Nay, but the three is not hidden
Nor under my skirt, ridden
He possesses no strength
And could find it at length
With ten thousand poems
Even more.

“Sighted along the long draw of alder, oak--so flies the blood burn of old sacrifice.” The long dash confused me.

ok, lol, seriousness not expected.

And thanks again for commenting on the poem, instead of using it for a soap box.

Thanks for reading, then voting.

You don’t like everything, as you have just said, and said before. And rockmage cannot even find a simple 3 he left in plain sight on one of my poems. So who is it again who has no talent?

The most interesting returns from writing a poem are the responses so far from what I was thinking while writing and editing it that it’s as if the English language carries with it sub-cultures of meaning, invisible to me like the baggage of bacteria we all carry in our bodies. Yet, on considering a response such as yours, I see how it could be sincere, and how the poem falls apart if understood in that way.

Alright:

Fanatic (a poem about Stephen Robins)

Walled in a city of visions, (London)
he believed in beauty and order. (of dubious leanings)

Bogged in a gray slough of facts, (about abominable acts)
his tongue had learned to mock,
his lips to sneer.

Prepared with opium hopes, (well, you get the gist)
he came greenly on life,

to receive flowers of tenderness
and gentleness he had little known.

Thanks for the raise.

Suggest Bm, Em, F# major - somber sounds for a dismal theme. (I know, a major key can carry a somber theme, too.) Not bad for being drunk. I could say, “Not that this is bad, but I bet you could write a really great thing if you saved up and all that.” But I won’t. Not bad sober either.

I like the first better too. It’s just that, here and elsewhere, few people got it. Would you have gotten it without the revision?

You are right; I write too much. Only a fraction posts here. Is there a 12-step program for the likes of me? Is it what kept you away?

Welcome back, with sympathy,
Dovina