It was a pleasure to read all of the wonderfully aural poems of love that our poets have offered here so far. We found that even love in silence speaks volumes when expressed in interpretations of such feelings. The sound of love is as varied as the words we use to wax poetically about it. But now, we will further explore the “sounds” of love using the poetic devices of ONOMATOPOEIA and ALLITERATION.
As defined traditionally, ONOMATOPOEIA is a word(s) that phonetically imitates, resembles or suggests the source of the sound that it describes. ONOMATOPOEIA refers to the property of such words. Common occurrences of ONOMATOPOEIA include animal noises such as “woof”, “caw”, “roar” or “screech”. However, the idea of ONOMATOPOEIA has been expanded to other imitative effects. Comparing things that are expansive, humongous, and tremendous to things that are tiny, miniscule, and diminutive, are words that are imitative of size as opposed to sound. It would be safe to say a concrete poem in the shape of an tree, on the subject of a tree would be ONOMATOPOETIC. We can think of words like buzz, splat, swish, bow-wow, and pop, but poets can create other ONOMATOPOETIC effect in other aspects as well.
In regards to ALLITERATION, it is defined as a stylized literary device characterized by the repeated sound of the first consonant in a series of multiple words, or the repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of sounds at the beginning of words or in stressed syllables of a phrase. ALLITERATION can be used in ways similar to ONOMATOPOEIA because it can be related to the sense of sound. Representing sound with words alone, as ONOMATOPOEIA does, can be difficult; so, the use of ALLITERATION can be substituted for ONOMATOPOEIA. Examples of the replacement of ONOMATOPOEIA with ALLITERATION could be the phrase “booming bass”. The use of repeated B sounds is doubling as ALLITERATION and ONOMATOPOEIA because the B sound replicates the actual boom that the bass sound represents. In addition to an audio cue, ALLITERATION can also be visually pleasing and upon which a reader can focus.
So, in continuing our month featuring the “Sound of Love”, I ask you to use the devices of ONOMATOPOEIA and/or ALLITERATION within your poems to verbalize the “sounds” associated with the emotion of Love. With Valentine’s Day falling at the end of the week, maybe a “Hallmark” moment can be written in conjunction with our featured “prompt”. Either way, we are still in love with our words and how love sounds!
[…] written for Phoenix Rising Poetry […]
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Good morning! Mine is posted on my old blog as I wanted to retain the poem’s formatting, which means it’s a image file.
https://miskmask.wordpress.com/2015/02/08/loves-first-cup/
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I don’t like coffee, but I like your poem.
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I agree on both counts. I especially love the sound and sight of “sip my sleep away.”
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Love this, Misk. The love of a good cup of coffee. I am having one right now!
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oh yes! me too. sipping on one as i read this, also glad for your good example of alliteration and ONOMATOPOEIA
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This tasty brew perked me right up!
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Not sure if we’re supposed to comment here or on poets’ sites?..
I left a comment on your site, Misky. To paraphrase a line from “The Shop Around The Corner” – your poem will make poetry lovers out of coffee drinkers and coffee drinkers out of poetry lovers!
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Aaah, that’s very sweet. Thank you, Sasha!
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A wonderful rhythmic romp, Marilyn! A great start, again!
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Ditto what Connie said, but I have to disagree with Sasha’s lovely quote – I could not and never will be a coffee drinker. 🙂
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Sounds of Love in a Second Family
This morning’s moments mostly
consist of kitty contriving
to cuddle my computer
while my fingers tappity tappity
out a poem until she purrs
and sits perfectly still,
and hubby singing softly
while choppity chopping cheese
and sausage for our
lovely lady’s breakfast,
and our man meandering by
bustling about with a bangity boom
of his noisy toys.
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“kitty contriving to cuddle my computer” 😀 (Cute piece!)
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This is absolutely charming, Connie! I can see, hear and feel the entire scene.
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I agree, so cozy.
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You’ve managed to use both effectively here, Connie! A scene well sculpted!
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Lovely sounds of that second family.
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Love this Connie!
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Wow, you not only used sound and sight, but smell as swell. Such a contented picture.
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Thanks all, for the comments.
