Tuesday, May 31, 2011

1800


Not sure where this will fit in or if it does.  Just consider it part of  a character sketch of Elijah in Moby Dick.

Elijah:
Truth's a dog must take to kennel or cage.
As I am a wise fool listen to my rage:

Have more than thou showest,
Speakless than thou knowest,
Lend less than thou owest,
Ride more than thou goest,
Learn more than thou trowest,
Set less than thou throwest;
Leave the drink thy whore,
And keep in - a - door,
And thou shall have more
Than two tens in a score.*

1800

Stubb appears on stage smoking his black pipe spiting out grey smoke (a disinficting agent), compared to Quequeegs tomahawk that speys out a vibrant life giving green.  The original spot light should have been on Starbuck, the second spotlight appears and shines on Stubb, a third spot light will appear on Flask.  This is a presentation of the leaders to the men.

Not much here to tell the tale... so  I will keep reading.

I did make a table so that one that may be reading can tell which squire(harpooners) belongs to which knight(captains).


Captains (knights)
Harpooners (squires)
Starbuck
Queequeg:
(South Seas Native, cannibal, son of the chief of the tribe)
Stubb
Tashtego:
 (Native American, the hunter, he turns from hunting land animals to hunting whales.)
Flask
Daggoo 
(African, gigantic 6'5" is noble and full of grace.)

Monday, May 30, 2011

1800




Starbucks's Speech to Crew

(Starbuck stands at the head of the ship, and addressess his crew as they have just left the lee shore).

Renegades-castaways but to me brave,
keep your courage and keep hope in eye,
my brother and pa made the sea their grave.
full fathom five in honor's rest they lie.
I leave my wife, my home, and tended roses;

for the ocean's mist and  a whale we want to die.
A heavy balance these are our crosses.

Do not lie about your fear - do not lie.
A lie will fester and twist your soul,
this venture will succeed by cooperative's
power, shared.  The white whale is our goal.
By God's power and will we will survive,
to see our homes, and the tended roses.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

1800


 XXIV The Advocate and XXV Postscript



Elijah's Soliloquy- Elijah appears in clown make-up and wearing a harpooners outfit, enters the stage all alone, he stands in the spotlight.
Stage Direction: There is a small nightstand table with a glass of red-wine, and leaning nearby is an oversized harpoon, perhaps dripping with blood.

***************

You know a whale man, but I give my word,
you don't.  To the whaleman I lift my glass;
a man of noble class, if my wit does afford.
Do you think of the harpoon's coup de grace?
Do you think of baby seal's bludgeoned face?
Do you shriek at the thought of that history.
But this is not the half, dare to look again.
Let them fire salutes to their honor and glory.
Ah to the world! Oh to the world so virgin,
when whalers first sailed out for glory and win.
Blue images of 900 foot whales so went their story.
Liberators of the New World to Isabella's chagrin.
Whalers carried missionaries to their congregation
of the sinners saved, let the Church bells ring.
Whaling ships were my Yale, I did not attend alone.
           Say what you will.
                            No dignity given to whaling?
           Say what you will.
                            No dignity given to whaling
But I give the Queen and King this light,
Your coronation is, I say in peace not strife,
anointed by Whale Oil. Are you in a fright.
Would you not give dignity, to the whaler's life?


Friday, May 27, 2011

101 Lessons Men Can Learn From Romance Books.

Lesson 56.  On Punishment-It is a punishment to tease a woman, and withhold consummation, without providing a resolution.
"Arousal without release was the punishment women preferred, too, if given a choice ... because they knew if there need had not diminished by the next day, it would be seen to, to their complete satisfaction."
pg 257 of Johnana Lindsey's Warriors Woman.

1800



The Lee Shore XXIII



Faunus:  (A goat looking man comes on the stage.  
A video of a ship shows on the back curtain. 
(Video Should be a ship that is a replica from the time period, 
 moving from the Lee Shore to the Open Sea). 

her only friend,
into cold malicious waves
her bitterest foe

Thursday, May 26, 2011

101 Lessons Men Can Learn From Romance Books.


Lesson 55. If you are going to spank, spank with respectful impact:
"A mosquito bite carries more impact than that love tap.  I thought this was to be a punishment, not an insult." pg 247 of Johnana Lindsey's Warriors Woman.

1800


Starbuck, Bildad, and Peleg enter.  Also are the part of Quee Queg, Ishmael, and Elijah.  They all stand on board the Pequod as it departs from shore.

