Favorite poem of all time? And why?

1. 59

   Elizabeth99posted 13 years ago

   Favorite poem of all time? And why?

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2. 69

   dontmakemeoverposted 13 years ago

   I love The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot. I really enjoy the way he describes the narrator's fear, the way he talks himself out of social interaction because he is so terrified of his failure within it. It's pretty powerful as an emotion.

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3. 61

   duffsmomposted 13 years ago

   Stevie Smith-Not Waving but Drowning
   
   Nobody heard him, the dead man,
   But still he lay moaning:
   I was much further out than you thought
   And not waving but drowning.
   
   Poor chap, he always loved larking
   And now he's dead
   It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way,
   They said.
   
   Oh, no no no, it was too cold always
   (Still the dead one lay moaning)
   I was much too far out all my life
   And not waving but drowning.
   
   It really appeals to me because at times we are all too far out, not waving but drowning and no one knows we are in trouble, and barely hanging on.

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4. 60

   Extinct Soulposted 13 years ago

   "With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
   it is still a beautiful world.
   Be cheerful. Strive to be happy."
   Desiderata written by Max Ehrmann
   
   ...it never fails to help me find my equilibrium...

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5. 59

   Matt in Jaxposted 13 years ago

   Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes
   
   What happens to a dream deferred?
   
   Does it dry up
   Like a raisin in the sun?
   
   Or fester like a sore--
   And then run?
   
   Does it stink like rotten meat?
   Or crust and sugar over--
   like a syrupy sweet?
   
   Maybe it just sags
   like a heavy load.
   
   Or does it explode?
   ---------------------------
   I've always enjoyed Langston's ability to rhyme without it sounding forced and the subject of this poem in particular is a favorite of mine own.

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6. 61

   Midianiteposted 13 years ago

   Suicide and Other Comforts (by Dani Filth [Songwriter of Cradle of Filth])
   
   An eye for an eye as espied in the bible
   My faith is lost to the burning of idols
   One less cross to press upon the survival
   Of this lorded agony
   
   And I, (much as I have tried
   To bury Her from mind,
   Fate's tourniquet was tied, when She died...)
   Still sense Her presence so divine
   Lithe arms about my throat
   Like pining swans entwined
   Footfalls at nightfall close to mine
   
   Suicide is a tried and tested formula for release
   
   
   This is actually a song, but is so well-written it can be considered poetry. I can relate heavily to this piece.

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7. 60

   seichepreyposted 12 years ago

   I think that as of right now my favorite poem of all time is "My Friend William" by Charles Bukowski, and hell, I can't say in a public forum why it is.

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