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Night Poem From Khandro (Fri.)
16 Answers
ANNIE
On the Texas coast
Between Mobile and Galveston there
A large garden full of roses
It also contains a villa
Which is a large pink
A woman often walks
In the garden alone
And when I go on the road lined with linden trees
We look
As this woman is Mennonite
Her roses and her clothes have no buttons
The two missing in my jacket
The lady and I follow almost the same rite
Guillaume Apollinaire
On the Texas coast
Between Mobile and Galveston there
A large garden full of roses
It also contains a villa
Which is a large pink
A woman often walks
In the garden alone
And when I go on the road lined with linden trees
We look
As this woman is Mennonite
Her roses and her clothes have no buttons
The two missing in my jacket
The lady and I follow almost the same rite
Guillaume Apollinaire
Answers
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The Secret
I loved thee, though I told thee not,
Right earlily and long,
Thou wert my joy in every spot,
My theme in every song.
And when I saw a stranger face
Where beauty held the claim,
I gave it like a secret grace
The being of thy name.
And all the charms of face or voice
Which I in others see
Are but the recollected choice
Of what I felt for thee.
John Clare
I loved thee, though I told thee not,
Right earlily and long,
Thou wert my joy in every spot,
My theme in every song.
And when I saw a stranger face
Where beauty held the claim,
I gave it like a secret grace
The being of thy name.
And all the charms of face or voice
Which I in others see
Are but the recollected choice
Of what I felt for thee.
John Clare
Scaffolding by Seamus Heany
Masons, when they start upon a building,
Are careful to test out the scaffolding;
Make sure that planks won’t slip at busy points,
Secure all ladders, tighten bolted joints.
And yet all this comes down when the job’s done
Showing off walls of sure and solid stone.
So if, my dear, there sometimes seems to be
Old bridges breaking between you and me
Never fear. We may let the scaffolds fall
Confident that we have built our wall.
Sorry for the previous half post!
Masons, when they start upon a building,
Are careful to test out the scaffolding;
Make sure that planks won’t slip at busy points,
Secure all ladders, tighten bolted joints.
And yet all this comes down when the job’s done
Showing off walls of sure and solid stone.
So if, my dear, there sometimes seems to be
Old bridges breaking between you and me
Never fear. We may let the scaffolds fall
Confident that we have built our wall.
Sorry for the previous half post!
Zacs: This isn't really one of Apollinaire's automatic poems, it's simply a poem relating to Annie, a woman he was mad about & who escaped from his over zealous attentions by going to America. He never went there himself because after surviving the WW1 (which he enjoyed!) he died like millions of others from the Spanish flu of 1918.
He's one of my all-time hero's, I think I've read every word he ever wrote which is in print, all of his poems & a lot of art criticism, among many things he invented was the word 'cubism'.
He's one of my all-time hero's, I think I've read every word he ever wrote which is in print, all of his poems & a lot of art criticism, among many things he invented was the word 'cubism'.
This translation by poet Oliver Bernard (Jeffrey's brother) I like better than last night's.
On the coast of Texas
Between Mobile and Galveston there is
A great big garden overgrown with roses
It also contains a villa
Which is one great rose
Often a woman walks
In the garden all alone
And when I pass on the lime-tree-bordered road
We look at each other
Since this woman belongs to the Mennonite sect
Her rose trees have no buds and her clothes no buttons
There are two missing from my jacket
This lady and I are almost of the same religion
On the coast of Texas
Between Mobile and Galveston there is
A great big garden overgrown with roses
It also contains a villa
Which is one great rose
Often a woman walks
In the garden all alone
And when I pass on the lime-tree-bordered road
We look at each other
Since this woman belongs to the Mennonite sect
Her rose trees have no buds and her clothes no buttons
There are two missing from my jacket
This lady and I are almost of the same religion
1 to 16 of 16