*Peleg:*
Ye wanteth fame, than ye must leave of honor beatimes,
 and practice the difficult art of--going at the right time.*
Mr. Starbuck get our men into a furied motion,
blast em into their frame, and rouse them from their crimes.

Starbuck:
Aye eye sir in this I will and you can trust.

*Bildad:*
Mr Starbuck drive em aft and be stearn.
_The girls in Booble Alley, to trolls they birth!(Sings a Silly Song under his breath) _
_The guys said goodbye and promised to be kind_
_And never to forget the fair girls in Berne_
Spring thou sheep-head and spring from your mirth.
(Captain Bildad's peg leg is in Ishmaels rearend).

*Ishmael*:
Yes Sir, in the pastures I will not dine.
For To sever the good fellowship of dust
is to spoil the meeting,** dare I blaspheme?

*Peleg*:
Spring I say, Spring like an acrobat.
Is that how a merchant marine thrusts?
_Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood,
Stand dressed in living green.
So to the Jews old Cannaan Stood,
while Jordan rolled between.***_
to all ye boys we pray your return
for our station forbids us to combat!

Bildad:
to be young again and be able to go,
but our age has past, but we trust
that you will give it your all.
keep an eye on the hold below
and keep guard from desire and lust.

Bildad to Peleg: (An Aside)
I wonder if we will see Ahab again.


*Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book For All And None by Nietzsche, Friedrich*
**Words from The New Oxford Christian Verse: George Herbert
*** Direct Quote from Moby Dick page 103.
Italics means that the person is singing.

Reviews




I love searching the cheap C.D.'s at Walmart,  maybe just maybe I will find that one essential album that will draw me closer to completing a cool library. There really is no end to the quest, but the quest is what makes life fun.  So what C.D. did I get along with my sponges, rubbing alcohol, and Laundry Detergent?  
Meat Loaf Bat Out of Hell of course, and got at $7.00. So why Meat Loaf?  Why not?  One may argue that he is a complete corncob. His music is not serious.  He is way too soapy-operatic.   And I could not argue with you on any of these points.  So why Meatloaf and Bat out of Hell? Well it’s the flaws that make it great.   It is corncob.  It is not serious.  It is soap operatic.  Not all great things are measured by the critical standards. Some albums are just fun.   



Wednesday, May 25, 2011

1800

Scene: 6 AM. "Grey Imperfect Dawn."   Aboard the Pequod.
Ishmael(I) and QueQueeq(Q) are greeted by Elijah(E). A green smoke hangs in the air from Q's tomahawk pipe.

Elijah:
So I see ye did not heed but dare...
the Pequod, in dawns light is a beauty.

Ishmael:
Who are ya to tell me where I dare,
I've signed my manifest, and will do my duty!

Elijah:
(He is the annoying prophet so he says things that may be truthful but he is a clown.  A clown who bothers in order to instruct.)
Amazing grace (starts singing loudly) to thee I sing
to all the sailors lost in time. (He plays a few notes from his 590 Big River Harp).

Queequeg:
I envy no man'y Nightingale or spring,
let the Zephyr fill the sail, the time is prime.

(Act II)Starbuck, Bildad, Peleg stand on board the Pequod as it departs from shore.


Influenced by Chapter XXI of Moby Dick.


Tuesday, May 24, 2011

1800



Moby Dick Chapter XX - All Astir


SCENE, a Ravine of Icy Rocks.  One sees the ship the Piquod being boarded by the Quakress with a jar of pickles.  She is big boned and directs the merchant marines like a general of the Prusian Army.  The sky is cloudy, and looks like an ominous sign.   Ishmael and Elijah are standing on the dock discussing their fates.   
Time, Night.During the Scene morning slowly breaks. 
 You see four men aboard the ship, three are standing still and are engaged in a converation, the fourth is slouched over in a chair.


Ishmael:
In the shadows Captain Ahab dwells
before the voyage  and ocean swells,
we were asked to stay aboard,
or be left alone in the harbor's cold.

Elijah:
Adventures and a share of fortune ye sought,
Now our firm footing on this earth is gone.
Our lives were not our own but signed and bought.
For A whaling man holds no possession.
The white wale, the cure we sought, our obsession.
Whaling, a rugged journey with no pleasure resorts,
this voyage is not to be a pleasure cruse to Perth.

Ishmael:
At length I heard a ragged noise and mirth.
Captain Pegeg and Bildad scowled and espied,
reporting to the shadow. Our rights had died.

