The Poetic Journalism Forum

Hello and welcome my fellow poets to the Poetic Journalism Forum

My work as of late has taken a slightly more serious turn, and I have begun to take on the challenge of writing more pieces relating to current events and newsworthy stories. Stories that evoke such emotion in you, that you are compelled to put pen to paper to get your words out as fast as they come to you to express how this knew found knowledge is/has effected you.

I am calling on all poets to post newsworthy works on this thread, and also challenging poets to watch the news and observe the world with a keen poetic eye, watch for stories that need be shared. This forum is the Original Poetry news source. A Forum for news from the poets perspective. I will be adding to this post from time to time. I hope this catches on, there are a pleathera of issues out there that need to be tackled, and this is the place for poets to come share and learn and be inspired.


"Journalism without a moral position is impossible. Every journalist is a moralist. It’s absolutely unavoidable. A journalist is someone who looks at the world and the way it works, someone who takes a close look at things every day and reports what he/she sees, someone who represents the world, the event, for others. He/She cannot do her work without judging what he/she sees." MARGUERITE DURAS

"A poet's work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep." SALMAN RUSHDIE

Any questions or comments please feel free to private message me. Also, I would like to that Wordslinger for coining the phrase 'Poetic Journalism' and inspiring this Forum and inspiring me to run with the idea. And I would like to thank Papapaczki for all his help as well. Enjoy your vacation. Haha

-Spence

Last edited by SuSpence 05-05-2010 at 12:13:15 PM

RE: The Poetic Journalism Forum

Kentucky Derby

All day today, I sat in my aunt and uncle's living room
waiting with anticipation for today's race.
I've been watching this race as far as I could remember
and I wasn't going to break it now like I did last year.
I texted my mother and stepdad if they were watching.
I couldn't help it if the Derby felt so important today.
And I was extremely excited to see the horse race today.
I even knew who I wanted to win in today's race without knowing who it was
even though he didnt win at the end which was alright.
But watching the infos and the odds and the news talking about horses
and the rainy weather in Kentucky making the track so muddy and the race,
I had a wanting to be there for the first time in my life.
I saw myself having a horse and a trainer and a jocky.
I even was searching for a whole list of names for the kind of horse
I was buying but I didnt know what breed of horse I want to buy
but right now, I really dont care as long as it is a beatiful horse
and could possibly win or loose and I still love that horse.
But after the race had ended, I felt better watching it
even though I wanted to see more of it and couldn't believe it was over.
At the end of the race, Super Saver had won.
And I was glad that I didn't miss it in the world.
For this was the 136th annual Kentucky Derby,
and nothing is wrong with that.
It may be a race and only for the rich and famous,
money in all the world could not be spent betting on the horses to make it
just for entertainment but it is for everyone to watch to see dreams
come to life on that track.

May 1, 2010

RE: The Poetic Journalism Forum

Love is::

Love is.
Love is a lump in the heart.
Love is the beat of the blood that flows through your veins.
Love Is not an emotion.
Love is a Verb.

By Skyler L.
(me)
written: april 4, 2004
A short verse of a love poem i once wrote when i was allot younger.

RE: The Poetic Journalism Forum

Thank you for your posts ladies, but this forum is intended for News realted/inspired poetry. Read above message for guidance. I hope you accept the challenge and write a piece inspired by a news story or article to bring the issue to the attention of all of OP.

-Spence

RE: The Poetic Journalism Forum

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuSpence

Hello and welcome my fellow poets to the Poetic Journalism Forum

My work as of late has taken a slightly more serious turn, and I have begun to take on the challenge of writing more pieces relating to current events and newsworthy stories. Stories that evoke such emotion in you, that you are compelled to put pen to paper to get your words out as fast as they come to you to express how this knew found knowledge is/has effected you.

I am calling on all poets to post newsworthy works on this thread, and also challenging poets to watch the news and observe the world with a keen poetic eye, watch for stories that need be shared. This forum is the Original Poetry news source. A Forum for news from the poets perspective. I will be adding to this post from time to time. I hope this catches on, there are a pleathera of issues out there that need to be tackled, and this is the place for poets to come share and learn and be inspired.


"Journalism without a moral position is impossible. Every journalist is a moralist. It’s absolutely unavoidable. A journalist is someone who looks at the world and the way it works, someone who takes a close look at things every day and reports what he/she sees, someone who represents the world, the event, for others. He/She cannot do her work without judging what he/she sees." MARGUERITE DURAS

"A poet's work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep." SALMAN RUSHDIE

Any questions or comments please feel free to private message me. Also, I would like to that Wordslinger for coining the phrase 'Poetic Journalism' and inspiring this Forum and inspiring me to run with the idea. And I would like to thank Papapaczki for all his help as well. Enjoy your vacation. Haha

-Spence

Last edited by cousinsoren 05-13-2010 at 04:12:37 AM

RE: The Poetic Journalism Forum

The Tale of a Girl

I once knew a girl who was full of happiness, and life.
Her scars never revealed, her life was meant to be happy and peaceful.
10 yrs she was a slave, never having a life of her own,
Her mother never cared for her, her life became a living hell.
I hear her screams of plead, her pleads of begging asking someone to help her. My heart of kindness and purity helped her out.
Now I'm to the point I cant help, my heart shatters, and she has called to the voices of death.
Now Death comes for her, its cold hands will be rushing down her body, feeling her as her heart stops.
Her life was a lie, she could not stop this fate, she tried over coming it by showing God she was strong now she cant anymore.
She sheds the last tear as her foot kicks the chair over and her body hangs there, her body shall hang there, decomposing; rotting away until someone smells the decomposition of her corpse.
Here's the end of a young girl who could've had more.

RE: The Poetic Journalism Forum

The Dow fell down and lost it's pound,
it's dollar, it's lira and yen,
and what is there to do but frown
'til Dow climbs back up, once again?

I once was rich but now I'm poor,
at least on computer paper.
The Dow is down, I'll buy some more!
"It's all good," says my adviser.

The Dow fell down and lost it's crown,
it's all caused by the price of oil;
and so we go again, around
with dependence on foreign soil.

RE: The Poetic Journalism Forum/ NO POEM IS WITHOUT POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS.

NO POEM IS WITHOUT POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS.
the minute something is left in print in public domain it has far reaching effects. Maybe some poems hit the mainstream harder than others. But all poems show the implication of humanity on the whole: For poetry is inclusive and not exclusive.

I will post a few political poems

This Poem You Thought
You Heard For The First Time

It's the hiked-up leg
of a bull dog that starts by
pissing on your pants cuff.

It’s a vehicle accident
with three dead children
and a drunk driver
waking up wondering
why he’s in jail.

It’s two dead
and one wounded
in a car to car shooting.

It’s a barn explosion
that burns the trailer inside,
victim and everything
goes up in smoke
except the nails.

It’s a female child-abductor
who drinks whiskey
and wears a T-shirt that says
“know your limits.”

It’s a young man,
that was a high achiever
in the local high school
being stabbed in a fight
outside a bar in the middle
of the street at night.

Its a speeding teenager
pushing the petal all the way,
the thrill of the edge,
to become airborne
at the top of the hill
crashing into a tree
and killing his best friend.

but in twisted reality
the poem is the headlines
from the town's daily rag.

Like I said: it's a Pit Bull
clamped on your leg
that's not about to let go
until it tastes bone.


RH. Peat: 3/22/08 12:00 am
form free verse: 40 lines Rhetoric stanzas
From Actual Newspaper Headlines in Auburn Journal

==========================

Thanx For The Invite;

Well I wasn't totally incapacitated
so I came for your special dinner.
I must say, you cut the meat thick
for the paper plate Frank. I guess

a feast is a grand feast no matter who
is coming down the night-dark road.
This stranger even wants us cripples
to kiss his gold ring before we have

anything to eat from the table. No
one can wait for the gravy it's made
from the dripping of pathos. I had
a sneaky suspicion when he came

through the backdoor with that
large weird-bladed walking-stick;
that he was no one to mess with
during the rainy season. He sounds

like an insurance agent wearing
that black suit; if you ask me. Is that
accident insurance or fire insurance
he's selling? Ah, maybe he's a banker

that wants to pretend he doesn't know
what a hedge-fund is, maintaining
his innocence for the silver mirror
at the crest of the wall street morning.


© RH Peat 4/21/2010 5:15pm
form 6 quatrains/ 24 lines
Social statement: rapist of society
as death at the dinner table.


=============================

Felled Family Tree

Bemoaning bellowed saw abuzz
Your chain of rattled teeth at root
To end my ever greener days

Your cut will only leave my stump
And I will do the same for you
As falling branches strike a chord

I’ll crash upon your family tree
To crush your child and lady too
Beneath my ample toppled trunk

And you will wonder why I fell
That way against your clearer plans
To sever my illegal wood

And I shall say to you who dare
To take my lifted arms that reach
For bluer skies and drifting clouds

”A penny’s worth for penny’s nub”
As I’m in ebb beyond my choice
— To overturn a life for life


© R. H. Peat — 10/7/97 —12:02 PM
Form/ Blank Verse/ 6 tercets in Iambic Tetrameter 18 lines
From Newspaper/ Auburn Journal 10/5/97
Man fells illegal tree on his wife and baby/
They are both crushed to death

===============================

Morrigana’s Lust

Dressed as shadow-less black
is it her foul breath or a soft moan;
is she docile and mute or fast asleep
after her long night’s pleasure?


The Morrigan is a goddess of battle, strife, and fertility. Her name translates as either "Great Queen" or "Phantom Queen," and both epithets are entirely appropriate for her.

==============================

Bad News Afloat

Ablur upon the lines
I saw the fast spent news

Arise from loud blacktop
Unfold its wings in wind

To flip and flutter high
Above the transit bus

Two pages spread adrift
A giant butterfly

So slow on lofty page
Too quick in inked decline

It tumbled sharply creased
To fall on mucky ground

A rumpled paper fist
It skitters down the street

R. H. Peat — 9/28/97 — 2:19 am
Form blank verse/ 7 Couplets in Iambic Trimeter
An observation on the K street mall

==================================

The Fields And The Woods

The noise of powerful tractors moves in
And uprooted Maples and birches move out
Right where the cornfields end in woods.

The little songs of small birds move away
Right where the cornfields end in woods
And earth is overturned into bare rocks.

Right where the cornfields end in woods
The vernal pools are filled up with earth
And the nests inside the thicket are no more.

Robins and Blackbirds hop on muddy ground
Right where the cornfields end in woods;
They searches for worms beneath the leaves.

The hill is torn in half, leveled, and readied
for foundations to be poured for houses
Right where the cornfields end in woods.


© RH Peat 4/6/2010 2:26pm
Form: 5 tercets/ 15 lines with refrain.
Upon visiting an old pathway in Grafton Wisconsin.

Last edited by RHPeat 05-06-2010 at 10:10:12 PM

RE: RE: The Poetic Journalism Forum/ NO POEM IS WITHOUT POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS.

The Fields And The Woods

The noise of powerful tractors moves in
And uprooted Maples and birches move out
Right where the cornfields end in woods.


And earth is overturned into bare rocks.

Right where the cornfields end in woods
The vernal pools are filled up with earth
And the nests inside the thicket are no more.


The hill is torn in half, leveled, and readied
for foundations to be poured for houses
Right where the cornfields end in woods.



Like I said: it's a Pit Bull
clamped on your leg
that's not about to let go
until it tastes bone.

Some great and startlingly graphic poems of social comment are here,on this page, which are mainly the masterly written laments of R.H. Peat, about what is happening in the modern world. Great writing, however, requires great readers.-- readers whose intellect and awareness are avidly informed, and are spurrred into action by evaluating what they read.

Essential to journalism are illustrations. Our journalistic poets need to assist to bring Poetic Journalism to life and attraction by supplying illustrations to their subscriptions here on this forum. . Ask John Wordslinger how to go about that aspect of poetic journalism,

"Let us not be weary in well doing," (Galatians 6:9).
]

Last edited by cousinsoren 05-16-2010 at 01:54:36 PM

Quote

Flag Post

RE: The Poetic Journalism Forum

THE KENTUCKY DERBY

All day today, I sat in my aunt and uncle's living room
waiting with anticipation for today's race.
I've been watching this race as far as I could remember
and I wasn't going to break it now like I did last year.
I texted my mother and stepdad if they were watching.
I couldn't help it if the Derby felt so important today.
And I was extremely excited to see the horse race today.
I even knew who I wanted to win in today's race without knowing who it was
even though he didnt win at the end which was alright.
But watching the infos and the odds and the news talking about horses
and the rainy weather in Kentucky making the track so muddy and the race,
I had a wanting to be there for the first time in my life.
I saw myself having a horse and a trainer and a jocky.
I even was searching for a whole list of names for the kind of horse
I was buying but I didnt know what breed of horse I want to buy
but right now, I really dont care as long as it is a beatiful horse
and could possibly win or loose and I still love that horse.
But after the race had ended, I felt better watching it
even though I wanted to see more of it and couldn't believe it was over.
At the end of the race, Super Saver had won.
And I was glad that I didn't miss it in the world.
For this was the 136th annual Kentucky Derby,
and nothing is wrong with that.
It may be a race and only for the rich and famous,
money in all the world could not be spent betting on the horses to make it
just for entertainment but it is for everyone to watch to see dreams
come to life on that track.

May 1, 2010


A READER"S COMMENT:
I must confess that I know next to nothing of what constitutes good or bad journalism. Therefore, I use my emotional thermometer, my emotional barometer and my proverbial meter stick to judge I cannot use my emotional stethoscope, as I do not know what to `look for, not having a Medical Guide of Journalism..I think this horse-racing account is well written. However it is essential to supply vivid illustrations---pictures of
what the journalist may have to day, and to be able to say it better than anyone slse, In this poem by SYDNEY, a picture of race horses in action, or even the picture of a single thoroughbred, would make her piece more impactive..[/b][/b]

Last edited by cousinsoren 05-16-2010 at 02:25:35 PM

Quote

Flag Post

RE: RE: The Poetic Journalism Forum

[quote="Aria"]The Dow fell down and lost it's pound,
it's dollar, it's lira and yen,
and what is there to do but frown
'til Dow climbs back up, once again?

I once was rich but now I'm poor,
at least on computer paper.
The Dow is down, I'll buy some more!
"It's all good," says my adviser.

The Dow fell down and lost it's crown,
it's all caused by the price of oil;
and so we go again, around
with dependence on foreign soil.[/quote]


@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Confucius , an ancient Chinese philosopher, is creditted to have said, :"It is better to look like a fool, for a moment, and ask a foolish question, than to remain silent and be a fool forever.

What is a Dow? Is that a nickname for the Stock market?

RE: The Poetic Journalism Forum

"Father I Have Sinned"

…then, there is their destiny, as if a rotten
vein, as if Jesus, through his thrones,
shed their destiny for them with his loving blood.

Behind white walls, behind locked
white doors, the White Whip cracks its tip,
and hate heats up its ferocious beast.

In this vision:
the warriors, those taught herds
of predators, fall to their knees
near the kill, and choking on
the pungent perfume of spilled blood,
scream up at the sky: Father, I have sinned,
I have committed a mortal sin!

Like imprisoned flocks, the warriors’ spirits
suffer in their master’s cage; confusion
touches one grave after another; and

the world, dressed in pain,
burns its deadly oil.



Commentary:
A large part of the U.S. Military is Christian.
Their 6th Holy Commandment states:
"Thou Shall Not Kill" (it does not list
any exceptions). To kill is a mortal sin
unforgivable by their God.

If I were to regret anything in my life
it would be having been drafted into
the U.S. Army from 1970 to 1972,
working as an artillery gunner for
the 3rd Infantry / 39th Artillery.

Peace will never be attained through war.
May the Universal Spirit forgive this mistake.

Peace and Light,
Dah

RE: The Poetic Journalism Forum

Cousin Oren, I copied and pasted this off the internet. It is good to know an exact definition, not just for you but for my benefit, as well. Thank you for asking the question.


"The term "Dow" is usually used to mean the Dow Jones Industrial Average, an index of thirty blue chip stocks that serves as the most widely used measure of the U.S. stock market. The term carries much weight in the stock market due to its popularity as a market index. To calculate the Dow, the trading prices of the thirty stocks are added up and divided by a special divisor that is weighted to account for stock splits and other conditions. There are several other indices with the Dow name: the Dow Jones Utilities Average, the Dow Jones Transportation Average, and the Dow Jones Composite Average, to name a few. Dow also refers to Dow Jones & Company, a major source of financial news. This company publishes the Wall Street Journal, the largest business and finance publication in the world. The company was founded by Charles Henry Dow, Edward Davis Jones, and Charles Milford Bergstresser in 1882."

RE: The Poetic Journalism Forum

love this thread
i'd offer ... SuSpence ... your "Gulf of Fire" haiku is about as inspiring as any poetic journalism ... but then i just read your "Tale of Alejandro" and LOVE that piece too ... for anyone who hasn't yet read it, SuSpence's "poetic journalism" commentary on BP: BRINGING OILTO AMERICA'S SHORES(TM) :( ... "Gulf of Fire":

Once Beautiful Gulf
Engulfed By Waves Of Fire
My Lord, What Have We Done

beautiful work, SuSpence ...

Aria, love your piece on the Dow, too! nice!

i'll find something to post here of my own by the end of the day i think the trick for this forum is ... there's long-term news, and short-term news ... quick commentary on today's events, and recording for posterity the general feeling of a time or any particular event ... CousinsOren ... i think of your "Pocahontas" work as a sort of journalism, sifting real bits of info and giving them life through poetry ... tho it's a sort of historical journalism ...

SuSpence, it seems to me you're going more for "today's news" - like the dipping of the Dow - and every time i read one of your journalistic works, i find myself wishing i could get more of my news this way! very inspiring ...

as far as "old news" but "poetic journalism" old news ... one of my favorite pieces on this site is "Combat Girl" by mikedomino ... based on a news story about a female vet who, when she came home, experienced severe PTSD as so many of our vets do ...

be back soon

-dh

RE: The Poetic Journalism Forum

oh, and Springsize! nice spotlight on a horrible event! great journalism! and i know you've got others ... your pieces are often chock-full of real details about real events ...

hmmm ... reminds me too ... was it Bandit that posted that piece about the girl in his hometown who disappeared?

some news is too important not to record this way ...

beautiful work, people!

-dh

RE: RE: The Poetic Journalism Forum: FATHER, I HAVE SINNED

Last edited by cousinsoren 05-13-2010 at 05:29:04 AM

POETIC JOURNALISM FORUM ILLUSTRATIVE DECOR

DEAR PAPAPACZKI,

THE POETIC JOURNALISM FORUM NEEDS AN ILLUSTRATIVE APPLICATION SYSTEM.
WITHOUT COLOURFUL PICTURES AND ILLUSTRATIONS, THIS POETIC JOURNALISM FORUM IS AS GOOD AS DEAD. THE NUMBER OF POETS, IN FACT, WHO TRY TO ILLUSTRATE THEIR SUBSCRIPTIONS ON OP ARE VERY, VERY FEW WE CAN COUNT THEM ON ONE HAND, AND PROBABLY HAVE A FINGER OR TWO LEFT. THE REASON IS, ........IT IS FRUSTRATING AND MOST TIMES FUTILE. ON SOME SITES (Mary's Bridge, for example) IT IS VERY EASY AND SIMPLE TO UPLOAD A PICTURE OR PHOTOGRAPH. iT WOULD BE AN EXTRA BOON IF IT WERE JUST AS EASY TO UPLOAD PHOTOGRAPHS AND COLOURFUL PICTURES ON OP. WORDSLINGER SEEMS TO HAVE FOUND A TECHNIQUE TO DO SO. THE REST OF US ARE STUMBLING IN THE DARK.]