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The whimsical willows
The words on the wall
The world that is waiting
The waters that fall
The wishes we whisper
The bottomless well
The wee hours get crisper
The winter waves swell
The ‘why?’, the uncertain
The cruel would-have-been
The wooing, the curtain
The vows in between
The one thing we own
The now with no end
The wonder we’ve known
The storms that we fend
The years that we weather
The wordless ‘love you’
The warmth of together
The oneness of two
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Sasha, this poem reads seamlessly, and captures so much. Love this!
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How beautifully you capture essence of love, Sasha.
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Gorgeous. oh, that last line is a perfect pinnacle to the poem!
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This is stunning, Sasha. Truly beautiful!
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Sasha, I agree with Marie. Seamless and flows like water down a stream, filling every crag and tributary! I truly like this!
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Thank you all so much! 🙂
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Sasha I agree with what everyone said…this is a gorgeous piece of poetry and love.
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Thank you, Michelle.
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This is beautiful, and invites that it be sung.
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Thank you, William 🙂
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Beautiful in content and form!
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Onomatopoeia Dreamscape
Flip-flap-flip-flap-flippetty-fling,
books go flying zig…zag…zing.
Words are all a-clink, a-clatter.
In my dream, there’s naught a-matter.
Fwoosh! A novel buzzes ‘round,
blurting out each verb and noun!
Next, some poems play with patter.
Words are all a-clink, a-clatter.
Bam! I clap my hands while trilling,
“Ding! Dang! Dong! It’s all quite thrilling!”
Cream-white paper, inky spatter…
In my dream, there’s naught a-matter.
Giggle, giggle! Themes now mingle.
Flying tomes give me a tingle.
Oh, so fun, this chitterchatter!
In my dream, there’s naught a-matter.
###
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This is all about a love of the written (or spoken) word. However, there was a picture which gave my noisy poem wings: Lightverse
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Love it, RJ, and the pic! 🙂
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Excellent!
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Lovely combination of words and image, RJ.
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Picture describes your words perfectly.
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This poem flies well on its own, but the picture gives it wings! Love it!!
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Fun, fun, fun!
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Your mastery of form and function plays well within this piece, Randi! The “sound” rings loudly and fills the mind with its reverberations! Beauty!
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Oh, so fun, this chitterchatter!
In my dream, there’s naught a-matter… I love the picture, too
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This is very whimsical RJ and I love the picture! 🙂
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This is such a happy piece, and it’s night to see “naught” again.
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INFECTIOUS
Woozy, wheezy
Coughy, queasy
Throat is rough and raw.
Droopy, drowsy
Feeling lousy
Barfy, bloated, blah.
Sniffley, snivelly
Snort uncivilly
Sounding like a sow.
Rubbing noses
I suppose is
Peck to pick for now.
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Hopefully that feeling doesn’t come around too often! 🙂
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Unpleasant feeling, but great descriptive poem.
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Thanks much, Sara!
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sorry for chuckling as you suffer, but you nailed this one!
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Teeheehee! Chuckle on, Janet. And thanks! 😀
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I hate to giggle when someone doesn’t feel well, but you left me no choice! Feel better soon!!
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Thanks Susan! Giggle away … and yes, I am finally feeling considerably better. 🙂
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No fun…but fun!
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That’s a playful piece done to perfection! Nicely done, Pard!
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Thanks! 😀
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You almost convince me that this sounds like fun 🙂
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Teeheehee!
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You make having an illness sound fun! Nicely done!
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HA! Thanks Michelle!
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This is a sheer delight.
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Thank you sir! 🙂
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Delightful!
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*giggle giggle* Thanks much. It was a fun one to write.
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[…] https://phoenixrisingpg.wordpress.com/2015/02/08/the-sound-of-love-devices-onomatopoeia-and-allitera… […]
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Here’s a haibun; splash:
https://juleslongerstrandsofgems.wordpress.com/2015/02/08/the-romance-of-nature-calls-a-haibun-2-8-s/
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I love the musical sound and imagery of this piece. Nicely done!
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Nicely written, Jules! This form worked well to convey the images quite well!
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So many voices of nature in this poem! I felt as if I went on safari 🙂 The mourning doves brought me back home.
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What a beautiful feast of sound. Thank you for this.
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COME SOFTLY LOVE
Slowly she sauntered, sensually seeking
the long-lost love left languishing
in her heart, harried and hurried.
Every evening, Eve’s eyes eventually
dimmed in dreams of desire, A fire
forged in a far-off stare, there where
women always wondered why.
