It's the Poem-A-Week Challenge Discussion Thread

[Angeline]

I came across some of Philip Levine’s jazz poems and thought of you. One I saw is a very long poem about Charlie Parker inspired by Phil Schaap’s “Bird Flight” radio show, a NYC institution for jazz lovers for over 40 years. Another one, which I like even better, is “I Remember Clifford” about Brownie; he made a recording of this about 10 years ago with Tom Harrell on trumpet, which you probably know about. It’s on YouTube.

There's a lot of great jazz poetry out there. Sasha Feinstein and Yusef Komunyakaa edit a great journal of jazz poetry and literature, Brilliant Corners. Feinstein has also edited two collections of jazz poetry, both of which include Levine's poems (as well as many wonderful others). Not sure if these books are still in print. I rather doubt it but I've had success finding used copies on sites like Alibris.

I'm a long-time fan of the late Phil Schapp. I used to listen to his show on my commute. I especially loved his birthday tribute shows, which usually included rare recordings and interviews with legendary jazz sidemen. Phil's father Walter Schapp was an early jazz historian and Phil literally grew up around jazz legends. Papa Jo Jones, the original Count Basie drummer, used to babysit Phil!

Also the site Jerry Jazz Musician is an excellent resource for jazz poetry, stories, interviews and other ephemera.

Yeah I like jazz a little bit.

 

[12oclocktales]

I met Phil a couple of times, once at a jazz club in NJ when he walked in with a drop-dead gorgeous babe on his arm (his wife, it turned out, though that didn’t last very long) and they spent the night dancing beautifully together to just about every tune Harry Allen and Howard Alden played. He was quite tall and a big basketball fan, too. You weren’t around long enough in the NYC area (or anywhere) to remember a jazz dj named Ed Beach on WRVR, were you? He had a huge influence on Phil and did specialized shows on artists 5 days a week. I first heard Bird on one of his shows. His opening theme every show was Wes Montgomery’s “So Do It” with James Clay on tenor and he played background music under his talking – Montgomery’s “D Natural Blues.” Both those tunes are so firmly implanted in my head, I’m sure they’ll be the last things I remember just before the ticker stops. Zoot Sims wrote a song dedicated to him: “Beach in the A.M.” An amazing man. Phil, too.

 

[Angeline]

I met Phil a couple of times, once at a jazz club in NJ when he walked in with a drop-dead gorgeous babe on his arm (his wife, it turned out, though that didn’t last very long) and they spent the night dancing beautifully together to just about every tune Harry Allen and Howard Alden played. He was quite tall and a big basketball fan, too. You weren’t around long enough in the NYC area (or anywhere) to remember a jazz dj named Ed Beach on WRVR, were you? He had a huge influence on Phil and did specialized shows on artists 5 days a week. I first heard Bird on one of his shows. His opening theme every show was Wes Montgomery’s “So Do It” with James Clay on tenor and he played background music under his talking – Montgomery’s “D Natural Blues.” Both those tunes are so firmly implanted in my head, I’m sure they’ll be the last things I remember just before the ticker stops. Zoot Sims wrote a song dedicated to him: “Beach in the A.M.” An amazing man. Phil, too.

That's a very cool Phil Schapp story!

I've heard of Ed Beach (actually from an old friend from Eugene, Oregon where Beach retired), but I'm not familiar with either his show or the radio station. The only other NYC radio personality I was into is the great Jean Shepherd whose late night shows from WOR are still around online. Were you a fan? I guess Shepherd is more jazz adjacent (kinda, sorta lol), but I loved his stories, found him absolutely hilarious. I was lucky enough to see his live show a few times at Princeton University (I'm originally from that area) and he was even better live!

 

[12oclocktales]

I was a little bit late discovering Jean Shepherd, but did catch his PBS TV show and read most of his books; also his being the narrator on Mingus’s “The Clown,” though that came even later after it was reissued. It seems the few times I had a chance to listen to Shep on WOR he was on before midnight and was being partially pre-empted by a sporting event, so he might only be on for an hour. Besides the Mingus gig, he was another big jazz fan.

 

[Angeline]

Jean Shepherd's stories of life in the fictional Hohman, Indiana (based on Hammond, Shep's hometown) are probably the funniest things I've ever read. I can't count how many times I've read them and they still make me laugh out loud. The story of the Bumpuses and their insane dogs stealing the Easter ham!!! I can probably quote whole swaths of that story, laughing until I snort (it's not a pretty sight!).

Ok I'm moving these posts to the discussion thread to keep this one focused on the poems.

 

[SmilingLez]

I finally finished my erotic free verse that I have been working on/off for 3 years. It will go live on the main site tomorrow. Every time I worked on it, it just got bigger and bigger with no end in site. My SIL challenged me on my 30th birthday to write a free verse that told a complete story. Inspiration hit last night and I stayed up until 2AM to finish it. Final word count 1297 words. I submitted it immediately and within 3 hours literotica approved it.

I have a question, I want to Include it in the poetry a week challenge. However being 1297 words, that's a long-ass text. Should I just post the hyperlink to the main literotica page? TIA

 

[Angeline]

I finally finished my erotic free verse that I have been working on/off for 3 years. It will go live on the main site tomorrow. Every time I worked on it, it just got bigger and bigger with no end in site. My SIL challenged me on my 30th birthday to write a free verse that told a complete story. Inspiration hit last night and I stayed up until 2AM to finish it. Final word count 1297 words. I submitted it immediately and within 3 hours literotica approved it.

I have a question, I want to Include it in the poetry a week challenge. However being 1297 words, that's a long-ass text. Should I just post the hyperlink to the main literotica page? TIA

Hi Lez. First off congratulations on finishing your long free-verse poem. Three years is dedication!

I'd hyperlink the submission page in the weekly thread. It'd just work better overall imho: no super long post in the weekly thread and potentially more eyes and votes on your subs page!

 

[SmilingLez]

April 2026 is the 30th anniversary of National Poetry month

https://successwontwait.org/2026/04...he-30th-anniversary-of-national-poetry-month/

 

[Luci_nerdy_kink]

Mixed reality

A birch tree hidden away
Contained in the shadows realm
Cast off from the cottonwoods
A sliver of light finds a way
Striking crisply the eastern edge
Titanium white looks out of place
As if pulled precisely and so thin
By an artist handed pallet knife.

Oh…

Lord…

Your symbolism is…

What the ACTUAL fuck my man…that is layers of inception for real…

I’ve always had a gift for poetry since I was a kid… it just falls out…

I don’t mean to sound annoying but skill like this deserves it imo.

Nuanced things lol.

You just made me realize I’ve been writing in 2 or 3 d not 4 or 5 dimensions lol.

Edit: sorry mods… was in too much awe to remember to change threads lol

 

[amitheotherone]

Thank you for the kind words, I feel like a thief as if I stole them. Our kitchen window faces the thin line of trees between us and neighbor Bob. Getting coffee this morning I looked, somewhat angry at myself stuck too long looking for things in this phone to make me happy. What I seen was a masterpiece if cropped right. That vision flared later, thinking of Rembrandt’s mastery bringing it all together. Him loading the pallet knife and pulling that last line… thin in width but thick in height.
My words flow like something out of a fevered vision.. I could never set out to write anything structured or formed.

 

[Luci_nerdy_kink]

Thank you for the kind words, I feel like a thief as if I stole them. Our kitchen window faces the thin line of trees between us and neighbor Bob. Getting coffee this morning I looked, somewhat angry at myself stuck too long looking for things in this phone to make me happy. What I seen was a masterpiece if cropped right. That vision flared later, thinking of Rembrandt’s mastery bringing it all together. Him loading the pallet knife and pulling that last line… thin in width but thick in height.
My words flow like something out of a fevered vision.. I could never set out to write anything structured or formed.

That is how all of my art flows out of me as well…

And that is how all good art is created as far as I know.

Some people just flow into the process of it though

I just like flowing down the river…

 

[Angeline]

Thank you for the kind words, I feel like a thief as if I stole them. Our kitchen window faces the thin line of trees between us and neighbor Bob. Getting coffee this morning I looked, somewhat angry at myself stuck too long looking for things in this phone to make me happy. What I seen was a masterpiece if cropped right. That vision flared later, thinking of Rembrandt’s mastery bringing it all together. Him loading the pallet knife and pulling that last line… thin in width but thick in height.
My words flow like something out of a fevered vision.. I could never set out to write anything structured or formed.

That's the challenge for me with form: to not let the proscribed structure get in the way of poetry. But some find that structure helps them create better poems. I've talked with Waeponwifestre about this who says it's much harder for her to write free verse. She finds structure to be an essential guide.

I've come to believe it's just a matter of practice.

 

[SmilingLez]

That's the challenge for me with form: to not let the proscribed structure get in the way of poetry. But some find that structure helps them create better poems. I've talked with Waeponwifestre about this who says it's much harder for her to write free verse. She finds structure to be an essential guide.

I've come to believe it's just a matter of practice.

I believe you are correct when it comes to practice. I have been enjoying creating hybrid flash fiction / free verse stories and free verse/flash fiction hybrids. The fact that I made up my own style, keeps my creative juices flowing

 

[Angeline]

I believe you are correct when it comes to practice. I have been enjoying creating hybrid flash fiction / free verse stories and free verse/flash fiction hybrids. The fact that I made up my own style, keeps my creative juices flowing

I'm enjoying reading all the sense-evoking images you're coming up with in the Poet's Lament thread. It's fascinating to see another person's creative process at a micro level. And you like to push the envelope with your writing which is a great quality imo!

 

[SmilingLez]

I'm enjoying reading all the sense-evoking images you're coming up with in the Poet's Lament thread. It's fascinating to see another person's creative process at a micro level. And you like to push the envelope with your writing which is a great quality imo!

I am really enjoying immersing myself in the latin/hispanic culture. It is truly beautiful. The colors, the food, the joy, the family. Hopefully when I am finished people who discriminate against that culture will realize the beauty

 

[Angeline]

I am really enjoying immersing myself in the latin/hispanic culture. It is truly beautiful. The colors, the food, the joy, the family. Hopefully when I am finished people who discriminate against that culture will realize the beauty

Yes. We can use that especially now!

Have you ever seen the documentary Buena Vista Social Club? It's absolutely wonderful!

So is this.

ETA: I almost forgot this one!

 

[SmilingLez]

Yes. We can use that especially now!

Have you ever seen the documentary Buena Vista Social Club? It's absolutely wonderful!

So is this.

I will see if I can get it on YouTube. Could use all the inspiration. Been drowning myself in latin/mexican/spanish music. Puerto Rican music is really joyous. Tomorrow it'll be Haitian music

 

[Curbs47]

**The Thing Under the Bed**
By Bear Sage

°

It smells like her.

°

Not a memory,
real in the flesh her.
Skin and soap and that warmth
that lived in the curve of her neck
and now lives
nowhere.

°

Nowhere is where you are
at 3am
clawing up through sleep
into a dark so thick
you have to remember
to breathe.

°

Chest cracked open.
Sheets soaked.
Mouth full of her name
you couldn't say
so it just sits there
rotting on your tongue
going black at the edges
like fruit left too long
on a counter
in a house
that forgot
to be a home.

°

You lie in it.

°

You lie in it
like a wound
that won't scab
because you keep
picking
because stopping
feels like forgetting
and forgetting
feels like killing her
a second time
with your own hands.

°

So you bleed.
You bleed into the mattress
into the pillow
into the 3am
into the bourbon
into the sorry I'm fine
into the back of your throat
where the screaming lives
because you learned young
that men don't

°

men don't.

°

But it does.

°

The thing does.

°

It screams for you
through the box spring
her voice,
her laugh,
the way
she said your name
when she was half asleep
and the world
was still possible

°

it uses all of it
like a blade
dragged slow
across the inside
of your skull.

°

You cannot get up.
You cannot move.
Your body has become
this grief
every cell of it
soaked through,
gut full of concrete
and broken glass,
hands shaking
so bad you can't
hold the thing
you reached for
to stop the shaking.

°

You are not
a man in a bed.

°

You are an open grave
that learned to walk,
that learned to say
yes fine,
that learned to show up
and perform the living
while the thing
underneath you
feeds on everything
you couldn't say
to her
before August
took her.

°

It is getting bigger.

°

You are getting
less.

°

And the floor
the floor between you
and the thing

°

gets thinner
every night
you decide
not to look.

°

Every night
you decide
you are fine.

°

The thing knows
fine.

°

Fine is just
the skin
over the wound.

°

And it is so
goddamn
hungry.

Omg thats amazing you actually made ne cry thank you for sharing

 

[_Land]

Omg thats amazing you actually made ne cry thank you for sharing

, your welcome. I'm so glad it touched you

 

[Angeline]

Glad to see you back Wonderer. I enjoyed your poems, especially the one about the Black Bass Hotel. I love when you write about places I know (and post photos of places I recognize)!

 

[Wat_Tyler]

Glad to see you back Wonderer. I enjoyed your poems, especially the one about the Black Bass Hotel. I love when you write about places I know (and post photos of places I recognize)!

He's a good person. We have broken bread. He should write more

 

[Luvanna]

Wanking, a Haiku

Reach peak arousal
Now Pumping semen and sperm
Then the guilt sets in

One moment ago
Totally blind to my world
Hot, wet stain all's left

Pull up my shorts, shamed
But it did feel good though, right
But perverse, impure

I imagined sex
With wrong people, shameful places
And now only regrets

Hey

 

[Luvanna]

What is meter? While not so difficult to define as poetry (Hirsch, in A Poet's Glossary, quotes some twenty-five different descriptions of what poetry is from as many poets), it isn't all that straightforward. It has something to do with rhythm in verse, particularly a regularized or repetitive rhythm, but what defines that rhythm varies, particularly between different languages. Paul Fussell, in Poetic Meter and Poetic Form, divides meter into four distinct types: syllabic, accentual, quantitative, and accentual-syllabic.

Syllabic meter is based, as one would guess, on the number of syllables in a line. Most people are familiar with this idea through Japanese poetry, where forms like the haiku and tanka specify a particular syllabic pattern to the lines of the form (i.e. the 5-7-5 of haiku or the 5-7-5-7-7 of tanka). Japanese is not a language where stress is prominent—Hirch labels it "syllable-timed" as opposed to German and English which are "accent-timed"—so it is perhaps logical that rhythm in Japanese is defined by the number of distinct syllables per line. (Note that using the term "syllable" in respect to Japanese is a inaccurate simplification. What is really specified are the number of morae or on—I'm a little confused about the distinction—which sometimes are the same as what we would call a syllable and sometimes are not. See this article on Japanese prosody and/or this one on Japanese phonology for more information.)

Some Romance languages (French comes particularly to mind) typically use syllabic meter. Though stress may be present, it "functions as a device of embellishment or rhetorical emphasis rather than as a criterion of the basic metrical skeleton of the line" (Fussell 7). So if you look at the original versions of forms derived from French, you usually find them defined as having syllabic meters; the triolet, for example, originated as having octosyllabic lines as opposed to the iambic tetrameter of the usual English triolet.

This isn't to say that no English language poems are written in syllabics, just that they are far less common than the usual accentual-syllabic meter. Marianne Moore is perhaps the best known poet to compose syllabic verse, often where a particular pattern of syllables would be repeated stanza by stanza, as in this famous example:

​

The Fish​

​

wade​

through black jade.​

Of the crow-blue mussel-shells, one keeps​

adjusting the ash-heaps;​

​

opening and shutting itself like​

​

an​

injured fan.​

The barnacles which encrust the side​

of the wave, cannot hide​

​

there for the submerged shafts of the​

​

sun,​

split like spun​

glass, move themselves with spotlight swiftness​

into the crevices—​

​

in and out, illuminating​

​

the​

turquoise sea​

of bodies. The water drives a wedge​

of iron through the iron edge​

​

of the cliff; whereupon the stars,​

​

pink​

rice-grains, ink-​

bespattered jelly fish, crabs like green​

lilies, and submarine​

​

toadstools, slide each on the other.​

​

All​

external​

marks of abuse are present on this​

defiant edifice—​

​

all the physical features of​

​

ac-​

cident—lack​

of cornice, dynamite grooves, burns, and​

hatchet strokes, these things stand​

​

out on it; the chasm-side is​

​

dead.​

Repeated​

evidence has proved that it can live​

on what can not revive​

​

its youth. The sea grows old in it.​

Another example would be Richard Wilbur's "Thyme Flowering Among Rocks," which uses the familiar 5-7-5 syllable structure as its stanzaic metrical form, giving the poem something of an "Asian sensibility" to resonate with the theme.

Of course, if you're interested in trying your hand at writing in syllabic meter, the simplest form would be to just write your poem using the same number of syllables per line.

Hey

 

[Wonderer67]

Glad to see you back Wonderer. I enjoyed your poems, especially the one about the Black Bass Hotel. I love when you write about places I know (and post photos of places I recognize)!

Thanks Angeline!

Born and raised in Hunterdon county. Although the black bass is just across the river in Bucks. (As you probably know)

I was at The Royal in Branchburg a few days before and the black Bass counter been more different.

 

[Angeline]

Thanks Angeline!

Born and raised in Hunterdon county. Although the black bass is just across the river in Bucks. (As you probably know)

I was at The Royal in Branchburg a few days before and the black Bass counter been more different.

Mercer County kid here! Hunterdon is a beautiful part of the state. People associate NJ with that mess of stinky refineries right outside NYC and don't realize how green and rural (and now, sadly, suburban) much of the rest of the state is.

I remember the Black Bass Inn. I lived in Bucks for years: my (first) wedding was at the Washington Crossing Inn. Have you ever been to the New Year's Day Crossing reenactment? My family went a few times when I was a kid, when St John Terrell (who owned the Lambertville Music Circus) played General Washington.