Written for: dVerse Poets Pub – Meeting the Bar: Imagism Revisited (posted by Frank Tassone)
“Write a poem in the aesthetic of the Imagists.”
“You may have heard of some of the Imagists: Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams, Amy Lowell. Others, perhaps, less so: Hilda Dolittle (H.D.), F.S. Flint, Ford Madox Ford. First brought together by American ex-patriate Erza Pound, the imagists inaugurated modernism with poetry that, in the words of Ezra Pound (as quoted by F.S. Flint in Poetry Magazine in 1913) followed these tenets:
I. Direct treatment of the “thing,” whether subjective or objective.
II. To use absolutely no word that does not contribute to the presentation.
III. As regarding rhythm: to compose in sequence of the musical phrase, not in sequence of the metronome.
dog lies prone
chin on floor
next to his water bowl
to signal its emptiness
Puddled brown eyes
beseech
They rarely make a fuss. A whole dog’s life in this;
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Thanks, Jane!
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🙂
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Poignant to the max. I can see that canine dripping with pity! Beautifully done!
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Thanks, Frank. He is exceptionally good at it.
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What a sad and mournful image! It won’t take him long to get fed with those sad puddled eyes!!
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It never does!
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I like the “puddled brown eyes,” especially juxtaposed with the empty water bowl.
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Thanks, Rev!
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Great imagery.
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Thanks, Ken!
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No one has eyes that can be as expressive as a dogs. Love this
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Thanks, Debi!
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Ha! That’s that dog all right, I can see it clearly.
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Thanks, D.
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perfect direction and focus. Yes.
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Thanks, Ron!
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the dog is conjured here in all of his understated guilt-inducing nihilism 🙂
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Thanks, Lisa!
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🙂 You are welcome.
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You’ve conveyed a whole story in just a few words. I’m smiling. (K)
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Thanks so much, K.
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