Comments by Carmina Gitana
- "YEEEHAWW, you still write. And you're still stupendous at it. Every time I do my semi-annual login to DP, I hope and hope to see something from you and it's amazing when I do :)
This is so beautiful. Your language has become even more stripped-down and evocative than before, I think. The repetitiveness of the last stanza feels like a heartbeat. I've just re-read it like 5 times and I have no plans to stop anytime soon. "
Posted by Carmina Gitana on "You are Still Here" by Stranger
- "Thank you for still posting once in a while. That third stanza is one of the most perfectly stripped-down poetic truths I've read in a very long time. It's like one of Rodin's hand sculptures, real as flesh but bite-sharp to the touch. Wonderful."
Posted by Carmina Gitana on "Real and Unreal" by Stranger
- "So you're alive too! :)
This was a lovely treat tonight. Something about the way you write, whatever you write . . . of all the things I've changed my mind about over the years, your poetry is an unchanging source of pleasure. It's almost a litmus test of how human I remain - will it still move me? - and lo, I'm still human. Thanks for that :)"
Posted by Carmina Gitana on "The Sky is Broken" by Stranger
- "Came back to this for some reason. (I like to re-read your stuff.) It just totally reminded me of Cohen's "Is This What You Wanted." You ever hear that one? It's pretty amazing. "
Posted by Carmina Gitana on "This is Longing" by Stranger
- "Did you by any chance see/read The Watchmen recently? This reminds me very much of a scene/character from it. (Won't spoil it for you if you haven't seen/read it; if you have, you'll know what I mean.) Love the imagery, in any case. And "plotting an overthrow of destiny" - something about that line really appeals to me. It's the mix of the heroic and the desperate, I think. But then, I suppose they always mix together, one way or another. "
Posted by Carmina Gitana on "Through the Singularity" by Stranger
- "This is beautiful and terrifying, and more terrifying for its beauty. Brings to mind Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, but far darker and richer. Agree with Aurora_Light about the quietLOUDquiet of that stanza, it works very well. I've re-read this a number of times and am not done yet. This is very powerful. You navigate the darkness like few others can. "
Posted by Carmina Gitana on "Table for Two, Dinner for One" by Stranger
- "Every time I see your name pop up here, I get such a frisson of delight and anticipation and you never disappoint. This is a strong, bold poem, richly flavoured with the near-tangible images that are your specialty. The fourth stanza is especially memorable. As for the content, I think most of us could say something similar, but only you can say it like THAT. "
Posted by Carmina Gitana on "I Told Me So" by Stranger
- "Tense, brittle, delicately and precariously balanced. Beautiful, as always. Heavy as a paperweight in my hand. The middle stanza almost brought me to tears by the second time I read it. Don't you know Muses are just the misplaced shadows of exhausted Poets?"
Posted by Carmina Gitana on "Contract with a Muse" by Stranger
- "It just occurred to me - it's so funny and strange - I found your poem today, hours after writing something that totally made me think of you when a couple of lines popped into it. Vibes are funny that way . . ."
Posted by Carmina Gitana on "The Woman Who Wasn’t There" by Stranger
- "I've always loved your verbal transmogrifications of the body. The image of the skeleton seeping into the mattress is disturbing, beautiful and original. The line repetitions evoke the rhythms of post-nightmare breathing patterns. God, I'm glad you're back, even if it's only for this moment."
Posted by Carmina Gitana on "The Woman Who Wasn’t There" by Stranger
- "Hurray, Stranger's really back! :) (takes 2 to make me believe it) Intense and palpably sexy as always. Love the metaphor of the clock, and the comparison to the cricket is beautiful and very clever. Overall, it doesn't merely describe longing - it evokes"
Posted by Carmina Gitana on "This is Longing" by Stranger
- "Welcome back, Stranger :) Your images are as fresh and alive as ever, and your language as exquisite as always. Thank you for the experience of reading this tonight. "
Posted by Carmina Gitana on "Musing" by Stranger
