Favourite poems

[ipanemagirl]

Poem lyrics of Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost.

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there's some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

I LOVE this poem and the last line reminds me to go to bed!

Yes T my dad is Irish but born in Madrid. He is living back in Dublin now. Did you know that statistically the more tea is drunk in Ireland than anywhere else? A bit of trivia for you

I agree - tis a lovely thread. Have enjoyed reading everyones selection.

I went for a undergraduate interview at Goldsmiths once and the Head of English started grilling me about Sylvia Plath - didn't I think she was self-indulgent?!! Erm, since when has major depression been an indulgence ffs. I didn't get a place

I love this thread!
Tnogu, my ma adores Heaney but I've never found him easy -must try harder. Hijacking this thread for the purposes of speaking fabulous languages is not hijacking it's almost obligatory if you are able!
Mumtodd, I love that poem and didn't know it other than the first line and also Dare I Eat A Peach!!!!!
Marina- dover beach, my bro's favourite poem of all time - I had forgotten how perfect it is.

One of my favourite bits of a poem:
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

Eliot

Doh - minus the

The Wishing Tree by Seamus Heaney

I thought of her as the wishing tree that died
And saw it lifted, root and branch, to heaven,
Trailing a shower of all that had been driven
Need by need by need into its hale
Sap-wood and bark: coin and pin and nail
Came streaming from it like a comet-tail
New-minted and dissolved. I had a vision
Of an airy branch-head rising through damp cloud,
Of turned-up faces where the tree had stood.

Also love Sea Fever by John Maesfield and Summer with Monica by Roger McGough.

I went to Heptonstall and found Sylvia plath's grave once.

It was in the middle of a field and all over-grown

Sad.

Plummymumm7y - my favourite poem about a child below. Self-indulgent indeed - I think Plath is just too much for some people but I love/fear her!

You're

Clownlike, happiest on your hands,
Feet to the stars, and moon-skulled,
Gilled like a fish. A common-sense
Thumbs-down on the dodo's mode.
Wrapped up in yourself like a spool,
Trawling your dark as owls do.
Mute as a turnip from the Fourth
Of July to All Fool's Day,
O high-riser, my little loaf.

Vague as fog and looked for like mail.
Farther off than Australia.
Bent-backed Atlas, our travelled prawn.
Snug as a bud and at home
Like a sprat in a pickle jug.
A creel of eels, all ripples.
Jumpy as a Mexican bean.
Right, like a well-done sum.
A clean slate, with your own face on.

Plath

I love, The Wishing Tree.

I also love, The Birch Grove, by Heaney.

I don't think she would've made a great drinking companion.

It reminds me of my mum TnOgu, who sadly died when I was 18.
I also love some of the others on here, e.g. An Arundel Tomb. Also love Larkin's 'For Sidney Bechet':
And on me your note falls like they say love should, like an enormous yes.
Also love Prufrock by Elliot, Leda and the Swan by Yeats, Devonshire St and Miss Joan Hunter Dunn by Betjemin. Anyone ever heard the CD of the verse by Murray Lachlan Young? Oh and also love John Hegley, who've I've seen at Edinburgh Festival a couple of times.

Tnogu, I've just found 'the poetry archive' online, it's a free archive of poets reading their own poetry - they have Plath reading two poems, she sounds so English quite surprising but a lovely voice.

www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/poetsHome.do

I'm off hunting!

old woman...purple

Anyone else read 'Love that Dog' by Sharon Creech? It's a fab way to introduce children to poetry and is a lovely story in its own right.

ipan - that poem you cited is about her unborn child. What fascinated me about her is that she chose unusually extreme methods of suicide eg trying to gas herself via the oven. I say unusual as statistically men are more likely to choose extreme forms, whilst women tend towards overdose.

I think plath's voice is quite hypnotic

TALCY - I like that poem very much.

A Short Note on Schoolgirls

Schoolgirls are heroes-
they have so many things to pass:
exams, notes in class, hockey balls-
and great big men on building sites
who go WOOAr.

-Alison Campbell

Didn't the woman TH left her for gas herself as well?

Dunno but if so, what an impact that man had

Tnogu, did you ever see Ted Hughes read? I saw him once at the Royal Festival Hall and he read beautifully, he was so huge and had such presence. They have him reading Pike and February 17th on the poetry archive, lovely voice.

To an English Friend in Africa - Ben Okri - loved it so much was read at my wedding.

Nicholas Lindsay's "Congo" is brilliant for reading out loud and used to have me riveted as a child (a bit blood thristy in places though - it features King Leopold's hands being chopped off in hell)

Thankye tnog, SIL bought little illustrated copy for me....said she saw it and thought of me

Did he narrate the film of The Iron Giant?

Yes, Albus, she was called Assia Wevill (can't remember the spelling) and it was so tragic she killed herself and the little girl Shura she had with Hughes.
The 'Birthday Letters' writes a bit about all these relationships but I can't remember how explicitly.

A nightmare love triangle

I have read The Birthday Letters but not for a while. As I remember Fay Weldon knew them and wrote a really moving article about the little girl not so long ago.