The painting ‘A Greater Morning’ (pictured above) powerfully conveys what many feel with the onset of the New Year: a sense of hope and renewal, of a new beginning. The same sentiment is expressed in different but equally engaging ways in the following poems. I hope you all enjoy reading these literary gems as much as I have.
According to scientists, the sound you hear when you place a seashell next to your ear is not the sound of the ocean. It is the ambient noise from the immediate surroundings which is amplified in the cavity of the shell. No matter, listening to the sound is a delightful experience for many. It has even inspired some poets…
“They don’t make them like they used to.” The clichéd expression does not only apply to consumer goods. It is true as well for modern-day love songs, many of which are full of platitudes and paltry emotions. In contrast, the romantic ballads of old usually told a narrative and often used poetic language.
Unless one is an atheist, it seems natural for people facing imminent death in a tempestuous sea to turn to God for help. In the following pair of poems, faith comes to the fore as humans grapple with their mortality…
It does not have the dramatic flair of Ezra Pound’s translation of The Seafarer nor the lyricism of John Masefield’s Sea-Fever. Yet, The Indifferent Mariner by American poet Arthur Macy (1842-1904) is compelling in its own right. Consisting of seven stanzas of four lines each, the poem paints an unvarnished portrait of a mariner.
Of the myriads of poems about merchant mariners, some stand out for a simple reason. They do more than depict the physical universe in which these men struggle for a living and sometimes for their very existence. They usher the reader into the sailor’s inner world of thoughts and feelings.
A seafarer may be grateful to his alma mater for his education, to his shipmates for their camaraderie at sea, and to his spouse or partner for being faithful in his absence. But the one person to whom he owes a boundless debt of gratitude is his mother.
It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. The reverse can be true. A poet who is not banal can paint, with just a line or two, a picture that is worth a thousand words. Such a poet can even convey certain sounds that a mute painting or photograph cannot.
The torrid temperatures this April reminded me of a 1920 poem by Robert Frost titled ‘Fire and Ice’. Using the contrasting images of fire and ice, the beloved American poet muses on how the world will end. He speaks of the cataclysmic event in a colloquial tone, which makes the poem somehow more chilling.
There is no dearth of artworks depicting stevedores (or dockers, as they are called in the UK). In contrast, poems by famous authors about these waterfront workers are few and far between. In fact, I have found only three…
Like the lens of a camera, poetry can put reality into sharper focus and prod us to see the world with fresh eyes. The following poems written by three famous poets are about water, a subject many people tend to take for granted. They are notable for their effective use of rhythm, diction and imagery to deliver a philosophical message.
I recently watched the Netflix TV series ‘Inside Man‘. The theme song,‘God’s Gonna Cut You Down’ by American singer John Grant, immediately caught my ear. Somehow it reminded me of certain players in the shipping world, particularly those who contribute in one way or another to the suffering of seafarers and other people.