"Urania and Calliope" by Vouet‘It’s All Her Fault’ and Other Poems by Susan Jarvis Bryant The Society July 24, 2024 Beauty, Humor, Poetry 31 Comments . It’s All Her Fault —with a nod to Eleanor Brown’s “Bitcherel” Why write in meter when penning a poem, __You ask me, so here’s my reply: When I drop the rapturous roll of a rhythm __My muse fades away with a sigh. Some muses are fans of haphazard eruptions— __Those off-kilter notes dipped in drear. Mine favors the frisson of lyric seductions— __Mellifluous trips for the ear. She cherishes lifts of a glorious chorus— __The lilt of linguistic applause— Euphonious rhapsody swelling before us __In buoyant and breezy-beat scores. She treasures all measured Parnassian pleasures __That soar from a silvery tongue. She hates the constraints of terrestrial tethers __That choke the celestial song. I’m urged by her toe-tapping, woe-zapping wonder __To dabble in ballads that dance To tunes that transcend all the bluster and thunder __Of clamorous stanzas of chance. My muse’s decision to opt for precision __Ignites strictly rhythmical dreams. She rouses my passions with all I envision __And prompts me to pen endless reams. It’s not that all metrical poems are slicker— __It’s not that prosaic’s not nice— But hooch on the rocks that is lacking the liquor __Is only a mouthful of ice. . . Happy Ever After —my radical antidote to post-modern misery I swallow words as sugary as honey In sunny stanzas summery and sweet With fleecy clouds as fluffy as a bunny, Kissy lips and hearts that skip a beat. I savor sonnets soaked in seas of syrup With iambs of the saccharine, silken ilk— Metric feet of doves that coo and chirrup In plumed arrays as wedding-white as milk. I relish lines of love and red, red roses Replete with lyric waves of zest to quench My thirst for joy in metaphoric posies— Poetic blooms that mask the bitter stench Of bathos as it bubbles from Hell’s well In poor-me prose with countless woes to sell. . . Scholarly Snobbery I shrink from snoots who probe and poke and pick And plumb redundant depths to pry apart The twists and turns of every cryptic trick That pumps the wild and hyperbolic heart Of poems of the enigmatic type With mystic music of the magic kind: Bewitching rhythms—siren-hot and ripe Enough to rouse the metrophobic mind To rise above the wonks who chew on words Then belch interpretations of their meal Of metaphors—a flambéed flock of birds Blasted from the sky with highbrow zeal. These lofty sophists suck the thudding blood From lucid beauty till it’s clear as mud. . . Susan Jarvis Bryant is a poet originally from the U.K., now living on the Gulf Coast of Texas. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Trending now: 31 Responses Roy Eugene Peterson July 24, 2024 Your wonderful poems were exquisitely constructed and verbalized with the last sentence of each poem a striking way to conclude them. I had to smile and laugh to myself at each one. You have a unique poetic texture that blends in English-English and the American version that makes each one entrancing and enchanting. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 Roy, I’m thrilled you enjoyed my latest creations and I’m particularly heartened by your encouragement on the blend of English-English and American-English. I have noticed of late that my poetry has become a rather odd mix of the two… a language I refer to as “Texlish”. I’m so glad to hear you like it. Thank you! Reply Joseph S. Salemi July 24, 2024 I’ve checked out Brown’s “Bitcherel” poem, and it’s certainly not as polished and effective as your “It’s All Her Fault.” Hers seems to be a complaint about someone else’s choice of a friend, written in a somewhat catty and mean-girl tone. Your poem is celebratory, and your conclusion using the simile of hooch missing from an iced drink is a lot sharper than her simile about chili con carne without chili (which she misspells as “chilli”). And what the devil does “Bitcherel” mean? Is it supposed to be some comic variant of “Doggerel”? “Happy Ever After” is a nice self-analysis of the speaker’s aesthetic. “Poor-me prose” is a brilliant criticism of the lugubrious whining of too much modern verse spouted by self-conscious “victims.” “Scholarly Snobbery” touches on the problem of over-analysis, a practice which has two main origins: 1) the murky and impenetrable quality of much modern poetry, and 2) the need of untenured English professors to earn promotion via massive publication credits. One question — I don’t understand the word “metrophobic.” The Greek roots seem to say “hating or fearing mothers,” but that doesn’t seem to fit the context. Reply Joseph S. Salemi July 24, 2024 Sorry, Susan — I realize I confused meter, metros (mother) with metron, metrou (measure, poetry). The word metrophobic means “hating or fearing metrical poetry” in your poem. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 Joe, it’s a huge compliment to me to hear that you prefer “It’s All Her Fault” to “Bitcherel” – a poem that helped me to smile during some particularly difficult times. Thank you! I’m hoping my poem will encourage a little more rhyme and rhythm to enter the poetry realm. Your analyses are spot on, and I am most grateful for them. As for the word “metrophobic” – I craved a word that meant “fear of poetry” and did a search of the internet to find exactly what I needed. It sounds like a fear of the London underground to me. I was going to put a note at the bottom but thought all those who love words will wonder… and now I’m wondering how authentic it is. I’ve just checked my ancient, trusty dictionary… and “metrophobic” is not in it! I need to do some further research on this possible imposter. What fun! Did you find an example anywhere other than the internet? I’m most intrigued. Reply Joseph S. Salemi July 28, 2024 No, I never found metrophobic anywhere. But if it’s your coinage, that’s just great! Use it as much as you can, especially in prose — in that way the researchers at the huge Oxford English Dictionary are sure to pick it up, and will have to record it. I myself coined “carminicidal” (tending to kill poetry) several years ago, and it’s very useful for describing the attitudes and prejudices of those who hate formal verse. Warren Bonham July 24, 2024 I really liked the ending to It’s All Her Fault. I would lump the mouthful of ice comparison in with drinking either Lite Beer or Decaf Coffee. Both kind of give the idea of what the real thing is without packing the punch. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 Warren, thank you! I love your “Lite Beer or Decaf Coffee” observation. I may have to do a non-alcoholic version of the poem for those leading liquor-free lives. Reply Cynthia Erlandson July 24, 2024 I, along with so many others, love your “mellifluous trips for the ear”, your glorious choruses and celestial songs! “A mouthful of ice” is just not enough. “Happy Ever After” has an amazingly thick collection of similes and metaphors — wow! And your description of the “lofty sophists” in “Scholarly Snobbery” seems right on! Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 Cynthia, your encouraging comments always make me want to embrace every linguistic trick I have in my magic-stanza hat and conjure fancy sonnets galore and then more! Thank you very much indeed! Reply Yael July 24, 2024 These are fun to read Susan! I’m in complete agreement with your toe-tapping, woe-zapping wonder muse. Please don’t change a thing and keep them coming just the way she likes it. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 Yael, I am a slave to my muse… her wish is my command. That is why I’m thrilled you appreciate her line of thinking, and YES, I will keep them coming just the way she likes it… I can do nothing but. Yael, thank you for your continued encouragement. My muse is grinning from ear to ear. Reply C.B. Anderson July 24, 2024 Bingo! You have struck every note and remained true to your heart. In the final analysis you will be seen to have struck the chords that edify the world-soul. You might be Britain’s final gift to America. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 C.B., it’s always lovely to receive a comment from your good self, and this one has grabbed my heart and made me smile. Thank you very much indeed! Reply Russel Winick July 24, 2024 As always, Susan, I just love these poems of yours. You’re a unique and wonderful talent. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 Russel, two of my favorite words are “unique and wonderful” – I am now basking in their glister and glory… thank you very much indeed. Reply rohini July 25, 2024 Your poetic pen is sharp as a scalpel! All absolutely superb… “I’m urged by her toe-tapping, woe-zapping wonder __To dabble in ballads that dance” and all the poems dance, sway, and sashay as only you know how to direct them. