anita_a  +  70469 Fri, 28 Jan 05 12:44 AM I was mumbling about you In my sleep I took to fleet When I awoke To find you there... Where I had left you- Unfinished-unsung-unamed On the fluttering leaf With the weight of the inkpot And a feather in it Bearing down on you.... I walked-stopped-stood still Some moments it took To realize that It was my soul here My body was still From ages ago Under the stone over there... Now the poem is left behind With no style-no verse-no ending. anita_a Joined on Tue, Jul 27 2004 Sunny California Regular Member 822 Cheers,Anita

	anita_a  +  71749 Wed, 02 Feb 05 07:31 PM Would appreciate if u could help in turning it into a 'poem'. Could we have the pleasure to see u post your poems for us? anita_a

	HePo  +  72172 Fri, 04 Feb 05 11:36 PM I apologise for not answering sooner. I've just discovered that all replies have ended up in my junk mail folder! I'll study the poem and add further comments shortly. I'll be back. HePo HePo

	HePo  +  72262 Sat, 05 Feb 05 12:32 PM Anita, Here's some general comments to help you. 'I was mumbling about you In my sleep' 'Mumbling' is not the best connotation as an opening. Using the word 'you' makes the poem personal, but for whom? The reader or lover? How about, as an opening: On the page of a dream I talked to him/you/her 'I took to fleet When I awoke to find you there...' The word 'fleet' [which means swift of foot] is disjointed as are the line breaks. Where is 'there...' You have neither set the scene nor built any image for the reader to cling to. The '...' is not needed as the next sentence follows on. If you wish the reader to pause, then use the_ If we unravel the whole sentence, a piece of string as it were, and place them in a single line so that punctuation and word shuffle become glaringly obvious: 'I was mumbling about you in my sleep I took to fleet when I awoke to find you there... ' Although line breaks assist with assonance and rhyme, to name but a few, and are a substitute in some cases for punctuation, they are best used by the writer for adding his/her voice. In regards to 'turning it into a poem' as you say, it already is. To make it better takes time, dedication and patience all of which I'm confident you have. HePo HePo Whom, Punctuation, Regards

	anita_a  +  72711 Mon, 07 Feb 05 09:11 PM I beg to differ!! Hepo, the 'you' in the poem is the 'poem' not a person. Please read the poem again. It is personification.And regarding the punctuation... I don't see anything wrong and like I said it is something I tried anew.Well, I believe free verse doesn't need assonance, resonance or rhyme and rhtym to break lines... And any poem has the charm only as long as it is not drafted but written spontaneously and only once!Sorry for that. anita_a Punctuation

	MrPedantic  +  72737 Mon, 07 Feb 05 11:47 PM Hello Anita You're right, it is a different style, especially in its rhythm. I think it works well. I was mumbling about you In my sleep I took to fleet [This line I don't quite get: 'fleet' as in – ? Though I think it would be fine if you went straight from 'In my sleep' to 'When I awoke'.] When I awoke To find you there... Where I had left you- Unfinished-unsung-unamed [I'm not sure you need the three dots or dash; enjambement would work well here. 'there/Where I had left you/Unfinished'. But I like the hyphenated string. 'Unamed' > 'unnamed'. (I'm reading them as hyphens, but it occurs to me now they might be dashes.)] On the fluttering leaf With the weight of the inkpot And a feather in it Bearing down on you.... I walked-stopped-stood still [Here I think the 3 dots are fine. These 5 lines I like a lot. The hyphenated line works well again.] Some moments it took To realize that [The 'that' slows it down a little here. Maybe 'To realize/It was'?] It was my soul here [I'm not sure about 'my soul': does it make it too explicit? The poem works mainly by suggestion.] My body was still From ages ago Under the stone over there... Now the poem is left behind With no style-no verse-no ending. [Again, I wonder whether 'Now the poem is left behind' is too explicit. The 'stone' I like: with the inkpot and quill, it could be a paperweight, or the pumice stone used to smoothe a piece of special writing paper; but also 'stone' as in 'tombstone'. And the hyphenated line again adds a strange note.] This poem has a very distinctive note. I think it's well worth pursuing, Anita! MrP MrPedantic Joined on Tue, Oct 12 2004 Veteran Member 12,592 ...opella forensis / adducit febris... Hyphens