to hide
For other to find and hopefully put a smile
on their face and brighten their day.
Beauty is in the eyes of my sister, Victoria
Who sees good in every child and dedicates
Her life to teach them to become caring adults
Whether through a classroom or a dojo.
Beauty is my brother Joe’s sense of humor
That makes me laugh even on my worst days
Who finds comedy where others would find drama
Hilarity fills his heart and brings joy to others.
Beauty is in the smile of my brother Vinny
When he talks of his family and his love Sheila
The look in his eyes when he holds his grandson
Or speaks so proudly of his son Chas.
Beauty is family regardless of how hard we fight
We love as passionately and will always be there
To support each other, hold each other up when we are down
Beauty is as beauty does….beauty is love.
uh...niece Arlene :-)
Deleteniece Breanne
DeleteI love this poem!!!!! love, love, love it!!!!! And the last line really throws it all together. "Beauty is as beauty does....beauty is love."
DeleteI just woke up realizing what I had done and was going to change it! but since you already commented I will not delete and fix it. OMG! where was I? I guess Breanne reminds me so much of Arlene. I hope I didn't hurt her by doing that.
DeleteBreanne reminds me of Arlene too. And I love the poem. Beauty is where we find it. All you have to do is look. Now I have another poem I want to post but it's about "love" not beauty so I'll post it here as a comment. It's one of my "kid poems."
DeleteSPRING LOVE
I look for love, some kind of sign,
a love for me, a love that's mine.
I look in every place I know
but only see my brother Joe
out on the porch swing with a book.
He pets Miss Kitty as I look
out in the yard. I look above,
a goldfinch sings. I don't find love
or anything. Some flowers bloom.
The roses smell like mom’s perfume.
I look again, and then I see
that love is here, a love for me.
I love the flowers, love the trees.
I love the goldfinch and the breeze.
I love to watch Miss Kitty play.
I love her colors, orange and gray.
I love the porch and love the swing
I love the warmth that comes with spring.
I love my mom and dad. Y'know,
I even love my brother Joe.
I feel the love that's in the air
and see that love is everywhere.
Beautiful poem and I see the beauty in it too!!!
Deletei don't have a family bonita. but i know what you mean. hey do want to adopt me? i only need feeding and changing once a day.
Deletehope you don't mind me sticking my first beauty poem up here. it's about how i've always found the universe to be stunningly beautiful.
WHY THE UNIVERSE WORKS....EEERRR MOSTLY
the strong force binds the quarks, the leptons in to atoms
the electro magnetic force shapes the atoms in to matter
gravity pulls us all together
and the weak force makes us burn
sometimes gravity is too heavy when it drops bombs
but what the hell is dark matter?
and just exactly mr einstein, how do black holes turn
and how do even light they spurn
and why does the speed of light act like a planetory tether?
" earth - located in the unfashionable end of the galaxy.....mostly harmless " the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy - douglas adams.
of course most of it is symbolic. thanks for reading - love - paul.
and we are all bound by it all...that's the beauty of the universe
Deletehaving trouble getting comments on today. i hate technology and gravity is a little heavy - love and peace - paul.
DeleteI’d work some more on this. Move from what you know to what you don’t know. Lovely evocation of family.
DeleteNice poem, Paul, very typical of your philosophy. Beautiful poem, Victoria. Bonnie, hat poem is superb!!! One of our best.
Deletethanks tash. if i lived on the moon i might get a bit of rest......but i doubt it. i'm sure someone would turn up to try and sell me insurance ha ha.
DeleteLove comes naturally...
ReplyDeleteJaden is 10 and small for his age
Damien is 2 and loves to be held
the 2 year old was whining
so the 10 year old picked him up
Damien literally melted onto Jaden's body
it was beautiful to see
Damien's head tucked into Jaden's shoulder
arms all wrapped tightly; legs wrapped around Jaden's waist
Jaden said his head on Damien's head
to make the picture complete
the beauty nearly made us cry
we tried to separate them because Jaden's so small
but neither one was having it! Jaden said, "he's not heavy"
Damien closed his eyes and said, "I love you"
And he wrapped even tighter and closer than before
this was the first time these two had ever met
Love comes naturally...
Jaden laid his head on Damien's head
DeleteSorry for the typo
that is beautiful! children give and receive love so freely. it's sad we stop doing that as adults and put limits and conditions on who we love. beautiful poem. thank you for sharing that moment in time.
DeleteI agree, love comes naturally. Very sweet poem.
Deletei can't keep track of who's who in your family wolfie. once again hope you don't mind me tagging a poem on to your's. this is about the most beautiful creature on the planet, but also the craziest.
