The writer in ink has faded
bone white parchment skinned
That shade embalmed in words
rolled on a thousand tongues and more
like the aftermath of a feast
still tasted and
yet broken by the man from Porlock*
And the uninvited still arrive
to pry and listen at your door
but the wood only whispers of rot
and the midnight frost.
in rooms that resound
with a child's soothing, unwilling vows,
coal fire spit, oration with opium.
We came, my poetry lover and I
proof reading dust
deciphering your mortal frame
I look to the gifts, the ones you left
no matter the man, see in poetry
that abstruse musings are respite;
this world absorbed in all your works
is more a thing of Heaven than when
distinct by one dim shade
suffused
whose very murmur does of it partake
Tis the ceaseless, the thousandfold Echo
Each with a different tone, compleat or in musical fragments
Ye who have eyes to detect, and gall to chastise the imperfect,
Have you the heart, too, that loves, feels and rewards the compleat?
Yet gaze again, and with a steady gaze
- a “person on business from Porlock” was an unwelcome visitor to S. T. Coleridge during his composition of the poem Kubla Khan in 1797. Thus he subtitled it as: Or, a vision in a dream. A Fragment
- his house at Nether Stowey in Somerset is a National Trust tourist venue
- reference to one of C’s poems: Frost at Midnight
For my MTB prompt: “Elaborating Lacunae in the Fragment or Keeping Things Whole” we are selecting a 13 line or less fragment (of) poetry and expanding/completing it, as in this conversational collaged poem, with italicised extracts of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Fragments #5 & #6
PoetryPix 
Just a note: this doesn’t show up in any readable form in the Reader, which is where I read posts. I was so confused I came to your blog to see what exactly was going on. I’m still not sure if I understand your prompt, but I like the philosophical back and forth you’ve created with Coleridge’s words. The uninvited are ubiquitous these days…(K)
thank you – that wretched Reader messes up so much of our posts which is why I like to visit the blog- Coleridge left Fragments – whether these few lines were for publication of for draft I’m not quite sure (especially as he was usually so verbose) so I have incorporated part of them as this conversational piece
WP is always finding ways to reformat things. Even on the blog, when I’m writing a post, I often have trouble with it.
That said, the Reader is convenient to me. If I had to go to each blog all the time, I would visit far fewer posts.
I must admit I don’t understand Fragment poetry at all. It looks like regular poetry to me–or maybe I just always write that way.
I’ve selected less and less blogs to follow to follow so can visit directly and hopefully give more quality to input
I could write a thesis on Fragment poetry but it’s précised in the prompt . It’s literal (torn papyrus), Romantic metaphorical (death, sudden departure, interruption) and a post modernist symbolic conceit of alienation with its deliberate gaps and linkage of non-sequiturs. I find the latter difficult to read
Sometimes I think fragments are nearer to drafts/ideas, notes just waiting for elaboration as with Coleridge’s fragments here
Thanks Laura. I think my poetry is always fragmented–I did look at the examples and could not see much if any difference from most of the (modern) poetry I read. But maybe I’m just too dense to be able to understand it. In any case, seeing what Jane did with your prompt gives me a clearer picture of what I think you were looking for. I’ll try to tackle it at some point (obviously way past the deadline) because I think my Oracle poems are perfect vehicles for fleshing out in that fashion the way Jane did, and actually always does.
fragment poetry fits your collages
It does! Also the way I think and work.
A virtuoso homage to Coleridge’s genius, Laura. I love how you use “the man from Porlock” as a metaphor of intrusion in its many forms, including that of the judgmental. It is indeed more than enough the “gifts” of poetry he left us. To roll his poetry off our tongues – especially “Kubla Khan”– is heaven indeed, “compleat or in musical fragments.”
thank you Dora for such comprehensive feedback – KK is so melodic
This one is above me, I don’t know any of your characters. But you did a good job in assembling. I like that the new addition can be a poem on its own.
..
I am the traditional “sow’s ear”.
..
not at all you have a very poetic ear
thanks Jim – I assumed Coleridge was well known but maybe should have given a link to the referenced KK poem so here it is – the rest is in the footnotes
Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge | Poetry Foundation
I am so impressed how you tuned your language so perfectly to that of Coleridge’s slightly archaic language, yet making it seem so very modern (or dare I say ironic). The bridge with the man from Porlock works so well especially with the explaination.
nice observation Bjorn – the fragments would not have fitted as well without that attempt
Your metaphors escape me. Since i’m unfamiliar with them. but i find it interesting that such a long and interesting poem can be crafted from a mere fragment
much♡love
thanks Gillena – reassuring about what was intended here
Now I see what Kerfe meant. Using my laptop, I see your intended layout. It is aesthetically functional and pleasing to look at, as compared to the reader. I love the wood whispering of rot and midnight frost. That description intrigues. Along with the writer, fading in ink.
thank you Melissa and for reading it on the blog in the columnar layout that the WP Reader obviously cannot comprehend – makes me wonder why WordPress offer up different layouts and formats in blocks only for the Reader to ignore them all
Laura, your back and forth reads like an elegant dance .. the minuet perhaps – one couple alone on the dance floor. Seamless perfection. Your poetry is a gift.
very nice metaphor for this conversational poem with Coleridge – thank you Helen
The Coleridge quotation produces such an intriguingly powerful effect, transitioning from our observation of “that shade embalmed in words” (such a beautifully iambic line by the way!) to our ventriloquism of his Fragments. Very cool reinterpretation and expansion of the original!
thank you for such encouraging feedback. “ventriloquism of his Fragments”- a brilliant sub heading!
This layout is ideal for the conversation form of this exemplary fragment poem – I had thought about using it for mine but in the end i decided the inline version made it more ambiguous as to whether the seductee’s responses were verbalised or silent. Really enjoyed this prompt Laura…
yes your poem with its head to head conversation worked so well with the integration – my poem is as a visitor to the writer faded in ink! thank you for your feedback and enjoyment of the prompt
I think this is a good push for me to read older poetry. You’ve created a seamless conversation that has me wanting to know and understand more.
thank you _ yes still much to admire as well as learn from ‘the older ones’ not least because their poetry is much more formalised
I enjoyed the light touch on your fragment poem. The part about proofreading dust with your poet lover tickled me pink.
Laura, thanks again, for the creative prompt with guidelines.
thank you for the wry smile and your appreciation of the prompt Lisa
❤
This is a conversation filled with beautiful images of people I do not know. I’ll have to read up!
I think we should draw from the old masters lest we forget the myriad ways poetry can be writ!