Of all of her work, this is among my several favorites. And to see her read it in 1987 is a real treat. At the top of her game. Thanks for posting this. Roy Bentley
Good images of the fields and swamp and cane.Living characters like the General.'Moon riding the sky like a drop of oil on water'-a vivid visual image. Extremely well read by Rita Dove.
Very much enjoyed your poems. I, too, am a poet but specialize in Japanese forms: i. e. haiku, tanka, haibun, kyoka, senryu. I hope you don’t mind me sharing a tanka and my haiku tribute poem to Matshuo Bashō’s frog with commentary by the late AHA founder and poet Jane Reichhold who considered my poem among her top 10 haiku of all time. What an honor. Here’s the Bashō poem and commentary: Bashō’s frog four hundred years of ripples - -Al Fogel “At first the idea of picking only 10 of my favorite haiku seemed a rather daunting task. How could I review all the haiku I have read in my life and decide that there were only 10 that were outstanding? Then realized I was already getting a steady stream of excellent haiku day by day through the AHA forum. The puns and write-offs based on Basho's most famous haiku are so numerous I would have said that nothing new could be said with this method, but here Al Fogel proved me wrong. Perhaps part of my delight in this haiku lies in the fact that I agree with him. Here he is saying one thing about realism-ripples are on a pond after a frog jumps in, but because it refers back to Basho and his famous haiku, he is also saying something about the haiku and authors who have followed him. We, and our work, are just ripples while Basho holds the honor of inventing the idea of "the sound of a frog leaping is the sound of water". As haiku spreads around the world, making ripples in more and larger ponds, its ripples are wider-including us all. But his last word reminds us all that we are only ripples and our lives are that ephemeral. It will be the frogs that will remain”. -Al Fogel And my tanka: returning home from a Jackson Pollock exhibition I smear my face with paint and turn into art ps: I’m also a fictional short story writer and I hope you don’t mind me sharing a story based on a true incident that took place in the 1950s when racial prejudice was rampant-not only against Afro-Americans but all individual and groups of people during this time period. Titled “ Eloise, Edna And The Chicken Coop” ELOISE, EDNA & THE CHICKEN COOP There was once a young Black lady named Eloise who in the 1950s inherited from her grandmother a parcel of land in the suburbs of Compton, California at a time when there was strong racial prejudice against women of color-especially those Black women who owned property in predominately white neighborhoods. It happened there lived adjacent to Eloise’s land a white woman named Edna who did not like the fact that a Black lady owned land next to hers. Eloise would try to be friendly because she believed Jesus when He said “Love Thy Neighbor” and to Eloise that meant even if your neighbor was unfriendly. But whenever Eloise saw Edna, Edna would turn her back and ignore her and go about her business. In fact, ever since Edna’s husband died a decade ago, she became mean and unfriendly to everyone in the neighborhood. But to Eloise, she was especially hateful and full of animosity so much so that at night when all the lights in Eloise home were off, Edna went to her own backyard where she kept her chicken coop and gathered up all the manure and dumped it on Eloise land and upon her tomatoes and her greens and everything she was growing, in an attempt to destroy it. And when Eloise realized the next morning that there was all this manure, instead of becoming angry, she decided to rake and mix it in with the soil and use it as fertilizer. Every night Edna would dump the manure from her chicken coop litter box on Eloise’s land and every morning Eloise would turn the manure over and mix it in with the soil. This went on for several weeks until one morning Eloise noticed there was no manure in her yard. One of the neighbors informed Eloise that Edna had fallen ill. But because Edna was so disliked because of her and unfriendly personality , no one came to see her. But when Eloise heard about Edna’s condition she picked the best flowers from her garden, walked to Edna’s house, knocked on her front door and when Edna saw Eloise she was in complete shock that this Black lady who she had been so cruel to, would be the only neighbor to visit and bring flowers. Edna was deeply moved by Eloise kindness. Then Eloise handed the flowers to Edna who uttered, “These are the most beautiful flowers I’ve ever seen! Where’d you get them?” Eloise replied “Edna, I owe you a debt of gratitude; if it wasn’t for you, these flowers would not exist. It was you who helped me make them because when you were dumping in my yard, I decided to plant roses and use your manure as fertilizer.” This unexpected act of kindness opened the floodgate of Edna’s heart that had been closed for so long. “When I’m feeling better, I would love to have you over for tea,” Edna informed Eloise. “Thank you, “ Edna replied , assuring her she would come. And then added “ I will pray for your speedy recovery every night” And with those words Eloise departed. It’s amazing what can blossom from manure. There are some who allow manure to fall on them and do nothing. But then there are others-like Eloise -who “turn the other cheek” when abused or in this case “turn over the soil” to make something new like those beautiful red roses that opened a white woman’s heart. -Al Fogel pss: I’m also a vocalist and what a coincidence when I saw you with your friend react to Dimash “ Love Is Like A Dream” Dimash is the best pop-op male vocalist on planet earth. But I’m going to introduce you to his female counterpart-a Russian vocalist named Diana Ankudinova who at age 14 performed a song titled “ Rechenka” ( “ River” in English) and it catapulted her to international stardom with millions of followers worldwide. Diana has the most recognizable dramatic contralto voice in the world. There was a survey conducted by a ranking company ( I believe rank.com ) that ranked the best female pop singers of 2020 and Diana was ranked Number 1. Even ahead of Demi Lovato!!! Many coaches, professional vocalists, and Reactors around the globe consider her to be in possession of the most unique mesmerizing memorable amazing atavistic tribunal primordial shaman goddess voice in the world -any age. If you react you will be amazed. An incredible and legendary performance of an old ritual wedding folk song Is -to this day-considered by many professional vocalists and coaches around the world as the most unique and mesmerizing live performance by a vocalist -any age , in the history of talent shows. And along with “ Human” ( lowest possible female range she’s a rare dramatic contralto ) and “ Wicked Game” contributed to her winning not only the kids “ you are super” contest for orphans and adopted children 2 consecutive years but catapulted her to international fame with millions of avid followers worldwide. And Famous composer Igor has accompanied her on the piano on “ Tomorrow Is A Lie” ( 4:26 .. posted by HTB amazing performance) And you might want to read a little about her tragic younger years abused and beaten by her birth mother and put up for adoption at age 3. So yraumized she could hardly speak for to years but then at the orphanage she was adopted and given singing lessons at age 5 and the rest is history! You may want to continue your Ankudinova journey by reacting the year prior to “ rechenka” when she was 13! She entered her first kids contest in Russia where she sang a song that required masterful yodeling. It was a masterpiece, a tour de force, some say one of the best yodeling performances on any talent show but in this performance it was the controversial aftermath that prompted the audience to give her a 5 minute Standing Ovation and caused a scandal and shouts of Diana being “ robbed”. The following day when it appeared on you tube 50 million people spit on the judges and it was revealed that the contest was fixed and the winner already predetermined and caused a major scandal. And at 13 her rendition of “ Me Voy” in Spanish was emotionally impactful and when I suggested that my Spanish language friends watch they were shocked and couldn’t believe the perfect pronunciation and emotional feelings she conveyed. And the following year and year thereafter she won the 2 “ you are super” Russian contests. After reacting to Rechenka and Wicked Game and Human Please react to “ yodel time” And you’ll witness a yodeling masterpiece. And wait to you watch and hear her at age 13 or maybe 14 on a riverboat cruise ship giving an hour long performance highlighted with her amazing performance mostly in English of a 1920s cabaret song by the famous composer Irving Berlin called “ Puttin On The Ritz” . Not only does she kill it with her vocal electrifying expressions and dance moves but I will not spoil the SURPRISE that will knock you off your chair ( a 12 second teaser she gives the audience that the late great Fred Astaire would be smiling down on her from heaven. ). If Diana wanted to she could easily become a world class.... ( I won’t spoil the 12 seconds) Also when she won her “you are super” contest she performed a song written by Lara Fabian titled “ Tomorrow Is A Lie” accompanied on the piano by the famous composer Igor. She sings it in English and the meaning of this song is so spiritual “ only here and now... Tomorrow is a Lie ( all that exists is the next moment). If you continue to react to Diana, your subscriber base will quadruple!! All love from Al in isolation from Miami Beach, Florida, -Al
