by Dorothy Parker
A single flow'r he sent me, since we met.
All tenderly his messenger he chose;
Deep-hearted, pure, with scented dew still wet -
One perfect rose.
I knew the language of the floweret;
'My fragile leaves,' it said, 'his heart enclose.'
Love long has taken for his amulet
One perfect rose.
Why is it no one ever sent me yet
One perfect limousine, do you suppose?
Ah no, it's always just my luck to get
One perfect rose.
Comments : A typical Dorothy Parker poem, though not as incisive as some of her other ones; thanks for sending me the poem, S.
If you want to read one of her best, click on this link to read 'Resume'. You'll find links to a lot of her other work after the comments on that page.
Enjoy !
- Zen
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Elements of Composition
By A.K. Ramanujan
Composed as I am, like others,
of elements on certain well-known lists,
father's seed and mother's egg
gathering earth, air, fire, mostly
water, into a mulberry mass,
moulding calcium,
carbon, even gold, magnesium and such,
into a chattering self tangled
in love and work,
scary dreams, capable of eyes that can see,
only by moving constantly,
the constancy of things
like Stonehenge or cherry trees;
add uncle's eleven fingers
making shadow-plays of rajas
and cats, hissing,
becoming fingers again, the look
of panic on sister's face
an hour before
her wedding, a dated newspaper map,
of a place one has never seen, maybe
no longer there
after the riots, downtown Nairobi,
that a friend carried in his passport
as others would
a woman's picture in their wallets;
add the lepers of Madurai,
male, female, married,
with children,
lion faces, crabs for claws,
clotted on their shadows
under the stone-eyed
goddesses of dance, mere pillars,
moving as nothing on earth
can move --
I pass through them
as they pass through me
taking and leaving
affections, seeds, skeletons,
millennia of fossil records
of insects that do not last
a day,
body-prints of mayflies,
a legend half-heard
in a train
of the half-man searching
for an ever-fleeing
other half
through Muharram tigers,
hyacinths in crocodile waters,
and the sweet
twisted lives of epileptic saints,
and even as I add
I lose, decompose,
into my elements
into other names and forms,
past, and passing, tenses
without time,
caterpillar on a leaf, eating,
being eaten.
Comments : Thanks for the poem, S.
I loved the images, and so many of them ; ‘moulding calcium, carbon, even gold, magnesium and such, into a chattering self tangled in love and work’ – loved the transition from the simple to the complex, the contrast in ‘millennia of fossil records of insects that do not lasta day,’ etc, go ahead, read it a few times and choose your favourite images. - Zen
Composed as I am, like others,
of elements on certain well-known lists,
father's seed and mother's egg
gathering earth, air, fire, mostly
water, into a mulberry mass,
moulding calcium,
carbon, even gold, magnesium and such,
into a chattering self tangled
in love and work,
scary dreams, capable of eyes that can see,
only by moving constantly,
the constancy of things
like Stonehenge or cherry trees;
add uncle's eleven fingers
making shadow-plays of rajas
and cats, hissing,
becoming fingers again, the look
of panic on sister's face
an hour before
her wedding, a dated newspaper map,
of a place one has never seen, maybe
no longer there
after the riots, downtown Nairobi,
that a friend carried in his passport
as others would
a woman's picture in their wallets;
add the lepers of Madurai,
male, female, married,
with children,
lion faces, crabs for claws,
clotted on their shadows
under the stone-eyed
goddesses of dance, mere pillars,
moving as nothing on earth
can move --
I pass through them
as they pass through me
taking and leaving
affections, seeds, skeletons,
millennia of fossil records
of insects that do not last
a day,
body-prints of mayflies,
a legend half-heard
in a train
of the half-man searching
for an ever-fleeing
other half
through Muharram tigers,
hyacinths in crocodile waters,
and the sweet
twisted lives of epileptic saints,
and even as I add
I lose, decompose,
into my elements
into other names and forms,
past, and passing, tenses
without time,
caterpillar on a leaf, eating,
being eaten.
Comments : Thanks for the poem, S.
I loved the images, and so many of them ; ‘moulding calcium, carbon, even gold, magnesium and such, into a chattering self tangled in love and work’ – loved the transition from the simple to the complex, the contrast in ‘millennia of fossil records of insects that do not lasta day,’ etc, go ahead, read it a few times and choose your favourite images. - Zen
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Snippets from Saki
'You are not on the Road to Hell,'
You tell me with fanatic glee:
Vain boaster, what shall that avail
If Hell is on the road to thee?