DeleteLOST RAZORS
damn!! she's gone again, with her razor blade collection
covered in blood, according to my last recollection
how do you save someone who doesn't want to be saved?
or even bathed
gotta save her.....gotta.....gotta
or this evil world will rot her
why does she do all the things that hurt 'er?
it rained like lost goodbye's
since you cut our ties
left with nothing but whys?
love this site. to quote that large austrian gentleman " i'll be back ". - love and peace - paul.
It's fine to put a poem in my comments, omegapaf, but I do wish you would leave me a word or two to let me know if you liked my poem too. By the way, I have e-mailed you several times and they all come back saying you are not an e-mail address...and two of the letters were very long. I talked about the change of seasons and Courtney and all sorts of neat stuff...
Deleteyour poem was quite nice, by the way. I especially liked "it rained like lost goodbye's" that was a very special line.
Deletedamn computers wolfie. never got your e - mails. bonita's 'puter has gone insane and some of my comments and reply's wont send.....should we just write each other letters in pencil and paper instead? it would probably save time. ahh just noticed the problem. had to put an extra f in my e - mail. it is now omegapaff@gmail.com or to quote paul simon, you can just " call me al " ha ha. anyone is welcome to e - mail me. when i'm not in a disasterous relationship, i can be quite fun - love and peace - paul.
Deleteone more....or maybe two and i'll behave.
DeleteBRIEF ENCOUNTER
met a lady on the late night train
a single tear ran down one cheek
we started talking absorbing each other's pain
talked and talked about music, religion and how we are both a freak
then she told me she was married to an idiot, who doesn't understand her
told me things, she hadn't told anyone in twenty year
those uncaring guys really rankle my fur
had to get off at my train stop
to avoid being locked out of my house of flop
gave her a kiss on the hand
hope she gets her dream of moving to a distant land
probably never see her again
but on that train, emotion will remain.
" train in vain " the clash.
You don’t need to say it was beautiful to see. You do a fine job of showing, don’t need to tell.
DeleteOh My, this is a very fine poem indeed, so honest and so evocative. Liked it a lot, can you tell?
DeleteLinda,how very lovely the picture you have given us is. Thank you for this joyous beauty! Nicely written, too!
Delete
ReplyDeleteThe valuables long since
sequestered, there was
little incentive to
go on, but a front
had to kept up, at
least until the cleaners got there
through the back alley,
after which
I’m left with nothing.
Only the girl with hair
like smoke, eyes
like pilot lights, gold
tipped blue flame,
they’d left her there to
distract me,
And she did.
This was a couple of lines I’d started with no particular direction, so I thought I’d see if there was any way I could lead them to beauty. And I was being somewhat contrarian. I figured people would be writing about unconventional beauty, so I decided to write about conventional beauty.
Deleteleft me breathless! awesomely beautiful
DeleteBeautiful as always. I love the last line because even though you wrote about convention beauty that last line puts it into perspective.
DeleteMy you do have a way with spare lines! Good job of saying much with Little; I admire your ability.
DeleteBeautiful?
ReplyDeleteBeauty is in the eye of the beholder
With what eyes do I behold?
What I see as beautiful
May not be so seen by another,
Though we may eye the same thing.
Perception guided by belief judges.
The education of the eye
by fashion, taste, tradition,
tells the beholder to label
what is seen as beautiful or not.
I see pierced bodies, distorted ears,
Strange tattoos, odd hairstyles,
And I do not find them beautiful
yet surely many do. Why not?
I am content to agree to disagree.
I've thought about this a lot and decided to play with the beholder idea, and I already said what I thought was beautiful earlier, so...
ReplyDeletethis is so true...beauty is what one perceives as beauty to them and it may not be what others see. also beauty is as beauty does. i know people who are physically pretty when I meet them but then I get to know them and they are so mean spirited they start to look ugly to me, where the homely person with a good heart becomes beautiful.
ReplyDeleteYes, I know what you mean...Thanks for your comment. I appreciate you!
DeleteThe Eye Of The Beholder
ReplyDeletewhat is beauty, is it the way things look
or is it deeper like a really good book
wisdom is beauty for its fine meshing weave
so vast and elegant it seeks not to deceive
a true child wonders dazzled by creation
each new day a chance for another vocation
take the beautiful air deep into your ghost
feel the warming sun and thank your shining host
the light enables us to see the beauty that abounds
so many different shapes and colors it pleases and astounds
I'll hazard a guess that something to you is precious and rare
for where is the beauty if there is no one to care