HEY MISS LETTY, LET'S RECITATE

Miss Letty just said good night in the "Where am I" travel thread.

I 'spect she'll be back. You gotta favorite poem, Frau CJ? Mebbe one a them Heine things with the dead knights in their graves and whatnot. My Sweetiepie and i were in Schiller Park, in German Village, in Columbus, Ohio. We were sittin' on a bench with my Sweetiepie's long time friend, Mr. Bailey. Suddenly, Mr. Bailey looked up and noticed the statue of Schiller, and began to bark in a most indignant manner. We were very surprised--we hadn't ever heard him indulge in literary criticism before, and thought he was judging Friedrich Schiller too harshly.

Yeah, I have a favorite poem by Hesse. Let me see if I
find an english version of it.

I would have barked at Schiller too All school children
have to learn his very very long poem "Die Glocke" (The Bells)
and I haven't found a student yet, who actually liked it.

Okay, I'm looking for the poem....

I haven't found it in english yet, but here is the German
version

Verführer (seducer)

Gewartet habe ich vor vielen Türen,
In manches Mädchenohr mein Lied gesungen,
Viel schöne Frauen sucht ich zu verführen,
Bei der und jener ist es mir gelungen.
Und immer, wenn ein Mund sich mir ergab,
Und immer, wenn die Gier Erfüllung fand,
Sank eine selige Phantasie ins Grab,
Hielt ich nur Fleisch in der enttäuschten Hand.
Der Kuß, um den ich innigst mich bemühte,
Die Nacht, um die ich lang voll Glut geworben,
Ward endlich mein ?- und war gebrochene Blüte,
Der Duft war hin, das Beste war verdorben.
Von manchem Lager stand ich auf voll Leid,
Und jede Sättigung ward Überdruß;
Ich sehnte glühend fort mich vom Genuß
Nach Traum, nach Sehnsucht und nach Einsamkeit.
O Fluch, daß kein Besitz mich kann beglücken,
Daß jede Wirklichkeit den Traum vernichtet,
Den ich von ihr im Werben mir gedichtet
Und der so selig klang, so voll Entzücken!
Nach neuen Blumen zögernd greift die Hand,
Zu neuer Werbung stimm ich mein Gedicht ...
Wehr dich, du schöne Frau, straff dein Gewand!
Entzücke, quäle ?- doch erhör mich nicht!

OK, Frau Jane . . . an' just what is it about that bit of Teutonic sturm und drang that gits your heart all atwitter?

Hey Set, mind if I jump in ?

Sorry, I just couldn't find the poem in english...

Why I like it? I think it's quintessential to any (serious)
seducer.

I found a nice one in english of Erich Fried, also a great poet

Unplanned

That I
am much too old
for you
or that you
are too young for me
these are all
hefty arguments
that would be crucial
in the training workshops
in which
the more enlightened beings
measure up precisely
to their
calculated future

Join the party, Boss . . . it's BYOP (. . . poetry) . . .

Miss CJ, that's a good poem. Can you tells us shy it appeals to you?

In English...

There was earth inside them, and they dug.
They dug and they dug, so their day went by for them,
and their night.
And they did not praise God,
who, so they heard, wanted all this,
who, so they heard knew all this.

They dug and they heard nothing more;
they did not grow wise, invented no song,
thought up for themselves no languauge.
They dug.

There came a stillness, and there came a storm,
and all the oceans came.
I dig, you dig, and the worm digs too,
and that singing out there says: They dig.

O one , o none, o no one, o you:
Where did the way lead when it lead nowhere ?
O you dig and I dig, and I dig towards you,
and on our finger the ring awakes.


Paul Celan

Why this particular poem from Erich Fried appealed to me?
It was very apropos for me a long, long time back,
memories so to speak.

Good poem Lion.

My favorite american poet is James Kavanaugh.

CJ, please give us some JK.

Here is one of his poems, not my favorite, but the others
I would have to type from my Kavanaugh books, and that
takes a while.....

"Finally unafraid to be free,
Ready to surrender all the illusions of
recognition and external securities,
Living off the sky and earth like soaring
eagles and braying burros,
Trusting in a Power even beyond Dow Jones
and hoarded retirement.
Finally ready to live like the noble animal that I am-
Without masters or servants, with dignity dependent on no one,
Content to know that I am God's child, and
only good has been prepared for me.
When I am not afraid to release all that my life
and culture taught me to prize.
To abandon fears once and for all, to discard the
anxieties of a lifetime like a suit that no longer fits,
To be afraid of no one, beholden to no one,
dependent on no one
Save the few who know and love me as I am,
and the God Who alone gives meaning and joy
to the madness of my life."

Beautiful stuff CJ.

This one I like a lot..(typing)

There are days when I could run for president,
direct General Motors in the morning
and Chrysler in the afternoon.
When I could thrill an audience of ten thousand,
and walk hand in hand
with the most prestigious leaders on earth,
When my conversation sparkles
and my imagination is in overdrive,
When I could be loved by starlets
and international beauties,
Create elaborate stories for the stage or screen,
Wander from country to country
at home in every land,
Solving political conflicts that have endured
for centuries,
and healing the wounds of starving children,
and despairing adults.

And there are days when emerging from bed
seems impossible,
When a barking dog or cooing dove
can drive me quite mad,
When taking a shower anf fixing cornflakes
is a major undertaking.
And taking my car in to repair a wiper blade
a clomplex enterprise,
When I could not shine shoes
or run a hot-dog stand

And I tremble at the thought
of saying "Hello" to the postman.
When the cleaning lady is bored by my dialogue,
and no woman in her right mind
would give me the time for lunch
When to leave the living room frightens me
beyond endurance.
And I could not create a story
for a high school paper.

The miracle is that on either kind of day,
Your eyes still gaze at me as if no one else walks
the earth,
And your smile forever says "I love you no matter what"
The General Motors means not nearly as much
as the tears we shed on the living room floor
or the sunset we share in serenty and silence.

Yeah, there is some great stuff out there from more
contemporary poets, like Kavanaugh, or a German lady
whose name is a tongue breaker: Kristiane Allert-Wybranietz.

Wow.

...and so true. Don't you have days like this Lion?
Where you are on top of the world and can conquer everything,
and the very next day, you're barely able to function and
lose yourself in selfdoubt.