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 Rohini, I just love your comment – it’s a poem in itself and I am basking in its sentiment and its beauty. Thank you!! Reply Brian A. Yapko July 25, 2024 Thank you, Susan, for three delightful pieces on the writing, reading and analysis of poetry! Each of these poems has its own special gifts to the reader. “Happy Ever After” is complex to me – largely because on first reading I thought it was a simple “push-back against the misery” poem in which beautiful poetry is the antidote. But your long sentence comprising the last six lines of the poem made me pause. You speak of those “red, red roses” and the “zest to quench/My thirst…” but then you modify those lines by describing them as “Poetic blooms that MASK the bitter stench of bathos…/In poor-me prose…” That sounds to me like the speaker is suffering and that the beauty of poetry invoked is not a cure but a palliative. The relief of symptoms but not a cure. And, if one thinks about it, how could that not be the case? The perk in this poem is no longer a mere aesthetic idea – it’s a survival tool. Is it “radical”? These days, any pursuit of artistic merit and joy seems to be. “It’s All Her Fault” is a delightful declaration or credo of poetic vision and intent. Your sharp wit and masterful use of poetic devices here demonstrates everything that we love about your poetry and why a compromise of such a fine, classical aesthetic is a diminishment for both poet and reader. “Hooch on the rocks lacking liquor” is a hilarious way of putting it. For me, such poetry lacking in meter (I don’t mind loss of rhyme!) is not only anemic but undisciplined. Such poetry has the potential for beauty, and I have seen contemporary works shoehorned into classical style only to be diminished in the process. But that’s a rarity. A special call-out for the parallel rhymes of “toe-tapping, woe-zapping wonder.” But that is only one of many delights in this “blame it on the Muse” poem. As for “Scholarly Snobbery”… I fear I run the risk of being one of those who “probe and poke and pick and plumb…” because I do love to analyze what makes a poem work (or not work as the case may be.) I’m reminded of John Keats’ famous observation in Lamia about “unweaving the rainbow.”: … Do not all charms fly At the mere touch of cold philosophy? There was an awful rainbow once in heaven: We know her woof, her texture; she is given In the dull catalogue of common things. Philosophy will clip an Angel’s wings, Conquer all mysteries by rule and line, Empty the haunted air, and gnomed mine – Unweave a rainbow, as it erewhile made The tender-person’d Lamia melt into a shade. How easy it is to lose sight of the wonder and magic of poetry (not JUST poetry!) by overanalyzing and redacting the heart out of things. Your wonderful poem is a strong reminder not to join the lofty sophists whose clipped souls readily turn all things of beauty into mud. We see them these days everywhere. But never, ever in your shining poetry! Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 Brian, it’s always an absolute joy to receive a comment from you. You have a contagious passion for poetry which permeates every analysis you gift poets with here on the site, and I am delighted by the points you make in this latest comment, especially the superb “unweaving the rainbow” observation. It’s those rabid arbiters of all things literary, those myopic ideologues who have their own personal agenda where poetry is concerned, that bug the hell out me… and when something bugs the hell out of me, I write a poem. I’m thrilled you like it. I also like your attention to words. Words matter and you always manage to you focus on the deeper meaning by focusing on words that matter a lot… words like “mask” in “Happy Ever After.” Brian, never stop plumbing the depths of poetry… it’s a privilege and a pleasure to lay eyes on your finds. Thank you! Reply Maria July 25, 2024 Susan you must have ancestors from Stratford-On-Avon! The first poem should be taught to everyone who enquires about meter and rhyme. Absolutely rapturous! Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 Maria, thank you very much indeed! Oh, for a drop of Shakespearean blood in my English lineage… I sometimes feel the stirrings of the Bard within. The day I create a masterpiece that compares to his summer day, will be the day I know we’re related. Until then, I can only but hope. Reply Mark Stellinga July 25, 2024 Susan, you’ve explained, in these 3 succinct pieces, precisely what it is that makes great verse ‘GREAT’! Shortest version = —It’s not that all metrical poems are slicker— It’s not that prosaic’s not nice— But hooch on the rocks that is lacking the liquor Is only a mouthful of ice. And for the record, I think most of us realize what the best selling books of poetry are comprised of – pieces like these – well metered – nicely rhymed. Once again, I see no room for improvement, and I’m bettin’ Mike agrees. 