Poetry Corner

Originally posted by FMF

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"THE BALLAD OF THE GOODLY FERE" by Ezra Pound

Simon Zelotes speaking after the Crucifixion. Fere = Mate, Companion.

Ha' we lost the goodliest fere o' all
For the priests and the gallows tree?
Aye lover he was of brawny men,
O' ships and the open sea.

When they came wi' a host to take
Our Man His smile was good to see,
"First let these go!" quo' our Goodly Fere,
"Or I'll see ye damned," says he.

Aye he sent us out through the crossed high spears
And the scorn of his laugh rang free,
"Why took ye not me when I walked about
Alone in the town?" says he.

Oh we drank his "Hale" in the good red wine
When we last made company,
No capon priest was the Goodly Fere
But a man o' men was he.

I ha' seen him drive a hundred men
Wi' a bundle o' cords swung free,
That they took the high and holy house
For their pawn and treasury.

They'll no' get him a' in a book I think
Though they write it cunningly;
No mouse of the scrolls was the Goodly Fere
But aye loved the open sea.

If they think they ha' snared our Goodly Fere
They are fools to the last degree.
"I'll go to the feast," quo' our Goodly Fere,
"Though I go to the gallows tree."

"Ye ha' seen me heal the lame and blind,
And wake the dead," says he,
"Ye shall see one thing to master all:
'Tis how a brave man dies on the tree."

A son of God was the Goodly Fere
That bade us his brothers be.
I ha' seen him cow a thousand men.
I have seen him upon the tree.

He cried no cry when they drave the nails
And the blood gushed hot and free,
The hounds of the crimson sky gave tongue
But never a cry cried he.

I ha' seen him cow a thousand men
On the hills o' Galilee,
They whined as he walked out calm between,
Wi' his eyes like the grey o' the sea,

Like the sea that brooks no voyaging
With the winds unleashed and free,
Like the sea that he cowed at Genseret
Wi' twey words spoke suddently.

A master of men was the Goodly Fere,
A mate of the wind and sea,
If they think they ha' slain our Goodly Fere
They are fools eternally.

I ha' seen him eat o' the honey-comb
Sin' they nailed him to the tree.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballad_of_the_Goodly_Fere

Vernal Sentiment

Though the crocuses poke up their heads in the usual places,
The frog scum appear on the pond with the same froth of green,
And boys moon at girls with last year's fatuous faces,
I never am bored, however familiar the scene.

When from under the barn the cat brings a similar litter,—
Two yellow and black, and one that looks in between,—
Though it all happened before, I cannot grow bitter:
I rejoice in the spring, as though no spring ever had been.

By Theodore Roethke

Never In The Eye

Beauty was never in the eye
of the beholder,
much rather if anywhere
in the mind’s eye of the beheld.

And a thing of beauty
was never a joy,
nor forever
but unappreciated and transient.

And the root of all evil
was never money
but the love of it,
Mammon, the servant and footman
of the unrequited.

Neither is hell denied
its fury, nor a woman
ignored or deceived
who prefers
not to be scorned.

And a female is not a woman,
nor a woman a lady
and young girls
rape their own futures
in the early sun.

And a boy is not a man
before his mother.
Furniture is seldom if ever
made in the woods.

And having a pleasant day
is less pleasant
than outright possession
of the unpleasant truth.

No, my kinsman,
the common wisdom is too common.
Though less fragile
it survives.

Neither is all well
that appears to end well,
if held together subjectively
and in place with pins.

And no crass Bohemian
spilling gypsy blood for the masses
was Christ, nor Caesar

a salad, Napoleon a pastry,
nor the Duchess of Marlborough
some new cigarette.

(Boston, 1980)

Roses are RED
Violets are BLUE
I'd like a crumpet
How about YOU??

*finger snaps*

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a short story of speculative fiction by American author ... From the listless repose of the place, and the peculiar character of its .... Daniel D. Tompkins, met an army captain named Ichabod Crane in Sackets ... Alongside "Rip Van Winkle", "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is one of Irving's most ..." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Sleepy_Hollow Wikipedia