Saturday, October 3, 2015

October Frights Blog Hop (III): Dark Poetry


 
 
 
Today's Spotlight is on...
 
poetry, fantasy, red fist fiction, speculative, dark
 
 
"My crow leaps in a sudden sweep of wing and sails past, the scent of his feathers a balm to a soon-broken soul."
 
This volume opens with a piece that leaves the reader wondering: Is the speaker victim or victor? Shadows can obscure the details that would cement our perceptions of individuals or events.
 
Sometimes, shadows tell us more than we want to know.
 
Shadows prevail in each of the poems in The Scent of his Feathers, but Krafton is not afraid of the dark. In this poetry collection, she explores the darkness that surrounds us, dimming the edges of our well-lit worlds. Themes of death, devotion, despair, and desperation are expressed in subtle shades, allowing the reader to determine their own definitions.
 
How a person interprets these pieces--a collection of tiny everyday deaths--will depend on the reader and the flavor of the shadows within that person’s heart. Join Krafton as she explores the inherent beauty of twilight. Sympathize with the shadows of a soul. Understand what drives a spirit to desperation. And remember: without darkness, there can be no light.
 

We live our lives surrounded by poetry...even when we can't see the words. Even those who can't quite say they read poetry are still affected the poetry that permeates our world. Song lyrics...memorable movie lines...that's all poetry. Really.

And we absorb it without even realizing.

When I was a kid, I memorized a lot of poetry. It wasn't the cool thing to do; in fact, I'm fairly certain my friends would have thought it was the least cool thing on the planet. (And we're talking back in the 80s. We put a LOT of emphasis on cool.)

Even uncooler was the fact that I was drawn to the shadowy side of poetry. In the 80s everything was neon and geometric and WHAM! and totally tubular...and there was me. Smuggling Stephen King into Girl Scout camp and carrying Poe around in my heart everywhere I went.

I loved poems such as "Sonnet: To Science", in which Poe villainizes science for preying upon the poet's heart and pretty much slaughtering fairy tales and daydreams forever. (And yet, I became a science major in college. Hmm.)

Even more haunting are these lines from Thebaid, written by the Roman poet Statius in the first century CE:

"Pleasant lives droop and fall, [Death] with his sword cuts through the [Fates'] threads, and hurries the stricken city to the shades."

Or this, from his Silvae:

"Lay aside thy fears [for the beloved dead], and be no more in dread of threatening [Death]."

As far as poetry goes, that's epic.

Maybe poetry was my way of paying heed to my heart, even if my brain made me choose a more practical path. That's the coolest thing about poetry--it's duality. You can be a poet without ever writing a word, if only you scratch the words upon your heart.

Enter in the October Frights Blog Hop giveaway by commenting on today's post...

...and here's what I'd love for you to share: a poem or song verse or a few poetic lines, something that is dear to you, words that are forever in your heart. Whether the words are your own or lovingly lent to you by another, share your favorite poetry with us!

And don't forget to pick up a copy of my dark poetry chapbook The Scent of His Feather, free on Kindle through October 5th!

Commented? Got your free book? Get back to the hop...pick your next lucky stop:










14 comments:

  1. The beginning words to one of my favourite poems by Emily Dickinson:

    Because I could not stop for Death,
    He kindly stopped for me;

    And here's one of my recent ones on the same subject:

    Dark Thread

    Breathe
    Whisper
    one soft word
    into the night
    Death

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    1. That was always my favorite from ED. And yours is lovely...

      Thanks, Anita! I can always count on you for poetic musing...

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  2. the start of one of my poems....
    I stand at the edge of the well of eternal bliss, just realizing it exists.....
    Heather

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  3. Thank you for a spooktacular stop on the October Frights Hop. Hop on over to my October Frights Giveaway at From the Shadows for a chance to win urban fantasy audiobooks and more.

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  4. My daughter is the poem writer!! Me...not so much. But I adore yours!!!

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    1. Cathrina, you're a doll <3 I hope your daughter keeps up with it...never enough poets in the world.

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  5. Thanks so much for sharing the poem and the free book! Have a great hop! :)

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  6. I won't write the entire poem here, but I love Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou -http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/178942 .

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    1. I'm so glad you left this link. It truly is something that needs to be read in full. Thanks, Jolie

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  7. I've already picked up your lovely book of poetry (I love poetry AND your writing, so I've had it for a short while). Part of one of my favorite poems:
    It was many and many a year ago
    In a kingdom by the sea
    That a maiden there lived whom you may know
    By the name of Annabel Lee.

    I'm sure you know that's part of Poe's Annabel Lee. I was much like you - always reading poetry (or, more likely, writing it). I don't even know where most of poetry is these days and I foolishly destroyed many, many poems when I read them and realized how embarrassingly horrid they were. Some of the better poems have been published. My mother has a small booklet of my poems. I think she's the only person who actually has many of them.

    Thank you for sharing with us.

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  8. Thanks for stopping by, Michelle...and thanks for the kind words <3

    My mom kept my childhood poetry, and had sent different things into the newspaper and various contests. I remember getting mail from some awards committee by they had spelled my name wrong on the certificates. My first pen name, I guess!

    Thank goodness for our moms. We'd never admit to writing those things now, would we? At least not once we got to high school and realized how awesome and cool we were. lol

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I'd love to hear from you!