tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post4157171124250127175..comments2023-12-28T13:11:06.666+00:00Comments on Pics and Poems: Wild HorsesDave Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430484174826768488noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-2899700657418114922011-02-18T11:14:26.901+00:002011-02-18T11:14:26.901+00:00Weaver of Grass
That's a massive compliment. T...<b>Weaver of Grass</b><br />That's a massive compliment. Thanks for it.<br /><br /><b>John Hayes</b><br />It's interesting in that the poem was in part an attempt by me to get away from anthropomorphizing the horses by trying to read their visual memories.<br /><br /><b>Lightverse</b><br />And I am deeply affected by your response to it. Thank you so very much.<br /><br /><b>Linda</b><br />I'm sure that's true - that we don't engage with the feral animals on the level of the evil that we do. I hadn't thought that until you raised it, but I think it is so. Many thanks.<br /><br /><b>Conda</b><br />Thank you for that lovely response.<br /><br /><b>Cloudia</b><br />Thanks again.Dave Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08430484174826768488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-50932363101866260972011-02-18T10:58:33.428+00:002011-02-18T10:58:33.428+00:00Kat
I think you'll get a lot from Muir. He has...<b>Kat</b><br />I think you'll get a lot from Muir. He has his own mythology. Once you're into that, you are away! Enjoy!<br /><br /><b>JeannetteLS</b><br />Thank you so much once again for your comments. That is not at all a bad way to read poetry!Dave Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08430484174826768488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-69118304847666744572011-02-17T22:03:12.227+00:002011-02-17T22:03:12.227+00:00I read the Muir first, so that I could think about...I read the Muir first, so that I could think about it, about what it might evoke for someone else. Then I read yours and rode the poem to its end without thinking so much as feeling. Apocalyptic and unnerving were the words that said it all for me. I do not analyze poetry well--it speaks to me viscerally. It may inspire me to think more deeply--as this does--but, for me, it was the ride itself. It felt like stream of consciousness, but I am very sure that is simply like watching a great actor or reading a great book... you make it SEEM that easy, that free-flowing.<br /><br />Anyway, as always, I am jealous of your talent! And so happy that you share it with us all. Your mind must be an unnerving place, sir!JeannetteLShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13528285846408727632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-85218576638843481092011-02-17T21:01:43.487+00:002011-02-17T21:01:43.487+00:00You're welcome, and by the way, I did go and r...You're welcome, and by the way, I did go and read the Muir poem. I had never heard of him, but I will be looking out for him on the used bookstore shelves from now on.Kat Mortensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16877694888419628533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-23610293736090572492011-02-17T12:11:31.422+00:002011-02-17T12:11:31.422+00:00120 Socks
Thanks for both the comment and the invi...<b>120 Socks</b><br />Thanks for both the comment and the invitation. I do hope to join you.<br /><br /><b>Erratic Thoughts</b><br />Well read is not how I would have described myself, but I appreciate the compliment.<br /><br /><b>Karen</b><br />Yes, it was intended as an ALMOST apocolyptic image.<br /><br /><b>anthonynorth</b><br />Much gratitude for your continued support.<br /><br /><b>A Cuban in London</b><br />To me that represents a very pleasing response. Thank you.<br /><br /><b>Kat</b><br />Thanks for a most gratifying reponse. It really is very much appreciated.<br /><br /><b>Jim</b><br />Your main point is well made and I take it absolutely. It does deserve a lot of consideration, I think. Off the top of my head I would say that although the horse would have no <b>concept</b> of a tractor, it might well have an image of one in its visual memory. You might argue, of course, that such an image is only likely to take root if there is also a concept, but it still remains a possibility, I think.Dave Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08430484174826768488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-47258524372842580492011-02-17T04:52:15.271+00:002011-02-17T04:52:15.271+00:00I, too, like Edwin Muir and agree with John--we...I, too, like Edwin Muir and agree with John--we're "gotta be an American to count" here in the U.S. I think your poem was a lovely and appropriate tribute.Conda Douglashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12972790965426924941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-33006916784509260842011-02-17T00:09:45.779+00:002011-02-17T00:09:45.779+00:00Yes, when we anthropomorphize, we usually give &qu...Yes, when we anthropomorphize, we usually give "funny", "cute" or "sweet" human characteristics to animals. Giving animals the power to know the worst endeavors of people, is not as frequently done. Your poem resonates when i think that animals would know the worst horrors people can inflict. But over the centuries, haven't we treated and don't we continue to treat wild animals with very little respect or care? Some of us anyway. Thank you for this terrifying look at us? / wild mustangs? It is a very engaging poem.