Re: Full Fathom Five by vulcan	ObsequiousGem 24.255.44.236	9-Oct-05/2:28 AM
Nicely written, great use of words and reference to Literature.
Re: A Teenager's Prayer by enchantingendeavor	enchantingendeavor 67.5.217.193	8-Oct-05/6:16 PM
This is the first time I've gone public with a poem...I'm a newbie...be honest, yet nice???
Re: a comment on untitled Rubiyat 1 by starkfister	starkfister 12.221.176.84	8-Oct-05/4:15 PM
yes, things generally work better when you do them right.
Re: 10/8 by cronus	Dovina 209.247.222.92	8-Oct-05/12:54 PM
Another God-hating poem written by a sadsack who thinks God has dun him in. Not that different from some of David's poems.
Re: a comment on Sex Object by Dovina	Dovina 209.247.222.92	8-Oct-05/12:47 PM
I title that confusionism, written by double-talkist. I write poems like I do - of course. I don't write like everyone else; and sometimes I do something different. So there's nothing to wish on me in this regard.
Re: a comment on Sex Object by Dovina	zodiac 213.186.184.106	8-Oct-05/4:38 AM
Titling is the work of writers. If you don't believe so, you'll either write poems like you do or write poems like everyone else and think you're doing something different. I wouldn't wish either on my worst enemy.
Re: a comment on The Servant and The Messenger by ALChemy	zodiac 213.186.184.106	8-Oct-05/4:34 AM
I hate that quote. If it never appears on poemranker again, it will be too much. And what the hell does it MEAN??! Faith isn't even substance, so how can it be "the substance" of anything??! And who the hell hopes that, for example, "the men put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes... All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy"?
Re: a comment on Why I’m Homeless by Dovina	Dovina 209.247.222.81	8-Oct-05/4:17 AM
We love you that way.
Re: a comment on The Servant and The Messenger by ALChemy	Dovina 209.247.222.81	8-Oct-05/4:16 AM
Even the Bible agrees: "Faith is the substance of things hoped for."
Re: a comment on Sex Object by Dovina	Dovina 209.247.222.81	8-Oct-05/4:13 AM
You have titled me as both sexist and denyist. I should call you a titlist, but such exchanves are futile.
Re: incomplete by Prince of Void	zodiac 213.186.184.106	8-Oct-05/3:57 AM
Isn't "incomplete" another word for "with a void"?
Re: My First Boyfriend by jessicazee	zodiac 213.186.184.106	8-Oct-05/3:56 AM
Brilliant. Always a pleasure. I have no idea how to critique or edit your poems. Brilliant.
Re: dictates of whose travel agency? by A. Nomaly	zodiac 213.186.184.106	8-Oct-05/3:47 AM
No apostrophes in the title. Anywhere. Correct would be "dictates of whose travel agency". Want to call me anal? Go ahead. At least I'm not illiterate, and anal people still get laid, apparently.
Re: His Secret in the Woods by TLRufener	zodiac 213.186.184.106	8-Oct-05/3:45 AM
Great. If only you were ironic.
Re: a comment on The Servant and The Messenger by ALChemy	zodiac 213.186.184.106	8-Oct-05/3:40 AM
Firstly, consider that no one has ever spontaneously invented faith from nothing. Ever, in the history of everything. Secondly, to both you and Dovina, I'd add that faith is holding something to be true DESPITE the evidences of your senses to the contrary. Consider: You don't have FAITH that matter is composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons bound together by unimaginable forces, despite that you have no real evidence for it. You don't have evidence that space is infinitely huge, but holding that to be true isn't what any of us would call FAITH. (nb here-Dovina's quibble involves the expression "take it on faith" and has little to do with what we're talking about.) People DO, however have FAITH that some part of a person exists beyond the physical body and death, despite that all the evidence points toward dead people being pretty much gone. People have FAITH that the world was made by God one week about 6,000 years ago, despite that there are dinosaur bones apparently millions of years old, records of human existence from tens of thousands of years ago, and all kinds of other evidence for a world billions of years old. Faith's not just holding something to be true without evidence, it's holding it to be true AGAINST evidence. Sorry to interrupt, but we've had this argument for days before without realizing that vocab/definition problems had us talking about totally different things. Another hint: Don't use the words 'faith' or 'belief' to mean 'holding something to be true'. Use 'holding something to be true'.
Re: a comment on I don't rhyme enough, eh? by Niphredil	zodiac 213.186.184.106	8-Oct-05/3:28 AM
Usually I sing it to the Smurfs theme song. (Bonus note: It's against Muslim holy law to call the call-to-prayer 'singing'. True story.) After 10 years of paying attention to it, I'd say the key to poetry is repetition. Or, better, prediction. I don't mean when you hear "I'm in love" you know the next line's going to be "sent from heaven above." I mean, you tap your feet to it; you know there's a line ending with -incter coming up somewhere; the image of the dump truck comes back in the end; a metaphor holds the poem together. Now, before everybody jumps on my ass, I think there's a WHOLE FUCKING LOT of room to play in poems, even when your goal is repetition. As evidence, consider that my poems (ie, repetition-focused) are generally more original than the most out-there free-form poetry on poemranker. The trick is surprising people just a little. Put 'succincter' in the middle of a line instead of the end. Toss up the beat a little. Make an odd refrain or repeat an image where it's not expected. But repeat something, anything. Or you'll sound like one of our resident Californian poets reading a Whole Foods grocery list in a monotone. Rhyme's a good place to start, but I wouldn't do it for a living.
Re: a comment on Escape by Heather Dee	zodiac 213.186.184.106	8-Oct-05/3:15 AM
One: Well, yeah. It's a limerick. Two: Most of the time. I'm pretty sure sometimes I'm just adding consonants at random. I swear half the time he sounds like, 'ra'ira', 'ello, ra'ira'ira'.
Re: a comment on Sex Object by Dovina	zodiac 213.186.184.106	8-Oct-05/3:12 AM
Because of course you'd hate to be, oh, what would you say? - "pinned down by a title." Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. I mean, I'm not some "tree-hugger" or "nigger-lover" or something, but thinking like yours is as dangerous as the kind who actively hate women. That's me being 100% sincere. Therefore, I refuse to afford you the dignity of a zero. 5 is the least-respecting vote.
Re: a comment on Why I’m Homeless by Dovina	zodiac 213.186.184.106	8-Oct-05/3:08 AM
Are you joking? I mean don't punctuate where it's unnecessary and punctuate where it is. Have you ever tried checking your poems in prose format? I.e., But in this sadder, better role any gesture: wisdom or kindness - appears magnified. Actually, it seems to me like commas would work best. Sorry to be such a predictable homebody.
Re: a comment on The Servant and The Messenger by ALChemy	zodiac 213.186.184.106	8-Oct-05/3:00 AM
This is a philosopher: "I believe X." This is a religious: "I believe in a philosophy."