Queequeg:
Here comes the Quakeress!
Bildad's Spanish mistress.



Monday, May 23, 2011

1800


History of the Word Cannibal


The word cannibal comes from Columbus.  Columbus thinking he was in or near China thought the inhabitants of Cuba were the descendants of Genghis Kahn. The inhabitants of Cuba and Haiti called themselves, canniba or carib meaning strong men.   He believed these people to be eaters of men.
  

Sunday, May 22, 2011

1800


XIX Prophets and a Hundred Other Shadowy Things


Elijah prophesied, 
"Your fifth wheel  to a Wagon
 stowaway your souls."

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Reading Ventures

Alphabet for I Claudius:
Aa: Augustus supreme ruler
Bb: Books when they grow out of date only serve as wrapping for fish.
Cc: Carthage a menace to Rome.
Dd: Dwarfs, cripples deformities brought bad luck.
Ee:  Elephant stomped the crap out of the Rhinoceros.
Ff:  "When was the fall of Rome?" said professor Rampton to the class of freshman western civilization students.
Gg: Gaius.
Hh: His is an old man's game.  Half wits restore popular liberty.
Ii: Imperial Households are dysfunctional in their own ways.
Jj: Janus roman god of beginnings.
Kk: Keres female spirits of death.
Ll: Literary sauce is tiberius.
Mm: Mystery cults served only by the chaste so the goddesses anger appeased.
Nn: Nero not the Nero who fiddled while Rome burned.
Oo: Scope and opportunity persuade men to virtue or compel men to truth.
Pp: Pear Tree Charged with murder.
Qq: Everyone's queer but Caligula.
Rr: Reading more just makes me a greater fool.
Ss: Siring Strong Soldiers for Rome.
Tt: Tiberius name is innapropriate becasue the Tiber runs fast.
Uu:  Uxoriously
Vv: Vestal Virgins an honored position for women. They could free condemned prisoners and slaves by a mere touch.
Ww: What do ye need W's for.
XX: Xanthus, Achilles immortal horse.
Yy:  Yet again what did I say for W.
Zz: Zephyrus the God of the West Wind, the nicest and warmest wind...


Moby-Dick



XVIII-His Mark


Cannibal with spear
wow your skills, wipe off your smear,
please sign your mark here.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Review-Fiction Readers Review Guide


Criteria
Descriptions
Points Awarded
Points Possible
Truth Clearly Stated.
Are real solutions proposed along with the problems identified?

5
Flow
The author keeps you going and motivates you to  put the pieces of the puzzle back together again.

5
Clear introduction, mix up, and resolution to a piece.
Layout
Book is laid out well. Does the author lay out information in a fun new way.

5
Word Choice
Uses words that add to the beauty of the piece. Words are holy and should be used as such.  Are enough words used, too many words used, what gives?

5

Form
Artist uses the lieterate form to a beautiful means

5
Continuity
Artists creates clarity of form… either through literate means or through extras: Maps, Graphs, or Quoted Tables.

5
Identifies
accurately the signs
of the times
Shows the ills and health
of the culture one is  investigating

5
Affirms Human Experience
It provides a look at an aboslute of human-ness. Sublime (that which is worked hard at) and the beautiful (the form)

5
Start Trek Quotiant
Dares to go where no
one has gone before
Comfortable art is dead art

5
Dialogue
See Notes on Dialogue
Overall Rating from Criteria
is….

5
0
50

0
Who would get the
most out of this
book:




These are the criteria in which I will review all fictional works.   If you having any insight into my criteria please let me know.   I have been attempting to create a fair analysis of books, so even if I am disgusted by the book, I can still appreciate the work done by the author.

