the woods are lovely dark and deep

[michael clubb]

Do you have a favorite line from a poem you've known for years?

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

but i have promises to keep

and miles to go before I sleep."

 

Learned that in grade school and it stuck in my head for some reason. So what's stuck in yours?

[Slayer Dug]

THE RAVEN

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore.
"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore -
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

[Stir Young]

Line from a Poem?

No...
I don't think so...

[d's girl]

Interim

Edna St. Vincent Millay


The room is full of you!—As I came in
And closed the door behind me, all at once
A something in the air, intangible,
Yet stiff with meaning, struck my senses sick!—

[michael clubb]

Hey dodger, that's a great one!

[d's girl]

I have tons of poems I could share, but they're not just lines, and not necessarily ones that I've known for years. You're restraining me w/these constraints! ;-p
(how's that for a line? '-)

[michael clubb]

ok d's girl, what's your favorite of those poems, at the moment?

[d's girl]

haha... you took the bait! '-)

Okay, I'd say this is my favorite at the moment, by Stephen Dunn

Achilles in Love

There was no getting to his weakness.

In public, even in summer, he wore

big boots, specially made for him,

a band of steel reinforcing each heel.

At home, when he bathed or slept,

he kept a pistol within reach, loaded.

And because to be invulnerable

is to be alone, he was alone even when

he was with you. You could sense it

in the rigidity of his carriage, as if under

his fine-fitting suits were layers of armour.

Yet everyone loved to see him in action:

While his enemies were thinking of small

advantages, he only thought end game.

Then she came along, who seemed to be all

women fused into one, cheekbones and breasts

evidence that evolution doesn’t care

about fairness, and a mind so good, well,

it was like his. You could see his body soften,

and days later, when finally they were naked,

she instinctively knew what to do —

as smart men do with a mastectomy’s scar —

kiss his heel before kissing

what he considered to be his power,

and with a tenderness that made him tremble.

And so Achilles began to live differently.

Both friends and enemies were astounded

by his willingness to listen, and hesitate

before responding. Even in victory he’d

walk away without angering a single god.

He wore sandals now because she liked him in sandals.

He never felt so exposed, or so open to the world.

You could see in his face something resembling terror,

but in fact it was love, for which he would die.

[d's girl]

And then, there's this Hafiz I've had in my head for weeks....

The small man builds cages
for everyone
He
Knows.

While the sage,
who has to duck his head
when the moon is low
Keeps dropping keys
all night long
For the
beautiful,
rowdy
prisoners.

[d's girl]

But I'd say this is my favorite Hafiz...

It happens all the time in heaven

It happens all the time in heaven,
And some day
It will begin to happen
Again on earth -
That men and women who are married,
And men and men who are
Lovers,
And women and women
Who give each other
Light,
Often will get down on their knees
And while so tenderly
Holding their lover's hand,
With tears in their eyes,
Will sincerely speak, saying,
"My dear,
How can I be more loving to you;
How can I be more
Kind?"


--Hafiz

[kainsworth]

Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul - and sings the tunes without the words - and never stops at all.

[funesthememorious]

There once was a fellow named Frisk,
Whose stroke was exceedingly brisk.
.....
.....
...........................................

[kainsworth]

Is that the same guy who lives in Nantucket?