Holding onto the hope he would return
home where hearts and hearths were healed,
she waited there, where the warmth of love was.
(C) Walter J Wojtanik, 2015
Phoenix Rising Poetry Guild – February: The Sound of Love – Onomatopoeia and Alliteration
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Gorgeous in thought, image, feel, and word choice. It’s so beautifully done and flows so naturally that the prompt rules are not the focus. WOW …
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Thanks, Marie. Although you do seem to WOW easily, it comes as a grand compliment back my way!
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Huh. I don’t think I “wow” that easily. It’s just that certain people elicit my wow quite frequently. 😉
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WOW!
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Smarty pants. 😉
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😀
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Reminds me of a sailors wife…waiting.
Nicely, nicely.
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…or a trucker’s wife;)
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True, true.
Or just a wife with a husband who travels.
I was lucky my guy got home a day early yesterday.
Sometimes I get to go with him. 🙂
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Very close, Jules. A serviceman’s wife awaiting the return of her conquering hero! Thank you, thank you!
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“She waited there where the warmth of love was”. How well you used the devices to convey the feeling.
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I appreciate that, Sara. Thank you!
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so many great lines but ‘a fire forged in a far-off stare’…wow!
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somehow this comment did not end up beneath Walt’s poem…for you, Walt.
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You are too kind, Janet. But that line did paint her exactly! Thank you!
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Lovely! Strong in the emotions it conveys.
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Strong emotions rule the day, Susan! Thank you!
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Beautiful poem. “Holding onto the hope he would return” this works even for Moms waiting and hoping for a son to return “home where hearts and hearths were healed,
she waited there, where the warmth of love was.”
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I didn’t know the reference and read the poem as a story about falling, or longing to fall, back in love, finding each other again. Beautiful.
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A beautiful, sweet poem. I felt relaxed as I waited with her.
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This took me straight to the widow’s walk of an old house on Cape Cod, gazing out over the Atlantic.
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[…] THE SOUND OF LOVE: DEVICES – ONOMATOPOEIA AND ALLITERATION […]
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Brain Benumbed
Flip-flop, flip-flop,
butterflies flutter
inside my stomach.
What is he feeling?
Reeling on my feet,
I try to look level,
sane. Hard to read
his eyes–enormous
black pools. Fearful
of looking foolish
by blushing like a ripe
peach, I quickly lower
my lashes. I peek.
He advances toward me,
tilts my chin–a charmer.
Flip-flop, flip-flop.
Invisible paste prevents me
from opening my mouth.
I freeze in the stillness
of a statue.
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Oooh, nice capture here, Sara! The fluttering heart and adrenaline rush of the crush. Nice!
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’tilts my chin- a charmer’! Great imagery!
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Thanks, Janet!
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“Invisible paste prevents me from opening my mouth” — great lines in a great poem!
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Thanks so much, Susan!
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Echoing the “Ooooh!” You had me at “flip-flop”!
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A wonderful write, Sara.
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Thanks-thanks!
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Reeling on my feet,
I try to look level… this poem is perfection of the pain of a crush –
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I haven’t had a true crush in a long time!
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Love it Sara and the last lines made me chuckle.
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Wow. That statue is quivering! I love this.
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Thanks, William!
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CRASH INTO ME
Her kisses peck gently,
nipping and sipping sweetly.
Smacking of honey and dripping
with the love of lost years.
Tears left streaming, teeming
down rosy cheeks, streaks
of mascara marking. Sparks
in lightning striking, stars aligning,
hearts beating, thumps and
bumps, booms and bumps
rhythmically tapping and rapping;
her chest against mine. I find
her wave save me at every roll.
Taking her toll, crash into me!
(C) Walter J. Wojtanik, 2015
Phoenix Rising Poetry Guild – February: The Sound of Love – Onomatopoeia and Alliteration
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Oh my! 😀
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Melissa is a big Dave Matthews Band fan! That is one of his songs titles. The crash is onomatopoetic and elicited this piece. Thanks, Marie!
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Melissa has good taste. However did THAT happen? (And yes, this is an OH MY piece. Wow!)
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Passionate images and beautifully written, Walt.
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Thanks Susan.
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Sparks in lightning striking, stars aligning, Love that
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Your poems are probably not connected, but I’d like to think that they are. I want the two from the first poem find each other again in the second!
