Robert J. Tiess

My closer poetry friends will instantly note my tiny homage here to Blake and Dickinson.

My #blue #poem
for #vssmagic

~@~

IMPOSSIBLE BLOSSOM

Where Water, Light,
and Air won't flow,

a Blue Rose
(called Impossible)

soon blooms to split
a Grim Abyss

with Thorns to warn
all Reaper Hands

and Petals
of bizarre resolve

(the kind Believers
grow to hold)

~@~

#poetry #faith
© me 2025

5/5

Poetry translation really is an ART!

OTOH... learning a language can open up possibilities for readers.

Did you know your local library might offer FREE ACCESS to a language-learning service?

Many do!

I encourage you to ask a librarian about that sometime.

#poetry #translations #language

4/5

All poetry is word choice--selecting words to suggest notions, feelings, scenes, etc.

But poetry also involves wordplay, symbols, idioms, sounds (e.g. onomatopoeia), irony, and worlds more.

Imagine trying to address all of those things in a poetry translation!

#poetry #translations #language

3/5

Some translators decide to render a poem as prose, trading strict form/meter (e.g. Dante's terza rima) for more creative possibilities.

All translators end up sharing in every poet's challenge of searching for the (subjectively) "best" words to express things.

#poetry #translations #language

List of English translations of the Divine Comedy - Wikipedia

2/5

...and the same goes for Beowulf, Divine Comedy, Aeneid, and many other classic and contemporary poems.

Some translators try to honor original poetic forms. Others need to get creative.

Their biggest challenge? Choosing words.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...

#poetry #translations #language

Translations of the Odyssey - Wikipedia

1/5

Poems, like all writings, are born of specific languages unique in culture, grammar, sound, and more.

This is why poetry translation is complex, subjective, and endlessly debated.

Homer's Odyssey continues to get translated...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transla...

#poetry #translations #language

Pegasus - Wikipedia

Some information about the Golden Bridle, Pegasus, and Bellerophon:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellero...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegasus

#poetry
#poem © me 2025
#mythology

for #vssmagic #bridle

~

GOLDEN BRIDLE

With it, you'll tame
a Pegasus,

slay many-headed
fire-breathers,

become heroic
--but, beware!

Delusion disobeys
those reins,

and it may say
you're godly now.

That will be where
your war begins.

~

#poetry
#poem © me 2025
#mythology
@vssmagic.bsky.social

The Listeners ‘Is there anybody there?’ said the Traveller, / Knocking on the moonlit door;

Some poems stand out--in memorable ways--for what they WON'T reveal.

An example:

Walter de la Mare's The Listeners
poets.org/poem/listeners

Traveller arrives urgently with a message.

Ironically, the silence to follow delivers #mystery and haunts the audience in and past the poem!

#poetry #poems

My #vssdaily #bin #poem
_

THE BIGGEST BIN

It won't accept our history,

much less what better years we lost

to months of Sundays worrying

and edgy Wednesdays wondering,

the hour doubting everything,

whole moments broken up by lies,

or instants crushed and dumped by love.

_
#poetry © me 2025

Crossroads | Robert J. Tiess Crossroads by Robert J. Tiess, Instrumental music from Middletown, NY on ReverbNation

"Crossroads" is one of my guitar instrumentals people have enjoyed over the years.

Almost all of my music is improvisational, building and building, up to the final measure.

If you'd ever like to check it out, here's the ReverbNation song link: www.reverbnation.com/robertjtiess...

#music #guitar

RobertJTiess About my music... These are improvisational instrumentals, abstract musical expressions, and contemplative celebrations of life through music. For even more of my music, please <a href=

I hope to release those new instrumentals and other music next year, likely after I finish and publish my fourth poetry collection.

Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy the song.

I have other music (piano, more) at SoundCloud:
soundcloud.com/robertjtiess

Thanks for listening.

#music #songs #instrumentals

RobertJTiess About my music... These are improvisational instrumentals, abstract musical expressions, and contemplative celebrations of life through music. For even more of my music, please <a href=

2/3

At the center of this song is the understanding that we must invest ourselves more mindfully, if not wholly, in what we do, who and how we love, the peace and knowledge we seek, and so on.

I'm composing and recording new material that also connects with that.

#music #songs #instrumentals

Heart and Soul Guitar and piano / keyboard instrumental.

1/3

"Heart and Soul" is an instrumental I recorded a while back, like 12+ years ago.

I re-introduce it from time to time since I feel it was one of my better recordings and it's powered by a view I still maintain.

The song link
soundcloud.com/robertjtiess...

#music #songs #instrumentals #guitar

My offering for #vss365 #transport

_

POEM AS MODE OF TRANSPORT

Not everybody boards
this bus.