🙂 Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 Mark, thank you very much indeed for your continued support and inspiration… I do, however, believe there’s plenty of room for improvement which is why I love being on this site. I learn from others regularly… and apply my finds to future poems. For me, there’s something about being among poets online, and living with one, that keeps the excitement for creating at its peak. Reply Julian D. Woodruff July 26, 2024 When the figure of Susan appears at the door, All the flat-footed “poets” that clutter the floor Must make way for her gay, sometimes insolent charm And just whine when her lines turn the place light and warm. She skips ‘cross the room with the greatest of ease, With a wave of her wand her words dance on the breeze. She punctures pretense with a snort and a sneeze, Our hearts she has stolen away!. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 Julian, I simply love this marvelous poem that captures the essence of my words perfectly. “Puncturing pretense” with a soupçon or a shovel full of “insolent charm” (according to the gravity of the situation) is my poetic mission and I am thrilled you picked up on it lyrically and beautifully. Julian, thank you! Reply Joshua C. Frank July 26, 2024 Susan, these are great! I was able to appreciate the first one more after reading the original poem on which you based it. My answer to the question is simpler than that, though: Why write in meter when penning a poem? Well, here’s the reply I propose: These are the facts, and deep down, people know ’em: Free verse is just line breaks in prose! The other two are well-written jabs at the modern “literary” world. I can’t stand the pompous literary critics against whom these are intended, either. The closing couplets of both sonnets are the best parts! Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 Josh, I love your poetic response to “It’s All Her Fault” – I’m all brevity and impact when it comes to poetry. Had my muse dropped your excellent lines into my head before I picked up her meanderings, my poem would have been much briefer and punchier. Your muse rocks! I’m glad you enjoyed the sonnets. I have a special affection for the closing couplets of Shakespearian sonnets, so I’m particularly thrilled mine worked. Thank you very much! Reply James Sale July 27, 2024 What a hoot! I love your metrical justification of meter (and more deeply of form and so beauty itself). The last image of Fault says it all: ‘But hooch on the rocks that is lacking the liquor __Is only a mouthful of ice.’ Great. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 James, when I make you smile, I know I’ve done something right. Thank you for your lovely comment. I always like how you tie form in with beauty – the very reason we are drawn to poetry that embraces discipline. Reply Daniel Kemper August 2, 2024 Carminicidal and metrophobic. Love those. As many of you all might glean, I’ll likely have use for them “live.” So much better than shining off the occasional sceptic of my verse with a “Don’t be a hater,” flipped back in irony. BTW, there’s a fascinating little site/book called The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. “https://www.thedictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/words” Many word coinages there. I think my favorite is “sonder.” Also, oddly–this is not my coinage just my observation, another wonderful word, “saudade,” has come into acceptance. Over the last twenty years, I was surprised to see its usage challenged several times, but it now seems to have settled in. Sorry for this rather tangential remark. Your verse is as impeccable as always. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Roy Eugene Peterson July 24, 2024 Your wonderful poems were exquisitely constructed and verbalized with the last sentence of each poem a striking way to conclude them. I had to smile and laugh to myself at each one. You have a unique poetic texture that blends in English-English and the American version that makes each one entrancing and enchanting. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 Roy, I’m thrilled you enjoyed my latest creations and I’m particularly heartened by your encouragement on the blend of English-English and American-English. I have noticed of late that my poetry has become a rather odd mix of the two… a language I refer to as “Texlish”. I’m so glad to hear you like it. Thank you! Reply