Enjoyed the poem and your reading. I would like to share a haiku and a kyoka-one of the haiku a tribute poem to Bashō’s frog ( with commentary by the late Jane Reichhold ) Here is my haiku tribute poem to Bashō,s frog with commentary by the late Jane Reichold who also considered my poem among her top 10 haiku of all time. I was truly humbled and honored. Bashō’s frog four hundred years of ripples - -Al Fogel “At first the idea of picking only 10 of my favorite haiku seemed a rather daunting task. How could I review all the haiku I have read in my life and decide that there were only 10 that were outstanding? Then realized I was already getting a steady stream of excellent haiku day by day through the AHA forum. The puns and write-offs based on Basho's most famous haiku are so numerous I would have said that nothing new could be said with this method, but here Al Fogel proved me wrong. Perhaps part of my delight in this haiku lies in the fact that I agree with him. Here he is saying one thing about realism-ripples are on a pond after a frog jumps in, but because it refers back to Basho and his famous haiku, he is also saying something about the haiku and authors who have followed him. We, and And kyoka: returning home from a Jackson pollock exhibition I smear paint on my face and turn into art ~~ -All love in isolation from Miami Beach, Florida, Al
I want to let you know I enjoyed your poetry reading . I like the various emotions you displayed and I felt this piece as you spoke . I'm a new member here on UA-cam I'm also an Author . I have a video up right now called Soul To Soul . The poetry piece is called He's A Wonder its from my book called Soul To Soul Inspirations . I hope you check it out and give me some feed back on it . Thank you very much in advance .
i like how she reads. no dramatization
Of all of her work, this is among my several favorites. And to see her read it in 1987 is a real treat. At the top of her game.
Thanks for posting this.
Roy Bentley
Oh my, thanks so much 🙏🏽
Rita Dove is awesome. "Parsley" is such a haunting poem....it makes you feel, rage and mourn all at the same time. Thanks for posting this video.
Good images of the fields and swamp and cane.Living characters like the General.'Moon riding the sky like a drop of oil on water'-a vivid visual image. Extremely well read by Rita Dove.
Gorgeous!!
Thank you Rita.
She is an amazing poet.
she reads with a subtle stillness, its like as she starts to speak her voice demands an halt for utter silence and peace.
to just listen to her, one mic!
Very much enjoyed your poems. I, too, am a poet
but specialize in Japanese forms: i. e. haiku, tanka, haibun, kyoka, senryu.
I hope you don’t mind me sharing a tanka and my haiku tribute poem to Matshuo Bashō’s frog with commentary by the late AHA founder and poet Jane Reichhold who considered my poem among her top 10 haiku of all time. What an honor.
Here’s the Bashō poem and commentary:
Bashō’s frog
four hundred years
of ripples
- -Al Fogel
“At first the idea of picking only 10 of my favorite haiku seemed a rather daunting task. How could I review all the haiku I have read in my life and decide that there were only 10 that were outstanding? Then realized I was already getting a steady stream of excellent haiku day by day through the AHA
forum.
The puns and write-offs based on Basho's most famous haiku are so
numerous I would have said that nothing new could be said with this
method, but here Al Fogel proved me wrong. Perhaps part of my delight in this haiku lies in the fact that I agree with him. Here he is saying one thing
about realism-ripples are on a pond after a frog jumps in, but because it refers back to Basho and his famous haiku, he is also saying something about the haiku and authors who have followed him. We, and our work, are just ripples while Basho holds the honor of inventing the idea of "the
sound of a frog leaping is the sound of water".
As haiku spreads around the world, making ripples in more and larger ponds, its ripples are wider-including us all. But his last word reminds us all that we are only ripples and our lives are that ephemeral. It will be the frogs that will remain”.