A Poet praised the Evening Star,
Another praised the Parrot's hue:
A Merchant praised his merchandise,
And he, at least, praised what he knew."
Comments : A friend forwarded the first delightful delicious snippet to me (Thanks S), when I googled for it, I found the second too, had to share both. - Zen
You tell me with fanatic glee:
Vain boaster, what shall that avail
If Hell is on the road to thee?
A Poet praised the Evening Star,
Another praised the Parrot's hue:
A Merchant praised his merchandise,
And he, at least, praised what he knew."
Comments : A friend forwarded the first delightful delicious snippet to me (Thanks S), when I googled for it, I found the second too, had to share both. - Zen
Monday, July 11, 2011
The Cloud
Percy Bysshe Shelley
I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers,
From the seas and the streams;
I bear light shade for the leaves when laid
In their noonday dreams.
From my wings are shaken the dews that waken
The sweet buds every one,
When rocked to rest on their mother's breast,
As she dances about the sun.
I wield the flail of the lashing hail,
And whiten the green plains under,
And then again I dissolve it in rain,
And laugh as I pass in thunder.
I sift the snow on the mountains below,
And their great pines groan aghast;
And all the night 'tis my pillow white,
While I sleep in the arms of the blast.
Sublime on the towers of my skiey bowers,
Lightning, my pilot, sits;
In a cavern under is fettered the thunder,
It struggles and howls at fits;
Over earth and ocean, with gentle motion,
This pilot is guiding me,
Lured by the love of the genii that move
In the depths of the purple sea;
Over the rills, and the crags, and the hills,
Over the lakes and the plains,
Wherever he dream, under mountain or stream,
The Spirit he loves remains;
And I all the while bask in Heaven's blue smile,
Whilst he is dissolving in rains.
The sanguine Sunrise, with his meteor eyes,
And his burning plumes outspread,
Leaps on the back of my sailing rack,
When the morning star shines dead;
As on the jag of a mountain crag,
Which an earthquake rocks and swings,
An eagle alit one moment may sit
In the light of its golden wings.
And when Sunset may breathe, from the lit sea beneath,
Its ardors of rest and of love,
And the crimson pall of eve may fall
From the depth of Heaven above,
With wings folded I rest, on mine aery nest,
As still as a brooding dove.
That orbed maiden with white fire laden,
Whom mortals call the Moon,
Glides glimmering o'er my fleece-like floor,
By the midnight breezes strewn;
And wherever the beat of her unseen feet,
Which only the angels hear,
May have broken the woof of my tent's thin roof,
The stars peep behind her and peer;
And I laugh to see them whirl and flee,
Like a swarm of golden bees,
When I widen the rent in my wind-built tent,
Till the calm rivers, lakes, and seas,
Like strips of the sky fallen through me on high,
Are each paved with the moon and these.
I bind the Sun's throne with a burning zone,
And the Moon's with a girdle of pearl;
The volcanoes are dim, and the stars reel and swim
When the whirlwinds my banner unfurl.
From cape to cape, with a bridge-like shape,
Over a torrent sea,
Sunbeam-proof, I hang like a roof,--
The mountains its columns be.
The triumphal arch through which I march
With hurricane, fire, and snow,
When the Powers of the air are chained to my chair,
Is the million-colored bow;
The sphere-fire above its soft colors wove,
While the moist Earth was laughing below.
I am the daughter of Earth and Water,
And the nursling of the Sky;
I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores;
I change, but I cannot die.
For after the rain when with never a stain
The pavilion of Heaven is bare,
And the winds and sunbeams with their convex gleams
Build up the blue dome of air,
I silently laugh at my own cenotaph,
And out of the caverns of rain,
Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb,
I arise and unbuild it again.
Comments : Read the last paragraph in the newspaper recently, the lovely imagery made me search out the entire poem. Quite apt for the weather too, don't you think ? - Zen
I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers,
From the seas and the streams;
I bear light shade for the leaves when laid
In their noonday dreams.
From my wings are shaken the dews that waken
The sweet buds every one,
When rocked to rest on their mother's breast,
As she dances about the sun.
I wield the flail of the lashing hail,
And whiten the green plains under,
And then again I dissolve it in rain,
And laugh as I pass in thunder.
I sift the snow on the mountains below,
And their great pines groan aghast;
And all the night 'tis my pillow white,
While I sleep in the arms of the blast.
Sublime on the towers of my skiey bowers,
Lightning, my pilot, sits;
In a cavern under is fettered the thunder,
It struggles and howls at fits;
Over earth and ocean, with gentle motion,
This pilot is guiding me,
Lured by the love of the genii that move
In the depths of the purple sea;
Over the rills, and the crags, and the hills,
Over the lakes and the plains,
Wherever he dream, under mountain or stream,
The Spirit he loves remains;
And I all the while bask in Heaven's blue smile,
Whilst he is dissolving in rains.
The sanguine Sunrise, with his meteor eyes,
And his burning plumes outspread,
Leaps on the back of my sailing rack,
When the morning star shines dead;
As on the jag of a mountain crag,
Which an earthquake rocks and swings,
An eagle alit one moment may sit
In the light of its golden wings.
And when Sunset may breathe, from the lit sea beneath,
Its ardors of rest and of love,
And the crimson pall of eve may fall
From the depth of Heaven above,
With wings folded I rest, on mine aery nest,
As still as a brooding dove.
That orbed maiden with white fire laden,
Whom mortals call the Moon,
Glides glimmering o'er my fleece-like floor,
By the midnight breezes strewn;
And wherever the beat of her unseen feet,
Which only the angels hear,
May have broken the woof of my tent's thin roof,
The stars peep behind her and peer;
And I laugh to see them whirl and flee,
Like a swarm of golden bees,
When I widen the rent in my wind-built tent,
Till the calm rivers, lakes, and seas,
Like strips of the sky fallen through me on high,
Are each paved with the moon and these.
I bind the Sun's throne with a burning zone,
And the Moon's with a girdle of pearl;
The volcanoes are dim, and the stars reel and swim
When the whirlwinds my banner unfurl.
From cape to cape, with a bridge-like shape,
Over a torrent sea,
Sunbeam-proof, I hang like a roof,--
The mountains its columns be.
The triumphal arch through which I march
With hurricane, fire, and snow,
When the Powers of the air are chained to my chair,
Is the million-colored bow;
The sphere-fire above its soft colors wove,
While the moist Earth was laughing below.
I am the daughter of Earth and Water,
And the nursling of the Sky;
I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores;
I change, but I cannot die.
For after the rain when with never a stain
The pavilion of Heaven is bare,
And the winds and sunbeams with their convex gleams
Build up the blue dome of air,
I silently laugh at my own cenotaph,
And out of the caverns of rain,
Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb,
I arise and unbuild it again.
Comments : Read the last paragraph in the newspaper recently, the lovely imagery made me search out the entire poem. Quite apt for the weather too, don't you think ? - Zen
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Lore
By R.S.Thomas
Job Davies, eighty-five
Winters old, and still alive
After the slow poison
And treachery of the seasons.
Miserable? Kick my arse!
It needs more than the rain's hearse,
Wind-drawn to pull me off
The great perch of my laugh.
What's living but courage?
Paunch full of hot porridge
Nerves strengthened with tea,
Peat-black, dawn found me
Mowing where the grass grew,
Bearded with golden dew.
Rhythm of the long scythe
Kept this tall frame lithe
What to do? Stay green.
Never mind the machine,
Whose fuel is human souls
Live large, man, and dream small.
Comments : Read the first two lines of this poem in Anuradha Roy’s ‘Folded Earth’, found them intriguing enough to search for the entire poem. Now that I have read the poem, I really like it – for the description of the indomitable spirit of this obstinate farmer; I imagine Davies is one of those, who, when his time comes, will not go gentle into that good night, as Dylan Thomas put it. Incidentally, here's another poem by R.S. Thomas that deals with old age, though the old farmer in this one feels death growing closer and is worried by it, unlike the gentleman in 'Lore' that seems ready to laugh in death's face, or, more likely, kick it's arse.
p.s. About ‘Folded Earth’ by Anuradha Roy – great book, get your hands on it as soon as possible.
p.p.s Lovely quote about writing a poem by R. S. Thomas; “My chief aim is to make a poem. You make it for yourself firstly, and then if other people want to join in, then there we are.”
