Sometimes I feel I must write poetry
Sing of something I know or want to know.
I’m never sure of what drives as I write
Gibberish, at least some of it, seems to me.
Yet, when I happen to express something well,
My heart expands in joy at the words I see.
To be able to write so it affects
The heart, the soul or the mind?
That’s a goal I set for myself.
If I can reach that goal, I will feel
As if my life has been successful.
One subject for poems, love between people
Not just lovers (men and women), there’s also
I loved my Mom so much, that just
Thinking of her made me feel really good.
My Dad? Well, he was so rough and hard.
Yet even to myself, I admit
That I loved him, also.
My brothers? I guess so, and
My four sisters, a little easier
To say I loved them and even their kids.
I probably loved a few of my friends, too.
At least the ones to whom I told some secrets.
If any of this constitutes a poem,
I hope you like it well enough to save.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Readers who write in response to one of the prompts listed each month in Splintered Glass, may see their work presented here on the last week of that month. Though poems are preferred, short prose work will also be considered for publication.
Guidelines for submission:
THE CAROUSEL
The carnival of time universe-vast
dazzles and entices
with its brilliant stars and
multifarious mysteries
But what moves us most
is the carousel
Ah, the carousel, the carousel…
around and around we go
reaching for the elusive brass ring
The calliope rolls forth
mesmeric music as up
and down
and around we go
Up and down and around
to the song the sirens sing
and O, yes….
the possibility of that brass ring
WHY POETRY?
Sometimes I feel I must write poetry
Sing of something I know or want to know.
I’m never sure of what drives as I write
Gibberish, at least some of it, seems to me.
Yet, when I happen to express something well,
My heart expands in joy at the words I see.
To be able to write so it affects
The heart, the soul or the mind?
That’s a goal I set for myself.
If I can reach that goal, I will feel
As if my life has been successful.
One subject for poems, love between people
Not just lovers (men and women), there’s also
I loved my Mom so much, that just
Thinking of her made me feel really good.
My Dad? Well, he was so rough and hard.
Yet even to myself, I admit
That I loved him, also.
My brothers? I guess so, and
My four sisters, a little easier
To say I loved them and even their kids.
I probably loved a few of my friends, too.
At least the ones to whom I told some secrets.
If any of this constitutes a poem,
I hope you like it well enough to save.
AUTHOR NOTES
GLASS RAIN—the poetry by Margaret Roxby
“THE CAROUSEL” is included as August is designated as Family Fun Month. The poet chose the carousel as a subject when her local poetry group suggested they all use games, rhymes and so forth from their childhoods as inspiration for a poem. The poem was found among the poet’s papers.
REFRACTIONS—the poetry by Robert Roxby
“WHY POETRY?” is included this week for Bad Poetry Day, Aug 18. This is not a judgment of the poem’s merit but in reference to the poet’s own words in the poem, “Gibberish, at least some of it, seems to me.” The poem was found in the poet’s journal.
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—the poetry of Kathleen Roxby
“LITTLE BO PEEP RESTYLED” was originally titled “…In the Style of E.A. Poe,” was written for fun when another poet suggested using nursery rhymes as the inspiration for new poems. The author read this poem at for her local poetry group in 2022 for Bad Poetry Day for which it is included this week.
SPLINTERS FOR AUGUST 2023
THE ENGLISH “TH” PROBLEM
The TH sound in English can create problems for both native and non-native speakers. Like the T, the TH sound is tongue dependent. With just a quick, light flick of the tongue on the roof of the mouth, you get a T. But the TH sound requires use of your front teeth.
Without using your vocal cords, breathe out as you slip your tongue swiftly between the teeth like a frog catching an insect or a snake’s tongue flashing to catch scents. This is the “voiceless” or what I call the soft or short TH used in words like “thunder” or “thirsty.” This is not always easy for non-native speakers who often use the T sound instead.
The second TH is a heavier or “long” sound. This sound is found in the words “the,” “though,” “that,” “this,” among others. It requires you to push against the front teeth and roof of the mouth while sending a strong breath through your vocal cords resulting in a sound similar to “zz”. The true “z” sound is often substituted by non-native speakers for the voiced TH.
Apart from pronunciation, there is a spelling problem as well. The words “tooth,” “teeth,” “bath,” and “lath” for example use the short or soft sound. However, “teethe”, “bathe” and “lathe” end with the long sound.
Looks like the final “e’ is the key, right? Wrong, or not right all of the time. The word “smooth” uses the long TH while the similarly spelled word “sooth” (now archaic) uses the soft TH. However the word “soothe,” coming from the same root as sooth, requires the final “e” for the long TH sound). This leads people (even native speakers) to believe that “smooth” should be spelled “smoothe,” when it is simply an exception to the general pattern. Given enough time, this misspelling of “smooth” may win out and the current spelling (no e) will slip into disuse. Who knows?
IL PAGLIACCIO
—for Oscar Wilde—
Come,
Let me hold you warm—
For the winter wind
Plays round the door
And the hounds run wild
In the streets tonight
It is not safe
To wander the mists
In the snow tonight…
But—
Wait!
You are not the man I called
From the night.
He is the elegant
Clown who charms
Such self-laughter
From our blind hearts,
Then soothes our slighted egos
With hints of bright hereafters.
He is the man
I called from the howling night.
He is the man I knew.
He did not have eyes
That have looked on hell
Nor a life to break my heart.
DIAL N O W
The long high wires swing,
Sing in the wind,
But the bell is still.
Only silence rings through the house
While every room waits empty
Until you dial.
AUTHOR NOTES
GLASS RAIN—the poetry by Margaret Roxby
“DIAL N O W” is included this week for Friendship Day, August 6, for it is a plea to reconnect with a friend. This poem was composed prior to the proliferation of Wi-Fi communications, back when telephone conversations were dependent on the wires strung from telephone poles across the country, thus the reference in the poem to “long high wires.”
KALEIDOSCOPE –an essay by Kathleen Roxby
“THE ENGLISH ‘TH’ PROBLEM” summarizes the author’s understanding of this leftover from the middle ages as in biblical verbs: helpeth, etc. This piece continues the author’s exploration of what she considers the oddities of the English language.
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS—the poetry of Kathleen Roxby
“IL PAGLIACCIO”—for Oscar Wilde,” originally appeared in the author’s 2001 chapbook, Tangent/Allusion. The poem appears here in honor of International Clown Week (week 1 of August). James Joyce [said] that Wilde made the mistake of becoming ‘court jester to the English’. Oscar Wilde said of himself, “We are the zanies of sorrow. We are clowns whose hearts are broken.”
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Readers who write in response to one of the prompts listed each month in Splintered Glass, may see their work presented here on the last week of that month. Though poems are preferred, short prose work will also be considered for publication.
Guidelines for submission: