I’d like to open with this famous quote by Dr. Martin Luther King, which resounds loudly:
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches
We find that love has a power all its own. It is said, “Faith can move mountains”. So too can love! It surely can move hearts. And minds. Love can make us do crazy things willingly. Apparently, the cause of love is a noble fight. It has been the fodder of poets and muses for as long as we’ve been able to put words to these emotions. There are many aspects of love that we have experienced or have put an expression to.
“Love is of all passions the strongest, for it attacks simultaneously the head, the heart and the senses.” ~Lao Tzu
Then, we are told “love is blind”. And yet we speak of “love at first sight.”
“Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye.“ ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
This quote is solely responsible for the title of my blog, Through the Eyes of a Poet’s Heart. The heart feels what is not easily seen.
We paint hearts blood red at Valentine’s Day; or purple to represent passion. So we accept these as the colors of love.
“The greater your capacity to love, the greater your capacity to feel the pain” ~Jennifer Aniston
And feel the pain of love, we do! The emotion of love encompasses all we feel. Feeling love is another aspect of which poets across the ages have found need to decipher. Whether laced with perfume or emitting pheromones, there is a certain scent associated with the process of love.
Of course:
“You must remember this, a kiss is still a kiss!“ ~Composer Herman Hupfeld from “As Time Goes On”
That tender sip of a kiss is most savored, and is the expression that seals the fact that something special is afoot… um, aheart! But, where does love start?
“Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.” ~ Mother Teresa of Calcutta
So it can be asserted quite accurately then that love indeed attacks the senses.
We’ve mentioned the sight, feel, smell and taste of love. But consider these thoughts:
“Love is a friendship set to music.” ~ Joseph Campbell
“The sweetest of all sounds is that of the voice of the one we love.” ~Jean de la Bruyere
“Love is a single note sung by two hearts.” ~some unknown poet from near Buffalo way
“The first duty of love is to listen.“ ~ Paul Tillich
and conversely
“True love comes quietly, without banners or flashing lights. If you hear bells… get your ears checked.” ~Author Erich Segal
One last quotation on love:
“Love is the poetry of the senses“ ~ Honore de Balzac
Certainly, it always comes back to poetry! That is after all, why we’re here! So, that brings us to our cause for this prompt: The Sound of Love.
What is the timber of a kiss? What is the sound of an embrace? What cacophony resides in a broken heart? What does that voice inside your head say when you fall in love? What rumble fills your stomach when you fall out of love?
Explore the SOUND of love.
We begin hear. (Yes, a deliberate typo!)
***
With me behind the bar I ask little of our poetic “patrons”:
Enjoy writing to this prompt, posting to your blog and reading these poems.
Click Mr.Linky and enter your name and the URL for your submitted poem.
It would be great if you left us a comment and said hello.
Encourage and support each other. Visit our poet’s poetry sites and give them a good word!
We hope that you would promote your work on social media (if you’d like), using the hashtag #dversepoets.
Most importantly, have fun doing it!
lillian said:
Happy Tuesday everyone! Lillian opening the bar today. What a great prompt from Walt. Sounds of love — love that! 🙂 Mosey on up and have a chat — imbibe some words and share the love 🙂
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
Ha.. yes I was here too… so we can help each other…
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
Happy Tuesday… Love is such a hard subject to write on… I hope you all do great though… and music is a great theme for passion. Walt will be in a bit later, but I’m here and so are some of the other bartenders… so let me pour you some pink champagne we have iced for you
lillian said:
Sounds delicious. Yep — I’m here to for about the next 90 minutes….then off to an appointment but back in a couple hours. Happy to chat and happy to serve — maybe some spicy sangria for this prompt?
Grace said:
It is indeed…but I have decided to use a different kind of music, smiles!
Thanks for the iced pink champagne !
Grace said:
Thank you Lillian for the warm welcome. Walt will be passing by later.
Sound of love – a difficult topic without sounding trite. Happy Tuesday everyone~
I will be around shortly to visit and comment!
kim881 said:
Hi Lillian. Thanks for the welcome and hallow to Brjorn and Grace! I’m able to join in real-time this evening, which is always better than arriving late. I’ve only just got here so I’ll need a while to read and digest the challenge – the sound of love. That could be a bit cheeky!
lillian said:
Glad to see you at the bar, Kim! Mosey up and imbibe the posts so far — it’s a fun prompt I think. 🙂
kim881 said:
Pleased to see you too, Lillian! I agree.that t’s a fun prompt. I’m just about to post mine and then I’ll have a read 🙂
kanzensakura said:
Hello all! I’m here off and on for a little bit and then off! Cooking blackberries to strain for the juice to make jelly of. And I do sip the juice and not let it go to waste. Just call me old Purple Tongue (sorta like a giraffe with its blue tongue).
THANK YOU LILLIAN!!!!!! 🙂
lillian said:
Soooo happy to see you here Toni! 🙂 Purple tongue and all! Homemade jams and jellies — in my Iowa days I LOVED doing that and gave many as Christmas gifts too.
hayesspencer said:
They do make great gifts. I put up my jellies, relishes, and salsa in “crystal” cut pint jars that I put aside for gifts. In early fall, I will be cfombing the woods for wild grapes and wild scuppernongs for that jelly. I have jars now of green beans, tomatoes, dilled green beans and brussels sprouts, salsa, and also in early spring, during hog killing season, will be canning freshly made sausage and tenderloin along with field peas and greens. Good stuff for the winter and spring. I freeze my corn.
hayesspencer said:
I mean, early autumn!
lillian said:
Wow — sounds like you are almost self-sustaining in the food category. You are reaping the harvest for sure!
kanzensakura said:
I strive for as much as possible.
