JokerGem's comments

This could be a good epitaph.

hey, just so you know, the Lewis Carroll question finishing the line, “You are old, Father William...” is malfunctioning. Even when you select the correct answer it says you’re wrong.

indeed, it is true. Which can lead to feeling exceptionally drained...the need arises to be more proactive about protecting your space and often the urge grows stronger to want to withdraw to one’s own space and company. But we have alot to offer and tend to only realize too late we’re being taken advantage of.
The perpetual opposites impelled to come together, make the world turn, l suppose.
Yes, thanks for writing it--I find the pantoum form to be so fascinating. more »

Introverts do see the motives because we are tuned in to our intuition. Extroverts most likely think WE’RE the assholes, but they can’t rationalize the reason.

Very intelligent poem and l like that challenge thrown out to the ‘talkers,’ to actually say something profound!
...Feeling this more »

Kennan– nifty poet for sure.
There's a clever yet bitingly critical slant to this, and it is undeniably keen and sharp.

I'm glad I comb through the contests that I didn't participate in because it allowed me to find this diamond! Great poem speaking to the reaching and living of our higher selves. Maybe if there weren't so many entries poems like this would get more recognition--I, for one, loved it. more »

Awesome...when I get a chance I'll check some of them out!

Great story, Kurt!
I really enjoyed it.

Aphoristic and astute ~
...very pleasing to read someone who is on this level.

Another slick offering from you. The allusion of the guest house as, roughly, the conscience is a solid anchor for the poem. I also love the reference to Wendell Berry’s “The Peace of Wild Things” and this could aptly serve as a companion piece to it. --Thank you for sharing this to the site! more »

Thank you, kindly Sue.
Yeah, seems as though most of these are going unsung.

Splendid writing
I’d think this has ‘every man’ appeal.

I thought this was excellent –
–so much said in just a few words (which is poetry at its finest).

Excellently done-
It transported me.

so simple, yet so profound!
I have found this poem to be exemplary and most deserving of a prize.

What an awesome composition in haiku format!
Extra kudos for the palindromic effect.

I found this poem innovative and unique....an exceptional artistic creation;
l’m quite glad I stopped to take it in!

good poem. maybe wishful thinking but
I must say as someone not very outgoing that I prefer the 'distance' that this forum provides....but maybe if someone arranged some sort of zoom call (skype), I'm sure folks would join. more »

yes! you're right on the money!

Our lives are propagated by so much adversity at any turn, (the existential constraints) but we are as amorphous as our shadows and constantly inventing ourselves again, constantly evolving - breaking free by solely continuing to live and endure. The 'born under bad signs' came from blues great Albert King and thought it worked well within this context. As much as we are bridled and inhibited, taking a picture of ourselves in multiple points in our existences, it will always look different as there will be something we've surpassed and something brand new we are in the process of withstanding. So, the mercurial is our constant changing as well as that point in the spectrum we're pulling against or toward. You landed on a fascinating interpretation of the 'splitting of an essence' which works wonderfully too, but I was trying to further depict those obstacles bearing down on ourselves that 'break' our resolve unless we do the work to escape life's inherent bridles and preserve our true natures.

It was very satisfying that the pattern that must be adhered to in the pantoum naturally brought these concepts to an interesting conclusion that jibed with my intentions for writing it, i.e. the final stanza.

I don't know too many people who have the prowess to deduce what this was really about, and I'm pleased you were perceptive enough to digest the actual aim of it. --Thank you for the vote and your excellent analysis (as usual)! more »

I needed a good ‘chuckle’ today -
thanks for the boost!

I know it is doubtful Wallace will see this comment
but this is just one example of the supreme and adept verbal skills he possesses. These poems are treasures!

Evokes Little Big Town's song ‘ Tornado.’
-Same vibe and message-
Some folks just churn these suckers out and there’s no denying their appeal--congrats Leslie!

These inquiry-style poems usually make for fun reads--good mix of rhyme and content here.

This is an unorthodox poem - what with the rhyme scheme being different in each stanza - but I happen to like unorthodoxy and trees are an excellent subject for artwork.
– I've been enjoying your contributions since you joined the site! more »