A poet, I quite like him, though I don't know much about his history, biography and all that, but here are a couple poems by him, short ones that I think are either fitting for myself, or mocking at that which I mock. ;)
History of the Word.
The Word in the begining was the Word
For two or three but elsewhere spoke unheard,
Found Words to interpret, which for a season
Prevailed until ruled out by Law and Reason
Which, by a lax interpretation cursed,
In Laws and Reasons logically dispersed;
These, in their turn, found they could do no better
Than fall to Letters and each claim a Letter.
In the beginning then, the Word alone,
But now the various tongue-tied Lexicon
In perfect impotence the day nearing
When every ear my lose it's sense of hearing
And every mind by knowledge be close-shuttered--
But two or three, that hear the Word uttered.
Rather neat eh? I like how it has double meanings, it -could- refer to the spoken language, and how everything is based on what you say and what you know, or, if you're religious, it could refer to the word of god and all that fruit. Guess which interpretation I favour? ;P
The Naked and the Nude
For me, the naked and the nude
(by lexicographers construed
as synonyms that should express
the same deficiency of dress
or shelter) stand as wide apart
As love from lies, or truth from art.
Lovers without reproach will gaze
On bodies naked and ablaze;
The Hippocratic eye will see
In nakedness, anatomy;
And naked shines the Goddess when
She mounts her lion among men.
The nude are bold, the nude are sly
To hold each treasonable eye,
While draping by a showmans trick
Their dishabille in rhetoric,
They grin a mock-religious grin
Of scorn at those of naked skin.
The naked therefore, who compete
Against the nude may know defeat;
Yet when they both together tread
The briary pastures of the dead,
By Gorgons with long whips persued,
How naked go the sometime nude!
Mmm... yes, another favourite of mine. Go the insulting connotations towards religion :D Okay, I'll explain some meanings of the words in here, 'lexicon' or 'lexicongraphers' is basically language, the way in which you speak. Basically. 'Gorgons' is simple, the Greek Gorgons, you know, Medusa and co? It's referring to them. Wonderful imagery.
History of the Word.
The Word in the begining was the Word
For two or three but elsewhere spoke unheard,
Found Words to interpret, which for a season
Prevailed until ruled out by Law and Reason
Which, by a lax interpretation cursed,
In Laws and Reasons logically dispersed;
These, in their turn, found they could do no better
Than fall to Letters and each claim a Letter.
In the beginning then, the Word alone,
But now the various tongue-tied Lexicon
In perfect impotence the day nearing
When every ear my lose it's sense of hearing
And every mind by knowledge be close-shuttered--
But two or three, that hear the Word uttered.
Rather neat eh? I like how it has double meanings, it -could- refer to the spoken language, and how everything is based on what you say and what you know, or, if you're religious, it could refer to the word of god and all that fruit. Guess which interpretation I favour? ;P
The Naked and the Nude
For me, the naked and the nude
(by lexicographers construed
as synonyms that should express
the same deficiency of dress
or shelter) stand as wide apart
As love from lies, or truth from art.
Lovers without reproach will gaze
On bodies naked and ablaze;
The Hippocratic eye will see
In nakedness, anatomy;
And naked shines the Goddess when
She mounts her lion among men.
The nude are bold, the nude are sly
To hold each treasonable eye,
While draping by a showmans trick
Their dishabille in rhetoric,
They grin a mock-religious grin
Of scorn at those of naked skin.
The naked therefore, who compete
Against the nude may know defeat;
Yet when they both together tread
The briary pastures of the dead,
By Gorgons with long whips persued,
How naked go the sometime nude!
Mmm... yes, another favourite of mine. Go the insulting connotations towards religion :D Okay, I'll explain some meanings of the words in here, 'lexicon' or 'lexicongraphers' is basically language, the way in which you speak. Basically. 'Gorgons' is simple, the Greek Gorgons, you know, Medusa and co? It's referring to them. Wonderful imagery.
1 comment:
One must try and avoid favouring different interpretations. Whichever way you see a poem is completely up to you- let me assure you, there are more than two views on "History of the Word".
"The Naked and the Nude" is just as cleverly written and strikes more notes for me.
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