This is one of those questions which can and should
receive a variety of responses for two reasons. First, there is no definitive list of
Lawrence's poetry (or most poets, for that matter) in order of best to worst; the
closest you might get is most popular to least popular. Second, poetry is personal, and
what one person responds to may not impact another. The best I can do for you is give
you the two Lawrence poems I most appreciate.
One poem by
D.H. Lawrence which I like is "Listening." Two lines in the first stanza always
captivate me:
I listen to the stillness of
you,...
I feel your silence touch my words as you
talk.
The poem uses amazing
imagery which appeals to all senses, and the most impactful image is that of a forge.
It conjures up all kinds of things: sparks flying, the sound of metal on metal as well
as the whooosh of the bellows, the heat, and the movement.
Ironically, all images which are anything but silent. This is a poem about living in the
world but also rising above the mad crush and noise of the world and listening to the
silence.
My second choice is "The Piano." While I enjoy
the poem for its merits, I have a fondness for this selection because I've seen an early
draft and am fascinated to see this poem as a work in progress. I look at his choices
(what he keeps and what he changes) as well as the metrical aspects of the work. The
imagery in the finished poem is effective and nostalgic. Consider the following
line:
A child
sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling
strings
I've attached a site
with both versions of "The Piano" in case you want to take a look for yourself. In
order to choose the "best," I'd recommend you do some reading on your own to determine
your preferences rather than relying on mine or any other
editors'.
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