Review on William Marr’s poems
星期五 九月 22, 2006 2:35 pm
Review on William Marr’s poems
I remember my first strong impression on William Marr was from his poem: Installation Art -- for a visitor who has never seen snow before ( 裝置藝術 ——迎冬天來訪芝加哥的友人), I was amazed by his imagination and vitality.
What I felt maybe different from others, but I could feel a real person and a true feeling there. What was behind it was his passion and sincerity. Here is the link for the poem.
http://www.coviews.com/viewtopic.php?t=8101&highlight=snow
Though I liked the feeling the poem brought, but I could not connect to it since Mr. Marr tries to use the title and the following lines:
Installation Art (裝置藝術)
the snow on the grass
must be thick and soft and pure
They seem to me a little bit telling, I feel the natural scene is forced to put here with his wish... For me, I prefer viewing snow in a loose and easy mood.
It may be convey his feeling and wishes in this way additionally with an uneasy landing. Personally, I love more subtle and dedicated wording and feelings.
Lately I read more of his poems. Soon I find them much attractive by his awareness and perspective. As most of his poems show, he has the sense and skill to find the beauty and wisdom in our daily life and express it very well through a different view or thought.
A Pebble, a fruit or a little window could be his inspiration. And the outcome is very neat and natural. Here I quote a few of his poems, I hope through understanding them, we will be more aware of small things and other facets of life. As his poems cherish life and nature as a wonder and miracle. Here are two of his poems I enjoy.
Breath
William Marr
A puff of air
from your sweet sigh
must have caused this breeze
that entices the flowers
to release their fragrance
and sends a shudder
passing through the leaves
And me
MOUNTAIN
it's still there
for me to
climb
looming from my childhood
my father's
back
As you will see, the following "A FLOWER " is very lovely and vivid…. the first part, " Blooming" I could connect to poet’s youthful and awakening mind, the second part "falling", I hear his sigh…
forget me
forget me not
forget me
forget me not
The dilemma here: forget me, forget me not is very interesting and compelling… love is sweet yet bitter… forget-me-not could be the flower’s name, Mr. Marr uses that as a cunning strategy and gives us a wide imagination and subtle feeling. Very concise words, yet deep feeling…
His minimum brings much unsaid saying…
Life is short, “to the last petal” is a very beautiful ending. Very touching. It polishes the whole poem. Wow!
What else could I say? Through this reflection of life, a touch of heart, a beautiful thought and feeling of love, I am deeply moved and gain more insight on life and love.
Poems are not for reading, but for touching and feeling, they are alive, they are meaningful and full of colors.
-----his original poems:
Pebble
fire-burned water-soaked
rain-beaten wind-swiped
this little shiny pebble
lies on a sunlit road
and quietly awaits
a playful little foot
to kick it
onward
火炼过水浸过
雨打过风刮过
这颗晶莹浑圆的
小石子
此刻被放在
阳光耀眼的路上
静静等待
一只天真好玩的
脚
一路踢滚下去
A FLOWER
1. Blooming
what a vast sky
the inspired little flower
joyfully stretches every petal
to t h e f u l l e s t
e
x
t
e
n
t
2. Falling
never
can I listen calmly
to you counting
forget me
forget me not
forget me
forget me not ...
to the last petal
花开花落】
1.花开
天空
竟是这般
辽阔
惊喜的小花们
争著
把每一片花瓣
都伸展到
极
限
2.花落
没有一次
我能平静地
听你数
忘我
毋忘我
忘我
毋忘我...
到最后一瓣