Robert Lindley Biography

A few of my quotes over the years:

 

Listing A Personal View Of What Poetry Is

1. Poetry is a stone, turned to expose to searching winds of a once hidden earth.
Robert J. Lindley

2. Poetry is art, mind painted, heart colored and fire risen.
Robert J. Lindley

3. Poetry is a fruit, hanging on a bountiful tree, begging to fall.
Robert J. Lindley

4. Poetry is an ever expanding ocean, begging ever more creatures to swim in its swirling depths.
Robert J. Lindley

5. Poetry is cake on a golden platter, eaten with fork, spoon, butter knife or greedy hands.
Robert J. Lindley

6. Poetry is cherry blossoms, crying for the soft, cool winds to wave their beauty to the awaiting sun and the gasping skies.
Robert J. Lindley

7. Poetry is glistening dewdrops falling upon virgin ground to gift dawn's hope and night's desire to match brilliance of glistening moonbeams.
Robert J. Lindley

8. Poetry is a poet's heart and soul uniting to bless others, while temporarily shielding searching souls against this dark world's poison tipped arrows.
Robert J. Lindley

9. Poetry is brightly sent musical notes that heart sees, mind colors and spirit longs to record.
Robert J. Lindley

10. Poetry is ink blotted, soul driven splashes that cry to be read, beg to be understood and unabashedly sing to give to its dear readers.
Robert J. Lindley

11.Poetry is a colorful bird, in heavenly flight to a paradise that awaits man's sincere pleading heart and desirous spirit.
Robert J. Lindley

12. Poetry is a child happily playing, a mother joyfully singing and a father blessed to have and so very dearly appreciate loving both.
Robert J. Lindley

Robert J. Lindley, 7-17-2018
Subject, ( What Poetry Is)

'

**************************

My biography will be very limited for now.   Here , I can express myself in poetic form but in real life I much rather prefer to be far less forward  I am a 60 year old American citizen , born and raised in the glorious South! A heritage that I am very proud of and thank God for as it is a blessing indeed ~

Currently married to my beautiful young wife(Riza) a lovely filipina  lady and we have a fantastic 7 year old son, Justin ~

I have truly lived a very wild life as a younger man but now find myself finally very happily settled down for the duration of my life~

I decided to rest here and express myself with hopes that it may in some way help others, for I see here a very diverse  and fine gathering of poets, artists, and caring folks~

