In solitude,
noise from the street outside
shut out by window panes
the plant in a quiet corner
thrives
spills from its stand
a cascade of colour, spreads
green over warm polished boards
grateful for water
I give
blossoms bask in sun by day
close by night to save
strength enough for tomorrow’s display
tell me somehow still to find
a corner of my own
I will
Robin V. Herrnfeld has spent most of her adult life in Germany, although American born and raised. Always an avid reader and interested in writing, she has started writing short fiction herself. Most recently she has been trying her hand at poetry. http://www.writewords.org.uk/r_vherrnfeld/
Posted on February 7, 2010 in Inspirational
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27 Responses to “RESOLUTION • by Robin V. Herrnfeld”
Comments
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February 7th, 2010 at 7:20 am
Lovely picture. I need a sunny corner too!
–dj
February 7th, 2010 at 7:36 am
A lovely poem.
February 7th, 2010 at 9:10 am
Wonderful.
Jen
February 7th, 2010 at 9:38 am
A sweet, peaceful feel, and yes, we could all use such a place.
February 7th, 2010 at 10:11 am
I love this, Robin. Beautifully peaceful, yet full of determination.
February 7th, 2010 at 10:15 am
Nice poem Robin, enjoyed.
February 7th, 2010 at 2:57 pm
After digging out my driveway buried under 30 inches of white stuff, this poem is a bit of paradise.
February 7th, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Lovely!
February 7th, 2010 at 5:44 pm
Love it, Sis!
February 7th, 2010 at 8:07 pm
A lot of the typical mistakes a beginning poet makes in here. A lot of telling, awkward personification, POV shifts, structurally clunky right from the first line and through to the end.
There is a site where people who aspire to write poetry can go to workshop their poems, sponsored by the American Academy of Poets, excellent forum with lots of resources, and good writers who give excellent and detailed crits.
http://www.Poets.org, go to the Discussion forums and you will see the forum workshops. Registration is free.
February 7th, 2010 at 8:51 pm
Wow,fishlovesca. I believe the Discussion forums at Poets.org must be positively terrifying.
The comments section here at Every Day Poets is our forum. But EDP is a place to be published, not just ripped. And getting published is quite nice–much as Robin’s poem.
–dj
February 8th, 2010 at 2:17 am
Ah, yes, the mediocrity of it all.
Thanks, Fishlovesca, you’re a great help.
February 8th, 2010 at 4:07 am
The writers who post their poems and crit over at Poets.org are very help and supportive. The workshops are leveled from beginners to advanced. I workshop all my poems there, in fact, I have two posted there now, and I crit many poems there. The crits over there go into minute detail, structure, grammar, imagery, language, orginality, simile and metaphor, symbolism, and will follow the poem through drafts with further comments. If you don’t want or feel you need that kind of assistance with your writing, right on.
My own opinion, no one has to agree with me, is if a work is published, then it should be worthy of publishing. Just like a book that’s out in the bookstores, it is open to reviews, not in-depth crits. That’s the standard I apply.
February 8th, 2010 at 4:08 am
*helpful
February 8th, 2010 at 7:16 am
Good little poem evoking the satisfaction of viewing the plant, which is both a symbol of life and also a reminder of life’s exotic variety. But the lines “grateful for water I give” pull me down from contemplation of the burgeoning plant and the last three lines lessen the sense of the plants exotic vitality, weakening the poem.
February 8th, 2010 at 9:01 am
Actually, fishlovesca, I very much appreciate constructive criticism, which is why all of my work is workshopped at a well-known writer’s community where serious writers pay to become members.
February 8th, 2010 at 9:53 am
I don’t suppose it’s possible to get a refund.
February 8th, 2010 at 10:51 am
By the way, I run a writer’s group. My writers aren’t at all serious, though they do somehow manage to be well-known, and published. We only pay for our coffees.
February 8th, 2010 at 3:00 pm
Very nice!
February 8th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
Such a nice picture you paint, Robin dear!
February 8th, 2010 at 3:15 pm
Robin, I have consistently enjoyed your poetry in EDP. This one is lovely.
February 8th, 2010 at 3:23 pm
Beautiful. I will read this again when I need inspiration.
February 9th, 2010 at 5:30 am
I am familiar with the “Academy of American Poets” and it publishes not only serious writers, but famous ones. However EDP is a workshop for serious writers who publish their own current work and serious readers for whom serious writers write. They don’t pay to get in, they just forge ahead in their seriousness about writing.
February 9th, 2010 at 10:40 am
Many thanks for the many kind comments.
February 9th, 2010 at 6:53 pm
I’m a bit late to read and comment, but I enjoyed the gentle, green pursuit of quiet.
February 10th, 2010 at 7:49 am
I enjoyed the colorful cascade of burgeoning life. No one mentioned how well this poem is crafted, so I’ll just mention it here.
February 10th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Thanks, Roberta, for that.