yy TYPES OF POETRY

Shooting-stars (Damp Wood)

~ Christina Egan ~ Leave a comment

Shooting-stars

Damp wood, damp walls: the world smells of decay.
The scented roses are resurgent, yet
too many leaves are falling, fallen, wet
across the spotless lawn, the winding way.
Above Bruce Castle’s reddish parapet
and wayward weather-vane, the veil of grey
is torn apart to let a dazzling ray
caress the clock-face, still for summer set.
The light is fierce and will not be subdued,
the clock smiles sky-blue with a rim of gold,
the grass is glittering and fresh and bold,
and then the sky itself triumphs, renewed.
All this eclipsing, flash on flash, they pass:
the parakeets, a dozen shooting-stars.

Christina Egan ©2020

Turret painted in pink, with bright-blue clockface and golden weather-vane, under a blue sky.
Bruce Castle, Tottenham, England.
Photograph: Christina Egan ©2017.

This sonnet was read at an
event of Tottenham Trees
at Bruce Castle Museum
in November 2024, together
with Thought Bench and
Hollow Oak (Anglo-Saxon spell).

Von stählernen Waben (Wortbild)

~ Christina Egan ~ Leave a comment
Visual poem of the text Von gläsernen Waben. The words are typed up into a grid with large hollows, like buildings with yards. Some words are located in these spaces, like people walking about. In the centre, the words “Du” (You) and “Ich” (“I”).

Visual poem developed from the text Von stählernen Waben (see below). Christina Egan ©2024.

For the English text version and links to similar poems, see When Webs of Steel / Von stählernen Waben.

For the English visual version and for a related word cloud, see the previous post, Webs of Steel (Visual Poetry).

Von stählernen Waben

Von stählernen Waben und gläsernen Wänden
beschränkt auf ein spärliches gräsernes Eck,
steh’ stille und spüre dein Blut in den Händen:
Du hast ein Gesicht; und du hast ein Geschick.

Will keiner dich kennen, verstehen und lieben,
gibt keiner verborgene Neigungen her,
hol’ Atem – hol’ Atem – und freu’ dich am Leben:
Ich weiß es ja, bin ja bei dir übers Meer!

Christina Egan © 2015

When Webs of Steel (Visual poetry)

~ Christina Egan ~ Leave a comment
Visual poem of: https://eganpoet.net/2015/12/11/when-webs-of-steel/. The worda are tped up into two squares, with some in the middle, like a person walking about in the yard of a building.
Word cloud on black, most words pale, some words glaring. In the middle, "glass", "steel", "doors", "sun".


Visual poem developed from the text When webs of steel (see below). Christina Egan ©2024.
Word cloud Steel & Glass of twelve English poems about big cities on this website. Christina Egan ©2024.

Visual poem typed up on a Word document. Word cloud designed on Simple Word Cloud Generator.
For the German version and links to similar poems, see When Webs of Steel / Von stählernen Waben.
For the inspiration for the design of the word cloud, see Glass Mountain (Potsdamer Platz).

When Webs of Steel

When webs of steel and walls of glass
confine you to a square of grass –
stand still and feel your sap pulsate:
You have a face. You have a fate.

When no one listens, no one knows you,
when no one loves you or else shows you,
take a deep breath – take two – take cheer:
I know, across the seas. I’m here.

Christina Egan © 2009

Buntbetupft

~ Christina Egan ~ Leave a comment

Buntbetupft

Nur
einen
seligen
Sommer,
einen zweiten
und dritten tanzten
du und ich inmitten einer
buntbetupften Wiese unter dem
Summen der Hüpfer und Hummeln,
unter des Bussards hoher Wacht.
Und keiner von uns beiden
wußte, was bliebe,
und keiner
nannte es
Liebe.
Aber
das Leben
war gegeben,
wie es nur Kindern ist,
Heiligen oder Toren oder eben
Liebenden, und die Freude war stark
wie die Pracht der Mittsommersonne.
Die Erde war rund und bunt, und
ihre Haut duftete uns! Wir
drehten uns schnell,
alles drehte sich
um uns, es
war ein
Heute,
hell.

Christina Egan ©2021

Drawing of three old-fashioned spinning tops.

The shape of the poem emulates two children holding hands and whirling around, or two spinning-tops…

Illustration from ‘Children’s games throughout the year’ (1949) by Leslie Daiken.

Indigo Pond

~ Christina Egan ~ Leave a comment

Indigo Pond
(Hiroshige, Wisteria)

Deep blue sky, deep blue pond.
Two black-and-white feathers
drifting – no, two ducks!
Two specks in the indigo
like two pearls in enamel.