Some rather a subway, cab,
or boat.

Some others walk on or pause
a bit.

The few who ride can change
their minds.

One traveler might reach the moon.

_

#poetry #poem © me 2025

@vss365hq.bsky.social

2/2

One of the coolest things about Teasdale's poem is that it inspired and became central to Ray Bradbury's same-named short story:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_W...

Bradbury didn't just take the title;

he electrified his apocalyptic tale with the actual poem!

#poetry #poems #peace #war

There Will Come Soft Rains There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,

1/2

Sara Teasdale's "There Will Come Soft Rains"
poets.org/poem/there-w...

lures us into a seemingly safe nature poem.

Then, in volta-like fashion, tone shifts.

Pastoral turns piercing, profound.

Nature's peace shrugs off wars, humans.

Life continues calmly.

#poetry #poems #peace #war #nature

My #haiku for #DailyHaikuPrompt
#mask #lost theme

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

phantom-masked new moon
lost in autumn's masquerade;
chandelier stars fall

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#poetry #moon #autumn

Inspired by Leroux's Phantom
in a black mask

@dailyhaikuprompt.mastodon.world.ap.brid.gy

My #vssdaily #block #poem
_

DEEP IN ENGINE BLOCKS

Fresh breaths
become
the timely lights
of revolutions strengthening:

old pressures
fueling
new beginnings
force more causes (with effect)

to drive inertia
from the rusting
gears of wheels
stuck in park.

_
© me 2025
#poetry
@vssdaily.bsky.social

3/3

Poet William Carlos Williams is another example:

known for brief Imagistic poems like "The Red Wheelbarrow," he stunned a bunch of people with his 5-volume epic poem Paterson.

And T.S. Eliot wrote a book of cat poems.

Why be limited?

Let's keep trying new things!

#poetry #poets #writing

2/3

Imagine rock star Eddie Vedder releasing an album of ukulele songs.

Or Brave New World author Aldous Huxley veering into mysticism and philosophy.

Wait--all of that happened!

Risks were taken.

Reactions were mixed.

But many fans and critics embraced those efforts.

#poetry #poets #writing

1/3

Exploring new techniques and topics is vital if we want to keep growing as poets, musicians, or artists.

As audiences discover and follow us, we may be tempted to "play it safe" by creating more towards what we feel is expected of us.

That can be severely limiting.

#poetry #poets #writing

A quote from Four Quartets So here I am, in the middle way, having had twenty years-Twenty years largely wasted, the years of l'entre deux guerres-Trying to use words, and every ...

2/2

Tying into this is one of my favorite T. S. Eliot quotes from Four Quartets:

"...but there is no competition-- / There is only the fight to recover what has been lost / And found and lost again and again.... For us, there is only the trying."

www.goodreads.com/quotes/61116...

#poetry #poets

1/2

I don't compete with other poets.

I've entered 2,500+ friendly poetry challenges to motivate myself to improve and to explore new approaches to ideas.

I'm a lifelong advocate for poets and the reading of poetry.

For me, poetry is community.

We poets are in this #together.

#poetry #poets

To me, #respect is essential in a poet's journey.

Self-respect, yes, but also respect for...

+ other poets
+ readers
+ words
+ what you write about
+ the craft of poetry
+ communities
+ cultures
+ perspectives
+ interpretations
+ persons new to poetry

Respect fosters advancement.

#poetry #poets

I think one of the better pieces of advice I offer to developing poets inviting my insights is

READ OTHER POETS.

If they ask me why, I ask them to ask themselves

"WHY (AS A POET) SHOULD I READ POETRY?"

or

"WHY SHOULD OTHER POETS READ MY POETRY?"

Most try finding reasons fast. 😉

#poetry #poets

Rigoberto Gonzalez's poem "The Luna Moth Has No Mouth" is great for many reasons.

e.g.: after the opening biological fact, it gets creative, shifts attention, then transcends its mouthless metaphor to voice a deeper message.

So good!

Check it out:
www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazi...

#poetry

2/2

Sagan also founded the Planetary Society and worked on the Voyager record.

Info links...

www.planetary.org/profiles/car...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sa...

carlsaganinstitute.cornell.edu

Cosmos
www.imdb.com/title/tt0081...

#astronomers #science #cosmology

Carl Sagan and The Soul of a Poet I believe astronomer and cosmologist Carl Sagan had the soul of a poet.

1/2

Astronomer / author Carl Sagan was born on this day in 1934.

I believe he had the soul of #poet, and I wrote on that: robertjtiess.medium.com/carl-sagan-a...

Sagan died in 96, but his Cosmos series and books still inspire people to explore and study the #universe.

#poetry #astronomy #science