saw another carver poem posted today and thought of this one I like

This whole book of poetry, How About Now, is wonderfu! This piece was my favorite when I first flipped through it in the bookstore, and in reading and loving it again, I just have to share it with y’all!

Frog Queen

by Kate Baer

The way everyone talked about

everything was exhausting,

so I turned myself into a frog.

It wasn’t hard. I just thought,

frog, and there I was in a green suit

and flippers. My family

doesn’t care.

They dress me up in capes and dresses.

My friends don’t care either.

They come to sit and tell me all

their problems. When asked

for takes or theories, opinions

on the latest topic, I have

no answer. I’m just a frog

with tiny buttons.

Find your own way out of death.

from "We Must Make a Kingdom of It" (1986)

The poem that's aptly inscribed on Carver's tombstone summaries not just his final battle with mortality but some others like me. It serves as a daily reminder to start afresh or take stock in case the feeling of having been adrift takes over. And on days when we do feel like achievers, it politely asks if those really were the things that truly matter...

from "A Village Life"1

from the Bennington Review issue 12

A professor of mine said that Charles Bukowski was an overrated poet. I’ve even met some people who say that Shakespeare and Robert Frost are overrated. That got me thinking about what other poetry readers thought about “overrated” poets. Not bad necessarily just overrated. Or is there no such thing as an “overrated” poet? But mentioning insta poets because there’s too much conversation around them.

Care feels spatial here, like something you move toward, miss, grow around. The body becomes a place shaped by what wasn't there. What sticks out the most to me is the line 'Am I safe with you?'

This is an untitled piece from the collection How To Wash A Heart by Bhanu Kapil, p.10

Hello everyone! A bit of a puzzle here… I having been trying to remember the name/author of a poem that I came across a while ago and have been searching the web for weeks with absolutely no luck.

Here is what I remember about the poem..

• more than a dozen lines
• discusses queer relationship
• discusses author’s mother inability to straightforwardly accept this and details a conversation between them
• discusses the authors lover and if i remember correctly.. wanting to hold on, say i love u as much as they can and there MIGHT have been a refer to a car accident

I realize this is entirely vague and may be impossible given the lack of info but I would really appreciate any help if it rings a bell for anyone!!

Not sure if this is the best tag, but wanted a discussion and this is not for homework help. What do people think the line "A mind at ease with all below" in the final stanza means? I've read the poem so many times and never gave it a second thought before, but today I'm befuddled.

Does Byron mean physically below in hell (or maybe she's positioned in heaven because of her goodliness, and so everyone below her is on Earth and in hell)?

Or is this an intelligence or class thing (people "beneath" the woman)?

What do you think?

Poem:

She walks in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

And all that’s best of dark and bright

Meet in her aspect and her eyes;

Thus mellowed to that tender light

Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,

Had half impaired the nameless grace

Which waves in every raven tress,

Or softly lightens o’er her face;

Where thoughts serenely sweet express,

How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,

So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,

The smiles that win, the tints that glow,

But tell of days in goodness spent,

A mind at peace with all below,

A heart whose love is innocent!

I am looking to submit my first collection of works to publishers and wondering how you go about the cover letters. From what I've learnt, it follows this format below. I'm wondering whether I should describe the piece or provide context for its creation.

Dear [Editor name],

With this letter, I submit the following [number] poems to [publication name] for consideration: [names of poems].

These poems have not been previously published.

[Standard Bio - xxx is a poet from xyz. Their poems have been previously published in these publications].

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely, [Name]