- Zen
Links to some other poems by R.S.Thomas below :
http://wonderingminstrels.blogspot.com/1999/08/poetry-for-supper-r-s-thomas.html
http://wonderingminstrels.blogspot.com/1999/07/ancients-of-world-r-s-thomas.html
http://wonderingminstrels.blogspot.com/2005/06/to-young-poet-r-s-thomas.html
http://wonderingminstrels.blogspot.com/2000/09/taliesin-r-s-thomas.html
Job Davies, eighty-five
Winters old, and still alive
After the slow poison
And treachery of the seasons.
Miserable? Kick my arse!
It needs more than the rain's hearse,
Wind-drawn to pull me off
The great perch of my laugh.
What's living but courage?
Paunch full of hot porridge
Nerves strengthened with tea,
Peat-black, dawn found me
Mowing where the grass grew,
Bearded with golden dew.
Rhythm of the long scythe
Kept this tall frame lithe
What to do? Stay green.
Never mind the machine,
Whose fuel is human souls
Live large, man, and dream small.
Comments : Read the first two lines of this poem in Anuradha Roy’s ‘Folded Earth’, found them intriguing enough to search for the entire poem. Now that I have read the poem, I really like it – for the description of the indomitable spirit of this obstinate farmer; I imagine Davies is one of those, who, when his time comes, will not go gentle into that good night, as Dylan Thomas put it. Incidentally, here's another poem by R.S. Thomas that deals with old age, though the old farmer in this one feels death growing closer and is worried by it, unlike the gentleman in 'Lore' that seems ready to laugh in death's face, or, more likely, kick it's arse.
p.s. About ‘Folded Earth’ by Anuradha Roy – great book, get your hands on it as soon as possible.
p.p.s Lovely quote about writing a poem by R. S. Thomas; “My chief aim is to make a poem. You make it for yourself firstly, and then if other people want to join in, then there we are.”
- Zen
Links to some other poems by R.S.Thomas below :
http://wonderingminstrels.blogspot.com/1999/08/poetry-for-supper-r-s-thomas.html
http://wonderingminstrels.blogspot.com/1999/07/ancients-of-world-r-s-thomas.html
http://wonderingminstrels.blogspot.com/2005/06/to-young-poet-r-s-thomas.html
http://wonderingminstrels.blogspot.com/2000/09/taliesin-r-s-thomas.html
Thursday, June 16, 2011
I have no power
Nizar Qabbani
I have no power to change your nature
my books are of no use to you
and my convictions do not convince you
nor does my fatherly council do you any good
you are the queen of anarchy, of madness, of belonging
...to no one
Stay that way.
Comments : What can I say ! Sort of skimmed through the poem, said ho-hum, something made me re-read it and I fell in love with it. Thanks to Ruks for posting this on facebook. - Zen
I have no power to change your nature
my books are of no use to you
and my convictions do not convince you
nor does my fatherly council do you any good
you are the queen of anarchy, of madness, of belonging
...to no one
Stay that way.
Comments : What can I say ! Sort of skimmed through the poem, said ho-hum, something made me re-read it and I fell in love with it. Thanks to Ruks for posting this on facebook. - Zen
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Some folk are born with knowledge of their goal
Thomas Thurman
Some folk are born with knowledge of their goal.
I've met them, though I'm not like that myself;
I'm wandering through life, a placid soul,
content to leave adventures on the shelf.
I've loved and lived without a way to know
the field where I should strive to be the best:
to pan for gold, or be a CEO,
or cure disease, or conquer Everest;
and likewise, you're a Poohstick in the stream:
you drift through life, without an end in mind.
We came together, neither with a dream,
both happy with our futures undefined,
our hoping open-ended; yet it seems
our life together's fashioned from our dreams.
Comment : Facebook Zindabad ! A friend pointed me to this collection of Thomas Thurman's poetry. Really liked easy-going-drifter tone and mood of the poem above. - Zen
Some folk are born with knowledge of their goal.
I've met them, though I'm not like that myself;
I'm wandering through life, a placid soul,
content to leave adventures on the shelf.
I've loved and lived without a way to know
the field where I should strive to be the best:
to pan for gold, or be a CEO,
or cure disease, or conquer Everest;
and likewise, you're a Poohstick in the stream:
you drift through life, without an end in mind.
We came together, neither with a dream,
both happy with our futures undefined,
our hoping open-ended; yet it seems
our life together's fashioned from our dreams.
Comment : Facebook Zindabad ! A friend pointed me to this collection of Thomas Thurman's poetry. Really liked easy-going-drifter tone and mood of the poem above. - Zen
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