Terrell Martin | + Follow Poet |
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How Does One Compete

How does one compete with a Frost or a Keats,
a Dickinson or Whitman for words,
how can we say in our language today
what we feel within has been stirred.

Like those in our past who intrinsically grasped 
the secrets to living and more,
their visions, dreams, and ideas it seems
came through their own secret doors.

I make no pretense I could ever dispense 
the levels of beauty they wrought,
Wordsworth, Thoreau, Tennyson, and Poe
A sampling of pure genius thought.  

The list could on from Homer to Donne,
Psalms to Shakespeare and Blake,
but this I know well, they cast quite at a spell
on this amateur poet of late.

I beg their forgiveness to think that I may 
hold a candle to a stanza or line,
that any one of them penned, each one a Godsend, 
still echoing throughout time.

Dare I call them “exalted ones” 
though fading voices by and by,
I wonder if in one hundred years
will they still bring smiles and sighs?

Will the books remain with all their names, 
and thoughts and deeds be told,
will some still grasp the readers task 
is to open wide one’s soul?
 
I rest my case here in this place
for answers befuddle me,
but I for one am glad they came 
and left their lasting, loving legacies.

Copyright © Terrell Martin | Year Posted 2023

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Bill Baker Date: 8/12/2023 4:04:00 PM Here here! A well-written tribute to the greats in poetry, and to the many poems they shared with us. We may never write in volume or be famous, my friend, but each of us here on Poetry Soup, may someday write something that makes all the difference in one person's life, and it is all worth it for that possibility. (that's got to be a run-on sentence) :-) Oh well I hope I got my point across. I enjoy the way you think, Terrell and the way you express your thoughts through your poetry. Bill Login to Reply

Bill Baker Date: 8/12/2023 4:04:00 PM A FAV for my list, my friend. Bill Login to Reply

Sotto Poet Date: 7/8/2023 2:23:00 PM The remarkable imagery within this poem, Terrell, astounds me. The realm of poetry is a nuanced domain of contention, yet you articulate your perspective with remarkable finesse and persuasive articulation. In the era of yore, luminaries lacked the internet and wifi, rendering contemporary fame a formidable feat owing to the waning interest in reading amongst the masses. Login to Reply Terrell Martin Date: 7/8/2023 4:52:00 PM I'm always humbled and honored with your responses Sotto, as I consider you an extraordinary poet in your own right. Your response herein is especially insightful as you compare those poets of "Yore" with our current era of technology, language, etc. Thought provoking indeed, as I've come to expect from you. Many thanks again, Terrell