Reviews from

Free Verse Collection

Viewing comments for Chapter 18 "The Road to Salamanca"
A collection of free verse poems

36 total reviews 
Comment from Kausar_Javeria
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Hello there~!
This is really well-written. I really like inspired works the best. because that sudden zeal to write is incomparable! And the results are as amazing as this!
Well done!

JazakAllah Khair~!
(God Bless~!)

(^_^)-<~~KAUSAR~~>-(^_^)

 Comment Written 06-Jan-2015


reply by the author on 06-Jan-2015
    Thank you, Kauser.
Comment from lalajovanoski
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Wowwww!!!! this was a truly intriguing read!!
beautiful free verse
I very much enjoyed this fine, well composed, inspiring piece,

Well done!
Very captivating!!

Thanks for sharing!!

 Comment Written 06-Jan-2015


reply by the author on 06-Jan-2015
    Hi, lalajcvanoski, thank you so much for your enthusiastic review! Best wishes, Tony.
Comment from N.K. Wagner
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A brooding landscape accompanies the journey of a couple with troubles. I like the symbolism of the soup as a last vestige of warmth, the salt perhaps a foreshadowing of tears. A sad story told beautifully. :) Nancy

 Comment Written 06-Jan-2015


reply by the author on 06-Jan-2015
    Thanks so much for your review, Nancy. You, I think, are the only one to have noticed the significance of the salt cod!
reply by N.K. Wagner on 06-Jan-2015
    Hey! On a good day, I get lucky. :D Nancy
Comment from rjuselius
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this is a beautiful sentiment dear tony! the imagery is quite breath-taking and the poem itself is well presented! the metaphors are astonishing. life indeed can be compared with the rough landscape.
thank you for sharing!
rebekka x

 Comment Written 06-Jan-2015


reply by the author on 06-Jan-2015
    Thank you, Rebekka. A harsh landscape indeed.
Comment from LIJ Red
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What is so gnarled and picturesque as an old olive tree? An old town of haunts wiped out in ancient wars? Glad to hear the romance in the sere yellow leaf was fictional...

 Comment Written 05-Jan-2015


reply by the author on 05-Jan-2015
    It is certainly a landscape that holds memories of the past, as well as a plentiful supply of windmills on the hilltops these days, at which to tilt.
Comment from acerisestory
Exceptional
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Your poem is lovely, Tony! The joyless mood you've created with your well chosen words permeates your poem.

Your words flow well with the use of alliteration with: grey-green; bull/breathed; soup/salt; daylight/drained. I very much like the imagery in this stanza:

"A solitary bull breathed thin vapour
across our final olive grove,
and fog swirled, licking at the edges
of our relationship."

In your final stanza, I wonder if you meant for "disgorged" to be on a separate line?

Very well done, my friend! I enjoyed your poem very much. Take care. Alana

 Comment Written 05-Jan-2015


reply by the author on 05-Jan-2015
    Thank you, Alana, for your generous review and six-star rating. Yes, I did intend to give 'disgorged' a little extra weight with its own seperate line.
reply by acerisestory on 05-Jan-2015
    You are welcome, Tony, I wondered if that was your plan, and it certainly adds impact. Take care! Alana
Comment from ravenblack
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Your second stanza- such a well-focused, concrete image to taper into " licking at the edges of our relationship". Daylight drained from the cobbled streets and left us to face our reality- a perfect illustration of place and how it effects us.

 Comment Written 05-Jan-2015


reply by the author on 05-Jan-2015
    Thanks, Ed. I found it to be a most atmospheric landscape.
Comment from pipersfancy
Exceptional
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Oh - I really loved this one, Tony. You've allowed the physical environment to describe the emotions perfectly.

Although much shorter, your poem reminds me of certain elements in T.S. Eliot's 'Prufrock'.

The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,
The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes,
Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening,
Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains,
Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys,
Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap,
And seeing that it was a soft October night,
Curled once about the house, and fell asleep.

Lovely in its resignation to sadness...

Christina

 Comment Written 05-Jan-2015


reply by the author on 05-Jan-2015
    Thanks so much for this wonderful review, Christine. I may subconsciously have had T S Elliot in the back of my mind when I wrote that line. I am a great admirer of his poetry.
Comment from Sandra Stoner-Mitchell
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It is amazing what inspiration writers can get from the least likely places. The bleakness of your illustration, is so harsh and cold, yet your words suit it perfectly. I shall have to change my idea of what to look at in future! :) xsx sandra

 Comment Written 05-Jan-2015


reply by the author on 06-Jan-2015
    Thanks, Sandra. This was a landscape that left quite an impression.
Comment from adewpearl
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vivid, mood-creating detail of setting
excellent use of enjambment
good alliteration in bull breathed
and soup of salt
and daylight drained - good assonance there too
strong sensory appeal
strong emotional appeal
Brooke

 Comment Written 05-Jan-2015


reply by the author on 05-Jan-2015
    Many thanks for your review, Brooke.