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Although the mechanism is sounds, this created a vibrant image for me. Wonderful.
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Such beautiful images of sounds—-all
Makes you wanna read them out loud again and again–
This was harder than I thought- here is my attempt–
When Love Strikes
They say that – when love strikes –
It palpitates, pounding on perky petalled poppies
or gurgles giddy goosebumps from gray to gold
It can even splash spluttering stars stretching spooling daylight
and mew in-between mindless musings
waltzing whirlwinds of a weather-storm
In a thud of thunder
But, for me it –
waltzed through windows unannounced
mewed in metered muted voices
splashed on silent waters
gurgled gushing,hushing noise
and palpitated, pealing some peepless patters
in the quiet of a quark-
Does sound transform this game?
Or is it all one and the same — when love strikes–?
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this is great.
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agreed 🙂
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Priti: So cool how the “they say” phrases are a bit hard to read out loud (need to trudge a bit), and the “but for me” phrases flow quickly and seamlessly, with easy/soothing word choices. Well done!
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I love every line in this poem. So well done!
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Impressive, Priti! You captured it well, despite the degree of difficulty!
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waltzed through windows unannounced
mewed in metered muted voices… wonderful,Priti
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Love this poem!
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For me, this poem ripples, like water over rocks. Marvellous.
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Ah, Love
Surge of something sacred and sweet
Stuns her; spills summer-slow, sigh-soft
Whispers wake wellsprings where want wafts
Wild within to a boom-boom beat
Soul-song sweeps soundless; blue eyes brood
Mouthing murmurs; kiss-kindled storm
Rolls ruthless, rousing raw words, warm
Reverberation; m-m-m, m-m-m-m, good
Touch tempts a tempest-tethered trove
Wonder thunders, thought finds fingers
Sh-h, sh-h, shudders, laughter lingers
Something satisfies her; ah, love
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Sensationally seductive! Love it!!
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Soothing, satisfying … read it three times just for the enjoyment of it. I especially love “spills summer-slow, sigh-soft whispers.” *sigh*
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Ah Love! Ah, beauty! Ah, love it, Janet!
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This is just lovely and a treat to read aloud
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“…m-m-m, m-m-m-m, good” ! Wonderful, Janet.
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Good vibrations in this poem Janet! Love it! 😉
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Ah, this thumps.
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Thank-you all!
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MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
With swooshing whoosh,
the arrow of Cupid
stings and clings to the heart
which flutters and sputters
falling flat with a splat
and zoom, with a boom,
it’s in love.
© Susan Schoeffield
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What a fun little piece! 🙂
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Thanks so much!
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A cacophony in a few words! Nice, Susan!
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Thanks, Walt.
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Such fun…love the ending
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Thanks, Debi!
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The poor heart didn’t stand a chance 🙂
A lovely “tender trap” of a poem!
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Thanks, Sasha!
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Fun one Susan!
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Thank you, Michelle!
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great sound effects for the best feeling of all!!
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Thanks, Janet!
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A bounty in brevity!
Fun!
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[…] for the 2/8/15 post at the Phoenix Rising Poetry Guild to write a love poem employing the poetic devices of Onomatopoeia and/or […]
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I love it, especially “swooshing whoosh.”
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Sometimes I Speak
By: Nurit Israeli
Sometimes I speak, so I see
the soft silence of your listening –
your ears eager to welcome my words.
Sometimes I speak, so you seize
my sentences – stroll through their sounds,
safeguard their spirit as you palpate their pulse.
Sometimes I speak, so I see my story
soak in your soul-stirring spark –
your words of wisdom whispering lyrics of love.
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Perfectly posed, Nurit! Sometimes I speak is a great refrain to string these verse together!
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Thanks, Walt.
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The first line of each stanza is so clever and effective. Loveliness
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Thanks, georgeplace!
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“the soft silence of your listening” – this is a treasure.
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Amen. Entirely lovely in its entirety.
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Thank you, Sasha.
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This is beautiful Nurit. So lovely.
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Thanks, Michelle!
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The “sees, seize, see” sounds ring, setting up the imagery. I think this is superb.
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Thanks, William. This means a great deal coming from you.
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https://swimspoems.wordpress.com/2015/02/11/hear-the-love/
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A great string of thoughts in sound, Debi! Well done!