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03241402645242821612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-49191535625929418352011-02-16T17:24:56.955+00:002011-02-16T17:24:56.955+00:00What a strange, wonderful, sad poem. A friend of ...What a strange, wonderful, sad poem. A friend of mine who writes children's books from a horse's perspective (I've helped to edit them) has given me a keen sense of appreciation for some of the horrors that horses must endure as we take away everything that was once theirs, including their freedom. <br /><br />Your poem spoke volumes in that same way. I am affected deeply.RJ Clarkenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03018296461199649445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-1738771494162683642011-02-16T16:33:31.448+00:002011-02-16T16:33:31.448+00:00Intense &, as one other commenter said, vivid....Intense &, as one other commenter said, vivid. As Jim Murdoch said, it seems an attempt to meet a feral animal on a level that is as far from anthropomorphized as possible--or transfigured in some numinous way, perhaps, & an admirable poem, I would say both in premise & execution.<br /><br />Muir's poems are terrific. At least in the States, he doesn't get the attention he should. An excellent translator, too.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15687192784861682991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-8822464575304053602011-02-16T16:22:23.435+00:002011-02-16T16:22:23.435+00:00He is one of my favourite poets too Dave - and I t...He is one of my favourite poets too Dave - and I think this owes quite a lot to his style.The Weaver of Grasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13947971556343746883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-14411196212435020652011-02-16T16:16:59.647+00:002011-02-16T16:16:59.647+00:00Your ability to express distinct mirages of the mi...Your ability to express distinct mirages of the mind has once more transported me to a place of animal intensity.Kasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05233330248952156754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-74621680145855715242011-02-16T16:00:27.883+00:002011-02-16T16:00:27.883+00:00I didn’t know the Muir poem but I read it after re...I didn’t know the Muir poem but I read it after reading yours because I didn’t want its taste in my mind as I read yours. This is a fine piece but the best thing about it, for me, was its premise. How many of us have looked at an animal (usually a pet I would imagine) and wondered what they might be thinking? We like to anthropomorphise them and it’s impossible to write about anything except in human terms and have it make sense so in that respect your poem fails (a horse has no concept of a tractor for example) but as a <i>translation</i> of what is going on inside the horses it succeeds admirably. I also enjoyed the Muir poem.<br /><br>Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-70680493372148033212011-02-16T15:57:55.695+00:002011-02-16T15:57:55.695+00:00Wow! Dave, you never cease to amaze me.
So many t...Wow! Dave, you never cease to amaze me.<br /><br />So many things are flying through my head at the moment - The Gulf War, "The Lord of the Rings", all the wars of the ages, really.<br /><br />So many incredible images and constructions here. These, for some reason were the ones that struck me most strongly:<br /><br /><br />"Yet other suns, he saw, were filigreed <br />with veins from which blood flowed and pooled ...<br /><br />These<br />it buried with dark scatter bombs of shame ...<br /><br />Then came the rain,<br />the floods and a new hope: the horses swam.<br />They came straight from their baptism to us."<br /><br />Really a brilliant piece. You just get better and better, and in saying that I feel it's a moot point because you are just so good already.<br /><br />KatKat Mortensenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16877694888419628533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-79509903645998026252011-02-16T15:54:20.938+00:002011-02-16T15:54:20.938+00:00It is a strange poem, and I can only compare to th...It is a strange poem, and I can only compare to that moment when a painter (not that I am one, mind), first set eyes on his/her target and the stream of consciousness that follows it. The poem just flows. I loved this line:<br /><br />'In one eye was a horse that backed away<br />and swung its head until the scene went black.'A Cuban In Londonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16423293358605007539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-56844235984963485872011-02-16T15:07:07.451+00:002011-02-16T15:07:07.451+00:00The imagery in this in unnervingly vivid. Excellen...The imagery in this in unnervingly vivid. Excellent.anthonynorthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06680944720744601697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-6040211635119004452011-02-16T10:44:35.403+00:002011-02-16T10:44:35.403+00:00I agree with 120 Socks. I was totally engaged from...I agree with 120 Socks. I was totally engaged from the beginning to the end of this almost-Apocolyptic vision.Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12003379181294550035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-8918167915843599012011-02-16T10:12:42.355+00:002011-02-16T10:12:42.355+00:00You are one of the most well-read persons I know.....You are one of the most well-read persons I know...Beautiful poem :)<br />Very Intense...Erratic Thoughtshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14852558150033296079noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2508563923634392703.post-14366925572180226292011-02-16T10:09:44.217+00:002011-02-16T10:09:44.217+00:00This is absolutely beautiful,sad and completely en...This is absolutely beautiful,sad and completely engaging. Great poem. Think about riding the poetry bus this week Dave, it would be great to have you on board!Louisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05912071192179983603noreply@blogger.com