Poets’ Roundtable
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News and Jabber
In #192 he writes:
If true (and it is) that with body's final breath
the soul, cut loose from the flesh (which it only bore
because heaven imposed that chore),
breaks free, it feels only then supreme delight,
becoming divine in death
as sure as we're born, down here, with death in sight.
No sin in this; we're rightfully
to change funeral woe to mirth
when we stand about to mourn the newly dead,
for the soul, escaping earth
and the frail remains, then, there, on the deathbed,
finds perfect peace instead.
Such their true friends desire, in equal measure
as pleasure in God transcends all earthly pleasure.
Michaelangelo
Also: This link will take you to an article about Martin Espada. He has long been a favorite of mine, is worth the look. You who have borrowed his books that I brought in will hopefully enjoy the reading.
https://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2018/07/11/martin-espada-wins-top-poetry-foundation-prize
https://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2018/07/11/martin-espada-wins-top-poetry-foundation-prize
The Current Assignment
The Next Assignment
The next assignment is to write a poem which begins with:
If the ocean would just settle down
That's it. Riff on that and see what happens.
The Next Meeting
The next meeting will be on August 2, 2018 at 12:30 PM, 12:30 PM, 12:30 PM, 12:30 PM, 12:30 PM!
If the ocean would just settle down
ReplyDeleteAnd belly-up what’s in its crown,
Unceremoniously dump a cauldron
Full of ornamental plastic popcorn
On private, yet still public, beaches?
Alas, there would be fewer screeches
From gulls gliding above the sand,
And fewer bathers on the strand.
If the oceans were to settle down,
What would happen to our tides?
The ins-and-outs? The clear bound
Of our existence, the beat of prides?
If the ocean were to settle down,
Were it to fail to move to and fro,
Would the earth tilt all around?
Would it then tumble, all aglow?
Gerard Coulombe, 07-22-18
Tick Tock
ReplyDeleteShakespeare had it right.
Better too soon than too late.
Better still not to have met at all,
For from the outset the meeting was doomed.
So, can I prevail?
Were the oceans to settle down,
What might a sailor say?
My son, a ship’s master
Tells me not to worry,
For the seas are what they are,
And it is best not to tarry
After the seas have settled down.
May I now settle on the issue?
Is it better to tarry on this assignment
To construct a better paean
Than it is to remain wary
Of the guise of my colleagues?
G. July 25, 2018
Shakespeare had it right.
ReplyDeleteBetter too soon than too late.
Better still not to have met at all,
For from the outset the meeting was doomed.
So, can I prevail?
Were the oceans to settle down,
What might a sailor say?
My son, a ship’s master
Tells me not to worry,
For the seas are what they are,
And it is best not to tarry
After the seas have settled down.
May I now settle on the issue?
Is it better to tarry on this assignment
To construct a better paean
Than it is to remain wary
Of the guise used by my colleagues?
Gerard Coulombe (C) 07-26-2018
Shakespeare had it right.
ReplyDeleteBetter too soon than too late.
Better still not to have met at all,
For from the outset the meeting was doomed.
So, can I prevail?
Were the oceans to settle down,
What might a sailor say?
My son, a ship’s master
Tells me not to worry,
For the seas are what they are,
And it is best not to tarry
After the seas have settled down.
May I now settle on the issue?
Is it better to tarry on this assignment
To construct a better paean
Than it is to remain wary
Of the guise used by my colleagues?
Gerard Coulombe (C) 07-26-2018