I’ll pretend that she likes poetry
So that my lines will flow with ease,
And find no dam in knowing she
Is yawning — not intrigued or pleased.
I’ll pretend she cares for rhythmic feet
That each should ring euphonious —
About each line’s fluidic beat
That each should sound harmonious,
Then when a wind shall come to blow
The candle of my genius out,
Or trip me up and lay me low
And mire me in the ditch of doubt,
Knocking the feather from the hand,
Of slumping genius paralyzed,
Mocking my high aspiring plans
Some worthy theme t’immortalize,
I’ll think of her and find the strength,
To stay undoused, to stand defiant,
And smith with fire th’entire length
Of lines iambic, keen and pliant.
For she, I know, would have it so —
That they should rise to beauty’s height,
And to their ripe perfection grow,
Would be no doubt her deep delight.
Comments
And another thing -- this
And another thing -- this poem and The Envious One are supposed to be slightly funny.
And he was just wondering, for he was a severe critic of his own work, whether that last line couldn't be polished up a bit...
~P.G. Wodehouse
Interesting, it is kind of
Interesting, it is kind of funny. Nice!
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
I've been posting a poem a
I've been posting a poem a week -- in this one I was trying to be conscientious about the flow of the lines. There's some internal rhyme here, assonance, and a little alliteration.
To stay undoused, to stand defiant,
And smith with fire th’entire length
Of lines iambic keen and pliant.
The I vowel isn't just in the rhyme of defiant and pliant, but also in fire, entire, and lines. Tying things together there's also a lot of s here - stay, stand, doused, and smith.
Or look at the first stanza:
I’ll pretend that she likes poetry
So that my lines will flow with ease,
And find no dam in knowing she
'Knowing she' is technically the rhyming line with poetry but the accented vowels of 'flow with ease' are also o & e.
When a wind, ditch of doubt, lay me low, are some alliterations.
In the fourth stanza mocking and knocking are rhymes at the beginning of the 1st and 3rd lines.
The last stanza:
For she, I know, would have it so (internal rhyme know and so)
That they should rise to beauty’s height (internal assonance on rise and height)
And to a ripe perfection grow, (I like how ripe falls on the second accent and rise fell on the second accent of the preceding line)
No doubt would be her deep delight. (I like all the d's in this one.)
I care about these kinds of thing, and this poem is about how to motivate oneself to not be dissuaded from taking the time to make it right.
When I say My Muse, I'm not talking about one of the nine -- I'm talking more like a 19th century artist who is inspired by some girl and calls here his muse.
And he was just wondering, for he was a severe critic of his own work, whether that last line couldn't be polished up a bit...
~P.G. Wodehouse