Quickly finding friends here that amaze me with such great talent~~

I invite any and all to comment on my writes and send me soup mail to discuss

whatever seems important to them ~

Blog on poetic- form Haiku- Imagery, Imagination, Color And Inspiration

Blog Posted by Robert Lindley: 6/29/2021 5:48:00 AM

Please Login to post a comment
Date: 7/6/2021 6:51:00 PM
Wonderful work, Sir Roberto, as we have come to expect of your blogs on a regular basis. You should compile these into a volume and publish it - there's so much work you put into these ... seems a shame that this is the only venue for them. Blessings.
Login to Reply
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 7/12/2021 1:23:00 PM
Thank you my dear friend. I may one future day do just that compile these blogs and publish the whole of my writings on poetry as the Art form.. God bless..
Date: 7/1/2021 8:27:00 PM
So much to say, with so few words. i always think of "YES" and "NO" and how they cover so much meaning, although today "NO" is lost in the fog of modern learning. However i digress, Robert your blog interesting as ever, love the examples and your own contributing poetry.
Login to Reply
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 7/12/2021 1:22:00 PM
Thank you my friend. I am catching up on my commenting, since my having ben ill kept me away so long. God bless..
Date: 7/1/2021 5:49:00 PM
Very nicely done,Robert. Well researched and thought out blogging.
Login to Reply
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 7/12/2021 1:21:00 PM
Thank you my friend. I am delighted you have found this blog to be a positive and worthy endeavor. God bless.
Date: 7/1/2021 5:45:00 PM
You were busy with the Haiku last month. Thanks for these blogs, I do appreciate your efforts and what I learn from them.
Login to Reply
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 7/12/2021 1:20:00 PM
Thank you my friend. Yes, I was busy but the importance of getting this message in made it well worth it my friend. God bless..
Date: 7/1/2021 2:52:00 PM
Masterful blog, Robert, that adds to our knowledge. A lot of hard work and research on your part - Bob H
Login to Reply
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 7/1/2021 3:10:00 PM
Thank you my friend. Always a pleasure to find that these blogs are a positive, encouraging and helpful endeavor. Certainly makes the hard work part worth it my friend.. God bless...
Date: 7/1/2021 6:08:00 AM
This is loaded with expertise advice, Robert. Imagery is key for showing instead of telling.
Login to Reply
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 7/1/2021 8:18:00 AM
Thank you my friend. Yes, the links given provide so much very useful information. And the three-( I.'s) are key in poetry-- I magery, I magination, I nfinite possibilities....... God bless....
Date: 6/30/2021 12:49:00 PM
wonderful informative blog and fabulous haiku:-) you go to such lengths to write these blogs thanks for sharing your talents with us Robert:-) hugs Jan xx
Login to Reply
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 6/30/2021 2:35:00 PM
Thank you my dear friend. Truth, my problem is in limiting how much I want to put into each blog. After researching studying, I usually only put in about 5 or 10 percent of the information that I've gathered. They each start out as great fun but soon turn into far too much time spent and my fretting over my own poems I compose to go in each one. God bless...
Date: 6/30/2021 2:17:00 AM
Imagery in some small form should be present in every poem, that's my opinion, great blog, Robert and loved all your haikus:) astounding work:) Somehow, I rarely write haikus, but enjoy reading them:)
Login to Reply
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 6/30/2021 9:59:00 AM
Thank you my friend. So very true- imagery in one form or another exists in every poem. In haiku it is the goal, the quest, the challenge that stirs the poet's heart. God bless my friend.
Date: 6/30/2021 1:09:00 AM
Pound (despite his track record) Robert is still the imagist most known in the English language (Japan translations apart) with this classic... In a Station of the Metro.. The apparition of these faces in the crowd: Petals on a wet, black bough
Login to Reply
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 6/30/2021 9:57:00 AM
True, Pound is one of the top ten imagists in my book. I read much of his work decades ago. He a true genius gave such beautiful and profound treasures to this world, imho. God bless..
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 6/30/2021 9:55:00 AM
Thank you Brian. Ezra Pound, I have long meant to do a tribute to that magnificent poet-but his style and mine are so very different, I fear I could never do the great poet justice. Thus my reluctance to give it a try. God bless..