Reading Ventures


ABC's of The Broom in the System by David Foster Walace



Aa: Anarchist at Amherst his thing is to be a Waste Product, resides their doing everyone’s dirty work, done dirt cheap, of course.
Bb  Break through as a scent, a fragrance, that psychologist’s noses are trained to pick up.
Hello Bob a drinking game played at Amherst concerning the Bob Newhart show. 
Cc:  Cleveland-The fringe city by the G.O.D. 
Dd:  Desert a place on the Edge, you can wander with a wander pass, the desolation becomes quit crowded.
Ee: Emotive Control?  What is a feeling? What is the difference between story and reality?
Ff: Fringe and at the center-the Midwest. 
Gg:  Great Ohio Desert – a great place to plant deserts.
Hh: Hygiene Psychological Research:
Ii: Industrial Desert Design creators of G.O.D.
Jj: Jars of Nuclear Baby Food; Journals of professionals;  Jibberish tapped in Morris Code.
Kk:  Know what I Know.
Ll:  Mrs. Y gave my bird (Vlad the Impaler) LSD; Love Poems expressed immaturely.
Mm: You want to have your membrane and eat it too, in short hygiene psychology. Moses Cleveland.
The Midwest an area that Is and Is Not!
Nn: Nerves are delicate and can’t be messed with.
Oo:  Great OHIO Desert
Pp: You are not your penis.
Qq: Quilod Day;  “They don’t make me sleepy they make me feel elsewhere!”
Rr Raining Gelatinously
Ss: Shutes and Ladders; Symptomatic Skirts; Sperm in a Gasmask; Scarsdale Arizona; Sculpture of Steve;
Tt: A life Told not lived: telling and tillable.  There was a tree-frog living in the pit of her neck.  Great Threat Set; Telling and Tellable; Everyone Has Got a THING;  TAB Cola (The Eighties Cola).
Uu:  Lang Aimed at the Urinal Disk; Sun Umbrellas in the G.O.D.
Vv Vacumed Spit;  Linda Sue is the Voice you hear at the grocery store, “Change due four dollars”  
Ww Ludwig Wiitgenstein: story based on his ideas and principals.  Words create meaning.
Xx X Rays and Quality Film
Yy Years ago begins a told tale.
Zz Zeus god of the G.O.D. (Great American Desert)

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

1800


Intermission Video: You Can Stretch Now




"In history, the great movement is when the savage is just ceasing to be a savage....that moment of transition, - the foam hangs but a moment on the wave; the sun himself does not pause on the meridian; literature becomes criticism, nervousness, and a gnawing when the first musical triumphant strain has waked the echoes." Emerson on his Age
Matthiessen, F. O. American Renaissance: Art and Expression in the Age of Emerson and Whitman. London: Oxford UP, 1980. Print.

Reading Ventures


Tic Tac Toe or Black Out with Different Book Store Categories 

Game: Please fill out the tic tac toe form as shown.  You must fill in the books in the given grids so that they are three in a row.   (Eg Science Fiction, General Novels, and Romance).
Prizes: I will ship two books from my overcrowded library to the first two individuals to respond to this challenge. Please specify the types of books you like, that way the books may be of interest to you.  Contest ends on September 12, 2011.  Please specify your address, your age, in an email to gregorio.roth@gmail.com.  In the subject field write Reading Ventures Contest September 12.


Science Fiction and Fantasy:
Travel Writing or Travel Guides:
Westerns:
Christian Living or Positive Living:
General Novels:
Sports:
Graphic Novels:
Poetry:
Romance:

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Oakland: Colorado County


Canadian Terrorist Cells


Picture of the Canadian Terrorist was taken by my Mother.
"Paranoia is the number one killer of fourteen year old girls."
-Connie Willis "A Letter From the Clearys"
Wollheim, Donald A., and Arthur W. Saha. The 1983 Annual World's Best SF. New York, NY: DAW, 1983. Print.

Oakland: Colorado County

An Imaginary Number
One Can not Make the Square Root of =1

(Dream 109) I stood next to a blue spruce pine caked with snow. I wore my black motorcycle jacket.  The leather jacket. kept me protected from the chill of a January day in Longmont, Colorado.  I stood outside the back doors that lead to my dad's dental practice.  I stood motionless, thinking about a poem that needed revision.

I then heard the screech of a cat on cat fight, I went to the side of his office to watch.

 I was then standing in front of the large windows from which one could look into and see my dad fixing teeth.   I looked in and saw a patient in the dental chair who looked rather dead, actually they looked stiff, as if they had been jolted by lighting and were frozen peculiarly.  Like an icicle hanging on the office.
Drip drip Drip.   The dead patient approached rigor mortis. A stiff in a dental chair.
I sucked from a large red-straw, and gulp down the 7 Up (Un-Cola) from my 7-11 Big Gulp that froze my hands, and thought about how to revise a stubborn poem.
The two words I worked over were:
Familiar. 
             
                           Odd.

