More Memphis Blues
Changing times32 total reviews
Comment from artisart4u
This brought back a lot of memories and if what you have isn't bad enough think about closed factories all over the country. They said we have to be innovative
I hope we will get a solution soon. Like my poem "'While Away Time," maybe
during this we will get an answer. They said some of the people (educated) who left the South are moving back home to help out.
Your poem rhymes very will and it gives me the blues as the say "the thrill is gone."
Sidewalks are dirtier, and etc. and people leave it to the next person to clean up. I guess pride, or self-esteem is gone.
Good luck with your poem.
reply by the author on 30-Jun-2016
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This brought back a lot of memories and if what you have isn't bad enough think about closed factories all over the country. They said we have to be innovative
I hope we will get a solution soon. Like my poem "'While Away Time," maybe
during this we will get an answer. They said some of the people (educated) who left the South are moving back home to help out.
Your poem rhymes very will and it gives me the blues as the say "the thrill is gone."
Sidewalks are dirtier, and etc. and people leave it to the next person to clean up. I guess pride, or self-esteem is gone.
Good luck with your poem.
Comment Written 30-Jun-2016
reply by the author on 30-Jun-2016
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artisart4u,
The Thrill is gone, for sure, thank you for your review and comments.
DeLaHay
Comment from Kingsland
There is so much in this poem that speaks to the past in America. The poem is just outstanding in every way and deserves all of these six-stars awarded here. This was everything an outstanding piece of poetry should be, I enjoyed reading it... John
reply by the author on 30-Jun-2016
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There is so much in this poem that speaks to the past in America. The poem is just outstanding in every way and deserves all of these six-stars awarded here. This was everything an outstanding piece of poetry should be, I enjoyed reading it... John
Comment Written 30-Jun-2016
reply by the author on 30-Jun-2016
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John,
Thank you for the best review I think I've ever received.
DeLaHay
Comment from Marie Henry
A really well thought our and haunting piece of poetry. It is evocative and steeped in loss and sorrow and this is conveyed to the reader. With a melodious rhythm to guide us through the story, the reader ends up feeling sadness that the writer intended.
reply by the author on 30-Jun-2016
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A really well thought our and haunting piece of poetry. It is evocative and steeped in loss and sorrow and this is conveyed to the reader. With a melodious rhythm to guide us through the story, the reader ends up feeling sadness that the writer intended.
Comment Written 30-Jun-2016
reply by the author on 30-Jun-2016
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Thank you for your review. I didn't mean to spread sadness, that's just how it is.
DeLaHay
Comment from Irish Rain
Wish I had a six for you and this awesome poem. Very descriptive, heart-rending truths. I like the way it flows through history. Blessings....
reply by the author on 30-Jun-2016
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Wish I had a six for you and this awesome poem. Very descriptive, heart-rending truths. I like the way it flows through history. Blessings....
Comment Written 29-Jun-2016
reply by the author on 30-Jun-2016
Thank you very much for your review and commits.
DeLaHay
Comment from rbutner
This excellent poem sounds like a blues song; very appropriate. Your words invoke both a sad feeling and a particular picture in the reader's mind of the past. I love the sixth stanza! Beautifully done.
reply by the author on 30-Jun-2016
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This excellent poem sounds like a blues song; very appropriate. Your words invoke both a sad feeling and a particular picture in the reader's mind of the past. I love the sixth stanza! Beautifully done.
Comment Written 29-Jun-2016
reply by the author on 30-Jun-2016
Thank you very much for your review and commits.
DeLaHay
Comment from Louise Michelle
This reads like song lyrics: blues, in fact, which is appropriate for your setting.
Gosh, this certainly rekindled memories of terrible times gone by. But, as your poem implies, not all that much has changed. Very nicely done, a most enjoyable read.
reply by the author on 30-Jun-2016
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This reads like song lyrics: blues, in fact, which is appropriate for your setting.
Gosh, this certainly rekindled memories of terrible times gone by. But, as your poem implies, not all that much has changed. Very nicely done, a most enjoyable read.
Comment Written 29-Jun-2016
reply by the author on 30-Jun-2016
Thank you very much for your review and commits.
DeLaHay
Comment from Susanne M. Psyris
A very heart-felt and meaningful poem here. Your great word choices create a dismal image of this place. Your poem could make a great song! Enjoyed the read very much. God bless and hugs, Susanne
reply by the author on 29-Jun-2016
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A very heart-felt and meaningful poem here. Your great word choices create a dismal image of this place. Your poem could make a great song! Enjoyed the read very much. God bless and hugs, Susanne
Comment Written 29-Jun-2016
reply by the author on 29-Jun-2016
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This actually started life as a song. Several of my poems did. Thank you for you comments. I appreciate the feedback.
Comment from Pantygynt
A fascinating rap style poem that had me reaching back through US history that I as an Englishman have not studied in depth. This was a bit like a puzzle and here's how I workedit out - of course I could be all wrong.
Handy's shadow? I'm going to pass on that.
Martin? I think this has to be Martin Luther King.
1964? No not the year of King's assassination. That was '68. But 64 was the year he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Bobby...blown away. This I think is Senator Robert Kennedy also assassinated in 1968. He was also a champion of the civil rights movement.
Katrina is of course hurrican Katrina that effectively "washed the gulf away" in August last year.
