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Viewing comments for Chapter 2 "We used to love the rain"
Free verse poems

25 total reviews 
Comment from Ms. Snyder
Excellent
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I like this Poem of the month and I can see why it finished in 2nd place. Your words paint such a vivid picture of how we now change our viewpoint when it comes to something as simple as a rainstorm. Your free verse is beautiful. The descriptive words used are magnificent. I look forward to reading many more of these as you write them. Cheers, Fonda

 Comment Written 06-Jan-2019


reply by the author on 09-Jan-2019
    Thank you so much, Fonda! I think many things have two sides (or many sides). I appreciate your review of my poem very much,
    Carol
Comment from Liz O'Neill
Excellent
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Wow, this is powerful. I would love to give you a 6 star bravo, but I have given all I'm allowed. But I definitely am voting for this. I have added your name to my list of writers I like to visit often. You have used the metaphors very artistically. My book chapters I post also mention receiving messages from running water. It is either comforting or a warning. I found the same feeling and familiarity in your metaphors of rain. Your sensory imagery catches the reader up in some emotional turmoil. Well written. I will be visiting your work soon.

 Comment Written 03-Jan-2019


reply by the author on 09-Jan-2019
    I will have to check out your book, I think there is so much about water that is meaningful to us. The sound of the ocean, as well as a stream or river. Yes to the emotional turmoil, we've had big brush fires here and the heavy rains are so destructive...

    Carol
Comment from Mark Valentine
Exceptional
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"The world is a torrent of sick dread". Years from now, when poetry students google "ciliverde quotes", this will be at the top of the page.

This is such a beautiful -then stark - then beautiful again - poem. It speaks to the beauty of your part of the world and the ravages it has seen of late. For me, it also works as a metaphor for the cycles of innocence - cynicism - hope that we experience. Perhaps that's reading too much into it - in any cast, that last stanza with it's "even now" harkening back to more innocent times, and its prayer for more gentle rain looking forward to a better future is beyond lovely.

Beautiful!

 Comment Written 02-Jan-2019


reply by the author on 03-Jan-2019
    No, you're not reading too much into it, you got it exactly. Cycles of innocence and cynicism, joy and terror, beauty and ugliness...as in my Dick Hugo poem, drunken boorishness and ethereal poetry. How is this possible? I don't know, it just is. Thank you so much, Mark :)))
    Carol
Comment from Ulla
Exceptional
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Oh, Carol, I know you're writing about the aftermath of the horrible fires that raged California for such a long time. I know, rain is our breath and saviour and essential for survival. But on barren land it can cause terrible damage like land slides. A poignant poem, and you are there. Warm Regards. Ulla:)))

 Comment Written 30-Dec-2018


reply by the author on 31-Dec-2018
    Thanks, Ulla. I still love rain, but I do feel afraid when I see strong echoes on the radar headed for Malibu and Thousand Oaks!! Since I'm a weather forecaster I live through this every time we have a storm...
    I appreciate your support and the fine rating :))
    Carol
reply by Ulla on 31-Dec-2018
    Ah, so you're weather foreccaster. That's really interesting. As I've flew for so many years and been a sailor since very young I read the weather forecast every day. I often read the sky and wind patterns and kind of know what to expect. It's fascinating. Another thing we have in common. Ulla!!
reply by the author on 01-Jan-2019
    Yes, so true! :))
Comment from Dean Kuch
Excellent
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When people say, "Hmmph... just look at 'em. They don't even have enough sense to come out of the rain", Carol, it is precisely this sort of thing they're referring to.
Nice--a very emotionally driven write...
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~Dean

 Comment Written 29-Dec-2018


reply by the author on 30-Dec-2018
    Ha ha, thank you for this, Dean - I needed a laugh this evening! I appreciate your review and comments :))
    Carol
reply by Dean Kuch on 30-Dec-2018
    You're more than welcome.
    Have a Happy New Year.
    ~Dean
Comment from dragonpoet
Exceptional
This work has reached the exceptional level

This is full of emotion and strong images. It reminds us how we loved the rain when we were young. But as adults we come to fear the lack of it or the effects of too much of it in hurricanes, floods and mudslides. All that happened in California recently comes to mind too.

Keep writing.

Happy New Year.

Joan

 Comment Written 29-Dec-2018


reply by the author on 30-Dec-2018
    Yes, it's the recent events in California that have been foremost in my mind lately. I do love the weather though, and even the rain after all that's happened. Thank you, and Happy New Year!
    Carol
reply by dragonpoet on 30-Dec-2018
    You're most kindly welcome, Carol.

    Joan
Comment from Mastery
Excellent
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Hi, Carol. My O My you have been away for a bit , have you not?

I like this poetry from beginning to end, my friend:

"The whisper of light rain
told us everything we needed to know,
and a roaring plummet of downpour
sang out all the rest.
We loved the rain and ran out laughing into it.
We turned our faces up
to the deluge, and danced through puddles.
So beautiful, so blessed we were -
we knew rain without fear."

Great images throughout. :) Bob

 Comment Written 29-Dec-2018


reply by the author on 31-Dec-2018
    Thank you, Bob. I go through periods where writing a poem is like pulling teeth. It's been a tough time with fires and rain out in California this year.
    Carol
reply by Mastery on 31-Dec-2018
    I know. I have been following everything on CNN
Comment from Y. M. Roger
Excellent
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Okay, this is just plain awesome! :) Your imagery is so vivid -- not sure if it's the perceived rhythm because of your formatting, but a picture of what you describe is clearly painted in my mind after reading this -- if I had a six, it would be yours! :) ;) Thank you for sharing although, I have to tell you, I can almost feel the dread your words portray..... :) :) Yvette

 Comment Written 29-Dec-2018


reply by the author on 31-Dec-2018
    Thank you, it's hard to describe the dread but it's what I feel. As a weather forecaster I can see all the details before, during and after the event - it's hard sometimes. But I tell myself I'm helping...and I really do appreciate your kind feedback :))
    Carol
Comment from royowen
Excellent
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A beautufully written free verse Carol, you must be having an abundance of rain wherever you are. Of course everything that lives needs water, why? Because we leak. The the trouble is if we have too much it can kill us, wash away our cars, love the language, gives wings to the imagery, well done, blessings, Roy

 Comment Written 29-Dec-2018


reply by the author on 31-Dec-2018
    When we get rain, which isn't that often, it's usually heavy rain - everything in extremes around here. It's a blessing, but a double edged sword...
    thanks Roy,
    Carol
reply by royowen on 31-Dec-2018
    What can I say?
Comment from BeasPeas
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This is an excellent free verse, Carol. Topic, I am assuming, is the rain following the forest fires in which there is no scrub to hold back the sludge and rock slides. I remember them well from living in the California mountains. Well described piece with great word choices, moody and melancholy, but appropriate for your theme. Marilyn

 Comment Written 29-Dec-2018


reply by the author on 31-Dec-2018
    Thanks so much, Marilyn, yes it's about California. As a weather forecaster, I watch the rain events coming and I worry about our burned and bare mountains.
    Carol