Thank you and Shannan and your crew of house elves for spilling these treasures into our hands. You champion what leads us where we want to go next. No small thing.
"...root your observations in simple language elevated by import as opposed to ornamentation..." should be etched on the wall of every poetry workshop ever.
and, yes, I love this poem - and love it even more reading your editor's note.
and, the title is so damn sly
and, the line integrity here (as you illustrate) is fucking amazing. Every single line.
Thank you for your kind acknowledgement, Dick. That title is indeed sly, and even brave. Because who has the gall to tell anyone with any authority How to Live — I just love that voice of command. It’s beguiling.
it's daunting to try and write after reading such a powerful poem, but i still attempted the exercise because it's an excellent one. i'm coming down with a cold so my brain and emotions are all tire, this is as far as i got today:
Thank you for this Karan 🙏 Full of interruptions this morning and dog having small op at vets, so filling in small gaps, I came up with some random train of thought word dumps:
Being late is mindless. Imagine
waking to a mindless dawn
that slept in, or if the moon,
discombobulated, washed your breakfast with blue. It follows
Now that we can comment on this, I’d like to say this is one of the most memorable poems we’ve published in two years of running ONLY POEMS.
Feels so weird to comment on a post as an author but what can I do I like Todd’s poems so much!
And would also urge people to read all the other poems we featured by Todd Dillard: https://www.onlypoems.net/poets/todd-dillard/poems
Not a breath wasted, every line fully at home with itself. This is exactly why reading poems every day at the right sites is better for me than kale.
Thank you for your kind readership, Richard. We do not take it for granted🌻
Thank you and Shannan and your crew of house elves for spilling these treasures into our hands. You champion what leads us where we want to go next. No small thing.
Thank you for always championing us, Richard!
"...root your observations in simple language elevated by import as opposed to ornamentation..." should be etched on the wall of every poetry workshop ever.
and, yes, I love this poem - and love it even more reading your editor's note.
and, the title is so damn sly
and, the line integrity here (as you illustrate) is fucking amazing. Every single line.
and, and, and
Thank you for your kind acknowledgement, Dick. That title is indeed sly, and even brave. Because who has the gall to tell anyone with any authority How to Live — I just love that voice of command. It’s beguiling.
oh my G_d, I love this poem, line after line. Thank you for it
Thank you, Tara. Same❤️
thank you ! the poem includes excellent instructions ✨ look forward to trying the exercise ⌨️
You’re welcome, Kathy! Looking forward to what you come up with :)
"Depravity begins with thinking of love
as a radical act. I quit loving
with difficulty. I love
easy now..."
Simple yet profound.
Such a beautiful poem.
it's daunting to try and write after reading such a powerful poem, but i still attempted the exercise because it's an excellent one. i'm coming down with a cold so my brain and emotions are all tire, this is as far as i got today:
my sink is free from dishes,
the metal reflects the sun. this is
unremarkable to me. of course
i get to keep the sun in my kitchen.
Thank you for trying, my friend. That last line is brilliant!
Thank you for this Karan 🙏 Full of interruptions this morning and dog having small op at vets, so filling in small gaps, I came up with some random train of thought word dumps:
Being late is mindless. Imagine
waking to a mindless dawn
that slept in, or if the moon,
discombobulated, washed your breakfast with blue. It follows
therefore that punctuality
is mindful. And I wish
to be mindful. A watch on my wrist,
and a phone in my pocket
buzz reminders if I keep
them switched on. So I turn up the sound
I love the feeling of bending,
not chasing time like a hunter.
I stop running and glance back
to watch more time cascading
towards me. At first I freeze,
then, I open my arms.