02-22-2016, 06:26 PM
(02-16-2016, 04:40 AM)shurgaree Wrote: To live hard is to die hard______________________________________________________________________________
And you fucking charged
There was no knot left untied
No fruit that wasn't juiced (consistency - "no fruit left unjuiced")
No bottle left unpunished
and no spark(left) unused
How many fifths we emptied (normal grammar, no reason not to use it, " How many fifths did we empty")
Parties we fucked up (balanced lines: and how many parties did we fuck up)
Long winter nights of destruction
As Canadian Hunter filled our cups (use periods, punctuation is a wonderful thing.)
Roses are flowers, but opium too (opium is not a flower, poppies are, plus I think most people are aware that a rose is a flower, so this comes off as a bit nonsensical, nor is it clear what is trying to be said.)
You smelled all you could (smell, comma before "but" always) but couldn't see it through
Erica my friend it's hard to smile
But you would cry if we were doing anything but that (awkward - "but you would cry if we weren't")
So we will try to look up (Is it difficult to "look up?" - "So we will look up")
See past the (dark) clouds to the sunny blue
You took everything you could from life
So (then) life took everything from you
Use grammar - use punctuation - do not start each line with a capital letter unless it is the beginning of a sentence. Not doing these things degrades the poem, it does not enhance it. The level of clarity goes down, the level of confusion and ambiguity goes up. Really, I don't know where people are picking up this "style" it's like a mishmash of several modernist failed experiments. Generally one writes to be understood; grammar and punctuation are not rules someone is trying to impose, they are systems worked out over centuries to make writing as clear as possible. To avoid their use is to make a piece of writing less understandable.
Of course if you are like me you were attracted to poetry because you are a poor writer, grammar is a mystery and punctuation sucks. Plus, most of the poetry text I had read were in the old style where the first of each line was capped (this is due to the fact that this material can be reprinted in anthologies at no charge). This type setting curiosity disappeared in the mid 1950's, partly, I suspect because of advances in technology and partly because poets no longer wore ruffled sleeves and wrote with a feather quill. Whatever the reason, it is much more difficult on the reader if each line starts out as a capital. The only place this remains a standard is with the sonnet and should probably be dropped there.
Well this is way to long for this forum, so...
Best,
dale
How long after picking up the brush, the first masterpiece?
The goal is not to obfuscate that which is clear, but make clear that which isn't.
The goal is not to obfuscate that which is clear, but make clear that which isn't.