Strand Avatar
Brian Strand
Date: 6/30/2021 1:16:00 AM
I would though extoll dear Adelaide Crapsey for 'pure ' readable magism with her unique American Cinquain' form(So saddend that this US poetry site does not recognise it own genius with a separate poetic category when it does so do with couplet&quintains)
Date: 6/29/2021 7:34:00 PM
https://thehaikufoundation.org/haikunow-contemporary-haiku/ HaikuNow! Contemporary Haiku Home » HaikuNow! Contemporary Haiku All haiku must be in English and must meet the criteria for the Contemporary category, as described in Examples of Contemporary Haiku in English below. All poems must be the original, unpublished work of the submitter
Login to Reply
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 6/29/2021 7:36:00 PM
Examples of Contemporary Haiku in English The most common literary adaptation in English of haiku looks something like this: one to four lines, no strict syllable count but brief, and often with a long/short or short/long asymmetry. These poems too utilize a caesura. Images need not be taken from nature, though they may be and often are. Seasonality is optional, though often featured. Here’s an example: in the woodpile the broken ax handle The poet, Michael Facherty of Ireland, chooses two lines, with the first line establishing the context and suggesting the season. Again the diction is image-based and straightforward, without words that indicate judgment, or that pad out the syllable count, or that tell the reader what to think. The image is vivid, and the conclusion given an ironic twist (though irony is only one of dozens of poetic strategies that contemporary haiku employ).
Date: 6/29/2021 7:27:00 PM
https://www.readpoetry.com/10-vivid-haikus-to-leave-you-breathless/ by Thea Voutiritsas April 18, 2019 141.08k Traditional and structured, this short form of Japanese poetry is well-known for its rule of 5/7/5: five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five again in the third. Haikus are known for their ability to paint a vivid picture in just a few words. A practice of artistic discipline, their minimal nature forces writers to pare down to only the essentials—making each word, or even syllable, count. “The Old Pond” by Matsuo Basho An old silent pond A frog jumps into the pond— Splash! Silence again.
Login to Reply
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 6/29/2021 7:28:00 PM
Sonia Sanchez “Haiku [for you]” love between us is speech and breath. loving you is a long river running. Known for her innovative use of traditional formats like haiku in a modern context, even infusing them with bluesy rhythm, Sonia Sanchez received high praise for her collection Morning Haiku. In its opening essay, Sanchez expresses her deep appreciation for haiku as an art form. Ravi Shankar “Lines on a Skull” life’s little, our heads sad. Redeemed and wasting clay this chance. Be of use.
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 6/29/2021 7:28:00 PM
A slightly darker take on the art of haiku, “Lines on a Skull” is inspired by Lord Byron’s “Lines Inscribed Upon a Cup formed from a Skull.” Poet Ravi Shankar distills this late seventeenth-century poet’s words into a more modern, potent, and visceral version. Joyce Clement “Birds Punctuate the Days” Period One blue egg all summer long Now gone
Date: 6/29/2021 7:26:00 PM
https://www.modernhaiku.org/
Login to Reply
Date: 6/29/2021 7:25:00 PM
https://www.modernhaiku.org/submissions.html
Login to Reply
Date: 6/29/2021 7:24:00 PM
https://haikuproject.wordpress.com/tag/modern-haiku/
Login to Reply
Date: 6/29/2021 7:23:00 PM
Other sources used in creating this blog. https://www.readpoetry.com/10-vivid-haikus-to-leave-you-breathless/
Login to Reply
Date: 6/29/2021 6:41:00 PM
A few of my favorite thoughts are these: "lips luscious red, desert at high noon" "frost on the fallen mailbox" "fresh mowed grass twixt the rows" "limbs weighted to the ground, crisp morn, soft new gloves" "bright meadow's glow, sky, reflection- hope" So many beautiful images within each tender haiku. Thank you for sharing my dear sweet friend. Once again, your words shine. :) Hugs, Brandy
Login to Reply
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 6/29/2021 7:16:00 PM
"fresh mowed grass twixt the rows", came from an early Sunday morning visit at a graveyard and my noticing the grass must have been cut that day before 6 am... Guy must have been a truly dedicated caretaker there.
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 6/29/2021 7:12:00 PM
"bright meadow's glow, sky, reflection- hope"-- that one comes from a prayer once uttered and a dream once that set me upon a new path... God bless...
