Hello everyone and welcome to the Cynical Blade Podcast: Episode #4 with me, Doug McNamee, where I'll read my poem "Saudade."

The word "Saudade" (say different pronunciations) is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "Longing, melancholy, nostalgia, as a supposed characteristic of the Portuguese or Brazilian temperament"

My poem is definitely one fired with longing and melancholy. It is about the nostalgia of the Christmas season, but mainly the events of regular life that happen around a holiday that make it less special.

This is also a poem of longing, perhaps, for belief in something (in this instance, Santa Claus) and how that really provides no comfort.

Read "Saudade"

I hope you all enjoyed that. If so, leave a comment and subscribe. Until next, keep writing, reading, and listening to good poetry wherever you find it.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cynicalblade.substack.com

Hello Everyone and welcome to the Cynical Blade Podcast: Episode #3 where I'll be reading my poem "The Ladder."

Just some background about what inspired this poem. Often times, as writers/ poets, we base our poems or stories on actual events/ imagery from life experience.

This poem stems from the observation of seeing cars on the side of the highway, specifically at the end of a long summer day and in the evening. You're probably thinking that might not be an exciting idea on which to write a poem. But sometimes images, stories, or even snippets of dialogue take on more context. It's very much that idea that Wordsworth mentions about poetry being "recollected in tranquility."

This poem references indirectly the Icarus story. If you are not familiar with the story, Icarus was the son of Daedalus, an inventor. He made a set of wax wings for himself and Icarus. Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly to close to the sun, but Icarus ignored his father and fell into the Aegean and drowned. That's not much of an upper and a pretty dark story. My poem also has some darkness but is really more of a dream.

In my poem, I indirectly reference this story, as previously mentioned, because it deals with the idea of miscommunication and youthful arrogance.

Read "The Ladder"

I hope you enjoyed today's reading and that you'll subscribe and come back next time for another reading of a poem either by me or a poem by a poet I enjoy. See you next time!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cynicalblade.substack.com

This is a reading of my poem Sadness. It is based on a random event, a meeting with someone on the sidewalk at a gas station.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cynicalblade.substack.com

Reading of my poem "Aubade." This is basically a breakup poem that is set in Greece.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cynicalblade.substack.com

Welcome to the Cynical Blade podcast. In this episode, I'll tell you a bit about myself and my background as a poet. I'll also try to talk about what things I'll be doing during the podcast.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cynicalblade.substack.com