Dr. Crystal Howe said:
Any apple butter in future, Toni? *yummy*
lillian said:
Stepping away from the bar — will return in a few hours. Not to worry — drinks are laid out for everyone — sangria and nonalcoholic punch too….so feel free to imbibe, leave some notes, post your words and imbibe on others’! Shall, as always, do my reading in the AM with my steaming cup of coffee….but will return this evening with a glass of chardonnay! 🙂
kanzensakura said:
My tablet has gone crazy = two listings for one poem and don’t know how to remove one. Bah!
whimsygizmo said:
Toni, I was a able to remove it for you. 🙂
kanzensakura said:
Thank you De. I wondered who was my helper! My tablet has just been nutso today…and it isn’t even the full moon!
whimsygizmo said:
Walt, I loved the close and quiet listening that was needed to ponder this prompt. Thank you!
Welcome all, and happy writing!
lillian said:
Back to the bar for a bit — will alternate bar tending with Olympic watching. Reading comes, as usual, in the early AM with my steaming cup of coffee 🙂
Sanaa Rizvi (@rizvi_sanaa) said:
Hey everyone,
I must admit my happiness knew no bounds when I found out the topic for Poetics today was LOVE 😀 sharing my poem ‘The Game’ hope you all like it ❤
Thank you Walter, for the wonderful opportunity, this one's for you 🙂
Lots of love,
Sanaa
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
I think this prompt was written for you Sanaa
Sanaa Rizvi (@rizvi_sanaa) said:
Lol 🙂 yeah I think so too.
Dr. Crystal Howe said:
I shall return to read when thunderstorms subside here. Hoping it will cool off – gee, wouldn’t that be nice! Thanks, Walt, for another wonderful prompt! I didn’t look forward to writing this, strangely enough, but once I started it was interesting. Turned out well I think.
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
You are not alone… writing about Love is very hard I think…
rosemawrites said:
YAY! This is one lovely prompt. Writing mine now. Thank you for the prompt, Walt! ❤
Walter J. Wojtanik said:
Getting a chance to read a bit before it hit the sack. Will return to comment in the morning. This new routine will take some getting used to! Thanks Lillian, Bjorn, et al for covering for me. Love how you’ve all accepted the challenge of this prompt. Drawing some great thoughts out of the shadows.
rosemawrites said:
Hi everyone! 🙂 I just posted mine and I am trying to link up but the blenza is not working. 😦 Here is mine: https://areadingwritr.wordpress.com/2016/08/17/summer-choir/.
Thank you, dVerse bartenders. ❤
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
Mr Linky service was down, but I have added your poem.
rosemawrites said:
thank you very much, brudberg! (I can call you brudberg? :))
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
It’s ok, though Bjorn is better
rosemawrites said:
I can’t figure out how to write that o with two dots so i opted brudberg. 😀 But I’ll call you Bjorn now. 🙂
lillian said:
Even Mr. Linky needs a vacation! 🙂 Back this AM to do my reading.
maria said:
Hello everyone! I can’t access blenza as of the moment as well so here’s mine:
https://mariawenttotown15.wordpress.com/2016/08/17/hushed-love/
Thank you, Walt! Will be hopping over to hear all of your tunes in a while. ❤
Imelda said:
Approaching love via sound is out of the ordinary and quite exciting. I hope I can write a response. Thanks for the prompt. 😊
Imelda said:
Is it just my phone or the linky is not working? I thought I’d read some poems but the link up icon does not appear on my phone screen.
Björn Rudberg (brudberg) said:
Linky was down.. .but now it’s up again.
Imelda said:
thanks. I got to read some amazing responses to the prompt. 🙂
Kathy Reed said:
If there is any pink champagne left, I would like a glass, please. I attempted this prompt because I think I can get around to everyone’s poems this time. The last time I was unable to do so and I must hold up my end of the deal, being a member of this great group of poets! Thanks, Walt, for the prompt.
lillian said:
Good morning Kathy! Love your determination — but do know we’d love to have you participate and then you could read just part of the posts. No requirement to read all for folks. Just now having my second morning cup and getting to my reading. It is fun to read though, right? Enjoy your day and so glad you could joing us! How about a bloody mary this morning instead of pink champagne? Perhaps two olives and a pickled carrot for garnish? 🙂
Bekkie Sanchez said:
I made it! Lately, I’ve not found much time to write but things are slowing down again. This prompt was great fun! I’ll be around to read this week. Have to make this short but good to be writing again.
Hugs! Bekkie
Shadiatique said:
Hi everyone
What else can we wish to write about… Love is always what inspire poets.
Thanks and what great poems already submitted. Will be hard to go around to everyone.
Rosemary Nissen-Wade said:
Joining in lateish – as the poem that called to be written this morning is sort of on topic, if slightly askew. Apologies I am slow this week to get around to reading and commenting; hectically busy with other commitments just now, but will be clear in a couple of days, to catch up with my reading pleasure.
purplepeninportland said:
Mr. Romance strikes again! You presented this prompt beautifully, CH.
Laura Bloomsbury said:
did not think I had any sounds in mind for this love(ly) prompt but something came through today – back after gardening to read the prompter poets
mother wintermoon said:
Mother of dragons! I missed the Mr Linky cut off time by two hours. Welp, I’m going for it anyway. Stop on by for a cuppa earl grey tea or spiked ice tea if you’re so inclined, and have a listen.