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 6/29/2021 7:11:00 PM
Thank you my dear friend. the luscious red lips came from a memory that to this day still delights. All of the imagery therein came from sights either seen, imagined or created from inspiration given by the fickle poetry gods that occasionally smile on we mere mortals. Your comments are truly appreciated and noted.. God bless...
Date: 6/29/2021 12:34:00 PM
Kissing 'ku was sweet, Robert! my fave! "silent cat leapt" my fave line 3 twist of yours!
Login to Reply
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 6/29/2021 3:14:00 PM
You know my friend, that gives me an idea. I think I may write a poem today/tonight using that - as the focus.. "silent cat leapt".. Yep, as the genie of the lamp always said, "no sooner said than done"..... And that genie was not as ravishingly beautiful as the amazing sexy, sensual and tantalizing Barbara Eden ....
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 6/29/2021 3:10:00 PM
as it was indeed an important reminder of the , "frighten mouse" in the other haiku titled- ""Beneath Expanse, Glorious Earthen Skies"".... Thus a little continuation in the form and in the imagery, depths and purpose of this new blog. God bless...
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 6/29/2021 3:07:00 PM
Thank you my friend. Tis why I chose to present the list in an inverted order from the creation of the poems. As that poem came to me this morn and thus was the last element in that list that was added-at the last minute before presenting the blog. I am so very pleased that you have found it to be sweet and a fav!!
Date: 6/29/2021 12:11:00 PM
The enigma of Haiku is the kireji. See -- WHAT THE HECK ARE “KIREJI” (CUTTING WORDS) ---- https://thehaikuexperiment.wordpress.com/2014/07/24/what-the-heck-are-kireji-cutting-words/#comments ----- see also --- https://poetrysociety.org.nz/affiliates/haiku-nz/haiku-poems-articles/archived-articles/the-power-of-juxtaposition/ -----
Login to Reply
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 6/29/2021 3:02:00 PM
By the way, great links you gifted us. Always it is far, far better to have more information than it is to have less. God bless...
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 6/29/2021 3:01:00 PM
Thank you my friend. Yes, if one wants to adhere to strictest form and stay within the realm of traditional haiku -such is the path to adhere to. As we are wont to do- we American poets simply love to add our own special touches to our creations. If that takes us out of traditional form- well most of us say--let it be so. For me the true challenge is stay true to myself and yet stil to the best of my limited ability honor the poetry form and gift original and heartfelt verses that will sit better with the audeience I am writing to/for.. God bless.
Date: 6/29/2021 11:59:00 AM
Another stunning blog Robert with perfect haiku examples. Tom
Login to Reply
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 6/29/2021 2:53:00 PM
I tried to pick the best three of this listed lot but with each one having such a special place in this old heart I simply could not decide. So -as an old poet that sees no answer to the problem- I chose to display them all... God bless..
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 6/29/2021 2:50:00 PM
Thank you my friend. For me the shorter te poetry form is -the harder it is for me to compose. I guess that, with my nature of being long-winded, I desire to even deeper illicit life, color, context, beauty and more with more words... The challenge is to do, MUCH MORE WITH FAR LESS.. God bless...
Date: 6/29/2021 11:44:00 AM
- Outstanding haikus, Robert :)
Login to Reply
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 6/29/2021 2:47:00 PM
Thank you my friend. May God bless us both- with the treasure of gifting more beautiful verses to this ever so increasingly needful world. A truly great blessing it tis indeed...
Date: 6/29/2021 7:38:00 AM
Robert, Raised the senses to follow the journey in this blog. Let's see where it takes us. -Richard
Login to Reply
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 6/29/2021 2:45:00 PM
The Aim Of A Poet::: Planting verses so sweetly well, In furrows to life and love keep. Broadcast ink magic as a spell, With beauty that makes a heart weep. R.J.Lindley, 1973
Lindley Avatar
Robert Lindley
Date: 6/29/2021 2:45:00 PM
Thank you my friend. Poets are blessed to be able to add color and beauty to this too oft darkened world. If one can manage to accomplish that in a very short poetic form- as in a haiku- then all the better. The three seeds Imagery, Imagination and Infinite possibilities come to mind. So let us plow the fields, plant the seeds and harvest poetic fruits.>>>

