If we are going to hell in a handcart
Why should I be good?
Should my art be moral, when there is dark
In my imperfect heart?
When I am dead
I will not care what is said
Of me by she
Who must follow me in due time.
Poets leave clues in rhyme
To their misspent lives
And the literary critic thrives
By interpreting lost lives.
I try to be good.
But when nymphs call
I recall what is good
And yet still fall.
A thought provoking article in the Telegraph about the use of artificial intelligence in literary translation, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/translation-artificial-intelligence-authors/. The author discusses whether AI can ever master the craft of the human translator.
Whilst I suspect that some simple texts may be more or less passable when translated by AI, even here errors will, I surmise occur. However, when it comes to Tolstoy’s War and Peace I can’t see AI being able to translate the novel from Russian into English with the craftsmanship of a top class translator for many years to come, and perhaps never.
Unfortunately the article is behind a paywall, but those with a subscription to the Telegraph will be able to access it.
When young women with pretty eyes
And loose thighs flirt
With older guys,
And the onlookers tut in disgust,
Sometimes I think, why the fuss,
For girls with pretty eyes,
The wealthy guys,
And those who now criticise,
All will be dust.
After the beauties of Kew
I went with you
To a cheap hotel.
I remember I almost fell
As we mounted the stairs
To their unfriendly glares.
I can remember your name.
Did I feel shame?
I really can not recall
But I recollect a fall
And those dangerous stairs
In a backstreet hotel.
In another’s death we see
Our own mortality.
We sympathise with the bereaved,
And may even grieve.
But in another’s death we see
Our own Mortality.
“Roses are fading”, you said.
I lent and smelt
But there was little scent.
In childhood I would
Collect from nature’s plentiful store
Acorns and conkers
But no Oaktree grew.
Now we two see fading flowers.
I think of lost hours
But speak not of them to you.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/entertainment/article/best-poets/
An interesting list. However, whilst I think such articles can spark interest in poetry and perhaps encourage those who have not yet come to love the art form to do so, any such list is just the opinion of the author. I, personally am surprised that Keats does not get a mention. His fine poems on autumn and his ode to a nightingale surely make him worthy of inclusion in such a list.
“Can I use your bathroom?”.
“Of course.
Do you want a shower?”.
She sprays cheap perfume.
“No, I’m okay”.
What is force?
And who has power
Over whom?
He has had an hour
Or so.
Now she will go.
My book ‘Samantha’ will be available for free on Kindle from Friday 14th – Tuesday 18th October 2022 here for the UK and here for the US.
Samantha tells a story of a young girl forced into prostitution in the city of Liverpool. Can Sam’s love for Peter, a man she meets in a nightclub, save her? Or will Sam end her life in the murky waters of Liverpool’s Albert Dock?
My book ‘The Suspect and Other Tales’ will be available for free on Kindle from Friday 21st- Tuesday 25th October 2022 here for the UK and here for the US.
Tales of the unexpected, ranging from stories of crime and vengeance through to ghostly happenings in an ancient mansion.
Born From Stardust and Other Poems By Victoria Zigler – Book Review
The title poem in this collection begins as follows:
“We’re born from stardust, you and I,
And that alone’s the reason why
I’m pretty sure that when I die
I’ll join the stars up in the sky.”
Born From Stardust is a beautiful poem, and the book of the same name is a highly enjoyable and thought provoking read.
Amongst my favourite poems is “When Mummy Missed Story Time”, in which the poet poignantly describes the emotional reactions of a young child when it’s mother won’t read a bedtime story due to her fear that she has the Corona Virus, and her very natural desire not to pass on the infection to her son/daughter.
There are several other poems which touch on the pandemic, including one dealing with the impacts of social distancing on the individual and on society as a whole. I can relate to this series of poems, and it is a topic which I have, myself tackled in my own poetry.
Other poems deal with the threat posed by climate change. Again, this is a fine series of poems.
The serious poems are interspersed with lighter pieces such as “When Even the Beach is to Hot”:
“You know the temperatures are too high,
When even the beach is too hot!”
The above poem is especially apt at the moment given the very high temperatures we have been experiencing here in the UK and elsewhere.
I have read a number of Victoria Zigler’s poetry collections, and in my view this is her best thus far.
(Note: I received a free copy of Born From Stardust and Other Poems” in exchange for an honest review)
You can find Born From Stardust and Other Poems here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stardust-Other-Poems-Victoria-Zigler-ebook/dp/B095Z78L8P
K Morris - Poet 