Trouble the Water  250 Year of African-American Poetry  by various poets is a great shelfie. I have read and re-read the poetry in this book a few times. Softcover and mass market sized, the book is now a beat up copy which I own. I have no problem with this. I have a few annotations inside, the pages are still quite crisp even from all the reading. The selections are from over 100 poets, beginning with oral poetry and slave creations, followed by voices before freedom. Reconstruction and the early 20th century continues ending with the new age. Contributor notes add short autobiographies of the poets. Book Specs: Trouble the Water 250 Years of African American Poetry Edited and with an Introductin by Jerry W. Ward Jr., et al., 1997 Publisher: Penguin Group Pages: 566

since the day I met you, I have searched for this word. this big, beautiful, gigantic, glorious word to describe you. us. I am incapable of such a feat.  the weight which we hold defines and transcribes over and over which was born yet never fails to die. I am alone to carry the burden. kismet. but yet more than fate.  in Moirai white robed souls threads spun from the gods alone do not touch the etymology of us. Saudade by José Ferraz de Almeida Jr. saudade. other words bearing no translation its meaning too sacred for a tongue. I remember you.  you recollect me.  mutual longing to never return. but you're still here, aren't you? always here. somehow becoming the intrusiveness of my dreams dust on wrinkled photographs and cologne from triggered memories. in and out of me. through me. So I seek another word. perhaps hiraeth. homesickness for a place you cannot return to.  and over and over in my mind this word, this beautiful, gigantic,...

Praised by Percy Bysshe Shelley, Hyperion is the unfinished work of John Keats that begun in 1818  pictured as the original manuscript of Keats handwriting below. This poem then began to evolve as a the preface to Endymion but was abandoned in the year of 1820. Its contents are full of allegory between Olympians and Titans, and the fall with the sorrow that accompanies it thereafter when the Olympians were defeated. The epic is a tale of the gods; Hyperion of the sun, Apollo of both the sun and the gift of poetry. The mythological nature gives its verse mysticism and even gods are knocked off their throne and given lesser or human qualities "...gray haired Saturn quiet as a stone" so one can relate to them, and invoke the feeling of powerlessness.  Keats never wanted Hyperion to be published at all; in his 1820 volume of collected works, Keats inserted the following statement:   '[I]t was printed at [the publisher's] request, and contrary to the wish of the ...

time In its most wicked state tastes of sour lemons, molded from uncare aware of its presence. life is frailty. love, it's burden. carried upon backs that once moved mountains the stones throw away, now too much effort  to give freely what shouldn't be yearned for. his smile, a memory. happiness trapped in a hourglass to the choices present. stranger, in same being joy you disallow time a ribbon of history unraveled if I known then, what I know now.  -b.r.rivera Recommended Reading

Walt Whitman spent his entire life writing Leaves of Grass , although several editions exist. Although cited as controversial because of the language used with innuendo, in today's culture versus his mid 1800's release the collection of poems is now widely accepted and seen as a classic. The pure sensuality of the poetry sets it apart from no other, and Whitman ensured that his symbolism and other devices were widely used in verse. Besides devices, Whitman brings what is needed to poetry-the willingness to be honest and open, the soul nakedness in the midst of censorship and taming ideas. Interested in reading Leaves of Grass ? Download this public domain book in the US at  Project Gutenberg . Image Details Title: Leaves of Grass. Proto-Leaf Creator: Whitman, Walt, 1819-1892 Source: Oscar Lion Collection/ Leaves of Grass Location: Stephen A. Schwarzman Building/ Rare Books Division Digital ID: 484427 Image via  the NYPL Digital Library. ...

Remember me, he said Her hair falling down in dew drops dripping across  Electric hair buzzed by emotion. She makes no  Response with words, fulfills only her fingers Into empty voids where his spaces once were. Calmly, Releasing muscled grips Slips into day old clothes under harsh moonlight Hushed feet under creaked floorboards, Closes the door.  -b.r.rivera

I am not impressed. Not impressed with the way your tongue moves, shifts vowels and constants together in a stinging way to reflect more vinegar than honey. Not impressed with bones of structure that God himself removed a rib to construct thee, but you don't fine my moves that Heavenly. Not all all moved. Captivated by goodbyes becoming more welcoming than hellos, and bitter sweets are accompanied by rum. And I'm numb. Surgically altered into slices and dices, how you expertly cared out the compassion and left the nothingness within me. Exalted. Never exalted. By pillars of upon pedastles that former lovers gave with ease, molehills become mountains from the fragment of small nonsensical things. I am not loved. Rabbits out the hat aren't your thing. Magic tricks aren't illusions so easily carved into truthful lips. He sways back and forth to falsify eyes where shadows are grasped by time instead of emotional movements. Grass is not greener. Never is. Maintenance require...

Types of Poetry: Palindrome. This specific type of poetry is not for mere amateurs. I say this with the most respect, because the palindrome is perhaps one of the many types of poetry that is challenging to write and to make complete sense while still respecting the subject matter at hand. The palindrome derives from the Greek word palindromos: "palin"meaning again, and "dromos"meaning a running. Combining "palin" and "dromos" we have the collective term of running back again. This gives us a mirrored image which the palindrome is: a poem that is read forward is read the exact same way backwards. With in the palindrome, there is a short break in its center that denotes a specific "turning" as a reversal point which the mirrored image reflects. It's also important to note that the palindrome poem can be achieved by word (letter by letter) or by sentences in the poem. Whatever is read forwards is the exact mirrored image of what...