Previous Blogs

I am taking a short vacation
Date Posted: 9/25/2023 6:28:00 AM
BLOG- On one of my favorite Wordworth poems
Date Posted: 9/20/2023 9:55:00 AM
Linked article on 19th Century Poets
Date Posted: 9/18/2023 3:33:00 PM
Blog: Does Classical Mythology Have A Place In Contemporary Poetry?
Date Posted: 9/9/2023 12:35:00 PM
New Blog, Why Dark Poetry Fascinated So Many Famous Poets..
Date Posted: 9/7/2023 7:53:00 AM
Words On The Need For And The Benefits Of Dark Poetry.
Date Posted: 9/5/2023 6:28:00 AM
The Fifth Poet, in my famous Poets Series, John Keats
Date Posted: 8/31/2023 1:19:00 PM
A Blog On Life And Poetry.
Date Posted: 8/29/2023 11:35:00 AM
5 Writers Who Blur the Boundary Between Poetry and Essay "Poets are the Hoarders of the Literary World"
Date Posted: 8/29/2023 11:20:00 AM
Man, What A Delicious Gob-smacking Dream I Had Last Night
Date Posted: 8/28/2023 11:58:00 AM
Blog on , Thomas Hardy
Date Posted: 8/17/2023 9:26:00 AM
Blog, What Is Modern Poetry? by Alan Rankin
Date Posted: 8/12/2023 3:13:00 PM
Blog On Poetry And Truth, Think
Date Posted: 8/5/2023 5:06:00 PM
Blog on next two poets chosen to be honored in my, Second Poets Tribute Series
Date Posted: 8/3/2023 7:00:00 AM
Blog On Coleridge, A Brilliant Poet That Every Poet Should Know
Date Posted: 7/26/2023 8:06:00 AM
3 poems and a prayer, O' yes from 1973
Date Posted: 7/11/2023 2:18:00 PM
A Blog on the magnificent poet Alfred Noyles
Date Posted: 7/10/2023 10:18:00 AM
BLOG ON Shelley Notes on Percy Bysshe Shelley's A Defense of Poetry
Date Posted: 6/30/2023 3:19:00 PM
Blog, Recently Written Words, Hoping To Revive My Poetic Spirit
Date Posted: 7/4/2022 4:38:00 AM
Blog, A Hebdomad Of Poetic Thought, Musings And Deep Internal Pain
Date Posted: 5/15/2022 9:20:00 AM
Blog, ( Ancient Times, Some Fragments And Poetic Memories )
Date Posted: 4/21/2022 7:24:00 AM
Blog,A Menagerie Of Verse, Rhyme, And Meandering Thoughts
Date Posted: 4/10/2022 8:20:00 AM
Blog- To write, to not lose my sole remaining small joy amidst this darkest sea, this horrendous cavern of epic pain, mournful loss and deepest of darkest sorrows … RJL
Date Posted: 3/7/2022 7:04:00 AM
Death comes to my beloved wife.
Date Posted: 2/27/2022 9:49:00 PM
Why I am away from this poetry site, Loss of my beloved Brother... God bless one and all
Date Posted: 2/19/2022 4:27:00 AM

My Photos


photo
Get a Premium Membership
Get more exposure for your poetry and more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Radiant Verses: A Journey Through Inspiring Poetry

Member Area

My Admin
Profile and Settings
Edit My Poems
Edit My Quotes
Edit My Short Stories
Edit My Articles
My Comments Inboxes
My Comments Outboxes
Soup Mail
Poetry Contests
Contest Results/Status
Followers
Poems of Poets I Follow
Friend Builder

Soup Social

Poetry Forum
New/Upcoming Features
The Wall
Soup Facebook Page
Who is Online
Link to Us

Member Poems

Poems - Top 100 New
Poems - Top 100 All-Time
Poems - Best
Poems - by Topic
Poems - New (All)
Poems - New (PM)
Poems - New by Poet
Poems - Read
Poems - Unread

Member Poets

Poets - Best New
Poets - New
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems Recent
Poets - Top 100 Community
Poets - Top 100 Contest

Famous Poems

Famous Poems - African American
Famous Poems - Best
Famous Poems - Classical
Famous Poems - English
Famous Poems - Haiku
Famous Poems - Love
Famous Poems - Short
Famous Poems - Top 100

Famous Poets

Famous Poets - Living
Famous Poets - Most Popular
Famous Poets - Top 100
Famous Poets - Best
Famous Poets - Women
Famous Poets - African American
Famous Poets - Beat
Famous Poets - Cinquain
Famous Poets - Classical
Famous Poets - English
Famous Poets - Haiku
Famous Poets - Hindi
Famous Poets - Jewish
Famous Poets - Love
Famous Poets - Metaphysical
Famous Poets - Modern
Famous Poets - Punjabi
Famous Poets - Romantic
Famous Poets - Spanish
Famous Poets - Suicidal
Famous Poets - Urdu
Famous Poets - War

Poetry Resources

Anagrams
Bible
Book Store
Character Counter
Cliché Finder
Poetry Clichés
Common Words
Copyright Information
Grammar
Grammar Checker
Homonym
Homophones
How to Write a Poem
Lyrics
Love Poem Generator
New Poetic Forms
Plagiarism Checker
Poetry Art
Publishing
Random Word Generator
Spell Checker
What is Good Poetry?
Word Counter