The Siege Of Belgrade by Alaric Alexander Watts

An Austrian army, awfully arrayed,
Boldly by battery besieged Belgrade.
Cossack commanders cannonading come,
Dealing destruction’s devastating doom.
Every endeavor engineers essay,
For fame, for fortune fighting – furious fray!
Generals ‘gainst generals grapple – gracious God!
How honors Heaven heroic hardihood!
Infuriate, indiscriminate in ill,
Kindred kill kinsmen, kinsmen kindred kill.
Labor low levels longest, loftiest lines;
Men march ‘mid mounds, ‘mid moles, ‘ mid murderous mines;
Now noxious, noisey numbers nothing, naught
Of outward obstacles, opposing ought;
Poor patriots, partly purchased, partly pressed,
Quite quaking, quickly “Quarter! Quarter!” quest.
Reason returns, religious right redounds,
Suwarrow stops such sanguinary sounds.
Truce to thee, Turkey! Triumph to thy train,
Unwise, unjust, unmerciful Ukraine!
Vanish vain victory! vanish, victory vain!
Why wish we warfare? Wherefore welcome were
Xerxes, Ximenes, Xanthus, Xavier?
Yield, yield, ye youths! ye yeomen, yield your yell!
Zeus’, Zarpater’s, Zoroaster’s zeal,
Attracting all, arms against acts appeal!

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Retakes (2) by Dennis Lange

I decided last month that I will occasionally publish a post with a link
to some of my earlier poems.  This is the second of those "retakes".  
These three poems were posted when I first started my blog and had almost
no readers at all.  Many of my subscribers have started fairly recently
and might want to read these as well.  However, some of you may have read
them already.  So I’ll try to give a description and enough of the 
beginning lines that perhaps you can recognize the poem.  That way, you
won’t have to read it again – unless you want to.

Alliteration
The sounds repeated please the soul –
We love the falling rain
That softly pitters on the porch….

https://thebardonthehill.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/alliteration-by-dennis-lange-2/

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The Broken-Hearted
A small cross by the busy road above a tiny mound –
It seems an extra daisy to the travelers homeward bound
Who speed their ways to destinies without a second thought….

https://thebardonthehill.wordpress.com/2011/05/23/the-broken-hearted-by-dennis-lange/

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The Library 
The fearless, fair-haired youth go racing by
To beat the sun with their eternal play
Ignoring all the volumes as they sit….

https://thebardonthehill.wordpress.com/2011/05/31/the-library-by-dennis-lange/

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© Dennis Lange and thebardonthehill.wordpress.com, 2012.

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Discussion: What is it that makes poetry poetry?

     What is it that makes poetry poetry?  What are the elements that distinguish poetry from prose?  I would start with these: rhyme, rhythm, alliteration (https://thebardonthehill.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/alliteration-by-dennis-lange-2/), metaphor, simile, personification, and form (stanza and line).  I can think of something else, but I can’t quite word it.  Perhaps someone will come along and say it succinctly and add to the list as well.  I’m looking forward to your comments.

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Alliteration by Dennis Lange

 

The sounds repeated please the soul –
…We love the falling rain
That softly pitters on the porch
…And patters on the pane.

Alliteration fills our ears
…Like trilling r’s in Spain,
Like opera singers singing scales
…Of la la’s in a chain.

Perhaps it is the heart of man,
…The pulsing in the vein,
That whispers sweetly, whispers for
…A whispered back refrain.

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© Dennis Lange and thebardonthehill.wordpress.com, 2011.

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