Comment 30 of 60, added on August 27th, 2011 at 7:00 PM.
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Yes there should realize the opportunity to RSS commentary, quite simply,
CMS is another on the blog.

tryecrot from United States

Comment 28 of 60, added on January 18th, 2010 at 6:04 PM.

I cried with this poem. It's so moving, so dramatic.

Bridgette from Czech Republic

Comment 26 of 60, added on May 11th, 2008 at 3:11 AM.

I burst into tears when i first read this poem. So sad!

Deborah from United States

Comment 24 of 60, added on May 17th, 2007 at 5:58 AM.

A hundred individuals could read "What Lips ... " , and there'd be a
hundred perspectives , and probably ,at least , half as many
interpretations . Surely , many would appreciate the insightfullness ,
depth , and "suggested" abject finality that is , at once , an expression
of both unearthly joy and all too earthly pain . Personally , from a
metaphysical view , I find the expression to be very much an introspective
, "open-ended" , loving of current Self , fully as much as the perceivable
(and acknowledged) "timely loss of others" ... a reflection , in addition
to a grasping recognition , which has resulted in a "letting go" .
Not to wax esoteric in the extreme , but , for any student of the
physical sciences , there is the suggestion of a "mind / brain" interface
(contemporary ref range from W.Penfield to S. Grof) . Though by no means an
expert on the poet , I do dearly enjoy her poetic openness as offerings ;
these a product of her unfettered creative and expansive mind .
As far as I'm able to ascertain , she was prone to a certain moodiness ,
in addition to use of at least one chemical substance which can further
alter both perception and mood . These may have proved somewhat "dulling"
in later years , but , I believe , not at the time of this writing .
Despite what some may consider with regard to the aforementioned , I ,
nevertheless , find this sonnet to be both brilliant in presentation , and
ever so touching in emotionality .
So many times at autopsy , I've held the roughly three and one half
pounds of tissue that comprise the human brain in my hands , and wondered
as to it's collective sensory input , and complex data processing as
demanded during life ; and yet somehow come to know same as an empty
vessel of sorts . As marvelously complex an organ as the human brain
happens to be , somehow I've managed to make a distinction between the
physically concrete , and the mentally ethereal . As fact , we all are
susceptible to tangible influences upon the brain such as physical or
chemical insult . As an opinion , there is a separate and distinct
conscious / spiritual aspect which interfaces with the brain . To what
extent these factors influenced the poet and this sonnet are open to
individual conjecture . Though some would disagree , my feeling is that
such influences , at this time , are nil .
At this point , my obvious opinion is that the poet was beautifully gifted
in the spiritual realm of creativity and sensitivity , and that "What Lips
My Lips Have Kissed ... " is not to be viewed as any hopeless and
despairing expression of a "life wasted" , "lost" , and tearfully
unrecallable , but rather a recognition , an acceptance , a "loosening of
spirit" , and a "letting go" . ESVM's "emerging thought" and sentiment were
captured wonderfully , and expressed so succinctly , at the time of this
composition . Perhaps a few days prior , or a day or two later , and "What
Lips ... " may have never been . That would have been such a loss indeed .
Thankfully , walt


walt m wally martin from United States

Comment 22 of 60, added on January 26th, 2007 at 3:26 PM.

thanks to my grandmother and gowing up on a small island in northern maine
and not a lot to do - my love for longfellow is something i have always
carried with me- the childrens hour & the wreck of the hesperus are two of
my favorites (even though the latter still brings me to tears )- i was
buying stamps at the post office the other day and saw the new longfellow
stamp that is coming out in march and started reciting the children's hour
and i asked the po clerk if she had daughters and had read this to them she
did not know who longfellow was or the poem i mentioned to her - it is too
bad that in todays world we are so busy that people do not have time to
read these wonderful poems to their children - i am happy that i was able
to pass some of these wonderful poems and stories i learned from my
grandmother to my children.

nbm from United States