Mauren Seaton's Geology of Water was a more traditionally organized poem. Although the imagery was quite vivid, the poem was weighed down by it's cliched themes and language: "The sea grew old in me", "Their deaths are sedimented in long memories", "Wash that sea in me and wring it clean", etc. The poem struck me as whitmanian. From what I remember of his poetry, he would compare himself to nature, or even claim that he was nature. If I had to pick a favorite part of this poem, it would be stanza two line five: "If I bend closer I can hear him drown, a man made of water whose words arise like bubbles to the surface ". When I read the line, I had a strong image in my head of the bubble man.
In the past it has been difficult for me to appreciate poetry, even though I am an avid reader and listener of music. There is a certain investment that comes with a novel that is not there for me with poetry. Poems that have appealed to me in the past have been those by beatnik writers such as Allen Ginsberg or Jack Kerouac. Aside from them being a bit more "edgy" than the typical fare, I feel as if the writers were able to express themselves in an unfiltered, unconventional way. It reminds me more of a stream of thought rather than a carefully prepared piece of poetry.
Nice work here, keep going… and don't forget to post every week...
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