Last edited by cousinsoren 05-07-2010 at 04:52:40 PM

RE: RE: The Poetic Journalism Forum

[quote="Aria"]Cousin Oren, I copied and pasted this off the internet. It is good to know an exact definition, not just for you but for my benefit, as well. Thank you for asking the question.


"The term "Dow" is usually used to mean the Dow Jones Industrial Average, an index of thirty blue chip stocks that serves as the most widely used measure of the U.S. stock market. The term carries much weight in the stock market due to its popularity as a market index. To calculate the Dow, the trading prices of the thirty stocks are added up and divided by a special divisor that is weighted to account for stock splits and other conditions. There are several other indices with the Dow name: the Dow Jones Utilities Average, the Dow Jones Transportation Average, and the Dow Jones Composite Average, to name a few. Dow also refers to Dow Jones & Company, a major source of financial news. This company publishes the Wall Street Journal, the largest business and finance publication in the world. The company was founded by Charles Henry Dow, Edward Davis Jones, and Charles Milford Bergstresser in 1882."
[/quote]

A READER"S COMMENT

THANKS, Aria,

I am glad that I am not rich, so as to play the Stock Market. The terms they use , such as 'the market is bullish," terifiy me......................lol Sounds like bullshit!

Last edited by cousinsoren 05-16-2010 at 09:26:51 AM

RE: RE: The Poetic Journalism Forum

Quote:

Originally Posted by dancinghawk

love this thread
i'd offer ... SuSpence ... your "Gulf of Fire" haiku is about as inspiring as any poetic journalism ... but then i just read your "Tale of Alejandro" and LOVE that piece too ... for anyone who hasn't yet read it, SuSpence's "poetic journalism" commentary on BP: BRINGING OILTO AMERICA'S SHORES(TM) :( ... "Gulf of Fire":

Once Beautiful Gulf
Engulfed By Waves Of Fire
My Lord, What Have We Done

beautiful work, SuSpence ...

Aria, love your piece on the Dow, too! nice!

i'll find something to post here of my own by the end of the day i think the trick for this forum is ... there's long-term news, and short-term news ... quick commentary on today's events, and recording for posterity the general feeling of a time or any particular event ... CousinsOren ... i think of your "Pocahontas" work as a sort of journalism, sifting real bits of info and giving them life through poetry ... tho it's a sort of historical journalism ...

SuSpence, it seems to me you're going more for "today's news" - like the dipping of the Dow - and every time i read one of your journalistic works, i find myself wishing i could get more of my news this way! very inspiring ...

as far as "old news" but "poetic journalism" old news ... one of my favorite pieces on this site is "Combat Girl" by mikedomino ... based on a news story about a female vet who, when she came home, experienced severe PTSD as so many of our vets do ...

be back soon

-dh

Last edited by cousinsoren 05-12-2010 at 07:11:53 AM

RE: The Poetic Journalism Forum

After closing time at the bar, a drunk was proudly showing off his new apartment to a couple
of his friends. He led the way to his bedroom where there was a big brass gong and a mallet.

=
'What's
up with the big brass gong?'
one of the guests asked.

'It's not a gong. It's a
talking clock,' the drunk replied.

'A talking clock? Seriously?' asked his astonished
friend.

'Yup,' replied the drunk.

'How's it work?' the friend asked, squinting at it.

'Watch,'
the drunk replied. He picked up the mallet, gave the gong an
ear-shattering pound and stepped back.

The three stood
looking at one another for a moment.......

Suddenly, someone
on the other side of the wall screamed,

'You asshole!
It's three-fifteen in the
morning!'


A JOKE A DAY HELPS TO KEEP FROWNS AWAY.

See wnat i mean? I couldn't get the coloured picture onto this thread, despite all methods tried, until that poetic genius, John Wordslinger showed me how.

