The RetroLounge Daily Poem Thread (Thu 3/22/2007)

[RetroLounge]

Ode On A Grecian Urn

Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness,
Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,
Sylvan historian, who canst thus express
A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:
What leaf-fring'd legend haunts about thy shape
Of deities or mortals, or of both,
In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?
What men or gods are these? What maidens loth?
What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?
What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?

Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;
Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear'd,
Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:
Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave
Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;
Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss,
Though winning near the goal yet, do not grieve;
She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,
For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!

Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed
Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu;
And, happy melodist, unwearied,
For ever piping songs for ever new;
More happy love! more happy, happy love!
For ever warm and still to be enjoy'd,
For ever panting, and for ever young;
All breathing human passion far above,
That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy'd,
A burning forehead, and a parching tongue.

Who are these coming to the sacrifice?
To what green altar, O mysterious priest,
Lead'st thou that heifer lowing at the skies,
And all her silken flanks with garlands drest?
What little town by river or sea shore,
Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel,
Is emptied of this folk, this pious morn?
And, little town, thy streets for evermore
Will silent be; and not a soul to tell
Why thou art desolate, can e'er return.

O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede
Of marble men and maidens overwrought,
With forest branches and the trodden weed;
Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought
As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral!
When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty,--that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."

John Keats

****************

RL

If you have a request for a certain Poet, post their name in the thread and I will find a poem by them and post it...

if you want to see some of my poetry, see the blog at:
http://www.myspace.com/retropaul

[crim son]

1. Nobody ever praised a jug better.

I dispute the assertion that beauty is truth.

[wildhorses]

2. hey crimmy---let us have an intellectual discussion

to expound, please on you assertion
and give us with reason
your dispute....


:hi:

[crim son]

11. I can do it , you know!

The beauty=truth=virtue notion was popular for centuries. Now we consider almost the opposite to be true. :hi: I know this doesn't support my assertion but hey, who has the time? :P

[wildhorses]

12. ---

:rofl:


:hi:

[ThomCat]

3. I haven't read any Keats in years.

And now I wonder why. :shrug:

It's beautiful.

[wildhorses]

4. the first four lines---

Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness,
Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,
Sylvan historian, who canst thus express
A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:


some of the sweetest sounds...

i am so enjoying rl's classics :hi:

[RetroLounge]

10. It's Classic Poem Week here on DU!

:rofl:

Actually, my back log of poems ran out and i haven't had a chance to go searching for more modernist work...

But you can't beat the classics...

:hi:

RL

[wildhorses]

5. oops--

:blush:

[wildhorses]

6. oops

:grr:

[ThomCat]

9. LOL!

:rofl:

That happens to all of us now and again. :P

[zingaro]

7. "Here lies one whose name was writ in water..."

I love Keats.

*sigh*

[CaliforniaPeggy]

8. Good morning, my dear Retro.........

Ah, another classic poem!

I especially love this part:

Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss,
Though winning near the goal yet, do not grieve;
She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,
For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!

I had never thought of things that way......it was a revelation!

Thank you.........:hug:

[EFerrari]

13. I was going to ask for this one but got off my lazy virtual remote

The Low Road

What can they do
to you? Whatever they want.
They can set you up, they can
bust you, they can break
your fingers, they can
burn your brain with electricity,
blur you with drugs till you
can t walk, can’t remember, they can
take your child, wall up
your lover. They can do anything
you can’t blame them
from doing. How can you stop
them? Alone, you can fight,
you can refuse, you can
take what revenge you can
but they roll over you.

But two people fighting
back to back can cut through
a mob, a snake-dancing file
can break a cordon, an army
can meet an army.

Two people can keep each other
sane, can give support, conviction,
love, massage, hope, sex.
Three people are a delegation,
a committee, a wedge. With four
you can play bridge and start
an organisation. With six
you can rent a whole house,
eat pie for dinner with no
seconds, and hold a fund raising party.
A dozen make a demonstration.
A hundred fill a hall.
A thousand have solidarity and your own newsletter;
ten thousand, power and your own paper;
a hundred thousand, your own media;
ten million, your own country.

It goes on one at a time,
it starts when you care
to act, it starts when you do
it again after they said no,
it starts when you say We
and know who you mean, and each
day you mean one more.


--Marge Piercy
Copyright 2006, Middlemarsh, Inc.