Long Symbolist Poems

Long Symbolist Poems. Below are the most popular long Symbolist by PoetrySoup Members. You can search for long Symbolist poems by poem length and keyword.


Premium Member Gustav Klimt

"The Three Ages of Woman," painted by
   the noted symbolist named Gustav Klimt;
from Austria, late-nineteenth century
   till early twentieth, he left his mark.

At center, woman with her child held close;
   his view of motherhood, fertility,
so goddess-like, entwined in sheer chiffon.
   Flushed cheeks, gold hair, and alabaster skin;
this paradigm of procreation, youth,
   portrays his essence of a woman's worth. 

But, on the left, with buried face, there stands
   his sad, old woman, posed in deep despair,
with saggy flesh, frail bones, and bulging veins;
   now stripped of womanhood, alone, forlorn.
Skin, drab and mottled with her loss of youth;
   in darker hues, he paints his disesteem.

Unfair, demeaning, is this image shown
   that only honors women in their youth;
that casts the old as ugly, worthless souls.
   And absent is the brilliant age that thrives,
through golden years of full maturity
   between prime youth and definite old age.

Known as a womanizer, Gustav Klimt,
   who many times diminished them in art,
illicitly had sired some fourteen young
   with models who had often posed for him.

November 26, 2017

Premiere Contest: Klimt
Sponsor: Anthony Slausen
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Over the years, “The Three Ages of Woman”, a remarkable painting, has ignited much controversy amongst women who view the artwork as lacking in appropriate symbolism to the enduring strength of women. Many feminists believe that the painting’s subtle message is that a woman’s most significant role in life occurs when she is a young mother." 

Ref: http://www.aaronartprints.org/klimt-thethreeagesofwoman.php        
       https://www.austria.info/uk/things-to-do/cities-and-culture/gustav-klimt/women


Premium Member Battle of the Sexes

battle of the sexes


~~MONA LISA SMILE
Picture Oil painting worthwhile 
Leonardo DA Vinci, look out!
What is she really smiling about?

(((The popularity of the Mona Lisa increased in the mid 19th century 
because of the Symbolist movement. The painting was thought to 
encompass a sort of feminine mystique.)))



~~JAMES EARL JONES
His award winning voice, rough like stones
Darth Vader, Mufasa, stuttering jubilee  
When I die can he be the one narrating my eulogy?

(((I love James, I'm a star wars freak... <--- yup that's me)))



~~SADDAM AND BIN LADEN
Were very bad, bad men
Causing chaos throughout America & Afghanistan,
HATERS OF THE USA: they should be called the Arab ku klux klan

(((Occupation: Terrorist~ makes me wonder if they went to the same school.)))
                                                                   


~~ADOLF HITLER
The world worse killer
Commander of the oxymoron  Nazi  
Losing at his own game of Yahtzee 

(((The Most Hated Murderer of all time)))



~~YOUNG ANNE FRANK
Her diary worth more than any bank
Famous Jewish victims of the Holocaust
Her legacy teaches that hate is an exhaust 

(((Anne Frank's diary remains one of the most moving and widely read 
accounts of the Jewish experience during the Holocaust.))) 



~~JOAN OF ARC
Angel in an era so dark
an epic hundred year war
her visions is what she payed for.

(((Joan of Arc, also called the Maid of Orleans, a patron saint of France 
and a national heroine, led the resistance to the English invasion.))) 



~~BB KING
Can really sing
Stand by me...
But, can he sting like a bee

(((BB KING~ could not help but wonder if he was a lover and a fighter.)))



~~LADY GAGA
Is no piano sonata,
Madonna wannabe, is she.
Watching her videos make me laugh till I pee.

(((Lady Gaga is Unique as can be!)))


by;p.d.

for battle of the clerihew
Form: Clerihew

Premium Member Lilith

“The actual guise of her has become apparent” ~~ The Poet

Engaged in rapturous slander.
Forced by reputation to meander.
Through the annals of time,
Deemed worse than a witch sublime
Indicted as a demon in old folk lore 
Seducing men asleep to wake no more.
Maligned, falsely accused, my name abused
Demons to keep them afraid and subdued
We have, violent police and false news today
Now the demons had no need to stay
Pitted the mate of Samael, a demon
Though never receiving his semen
Deemed to be starved of love
These accusations, could I rise above?
No killer was I, at childbirth
Twas unsanitary practices for what it’s worth.
Although I was tagged a man hater
My ill repute was changed much later
Rebranded from a malevolent figure incorrect
It was transformed to one of respect.
Becoming a second wave feminist voice.
A dramatic twist in narrative to rejoice.
Now revered for all my positive traits as reliance.
Independence, empowerment and defiance.
Qualities that rendered me refusal to submit.
Accepting this description I freely admit
Recognized as a model to radiate assertion 
In all this time never contemplated desertion.
Fortitude to grasp the bull’s horns
Bravery to repel all man’s scorns
Being the weaker gender is now just a myth
Conviction and diligence I am always with.
No bragging of honor, valor or victory is needed
Any compassion I have is now frequently heeded
I advance with the strength to stymie the foe. 
Estimate from where I come, but see where I go
Being submissive with piety was never my station
I stand a symbolist reflection of the feminist vocation
No need for a masculine throng to be invited
The powerful fire within me has been resighted
I am, Lilith by name
I feel no shame.
Form: Rhyme

Paul Verlaine Translation: Spleen

Spleen
by Paul Verlaine
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

The roses were so very red;
The ivy, impossibly black.

Dear, with a mere a turn of your head,
My despair’s flooded back!

The sky was too gentle, too blue;
The sea, far too windswept and green.

Yet I always imagined?or knew?
I’d again feel your spleen.

Now I'm tired of the glossy waxed holly,
Of the shimmering boxwood too,

Of the meadowland’s endless folly,
When all things, alas, lead to you!

Paul-Marie Verlaine (1844-1896) was a French poet and a prominent figure in the Symbolist and Decadent poetry movements. Verlaine has been called "one of the most purely lyrical of French poets." Keywords/Tags: Verlaine, French, translation, Paris, spleen, rose, roses, ivy, depression, despair, sky, sea, blue, green, red, black, holly, boxwood
Form: Verse

Get a Premium Membership
Turn off ads, get more exposure for your poetry, and get more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Diverse Voices: The Poetry of Human Rights and the Pursuit of Peace