Last edited by cousinsoren 05-17-2010 at 06:13:52 PM

Quote

Flag Post

RE: The Poetic Journalism Forum

Thank you all so much, I am glad to see this idea is starting to catch on. Cousinsorens, I will have to check with papa about the question regarding pics. I have had some success by hitting the photo button above, and then putting the link to the pic inbetween the two [img] that will pop up. See if that works for you, and I will get back with you later.

-Spence

RE: RE: The Poetic Journalism Forum

Quote:

Originally Posted by dancinghawk

love this thread
i'd offer ... SuSpence ... your "Gulf of Fire" haiku is about as inspiring as any poetic journalism ... but then i just read your "Tale of Alejandro" and LOVE that piece too ... for anyone who hasn't yet read it, SuSpence's "poetic journalism" commentary on BP: BRINGING OILTO AMERICA'S SHORES(TM) :( ... "Gulf of Fire":

Once Beautiful Gulf
Engulfed By Waves Of Fire
My Lord, What Have We Done

beautiful work, SuSpence ...

Aria, love your piece on the Dow, too! nice!

i'll find something to post here of my own by the end of the day i think the trick for this forum is ... there's long-term news, and short-term news ... quick commentary on today's events, and recording for posterity the general feeling of a time or any particular event ... CousinsOren ... i think of your "Pocahontas" work as a sort of journalism, sifting real bits of info and giving them life through poetry ... tho it's a sort of historical journalism ...

SuSpence, it seems to me you're going more for "today's news" - like the dipping of the Dow - and every time i read one of your journalistic works, i find myself wishing i could get more of my news this way! very inspiring ...

as far as "old news" but "poetic journalism" old news ... one of my favorite pieces on this site is "Combat Girl" by mikedomino ... based on a news story about a female vet who, when she came home, experienced severe PTSD as so many of our vets do ...

be back soon

-dh

RE: The Poetic Journalism Forum - OBAMA'S QWEST

This poem was written as Obama was running for president after listening to countless anti-Obama talk shows and radio talk shows who refused to even consider what kind of change he could possibly bring to our country. How can we ever find the solution to a seemingly insolvable problem if we are afraid of change, for the answer we seek may be within the change that we fear.

Obama's Quest

Our nation is stressed, that’s very clear
Economy crashing is our biggest fear
Our nation of power is falling fast
No longer invincible as in the past

Worldwide conflicts on the rise
Spawns terrorist acts that’s no surprise.
We needed to elect someone to come in
And help make our country strong again.

It seemed he appeared right on the scene
Poised, well-versed, articulate and clean.
A Black man for President, some thought it strange
While others were glad and wanted that change.

So Obama indeed is the nation’s choice
Who hopes he will also hear our voice.
Unemployed, homeless, is that our end
Obama gives hope like a caring friend.

He came into office with an arduous chore
To undo the damage that was done before.
Yet some still hate, can’t turn that page
A Black man in office just fuels their rage.

Bottom line he’s in with one request
That we’ll come together to pass this test.
Can we all put aside our biased ways
Or else we’ll see our final days.

Last edited by FitzHouston09 05-09-2010 at 02:11:18 AM

RE: The Poetic Journalism Forum

After teaching for 18 years, it is astounding to me that teenagers today, more than ever, continue to let their sexual hormones rule in the midst of knowing about myriad of STD's that exist today that are not only incurable but will also take you outta here as well - not to mention teen pregnancy is out of control as well leaving babies raising babies.

Sleeping Around Can Bring You Down

They lie in wait – waiting for our youth
With only one goal in mind.
To infect as many boys and girls
With diseases that are not kind.

“Why wait to have sex? I’m in control
I think I know what’s right!”
“Well, if that’s true, why did I see
You at the clinic very late last night?”

Some STD’s can take you out
Teen pregnancy is out of hand,
But if you insist on sleeping around
Do you know just where you stand?

Trusting your friend who professes his love
Is your girl really on the pill?
If either of you is telling a lie
Under age you’ll both feel ill.

Bottom line, until you find yourself wed
Only one way’s tried and true,
Abstinence is the only way
To do what’s best for you.

Last edited by FitzHouston09 05-09-2010 at 02:07:30 AM