Guest

Jun 19, 2022

It can be very relatable, and at time his words can have a sort of eternal echo to them. Often it reminds me how lucky I’ve been to land a good relationship with a good person.

1 Like

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martinmccarthy1956

Jun 19, 2022

Replying to

Guest

Thank you for your comment. It gives me great pleasure to see that my work is really connecting with people and they too feel the same way about someone special in their own lives. To be in love is a truly marvellous thing, and once you’ve experienced that, it’s there forever – there’s no disappointment anymore, and no despair. That’s probably what you mean by the ‘eternal echo’.

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ajsedia

Jun 17, 2022

I particularly enjoyed the parallelism in structure between the stanzas in “Forever.” The consistency gave it a musical quality.

As far as richness of expression goes, “Entering the River” evokes thoughts of the eternal in the simplest language. Indeed, a philosophical poem is cloaked in an erotic veneer. Well done!

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martinmccarthy1956

Jun 17, 2022

Replying to

ajsedia

Like you Adam, I do listen to a lot of music, so I’m glad you picked up on the musical quality of the poems. I was once in a band and I wrote the lyrics and I modelled my song-writing then on Lennon/McCartney. One of the greatest lessons I learned from them was that simplicity isn’t that easy to do and still make an impact. But you’re right also about cloaking something philosophical (and spiritual) in an erotic veneer, this too is part of my process and hopefully gives the work a lot of depth. Thank you for your very perceptive comments.

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Guest

Jun 10, 2022

Raw and beautiful, and moving. Thank you Martin for sharing your poems. It’s a joy to ready them.

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martinmccarthy1956

Jun 10, 2022

Replying to

Guest

Well, let me thank you for your kind comments. Without you and people like you, I’d never do this. I’d simply make my life my art. But, in an odd way, this is precisely what is happening anyway.

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jm6783685

Jun 13, 2022

Replying to

martinmccarthy1956

The relationship between life and art is very strange. Without my art would my life in fact be my life? Surely my art completes it in some way and gives it purpose and meaning. But without life there would be no art. Life is primary, but it’s art we idolatrise. (I prefer to say that rather than ‘idolise’. In the same way that one says ‘scientistic’ rather than ‘scientific’.) Life is cheap and so is art. Unless exemplary in some way. Either because it’s close to us. Or because in some way it’s become close to everybody. The art of others helps to give significance to life. Once that message has got through we want to pass that on to others. Or rather pass the significant moments of our own life, enshrined in some way that is permanently significant, on to others. And how can we do that except through art?

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martinmccarthy1956

Jun 13, 2022

Replying to

jm6783685

Thank you, John, for writing this. These are matters that I’ve been thinking a lot about lately, and your comments here are very much in line with what you said before about good poetry being ‘essentially unifying’ and universal. I’m always glad to know that something beautiful and significant to me, can be equally so for someone else out there, if I can be humble and trusting enough to let the muse do its work, and not get too much in the way, because our egos are the enemies of art.

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jm6783685

Jun 14, 2022

Replying to

martinmccarthy1956

Yes, our egos are dangerous things. And need constantly to be mortified. Without our becoming unnatural, because even there our egos can enter in. (‘I am mortifying myself more than you are!’) Best just to acknowledge the ego’s presence and give it its due and then quietly move on to more important things. And above all avoid all cultural manifestations where egotistic self-display is at a premium. Poetry at least gives us opportunity for constant self-examination. Yeats could boast and show off in his poetry. But then would immediately attack himself for that. And so come across as lovably human. Eliot’s chief fault is his unexamined snobbishness. Just as Auden’s is his unexamined vulgarity.

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Guest

Jun 10, 2022

This poetry is very accessible to the average person. It evokes a lovely spiritual feeling, particularly ‘Two Small Pebbles’. I like the imagery, ‘Let us go where the stars undress’. Thank you. You brightened my day.

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martinmccarthy1956

Jun 10, 2022

Replying to

Guest

You’ve brightened my day, too.

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Guest

Jun 10, 2022

I find these poems wonderfully captivating, emotive, profound and personalised.

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billyredster

Jun 09, 2022

I love the intimate sense of the language on display here. The first poem is hypnotic and builds beautifully. The rawness and intensely personal quality of the subject matter is magnified by the refined language. If this quality can be sustained across a full collection it’ll really be some piece of work. I hope you’ll post more poems, Martin. Keep at it.

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Guest

Jun 09, 2022

Martin, I like your poems. I’m not sure if “diminishes” is the best word. Perhaps something along the lines of “ameliorates” or “assuages.” — Michael R. Burch

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martinmccarthy1956

Jun 09, 2022

Replying to

Guest

‘Assuages’ is better. Thank you for the suggestion. It’s always good to get feedback from other poets, because every word matters – every word makes a difference – in the attempt to create something good. My attitude has always been: ‘If there is a better word out there, please tell me’.

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martinmccarthy1956

Jun 09, 2022

It is a great honour and privilege to be published again by The Chained Muse. If anyone has a comment or a suggestion, I would love to read it.

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Guest

Jun 09, 2022

Martin, I like your poems. They are very beautiful.

3 Likes