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Thu 27 Feb, 2003 04:37 pm
Theseus and Ariadne
High on his figured couch beyond the waves He dreams, in dream recalling her set walk
Down paths of oyster-shell bordered with flowers And down the shadowy turf under the vine.
He sighs: "Deep sunk in my erroneous past
She haunts the ruins and the ravaged lawns."
Yet still unharmed it stands, the regal house Crooked by age and overtopped by pines
When first he wearied of her constancy.
And with a surer foot she goes than when
Dread of his hate was thunder in the air,
When the pines agonized with flaws of wind
And flowers glared up at her with frantic eyes.
Of him, now all is done, she never dreams
But calls a living blessing down upon
What he supposes rubble and rank grass;
Playing the queen to nobler company.
Robert Graves
More of Robert Graves
To an Ungentle Critic
THE GREAT sun sinks behind the town
Through a red mist of Volnay wine
.
But what's the use of setting down
That glorious blaze behind the town?
You'll only skip the page, you'll look
For newer pictures in this book;
You've read of sunsets rich as mine.
A fresh wind fills the evening air
With horrid crying of night birds
.
But what reads new or curious there
When cold winds fly across the air?
You'll only frown; you'll turn the page,
But find no glimpse of your "New Age
Of Poetry" in my worn-out words.
Must winds that cut like blades of steel
And sunsets swimming in Volnay,
The holiest, cruellest pains I feel,
Die stillborn, because old men squeal
For something new: "Write something new:
We've read this poem?-that one too,
And twelve more like 'em yesterday"?
No, no! my chicken, I shall scrawl
Just what I fancy as I strike it,
Fairies and Fusiliers, and all
Old broken knock-kneed thought will crawl
Across my verse in the classic way.
And, sir, be careful what you say;
There are old-fashioned folk still like it.
(especially me dear Robert)
On modesty--
"The award of a pure gold medal for poetry would flatter the recipient unduly: no poem ever attains such carat purity."
Jackie, You wax deeply tonight. Is it possible to understand what you're saying without understanding why you're saying it?
Good evening, Letty,
How are you
-
and waxing WONDERFUL yourself is my hope!!!
The
time on this forum is NOT when I am posting, [from my wanderings.]
[I just noticed you wrote '...deeplytonight']
Opposite, Letty. I may not sometimes understand all I am saying, or forget something- but I know EXACTLY why I am saying it.
Are you a fan of Robert Graves? I never saw the earlier quote before, and I was quite fascinated with it. Still thinking, though. I am not sure SOME poetry did not attain MANY carats of perfection. Especially Shakespeare's sonnets.
Good morning, Jackie.
Six:10 AM here in Florida
Not certain if I'm a fan of Robert Graves or not, but I'll let you know later in the day.
Well, I love Graves - prose and poetry, for all that he deemed much of his prose "pot-boilers".
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