Exploration of Poetry: Diamante. The diamante poem is Italian for the word "diamond" and is an un-rhymed seven lined poem that has a specific diamond shape upon completion. The seven lines create one stanza, which completes the poem. Each line has a specific rule for the form throughout. Line One: Noun or subject. Line Two: Two Adjectives describing that noun or subject matter. Line Three: Three words, all ending in "ing" describing the subject matter. Line Four: Four words in total. The first two words describing the subject, then two contrasting words about the antonym/synonym Line Five: Three words, all ending in "ing" describing the antonym/synonym Line Six: Two adjectives describing the antonym/synonym Line Seven: The Antonym/synonym for the subject. As you can see, there is a shift in the middle of the poem which begins the antonym phase. The last word-line seven-will be the antonym of line one. Think of it like this: Lines 1 - 3: Wo...

This poetry type is just completely bad verse. I say that with complete honesty, because doggerel is unintentionally filled with humor but the verse is filled with cliches, a slight clumsiness within the syntax throughout the stanza. This specific type of poetry really holds no literary value so to speak; the writer and the reader both understand that the verse is essentially bad poetry, but is often enjoyed for the realness which it may captivate and the point which it often makes. The term doggerel was coined in the 1630's meaning that it was unfit for anyone but dogs. doggerell late 14c. (adj.); 1630s (n.), probably from dog + pejorative suffix -rel and applied to bad poetry perhaps with a suggestion of puppyish clumsiness, or being fit only for dogs. Attested as a surname from mid-13c., but the sense is not evident. (Etymology Dictionary, 2011) Example: The Tay Bridge Disaster It must have been an awful sight, To witness in the dusky moonlight, While the Storm Fie...

The Cento poem is beautifully unique just as it is something borrowed. Derived from the Latin word which translates as "patchwork" the poem is simply one poem (either rhymed or un-rhymed) in any variation of length that has lines from other poets not by self. This is a collage poem; you're taking a line from a poem here, there, and everywhere, while composing a masterpiece in and of itself. The cento does not have to be composed of lines from just one poem, or from one particular poet; the style, rhythm, syntax, and length of stanzas is completely up to you. The Latin poet Ausonius took a more concrete stance with composing a cento: The pieces, he says, may be taken either from the same poet, or from several. The verses may be either taken in their entirety, or divided into two; one half to be connected with another half taken elsewhere. Two verses should never be used running, nor much less than half a verse be taken. In accordance with these rules, he made a cento fro...

The Clerihew poem reminds me of some sort of stand up comedy routine; always of a comic nature, and always with a "punch line" so to speak. It's a verse, which consists of four lines in the concrete rhyme scheme pattern of aabb . Invented by Edmund Clerihew Bentley, (the popular English novelist of such works as "Trent's Last Case"in 1913) this humorist also wrote his first collection of poetry in 1905. The first line will always describe the person; lines 2-4 gives a humorous take on that person. The Clerihew is not satirical in nature, or is an offensive type of humor; the humor is light and silly while the person in the poem is often famous-but doesn't have to be. Example: Sir Humphrey Davy Abominated gravy. He lived in the odium Of having discovered sodium. ~E.C. Bentley Prompt: Visit a celebrity or entertainment blog or website and pick a headliner's article. Use that name to develop a series of clerihews, poking silly...

A school of poetry is formed when many poets develop a centralized or similar pattern in which they write; often coinciding with a particular era or time period within history. Poetry itself predates literacy, in which many traditions and history of regions were often orally told and then transcribed into records. In any case, poetry has a significant and cultural contribution which makes understanding the history of this art form necessary. Some school include: Aceism : school of modern Russian poetry, writing about the natural world and the environment. Augustans: school of English poetry using wit, famous for heroic couplets and mock epics. Beats : 1940-50's movement involving battle of social conformity and immersion of eastern religious studies, such as Buddhism. Black Arts: 1960-70's movement rooted in Civil Rights writing about race relations and issues. Black Mountain : 1933-56 school of teaching creative arts and analytic skills. Most poems use long forms o...

A line is a sentence of a poem. Where a natural sentence has punctuation, and has defined parts to convey a thought, the line of a poem doesn't have to have a subject and a predicate. The lines of poetry create stand alone lines, or simply several lines to compose a stanza, or paragraph of poetry. Lines of poetry are absolutely unique in which it is up to the poet themselves to establish meter and end with a pause where it would occur naturally. It is natural to desire to pause at the end of a line in poetry, but the reader should allow the punctuation and beat of the poem to establish the "pause" when reading through. Example: although time passes in several multitudes of eras, I find myself falling in love with you where time has no beginning life has no ending and we all stand still. In this example, there are 6 lines. These six lines are grouped together to form 1 stanza. This is a sestet, as it has 6 lines, and is free verse, with no fixed form or rhyme sch...

I've been here before. You can always tell Where the shapes meet the trees Curvatures of lines and familiarity of the bark. The moss is fresh and pointing in the direction of safety Which way to go? As I turn left And forget all sense of intuition And forgo sacred superstition As I move on. The dew. Blades ripened with shadowed earth stripped of bare nakedness begging for open toes to give her a kiss And I wish That my path lies to the rubble in Where no creature dared ventured in. Imaginary breadcrumbs. Sprinkle one here. A drip there Don't get lost on the way to the enclosure muscled tendons tightening their grip around my waist And soft lips kissed in darkness in the devils hour in smooth haste With broken promises unfulfilled and signs that are visible the naked eye Imaginary breadcrumbs Leading me to vertical Kama Sutra positions once preserved For the goddess that is I. I've been here before. Door one closes so a window opens Break g...