                                          And then I thought how the heck is the dental hygenist going to get that                    corpse off of her.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Moby-Dick XVII-Ramadan

This piece is part of the show "Chasing the Whale in Northern Kentucky:
 Local Artists Respond to Moby-Dick.  I ran the image through GimpPhoto and
cartoonized it.   I am thankful for who ever did this great fabric representation
of Yojo.
Ramadan, sacred-holy cabaret,
Quequeq held to the fast during the day.
He prayed to Yojo, "all the crew be fed!"
He prayed to Yojo "save us from the dead!"

Ishmael-"All men should be free to go forth,
to all their Gods,  praying with all their worth.
Least a bishop came and made hearts numb,
our protestant faith should be a hearty welcome."

But as hours grew late, and the door remained locked.
Ishmael became upset and put forth a different frock.
  
  




Reviews - Movies: Wetland Perserved


The Movie Wetlands Preserved is a great trip to my college days of the 1990's.   The documentary shares a special night club that dared to be a haven for the authentically fun.   I really enjoyed watching the video, and think others might too.   Check out the Review at  Brooklyn Vegan.  (Wetlands Preserved is available on Net-Flex's instant player).

Oakland USA


Beached Whale + Dynamite = Bad Idea





Sunday, May 15, 2011

Moby-Dick XVI: The Ship


Upon the Pequot


Ahab's shadow cast
revenge on a terrible whale,
merry-bound to hell.

Will the fates allow, 
free to choose or is it done, 
fates cast heroes doom.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Oakland USA


(Dream 110) One sees an ordinary house.
One knows it as an ordinary suburban development.
One sees a man wearing leather daisy dukes and a plume polo; anywhere U.S.A.
We don't know the mans name,  but we will call him Peter Abelard or just plain Pete.  Pete stands in the middle of his driveway.He bends over to pick up his can of gasoline.  His plume colored shirt barely fits his grand belly. One can see from the space created by his large girth that he is wearing ladies vermilion thong underwear.
Pete pours the gasoline and lighter fluid in a straight line between him and the street.   He pulls out a hard pack of Lucky Strike Cigarettes, stuck between his lower back and his ladies pink thong underwear.

He pulls out a match from the hard pack of smokes. Mr. Abelard  lights his cigarette, then throws down the match onto the line of gasoline, and lighter fluid.  A wall of fire sparks like a curtain.  He looks into the fire and thinks of his days in third grade at Harvey Lint Elementary School.

Moby-Dick XV: Chowder


Chowder Head Inn


Feeding on the Clam
Nantucket finds her comfort
Feeding on the Cod.

Feeding on the Cod
Nantucket finds her comfort
Feeding on the Clam.

Moby-Dick XIV Nantucket


Nantucket, a sandy shore, entropic mistress.
Weed's would not grow nor did they bother.
Where sailors found harbors from the tempest.
Nantucket carrion born of an eagle mother, her
talons grabbed the first born from his womb.
Where farms died and there was no husbandry.
Where life was cursed with a whales tomb.
Nantucket born of a naive posterity,
and fought to retain her world mightily.
Where men went out to sea in their prime,
and widows kept keen eyes on the sea.
 Nantucket born of sailors bones and grime,
 Where whaling life was lived stubbornly
and where walrus dreams came to be.








Thursday, May 12, 2011

Moby-Dick: XIV Nantucket



Walrus Dreams


Nantucket, a sandy shore- "Entropic Mistress".
Where Ambrosia did not root and didn't bother.
Where sailors found a harbor from the tempest.
Nantucket born from a mythical mother
who's talons stole the native from his womb.
Where farms died and there was no husbandry.
Where life was lived within a scrimshaw tomb.
Nantucket born from a people with little posterity;
who fought to retain their stolen youth mightily.
Where men ventured out to sea in their prime.
Where widows were left and kept their eye on the sea.
Nantucket  born from ivory bones taken before their time.
       Where whaling life was lived stubbornly,
               and where walrus dreams come to be.


Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Moby-Dick XIII-Wheelbarrow




A Midst Ambrosia Fields

Queequeq and Ishmael
walking- iced over whale town,
people stare and gasp.




Monday, May 9, 2011

Moby-Dick XII-Biographical




Queequeqs Story As Re-Told by Ishmael


Quee told his story when sleep met my brow,
he told of Kokovoko and his Kingly Field,
his birthright stolen by a dream and by a vow.

Quee's pipe smoke enchanted me, the vision held.

He vowed to find the land told by a sailor's lies,
a land of riches that would fill up days
and days of visions, a charm to the eyes.

I listened to Quee's story with much praise.

