Reviews from

The Song Thrush

A Ballad

68 total reviews 
Comment from F. Wehr3
Exceptional
This work has reached the exceptional level

This is was really good. I loved your tale, made up or not. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. Thank you including author notes. This saves me from having to look up a few words, lol. I am really interested in folklore and mythology.

Is the picture of a curlew?

Take care,
Russell

 Comment Written 04-May-2016


reply by the author on 07-May-2016
    Very many thanks for your very kind words, Russell, and for the six stars. The picture is of a song thrush. A curlew has a long curved beak.
Comment from Leineco
Excellent
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Captivating and smooth as silk T :-)

If there are a "Write a fable" contest running everyone else would
give up the ghost of hope of winning LOL

Despite the broken heart part - it was an enchanting tale of creature
creation - and your notes were such a wonderful addition :-)

 Comment Written 04-May-2016


reply by the author on 07-May-2016
    What a lovely review, Leineco. I am grinning like a leprauchaun! :)
Comment from GWHARGIS
Excellent
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First I like that you confessed to making up the folk lore then you gave us the meaning behind the actual stuff you used. The poem was great, by the way. It read perfectly. I loved the imagery. You wove quite a story. Good luck in the contest. Gretchen

 Comment Written 04-May-2016


reply by the author on 07-May-2016
    Thanks, Gretchen, for your very kind words and good luck wishes. All the best, Tony.
Comment from CDyer
Excellent
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Thank goodness for the clarity of your author notes. I did not know what a lot of the words meant at first. Your poem had such a lovely lilt to it, I didn't need to understand everything to enjoy it! I would really love to hear it as an audio presentation. You may have just created a myth for the ages!

 Comment Written 04-May-2016


reply by the author on 07-May-2016
    Many thanks for your very kind words! Much appreciated, Tony.
Comment from Margaret Ford
Exceptional
This work has reached the exceptional level

This is a lovely poem, and thank goodness you care about meter. I have a degree in music, and really respect the beauty that a metered poem has, especially when it's rhymed.

I read so many poems on the internet wherein the author (I use the term loosely) couldn't dig up a steady beat with two hands and a shovel. So it was exceptionally delightful to read this lovely verse.

Thank you very much for posting this at FanStory, where I got to see it. Lucky me.

 Comment Written 04-May-2016


reply by the author on 07-May-2016
    Thanks, Margaret. So glad you enjoyed this! I have a son who is a professional musician. I guess that the many hours he spent practising taught me a lot too! Thank you for the added bonus of six stars, too! Best wishes, Tony.
Comment from Taffspride
Exceptional
This work has reached the exceptional level

I am so glad I have a six left for this beautiful ballad. After reading it then reading it aloud, I simply had to listen to the song 'The Rowan tree.' I heard a snippet of Aled Jones singing it on Classic FM. I could only find was the instrumental version. Actually this worked for as I read your work aloud, I realized it fitted the music perfectly, and a true ballad it became as I sang it.

Such a lovely but poignant story you have told here.

although I enjoyed the entire work. these were the stanzas that stood out for me.

Then Sith, the grey-winged faerie child
with eyes of em'rald green,
began a song whose words beguiled
young Maeve, the sweet colleen.

With spells she wove a silken thread
of lies to lead astray,
and feigned the curlew's plaintive cry
to lure Maeve from the way.

I had often heard my mother say that the curlew's call was like the banshee, it foretold of death.

This is a perfect entry and strong contender for the story in a poem contest.

Good luck and thanks for sharing.

Iechyd da

Ann

 Comment Written 04-May-2016


reply by the author on 07-May-2016
    Thanks, Ann! I'm delighted that you enjoyed this. I've just been listening to The Rowan Tree - which I hadn't previously encountered. You are right - it holds the ballad tempo well. I was uncertain about pillaging ideas from Celtic folklore and having such a positive response from one who is steeped in it is praise indeed. Thanks, too, for the six stars. Best wishes, Tony.
reply by Taffspride on 07-May-2016
    You are so very welcome my friend. This was such a beautiful ballad, it deserves to win the contest.
    Any work based on a legend is perfectly acceptable. Many of us do it, I have written a story based loosely on one of the Welsh legends of the Lludd and the two dragons.

    Have a wonderful weekend.

    Iechyd da

    Ann
Comment from foxangie123
Excellent
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This is the second time today I have read the word moor. Eric used that word and I had to look it up to find its meaning. This is lovely my friend and of exceptional penning in poetry. Love it. Bravo..

 Comment Written 04-May-2016


reply by the author on 07-May-2016
    Very many thanks for your review, Angie. I'm delighted that you enjoyed this one. Tony.
Comment from Sandra Stoner-Mitchell
Excellent
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But isn't that the way of legends? No one knows for sure if they are true or not. So, Tony, I think you have just invented a new legend, which will be told for thousands of years. It is a lovely poem, my friend, and I, for one, would have wondered, is it? Good luck in the contest, Tony, this is excellent! xsx Sandra

 Comment Written 04-May-2016


reply by the author on 07-May-2016
    Many thanks, Sandra. A legend for a thousand years? Beyond my wildest dreams! Perhaps I should give it an airing in an Irish pub! LOL
reply by Sandra Stoner-Mitchell on 07-May-2016
    Let me know their reaction! LOL. xx
Comment from robyn corum
Exceptional
This work has reached the exceptional level

Tony,

Tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to make a deal with you -- and because I know you are a fine, upstanding he-man of fine honor, I KNOW you will keep YOUR side of the bargain. (proverbial shaking of hands taking place.)

I giving you a six for this piece - which I enjoyed sooooo much - BUT I read it in my own version of an Irish accent, which, as you can imagine, me actually residing, as I do, in the deepest part of the United States, waayy down here in the hills and hollers of the South...? It didn't harrrrdddly sound the same.

So.

In return for my sixer, all I want is for you to contact Pantygynt and have him read this aloud for you and then embed it into this posting. He does that quite frequently for folks here and I feel quite sure he'll do it for you - as a matter of fact, I'll go ask him just so he'll be ready. His voice is amazing and would add sooooooooo much to this poem - more than it already has going for it, I mean. (And since it IS entered into a contest......you know....) Anyway....

That's the deal. Take it or leave it. Oh, by the way, have I told you how much I loved the piece. Yep. I did.


 Comment Written 04-May-2016


reply by the author on 07-May-2016
    You sure know how to flatter a guy! I've passed on your request to Pantyggynt and await his response! I'm delighted that you enjoyed this, and thanks very much for the six stars. Best wishes, Tony.
reply by robyn corum on 07-May-2016
    Tony! I was afraid you were a bit miffed with me! I actually went behind your back and contacted PG and asked him about the recording. Before I knew it, he had already done the thing and sent it to me! (He's pretty stinking wonderful!) but I was trying to figure out how to convert it to mp3. Not having much luck - and then I didn't hear from you and I thought. 'uh oh. I've made him mad for messing around in his business!' I'm so glad you aren't mad at me!

    You might ask PG to get his friend to convert the tape???
reply by the author on 07-May-2016
    Jim is asking Carol to convert the sound file for him and send it to me in a format that can be attached to the post. I'll let you know when it is done. Thanks very much for your suggestion. Appreciated! Tony
reply by robyn corum on 07-May-2016
    YAY! Just WAIT til you hear it!!! It's AMAZING!
Comment from dmt1967
Excellent
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This is a delightful story and a good entry for the contest. I liked the lime green color of the background and the way the verses followed one another. Good luck in the contest and thank you for sharing.

 Comment Written 04-May-2016


reply by the author on 07-May-2016
    Many thanks for your review, dmt1967. Glad you enjoyed the poem and the colour scheme. Tony