Joseph S. Salemi July 24, 2024 I’ve checked out Brown’s “Bitcherel” poem, and it’s certainly not as polished and effective as your “It’s All Her Fault.” Hers seems to be a complaint about someone else’s choice of a friend, written in a somewhat catty and mean-girl tone. Your poem is celebratory, and your conclusion using the simile of hooch missing from an iced drink is a lot sharper than her simile about chili con carne without chili (which she misspells as “chilli”). And what the devil does “Bitcherel” mean? Is it supposed to be some comic variant of “Doggerel”? “Happy Ever After” is a nice self-analysis of the speaker’s aesthetic. “Poor-me prose” is a brilliant criticism of the lugubrious whining of too much modern verse spouted by self-conscious “victims.” “Scholarly Snobbery” touches on the problem of over-analysis, a practice which has two main origins: 1) the murky and impenetrable quality of much modern poetry, and 2) the need of untenured English professors to earn promotion via massive publication credits. One question — I don’t understand the word “metrophobic.” The Greek roots seem to say “hating or fearing mothers,” but that doesn’t seem to fit the context. Reply
Joseph S. Salemi July 24, 2024 Sorry, Susan — I realize I confused meter, metros (mother) with metron, metrou (measure, poetry). The word metrophobic means “hating or fearing metrical poetry” in your poem. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 Joe, it’s a huge compliment to me to hear that you prefer “It’s All Her Fault” to “Bitcherel” – a poem that helped me to smile during some particularly difficult times. Thank you! I’m hoping my poem will encourage a little more rhyme and rhythm to enter the poetry realm. Your analyses are spot on, and I am most grateful for them. As for the word “metrophobic” – I craved a word that meant “fear of poetry” and did a search of the internet to find exactly what I needed. It sounds like a fear of the London underground to me. I was going to put a note at the bottom but thought all those who love words will wonder… and now I’m wondering how authentic it is. I’ve just checked my ancient, trusty dictionary… and “metrophobic” is not in it! I need to do some further research on this possible imposter. What fun! Did you find an example anywhere other than the internet? I’m most intrigued. Reply
Joseph S. Salemi July 28, 2024 No, I never found metrophobic anywhere. But if it’s your coinage, that’s just great! Use it as much as you can, especially in prose — in that way the researchers at the huge Oxford English Dictionary are sure to pick it up, and will have to record it. I myself coined “carminicidal” (tending to kill poetry) several years ago, and it’s very useful for describing the attitudes and prejudices of those who hate formal verse.
Warren Bonham July 24, 2024 I really liked the ending to It’s All Her Fault. I would lump the mouthful of ice comparison in with drinking either Lite Beer or Decaf Coffee. Both kind of give the idea of what the real thing is without packing the punch. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 Warren, thank you! I love your “Lite Beer or Decaf Coffee” observation. I may have to do a non-alcoholic version of the poem for those leading liquor-free lives. Reply
Cynthia Erlandson July 24, 2024 I, along with so many others, love your “mellifluous trips for the ear”, your glorious choruses and celestial songs! “A mouthful of ice” is just not enough. “Happy Ever After” has an amazingly thick collection of similes and metaphors — wow! And your description of the “lofty sophists” in “Scholarly Snobbery” seems right on! Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 Cynthia, your encouraging comments always make me want to embrace every linguistic trick I have in my magic-stanza hat and conjure fancy sonnets galore and then more! Thank you very much indeed! Reply
Yael July 24, 2024 These are fun to read Susan! I’m in complete agreement with your toe-tapping, woe-zapping wonder muse. Please don’t change a thing and keep them coming just the way she likes it. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 Yael, I am a slave to my muse… her wish is my command. That is why I’m thrilled you appreciate her line of thinking, and YES, I will keep them coming just the way she likes it… I can do nothing but. Yael, thank you for your continued encouragement. My muse is grinning from ear to ear. Reply
C.B. Anderson July 24, 2024 Bingo! You have struck every note and remained true to your heart. In the final analysis you will be seen to have struck the chords that edify the world-soul. You might be Britain’s final gift to America. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 C.B., it’s always lovely to receive a comment from your good self, and this one has grabbed my heart and made me smile. Thank you very much indeed! Reply