"The dreams," he said  "so tainted my life with abuse.
I ruled my land but could not see past a certain line.
The sky disappeared and left me with no refuse,
from a sorrow so deep, I could not define.
The lust I felt  from a Sailor's tale once told;
I had no choice but to go out into the cold.
For now - Snip, Snap, Snout,
now my tale is out."

And with that Quee blew out the night light,
and we tumbled in the small bed all night.























Sunday, May 8, 2011

Moby-Dick XI: Nightgown


Story Tent


Green lit smoke from pipe
hangs like a tent over our bed
Quee's story comes out.

Moby-Dick X


An Alliance 


Ishmael and Queequeg
Savage Presbyterians,
Unite Common Good.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Moby Dick IX "The Sermon"


So the Preacher Lisped


"And howl did the wind
from king Neptune's grinding wind.
Waves tossed, one another,
one upon another,
Sea towers did blow
to let mighty captains know,
right paths to regard,
towers: sea's lifeguards:
saving ships from danger's way.
Neptune's rule did slay
those men in his way,
or where mortals were barred."




Thursday, May 5, 2011

Urban Legends in Verse:


Mind the Light


Jim left work early, and without delay,
his stroll strong; he carried waste,
with him.  An amateur electrician enthusiast,
 held a light, from a repair done yesterday.
He felt like a rebel, a hippie, an outcast 
who had been cut from the prime-cast. 
Jim entered the station on Broadway,
he took the light rail home where he 
would be free to rest, to relax again.
He stood, not wanting to break the light, 
as the car filled up with elderly.
Finally there were no seats to ascertain, 
so others were forced to stand in the cart. 
The cart went swift so all looked for a part, 
a hand-hold, to relax their beating heart.   
A man grabbed a hold, found the light  held by Jim;
Jim departed and left the light with him.




Moby-Dick VIII: The Pulpit


Reverend Maple's Pulpit


Wet box trunk adrift*,
God's ship beats on, and on
amidst the great flood.

The pastor boards his
pulpit, pulling the rope up,
and begins to lisp...

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Moby-Dick V "Breakfast"


Earthen Jar - soured milk
breakfast salted by Sea-Dogs
and their ripe stories.

Moby-Dick IV: Sonnet to Queequeq


The Noble Savage Be



Queequeq's shadowed stories: his fame increased.
"I feared distorted dreams that damnified,
a noble harpooners tattooed esquesse*.
Queequeg a ghost to my dormitory,
his spirit there before my very eyes."

He is there even when he was out and a mobile.
He strolls the market to fuel a Saturn Enterprise,
shrunken heads sold, but worn once by Captain Neill.

Queequeg a primitive from Eden's spring.

Queequeg, a face where men read strange content,
a tale of Eden, a lost home, with much lines regarding.

Noble Savage Be.     Alone.
                   Noble Savage Be.   Alone
                                     Alone to dwell betwixt thee.














  

*Esquisse Definition:  sketch, outline, beginnings, hint.  Said: eh skees

Poems by Dead People


"But faith like a jackal, feeds among the tombs, and even from these dead doubts she gathers her most vital hope." pg 43 of Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

And the Good Bloke G.K. Chesterton Wrote:

Before the Roman came to Rye or out to Severn strode,
The rolling English drunkard made the rolling English road,
A reeling road, a rolling road, that rambles round the shire,
And after him the parson ran, the sexton and the squire,
A merry road, a mazy road, and such as we did tread,
The night we went to Birmingham by way of Beachy Head.

I knew no harm of Bonaparte and plenty of the Squire,
And for to fight the Frenchman I did not much desire;
But I did bash their baggonets because they came arrayed
To straighten out the crooked road an English drunkard made,
Where you and I went down the lane with ale-mugs in our hands,
The night we went to Glastonbury by way of Goodwin Sands.

His sins they were forgiven him; or why do flowers run
Behind him; and the hedges all strengthening in the sun?
The wild thing went from left to right and knew not which was which,
But the wild rose was above him when they found him in the ditch.
God pardon us, nor harden us; we did not see so clear
The night we went to Bannockburn by way of Brighton Pier.

My friends, we will not go again or ape an ancient rage,
Or stretch the folly of our youth to be the shame of age,
But walk with clearer eyes and ears this path that wandereth,
And see undrugged in evening light the decent inn of death;
For there is good news yet to hear and fine things to be seen,
Before we go to Paradise by way of Kensal Green.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Poems by Roth



Lakeland Bird Watching


Red head woodpecker,
strongly taps, taps, taps for bugs
hidden inside tree.

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