Hey, gang! I had my reading of my poem “Roanoke Summer Midnight” included in a video by Peeking Cat Poetry Magazine a couple of weeks ago, after the piece was published in its 2017 anthology. If you happened to miss that, this is the individual recording that I sent to the publisher for the video’s creation. (I just uploaded it to Youtube.)
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!” he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
“Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismay’d?
Not tho’ the soldier knew
Some one had blunder’d:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.
Flash’d all their sabres bare,
Flash’d as they turn’d in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder’d:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro’ the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel’d from the sabre-stroke
Shatter’d and sunder’d.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro’ the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder’d.
Honor the charge they made!
Honor the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!
“The Charge of the Light Brigade,” by Caton Woodville (1856 – 1927).
Dark Horse Comics.
Happy Halloween once again! Below you’ll find my audio recording of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven.”
I apologize that this and my other readings are a bit “breathy;” I doubt Poe envisioned an asthmatic narrator. It’s because I’m recording these poems on my cell phone, and I’ve got to stand very close to it to be heard. I believe I’ll be able to eliminate this problem when I get some better recording equipment.
Enjoy!
Happy Halloween! My miniature books arrived yesterday from Poems-for-All, and they look just great! Grendel Pumpkin and Ebullient Pumpkin are watching over a few copies right here.
Happy Halloween!
With Orion’s sword, the Hunter arose
And swept the world with fury and grace.
In him I was born, in him I will die,
In him I will lose name, station and face.
Death over weakness
Death over despair
Death over personal gain.
Death over dishonor
Death over undeath
Death over fire with no flame.
All this I pledge thee
O Grendel, great Khan
To serve and protect
Over death’s endless tide,
With your word in my heart
Your eyes in my face
And your tooth in my hand
By my side.
— from Matt Wagner’s “Grendel”
I was looking around the web for a Halloween poem to record (it’s a bit tricky, as they have to be in the public domain), and I found this very short poem by John Keats. Its imagery makes it somewhat Halloweenish, I suppose. I hope that you enjoy it.
If you do like this one, then stop by tomorrow for my reading of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven.”
Source: ZOMG DUDES INDICTMENTS
“I believe in Harvey Dent.”
Eric Robert Nolan, Author 