poetry critical

online poetry workshop

Current Stats
  • poems: 42,909 (7,576 active)
  • comments: 291,675
  • ratings: 106,407
  • average rating: 7.4
  • forum posts: 238,847
  • users: 9,516 (122 active)
  • current users: 2

Welcome!

Welcome to Poetry Critical, an online poetry workshop. To post your own poetry you'll need to create a user id by typing a name and password in the box above and hitting 'New User'. If you just want to critique or jump into the discussion, however, you can go ahead and get started!

Poetry Critical 2.0

Hey guys, Donald here.

In a few weeks, this site will be 9 years old. 9 years! And I still know some of the earliest submissions by heart.

But, boy. That’s like 102 in web-years. So it’s time for something new. I’m building that something now with my nights-and-weekend minutes (and plenty of coffee). Buy me a cup?

Development updates from Twitter:

Follow @poetrycritical for more!

Random Poem:

Old Hawk
CowboyToo

It had been easy once -
 1
a dozen effortless strokes - just the right attitude of  wings -
 2
climbing the wind as a child climbs  a wave -
 3
upward for a way,  just catching the crest,
 4
then turning  downwind
 5
for the easy glide.
 6
 
 
Now,
 7
Circling ,
 8
conserving  every measure of energy
 9
(a small movement below worth investigating)
 10
Old Hawk turned back, once again, into the wind,
 11
and struggled to gain altitude.
 12
 
 
Worn tendons and weary muscles struggled.
 13
Nothing was easy anymore,
 14
 
 
but instinct  still prevailed -
 15
eyesight  was pretty good,
 16
and he was hungry.
 17
 
 
*
 18
 
 
Field mouse emerged, warily, from beneath an abandoned wall.
 19
Life, of a different kind, had been here.
 20
It was his inheritance,now.
 21
He switched  his way a brief distance
 22
into the fading afternoon -
 23
whiskers twitching nervously -
 24
little ripples of skin moving up and down his back -
 25
sitting straight up, nose up,
 26
all energy -
 27
out from the cool safety of the  den -
 28
feinting here,
 29
darting there,
 30
checking for any sign of danger.
 31
It was a little early for him,
 32
and he knew the grain was gone,
 33
but maybe there was Something,
 34
and he was hungry.
 35
 
 
*
 36
 
 
The  tiny movement keenly spotted -
 37
(surprised by its audacity,
 38
but fine-tuned to its possibility),
 39
the old hawk
 40
marshaled aging resources.
 41
 
 
Lately he had been settling
 42
for defenseless bugs -
 43
a small snake, perhaps,
 44
but even they were dwindling.
 45
The pickings were lean for an old hawk,
 46
and the seven year drought
 47
was everyone’s enemy.
 48
 
 
*
 49
 
 
Downwind glide now -
 50
easy -
 51
easy  -
 52
not too fast,
 53
timing has to be perfect -
 54
flare the wings just a touch -
 55
tail feathers down two degrees -
 56
 
 
legs down  -
 57
just enough drag -
 58
talons ready -
 59
Closer -
 60
perfect angle -
 61
glide path just over the piled stones-
 62
he hasn’t sensed me yet -
 63
six more feet -
 64
 
 
NOW!
 65
 
 
*
 66
 
 
Field mouse knew something was wrong.
 67
He checked and re-checked -
 68
sniffing the air,
 69
whiskers at full sensitivity,
 70
trembling body  attuned to every  possible threat.
 71
 
 
but ONE!
 72
 
 
Generations of  spontaneous reaction
 73
moved him four inches to the left.
 74
 
 
*
 75
 
 
CRASH!
 76
Thud!
 77
feathers and fur -
 78
a vortex of dust and  tiny pebbles -
 79
 
 
Screams
 80
 
 
Squeals
 81
 
 
*
 82
 
 
Each took a second to evaluate the scene.
 83
 
 
*
 84
 
 
Old Hawk had missed.
 85
 
 
*
 86
 
 
Field mouse zipped back under the stones.
 87
 
 
Old Hawk limped away a few yards -
 88
Humiliated,
 89
and  hungry still -
 90
 
 
flapped weary wings,
 91
and pondered:
 92
How many tomorrows would there be?
 93
 
 
*
 94
 
 
The Anasazi left the year before,
 95
when they still could.
 96

(comment on this poem)
Top Rated (expand)
Newest (expand)
Recently Commented (expand)
Recent Best (expand)
design & code copyright donald tetto. all poems copyright their original authors.
0.245s