-Al Fogel
And my tanka:
returning home
from a Jackson Pollock
exhibition
I smear my face with paint
and turn into art
ps: I’m also a fictional short story writer and I hope you don’t mind me sharing a story based on a true incident that took place in the 1950s when racial prejudice was rampant-not only against Afro-Americans but all individual and groups of people during this time period. Titled “ Eloise, Edna And The Chicken Coop”
ELOISE, EDNA & THE CHICKEN COOP
There was once a young Black lady named Eloise who in the 1950s inherited from her grandmother a parcel of land in the suburbs of Compton, California at a time when there was strong racial prejudice against women of color-especially those Black women who owned property in predominately white neighborhoods.
It happened there lived adjacent to Eloise’s land a white woman named Edna who did not like the fact that a Black lady owned land next to hers.
Eloise would try to be friendly because she believed Jesus when He said “Love Thy Neighbor” and to Eloise that meant even if your neighbor was unfriendly.
But whenever Eloise saw Edna, Edna would turn her back and ignore her and go about her business. In fact, ever since Edna’s husband died a decade ago, she became mean and unfriendly to everyone in the neighborhood.
But to Eloise, she was especially hateful and full of animosity so much so that at night when all the lights in Eloise home were off, Edna went to her own backyard where she kept her chicken coop and gathered up all the manure and dumped it on Eloise land and upon her tomatoes and her greens and everything she was growing, in an attempt to destroy it.
And when Eloise realized the next morning that there was all this manure, instead of becoming angry, she decided to rake and mix it in with the soil and use it as fertilizer.
Every night Edna would dump the manure from her chicken coop litter box on Eloise’s land and every morning Eloise would turn the manure over and mix it in with the soil.
This went on for several weeks until one morning Eloise noticed there was no manure in her yard.
One of the neighbors informed Eloise that Edna had fallen ill. But because Edna was so disliked because of her and unfriendly personality , no one came to see her.
But when Eloise heard about Edna’s condition she picked the best flowers from her garden, walked to Edna’s house, knocked on her front door and when Edna saw Eloise
she was in complete shock that this Black lady who she had been so cruel to, would be the only neighbor to visit and bring flowers.
Edna was deeply moved by Eloise kindness.
Then Eloise handed the flowers to Edna who uttered,
“These are the most beautiful flowers I’ve ever seen! Where’d you get them?”
Eloise replied
“Edna, I owe you a debt of gratitude; if it wasn’t for you, these flowers would not exist. It was you who helped me make them because when you were dumping in my yard, I decided to plant roses and use your manure as fertilizer.”
This unexpected act of kindness opened the floodgate of Edna’s heart that had been closed for so long.
“When I’m feeling better, I would love to have you over for tea,” Edna informed Eloise.
“Thank you, “ Edna replied , assuring her she would come. And then added “ I will pray for your speedy recovery every night”
And with those words Eloise departed.
It’s amazing what can blossom from manure.
There are some who allow manure to fall on them and do nothing.
But then there are others-like Eloise -who “turn the other cheek” when abused or in this case “turn over the soil” to make something new like those beautiful red roses that opened a white woman’s heart.
-Al Fogel
pss: I’m also a vocalist and what a coincidence when I saw you with your friend react to Dimash “ Love Is Like A Dream”
Dimash is the best pop-op male vocalist on planet earth. But I’m going to introduce you to his female counterpart-a Russian vocalist named Diana Ankudinova who at age 14 performed a song titled “ Rechenka” ( “ River” in English) and it catapulted her to international stardom with millions of followers worldwide.
Diana has the most recognizable dramatic contralto voice in the world. There was a survey conducted by a ranking company ( I believe rank.com ) that ranked the best female pop singers of 2020 and Diana was ranked Number 1. Even ahead of Demi Lovato!!!
Many coaches, professional vocalists, and Reactors around the globe consider her to be in possession of the most unique mesmerizing memorable amazing atavistic tribunal primordial shaman goddess voice in the world -any age. If you react you will be amazed. An incredible and legendary performance of an old ritual wedding folk song Is -to this day-considered by many professional vocalists and coaches around the world as the most unique and mesmerizing live performance by a vocalist -any age , in the history of talent shows. And along with “ Human” ( lowest possible female range she’s a rare dramatic contralto ) and “ Wicked Game” contributed to her winning not only the kids “ you are super” contest for orphans and adopted children 2 consecutive years but catapulted her to international fame
with millions of avid followers worldwide. And Famous composer Igor has accompanied her on the piano on “ Tomorrow Is A Lie” ( 4:26 .. posted by HTB amazing performance) And you might want to read a little about her tragic younger years abused and beaten by her birth mother and put up for adoption at age 3. So yraumized she could hardly speak for to years but then at the orphanage she was adopted and given singing lessons at age 5 and the rest is history!
