The shadow was so black,
But once in to itI knew itNo more blackThan a shadow’s back.Illusion is a freakOf mind;The cat’s to seek.
Stevie Smith
Never again will I weep
And beat my head against the wallBecauseMe nolentem fata trahuntButWhen I have had enoughI will ariseAnd go unto my FatherAnd I will say to Him:Father, I have had enough.
To The Tune Of The Coventry Carol
The nearly rightAnd yet not quiteIn love is wholly evilAnd every heartThat loves in partIs mortgaged to the devilI loved or thoughtI loved in sortWas this to love akin?To take the bestAnd leave the restAnd let the devil in?O lovers trueAnd others tooWhose best is only betterTake my adviceShun compromiseForget him and forget her
Our Bog is dood, our Bog is dood,
But when I asked them to explainThey grew a little wild.How do you know your Bog is doodMy darling little child?We know because we wish it soThat is enough, they cried,And straight within each infant eyeStood up the flame of pride,And if you do not think it soYou shall be crucified.Then tell me, darling little…
The lions who ate the Christians on the sands of the arena
Not entirely negligible partIn consolidating at the very startThe position of the Early Christian Church.Initiatory rights are always bloodyIn the lions, it appearsFrom contemporary art, made a studyOf dyeing Coliseum sands a ruddyLiturgically sacrificial hueAnd if the Christians felt a little blue-Will people being eaten often do.Theirs was the death, and there’s was a crown…
Tender only to one
The petals swingTo my fingeringIs it you, or you, or you?Tender only to oneI do not know his nameAnd the friends who fallTo the petals’ callMay think my love to blame.Tender only to oneThis petal holds a clueThe face it showsBut too well knowsWho I am tender to.Tender only to one,Last petal’s latest breathCries out…
Do not despair of man, and do not scold him,
Are you not also a man, and in your heartAre there not warlike thoughts and fear and smart?Are you not also afraid and in fear cruel,Do you not think of yourself as usual,Faint for ambition, desire to be loved,Prick at a virtuous thought by beauty moved?You love your wife, you hold your children dear,Then say…
My heart was full of softening showers,
I did not care for war or death,I was glad to draw my breath.
After reading Dr Rieu’s translation of St Mark’s Gospel.
This is he we had not thought of, this is he the airy Christ.Airy, in an airy manner in an airy parkland walking,Others take him by the hand, lead him, do the talking.But the Form, the airy One, frowns an airy frown,What they say he knows must be, but he looks aloofly down,Looks aloofly at…
Why is the word pretty so underrated?
The stream grows deep in the woods after rain.And in the pretty pool the pike stalks.He stalks his prey, and this is pretty too,The prey escapes with an underwater flash.But not for long, the great has him now.The pike is a fish who always has his preyAnd this is pretty. The water rat is pretty.His…