*

The arched wooden bridge
is as steep as a rainbow,
exasperating.
So we meet only rarely
right above the brilliant blue.

Christina Egan © 2016

Lower half dark blue water, upper half very steep bridge and branches in cream colours, dark blue strip of sky at top

Utagawa Hiroshige: Wisteria at Kameido Tenjin Shrine (1856). One hundred famous views of Edo, No. 57.

With thanks to the Royal Academy of Arts for the postcard and to the British Museum for the digital image.

In this Japanese verse pattern, the first three lines of each poem could stand for themselves, while the last two add another aspect.

rosengarten (I. tiefversteckt)

~ Christina Egan ~ Leave a comment

rosengarten

I. tiefversteckt

wieviele monde sind uns noch beschieden
die ungeahnten sonnenglanz vergießen
wieviele rosen werden uns noch sprießen
aus blut und duft als wäre leben lieben?
wieviele strände dürfen wir genießen
im wilden norden und im kargen süden
wo winde endlos sich mit wellen wiegen
wieviele sommer sind uns noch geblieben?
du bist der tiefversteckte rosengarten
den ich nach langem suchen langem warten
betrübt doch immer hoffnungsvoll betrat.
du bist der mond der gleich der sonne leuchtet
du bist die brandung die den sand befeuchtet
du bist die erde wie am ersten tag.

Christina Egan ©2023

This sonnet forms the basis of a cycle of 14 poems, whereby each line furnishes the first line of a new sonnet (Continental pattern). Watch this space for the rose garden project (ROSENGARTEN).

This cycle is not about gardens alone or about islands, although many far-flung places will be reflected in these lines: it is about finding love and happiness, going through life together, finding liveable spaces…

Word cloud in reddish and yellowish colours on green; in the middle, "how many" "rose gardens", and a question mark.

Word cloud of ten German sonnets (rosengarten I-X),
generated on the Simple Word Cloud Generator.
In the chance arrangement, words picked out
by size and colour form the sentence:
“how many rose gardens where we,
(O) you, may yet live?”

P.S.:
You can now view a word cloud of all 14 sonnets at WordItOut
and have it printed on a mousemat or mug or fridge magnet!

Brief Encounter (II/III)

~ Christina Egan ~ Leave a comment

Brief Encounter (II/III)


Out of the sea,
out of thick mist, a reddish
disc rose: the sun on a wilful day.
It was around solstice, but it would not
bring enough light, nor enough heat.


It tasted like honey, hazelnut cream,
like the unbearable sweetness of a rose
you can feel on your tongue, it tasted
like grapes, a whole bowl full,
 or it might have.

Christina Egan ©2024

Poem about a red fish in dark water in the shape of a fish, in red print on dark background.

Visual poetry: Brief Encounter (I).
Text and design: Christina Egan ©2024.

Brief Encounter (I)

~ Christina Egan ~ Leave a comment

Brief Encounter (I)


Tiny
and arched
was the bridge,
of gleaming green
wood, between leaves
of palm-trees, lush, polished,
larger than a new-born child.
Through the muddy water
underneath, something
slid by, slid through:
a blood-red
carp. I was
startled,
I was struck.
A fish like a flame.

Christina Egan ©2024

Bright red koi fish coming out from underneath curved green bridge across pond

Photograph: Christina Egan ©2013

Snow, Slow / Schnee, langsam

~ Christina Egan ~ Leave a comment

Patio with some plants at far end covered in thick fresh snow.Snow, Slow
(Christmas Haiku)

Snow, slow, abundant,
covering the sleek black soil
like icing-sugar.

*

Flames of real candles
in the darkened room, like stars
visiting the earth.

*

Tinsel billowing
on the fir-twigs, as if stirred
by an angel’s wing.

***

Schnee, langsam
(Weihnachtshaiku)

Schnee, langsam, reichlich,
fällt auf blanke schwarze Erde…
wie Zuckerstaub.

*

Wachskerzenflammen
im Dämmer… wie Sterne,
herniedergestiegen.

*

Lametta flattert
an Zweigen… wie angerührt
von Engelsflügeln.

 Christina Egan © 2017

 

Real candles, even made of beeswax, are still common on Christmas trees in Germany, and lametta is used more sparingly and usually silver, reminiscent of snow.

Thick snow is nowadays a rare phenomenon in England… Note the tiny Christmas tree taken out after the festive days (and later planted into the soil!). – Photograph: Christina Egan © 2018.