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Everyday things are filled with beauty. Enjoyed the poem very much.
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The sounds have a cascading effect, for me. Wonderful.
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The Death of Love
The torrents
of escalating sobs
echoing off the skin and bones
of those afraid to move
afraid to feel
sitting stunned
and alone
as the wailing
slows to weeps
which slowly seep
into the marrow
of our souls…
even as the sounds
return under the door jams
and through the window screens
wrapping the emitter
in a blanket of misery
providing no comfort
no warmth
just the eternal, endless sadness
of a love lost –
vacuumed sealed
as the sun sets…
no future on the horizon.
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A powerful write. Gave me shivers.
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Thank you Sasha.
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So much emotion and power here. Excellent write!
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Wow. This is moving, especially, for me, “weeps / which slowly seep…”
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As mentioned, the emotional wrench of this is tight and pointed, Michelle! Well written.
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Love
drips
down
and around
watering
a thirsty, tired soul
searching
for forever,
forever
until finally
there’s
us.
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Another excellent one! Love how you end with just “us” alone.
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I love this; very i-cyclic.
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Passion…such beauty in the shape given the content, Michelle!
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This one trickles down with great fluidity! Another fine piece, Michelle!
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BEYOND THE LOOKING-GLASS
When love is long but time, finite,
I listen longingly for you;
I yearn for yesteryear, and rue
the tricks of time that trimmed our light.
I listen longingly for you
in whispers of the willows’ wheeze
and rustles of the russet breeze
when evening stirs the maple trees.
I yearn for yesteryear and rue
that all I have are drifting dreams
and memory that often seems
to mock my mind as lakes mock streams.
The tricks of time that trimmed our light
have taken you beyond my sight;
I think of when our morn was bright,
but love is long and time, finite.
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Longingly lovely in word choice, phrasing, image, and feel. Wonderful.
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I love the use of form here…it really works, William and a line that, for me, is brilliant, “memory that often seems/to mock my mind as lakes mock streams.” Caused me to stop and think of a the stream trickle in contrast with deep pool of lake…excellent image! 🙂
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A beauty in form and execution, William!
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A song for those parted by travel or some other distance.
That ‘love is long’ perhaps infinite though time be finite.
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Masterful, from “When love is long but time, finite,” to “but love is long and time, finite.” Beautiful depiction of yearning for yesteryear!
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[…] Phoenix Rising THE SOUND OF LOVE: DEVICES – ONOMATOPOEIA AND ALLITERATION […]
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This was a fun challenge!! Thank you. 🙂
https://wordrustling.wordpress.com/2015/02/11/a-flip-flop-flutter-love/
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This poem is utterly mesmerizing; it transcends sounds to involve sight and touch, or so it seems to me, and thus it seems fitting that it concludes with “wordless exchanges.” It’s a deeply moving piece, in my opinion.
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The aural quality of this poem is striking, and your combination of alliteration and onomatopoeia is outstanding. Elicits a smile!
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William and Walt!! Big smiles, thank you both so much for such encouragement…I appreciate it so much! 🙂
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Yes and hear, hear to Walt’s and William’s responses. My Sweet Hannah did it again! ❤
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Thank you, Marie!! It pleases me no end that you enjoyed this as well! ♥
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I Can Never Love You
By David De Jong
Like a mother loves her newborn child
Like an eagle soars to love the wild
Like a sandy beach soothing your woes
Like the color red calling the rose
Like a leaf clinging to summer’s dew
I can never love you
Less than that
Like a breath of sultry sea breeze air
Like sweet slices of succulent pear
Like sunshine melting a winter’s day
Like cooling mist from an ocean’s spray
Like every sunset coerces a view
I can never love you
Less than that
Like a Sunday morning coffee’s cream
Like the lingering lilac spring day’s dream
Like a kitten’s purr against your cheek
Like the river’s calling to the creek
Like sky beckoning to purest blue
I can never love you
Less than that
Like warming glows from a midnight fire
Like carols sung by an angelic choir
Like life itself each beat of my heart
Like painted mem’ries, pieces of art
Like all these things, I know it be true
I can never love you
Less than that
https://rustymidnightramblins.wordpress.com/2015/02/14/i-can-never-love-you/
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Oh my … so, so, so lovely …
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Thanks Marie
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