Then it's back to handy's shadow. The only thing I can come up with is that this is a startup company that puts tradespeople in touch with clients. I started out in cleaning and of course a great many of the poor of the southern states work in this industry, perhaps in Handy's shadow. The company recently raised $50 million and is currently valued at hallf a billion $.
I may be all wrong or part wrong but I think I have found out where you are coming from in this fascinating poem. Anyway I have enjoyed half an hour's vascinating research and I think five stars and an enjoyable half hour is better for both of us than saying, "don't know what you're talking about - two stars". Lol.
reply by the author on 29-Jun-2016
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A fascinating rap style poem that had me reaching back through US history that I as an Englishman have not studied in depth. This was a bit like a puzzle and here's how I workedit out - of course I could be all wrong.
Handy's shadow? I'm going to pass on that.
Martin? I think this has to be Martin Luther King.
1964? No not the year of King's assassination. That was '68. But 64 was the year he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Bobby...blown away. This I think is Senator Robert Kennedy also assassinated in 1968. He was also a champion of the civil rights movement.
Katrina is of course hurrican Katrina that effectively "washed the gulf away" in August last year.
Then it's back to handy's shadow. The only thing I can come up with is that this is a startup company that puts tradespeople in touch with clients. I started out in cleaning and of course a great many of the poor of the southern states work in this industry, perhaps in Handy's shadow. The company recently raised $50 million and is currently valued at hallf a billion $.
I may be all wrong or part wrong but I think I have found out where you are coming from in this fascinating poem. Anyway I have enjoyed half an hour's vascinating research and I think five stars and an enjoyable half hour is better for both of us than saying, "don't know what you're talking about - two stars". Lol.
Comment Written 29-Jun-2016
reply by the author on 29-Jun-2016
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I did not know I had written a rap poem. W.C. Handy was a musician and composer once known as "The father of the blues". He developed a style that some call "Memphis Blues". There is a statue of him in Memphis in a park called Handy Park. It just stands there, not playing.
After the American Civil War many former Confederate states passed laws known as "Jim Crow Laws" that deprived minorities of certain rights. In 1964 President Johnson signed The Civil Rights Act. It was supposed to create "The Great Society" and was meant to restore equal rights to everyone. It didn't, so there were a lot of protests and riots by people trying to get those rights. One of those protests was a strike by garbage collectors in Memphis, Tn. Martin Luther King went to Memphis to support the striking workers and was assassinated.
Hurricane Katrina devastated several southern states in 2005 causing economic hardship for thousands, just as the decline in the once mighty cotton industry brought poverty to many farmers in the southern U.S.
Yes Robert, Bobby, Kennedy was shot, or blown away, in 1968. He was mostly called Bobby Kennedy at the time in the U.S.
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Not all wrong then just most of it. Thanks for completing my education.
Comment from write hand blue
There is a vein of sadness in this poem about Memphis. Written from the street level perhaps by a homeless man.
A powerful write, and excellent visual takes the reader to that stark place.
The rich stay rich and the poor stay poor. This is the way it has always been I'm afraid.
I found this poem rich in local atmosphere and imagery. Most artistic with a descriptive tone that is inspiring. Well thought out and clearly creative.
Good poem... ~Mel~
reply by the author on 29-Jun-2016
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There is a vein of sadness in this poem about Memphis. Written from the street level perhaps by a homeless man.
A powerful write, and excellent visual takes the reader to that stark place.
The rich stay rich and the poor stay poor. This is the way it has always been I'm afraid.
I found this poem rich in local atmosphere and imagery. Most artistic with a descriptive tone that is inspiring. Well thought out and clearly creative.
Good poem... ~Mel~
Comment Written 28-Jun-2016
reply by the author on 29-Jun-2016
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Well it is staged in Memphis but I guess it could speak to the despair of economic inequality in just about any city. A statue of W.C. Handy in Memphis inspired this though. Thank you for your kind review and feedback.
Comment from Domino 2
This is rather long for my pathetic reading attention-spell, but it held my attention throughout.
'The rich stay rich the poor stay poor' - it seems that always has been and always will be the way, unfortunately, as the rich hold all the Aces.
Excellent expression with so many vivid examples of how a city and its people has lost so much, with excellent touches of dramatic repetition.
I think regular poetic meter improves rhymed/structured poetry, no end, but as this write seems more like EXCELLENT song lyrics, that doesn't apply.
Really enjoyed the read, though of course the theme is necessarily depressing to get the points across.
Best wishes, Ray.
reply by the author on 29-Jun-2016
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This is rather long for my pathetic reading attention-spell, but it held my attention throughout.
'The rich stay rich the poor stay poor' - it seems that always has been and always will be the way, unfortunately, as the rich hold all the Aces.
Excellent expression with so many vivid examples of how a city and its people has lost so much, with excellent touches of dramatic repetition.
I think regular poetic meter improves rhymed/structured poetry, no end, but as this write seems more like EXCELLENT song lyrics, that doesn't apply.
Really enjoyed the read, though of course the theme is necessarily depressing to get the points across.
Best wishes, Ray.
Comment Written 28-Jun-2016
reply by the author on 29-Jun-2016
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Thank you for sticking with my poem and seeing it through. It can be difficult to stay interested in a long poem. It is about rather depressing subjects. I appreciate the feedback.