You may want to continue your Ankudinova journey by reacting the year prior to “ rechenka” when she was 13!
She entered her first kids contest in Russia where she sang a song that required masterful yodeling.
It was a masterpiece, a tour de force, some say one of the best yodeling performances on any talent show but in this performance it was the controversial aftermath that prompted the audience to give her a 5 minute Standing Ovation and caused a scandal and shouts of Diana being “ robbed”.
The following day when it appeared on you tube 50 million people spit on the judges and it was revealed that the contest was fixed and the winner already predetermined and caused a major scandal.
And at 13 her rendition of “ Me Voy” in Spanish was emotionally impactful and when I suggested that my Spanish language friends watch they were shocked and couldn’t believe the perfect pronunciation and emotional feelings she conveyed.
And the following year and year thereafter she won the 2 “ you are super” Russian contests.
After reacting to Rechenka and Wicked Game and Human Please react to “ yodel time” And you’ll witness a yodeling masterpiece.
And wait to you watch and hear her at age 13 or maybe 14 on a riverboat cruise ship giving an hour long performance highlighted with her amazing performance mostly in English of a 1920s cabaret song by the famous composer Irving Berlin called “ Puttin On The Ritz” . Not only does she kill it with her vocal electrifying expressions and dance moves but I will not spoil the SURPRISE
that will knock you off your chair ( a 12 second teaser she gives the audience that the late great Fred Astaire would be smiling down on her from heaven. ). If Diana wanted to she could easily become a world class.... ( I won’t spoil the 12 seconds)
Also when she won her “you are super” contest she performed a song written by Lara Fabian titled “ Tomorrow Is A Lie” accompanied on the piano by the famous composer Igor.
She sings it in English and the meaning of this song is so spiritual “ only here and now... Tomorrow is a Lie ( all that exists is the next moment).
If you continue to react to Diana, your subscriber base will quadruple!!
All love from Al in isolation from Miami Beach, Florida,
-Al
Gifted.
Hi Class! Rita dove for the win
Enjoyed the poem and your reading.
I would like to share a haiku and a kyoka-one of the haiku a tribute poem to Bashō’s frog ( with commentary by the late Jane Reichhold )
Here is my haiku tribute poem to Bashō,s frog with commentary by the late Jane Reichold who also considered my poem among her top 10 haiku of all time. I was truly humbled and honored.
Bashō’s frog
four hundred years
of ripples
- -Al Fogel
“At first the idea of picking only 10 of my favorite haiku seemed a rather daunting task. How could I review all the haiku I have read in my life and decide that there were only 10 that were outstanding? Then realized I was already getting a steady stream of excellent haiku day by day through the AHA
forum.
The puns and write-offs based on Basho's most famous haiku are so
numerous I would have said that nothing new could be said with this
method, but here Al Fogel proved me wrong. Perhaps part of my delight in this haiku lies in the fact that I agree with him. Here he is saying one thing
about realism-ripples are on a pond after a frog jumps in, but because it refers back to Basho and his famous haiku, he is also saying something about the haiku and authors who have followed him. We, and
And kyoka:
returning home
from a Jackson pollock
exhibition
I smear paint on my face and turn into art
~~
-All love in isolation
from Miami Beach,
Florida,
Al
Parsely, 1. The Cane Fields: 1:11
Hulley Gulley: 6:04
The Afghani Nomad Code: 7:43
I want to let you know I enjoyed your poetry reading . I like the various emotions you displayed and I felt this piece as you spoke . I'm a new member here on UA-cam I'm also an Author . I have a video up right now called Soul To Soul . The poetry piece is called He's A Wonder its from my book called Soul To Soul Inspirations . I hope you check it out and give me some feed back on it . Thank you very much in advance .