Russel Winick July 24, 2024 As always, Susan, I just love these poems of yours. You’re a unique and wonderful talent. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 Russel, two of my favorite words are “unique and wonderful” – I am now basking in their glister and glory… thank you very much indeed. Reply
rohini July 25, 2024 Your poetic pen is sharp as a scalpel! All absolutely superb… “I’m urged by her toe-tapping, woe-zapping wonder __To dabble in ballads that dance” and all the poems dance, sway, and sashay as only you know how to direct them. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 Rohini, I just love your comment – it’s a poem in itself and I am basking in its sentiment and its beauty. Thank you!! Reply
Brian A. Yapko July 25, 2024 Thank you, Susan, for three delightful pieces on the writing, reading and analysis of poetry! Each of these poems has its own special gifts to the reader. “Happy Ever After” is complex to me – largely because on first reading I thought it was a simple “push-back against the misery” poem in which beautiful poetry is the antidote. But your long sentence comprising the last six lines of the poem made me pause. You speak of those “red, red roses” and the “zest to quench/My thirst…” but then you modify those lines by describing them as “Poetic blooms that MASK the bitter stench of bathos…/In poor-me prose…” That sounds to me like the speaker is suffering and that the beauty of poetry invoked is not a cure but a palliative. The relief of symptoms but not a cure. And, if one thinks about it, how could that not be the case? The perk in this poem is no longer a mere aesthetic idea – it’s a survival tool. Is it “radical”? These days, any pursuit of artistic merit and joy seems to be. “It’s All Her Fault” is a delightful declaration or credo of poetic vision and intent. Your sharp wit and masterful use of poetic devices here demonstrates everything that we love about your poetry and why a compromise of such a fine, classical aesthetic is a diminishment for both poet and reader. “Hooch on the rocks lacking liquor” is a hilarious way of putting it. For me, such poetry lacking in meter (I don’t mind loss of rhyme!) is not only anemic but undisciplined. Such poetry has the potential for beauty, and I have seen contemporary works shoehorned into classical style only to be diminished in the process. But that’s a rarity. A special call-out for the parallel rhymes of “toe-tapping, woe-zapping wonder.” But that is only one of many delights in this “blame it on the Muse” poem. As for “Scholarly Snobbery”… I fear I run the risk of being one of those who “probe and poke and pick and plumb…” because I do love to analyze what makes a poem work (or not work as the case may be.) I’m reminded of John Keats’ famous observation in Lamia about “unweaving the rainbow.”: … Do not all charms fly At the mere touch of cold philosophy? There was an awful rainbow once in heaven: We know her woof, her texture; she is given In the dull catalogue of common things. Philosophy will clip an Angel’s wings, Conquer all mysteries by rule and line, Empty the haunted air, and gnomed mine – Unweave a rainbow, as it erewhile made The tender-person’d Lamia melt into a shade. How easy it is to lose sight of the wonder and magic of poetry (not JUST poetry!) by overanalyzing and redacting the heart out of things. Your wonderful poem is a strong reminder not to join the lofty sophists whose clipped souls readily turn all things of beauty into mud. We see them these days everywhere. But never, ever in your shining poetry! Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 Brian, it’s always an absolute joy to receive a comment from you. You have a contagious passion for poetry which permeates every analysis you gift poets with here on the site, and I am delighted by the points you make in this latest comment, especially the superb “unweaving the rainbow” observation. It’s those rabid arbiters of all things literary, those myopic ideologues who have their own personal agenda where poetry is concerned, that bug the hell out me… and when something bugs the hell out of me, I write a poem. I’m thrilled you like it. I also like your attention to words. Words matter and you always manage to you focus on the deeper meaning by focusing on words that matter a lot… words like “mask” in “Happy Ever After.” Brian, never stop plumbing the depths of poetry… it’s a privilege and a pleasure to lay eyes on your finds. Thank you! Reply
Maria July 25, 2024 Susan you must have ancestors from Stratford-On-Avon! The first poem should be taught to everyone who enquires about meter and rhyme. Absolutely rapturous! Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 Maria, thank you very much indeed! Oh, for a drop of Shakespearean blood in my English lineage… I sometimes feel the stirrings of the Bard within. The day I create a masterpiece that compares to his summer day, will be the day I know we’re related. Until then, I can only but hope. Reply
Mark Stellinga July 25, 2024 Susan, you’ve explained, in these 3 succinct pieces, precisely what it is that makes great verse ‘GREAT’! Shortest version = —It’s not that all metrical poems are slicker— It’s not that prosaic’s not nice— But hooch on the rocks that is lacking the liquor Is only a mouthful of ice. And for the record, I think most of us realize what the best selling books of poetry are comprised of – pieces like these – well metered – nicely rhymed. Once again, I see no room for improvement, and I’m bettin’ Mike agrees. 🙂 Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 Mark, thank you very much indeed for your continued support and inspiration… I do, however, believe there’s plenty of room for improvement which is why I love being on this site. I learn from others regularly… and apply my finds to future poems. For me, there’s something about being among poets online, and living with one, that keeps the excitement for creating at its peak. Reply
Julian D. Woodruff July 26, 2024 When the figure of Susan appears at the door, All the flat-footed “poets” that clutter the floor Must make way for her gay, sometimes insolent charm And just whine when her lines turn the place light and warm. She skips ‘cross the room with the greatest of ease, With a wave of her wand her words dance on the breeze. She punctures pretense with a snort and a sneeze, Our hearts she has stolen away!. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 Julian, I simply love this marvelous poem that captures the essence of my words perfectly. “Puncturing pretense” with a soupçon or a shovel full of “insolent charm” (according to the gravity of the situation) is my poetic mission and I am thrilled you picked up on it lyrically and beautifully. Julian, thank you! Reply
Joshua C. Frank July 26, 2024 Susan, these are great! I was able to appreciate the first one more after reading the original poem on which you based it. My answer to the question is simpler than that, though: Why write in meter when penning a poem? Well, here’s the reply I propose: These are the facts, and deep down, people know ’em: Free verse is just line breaks in prose! The other two are well-written jabs at the modern “literary” world. I can’t stand the pompous literary critics against whom these are intended, either. The closing couplets of both sonnets are the best parts! Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 Josh, I love your poetic response to “It’s All Her Fault” – I’m all brevity and impact when it comes to poetry. Had my muse dropped your excellent lines into my head before I picked up her meanderings, my poem would have been much briefer and punchier. Your muse rocks! I’m glad you enjoyed the sonnets. I have a special affection for the closing couplets of Shakespearian sonnets, so I’m particularly thrilled mine worked. Thank you very much! Reply
James Sale July 27, 2024 What a hoot! I love your metrical justification of meter (and more deeply of form and so beauty itself). The last image of Fault says it all: ‘But hooch on the rocks that is lacking the liquor __Is only a mouthful of ice.’ Great. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant July 28, 2024 James, when I make you smile, I know I’ve done something right. Thank you for your lovely comment. I always like how you tie form in with beauty – the very reason we are drawn to poetry that embraces discipline. Reply
Daniel Kemper August 2, 2024 Carminicidal and metrophobic. Love those. As many of you all might glean, I’ll likely have use for them “live.” So much better than shining off the occasional sceptic of my verse with a “Don’t be a hater,” flipped back in irony. BTW, there’s a fascinating little site/book called The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. “https://www.thedictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/words” Many word coinages there. I think my favorite is “sonder.” Also, oddly–this is not my coinage just my observation, another wonderful word, “saudade,” has come into acceptance. Over the last twenty years, I was surprised to see its usage challenged several times, but it now seems to have settled in. Sorry for this rather tangential remark. Your verse is as impeccable as always. Reply
