Not, I hope, condescending to a mind much more accomplished than my own
Tribute to Tom
Sir, all those years ago you caused me build
structures that sat falsely on my desert sand;
something, I admit, deliberately planned,
brought on by callow youthfulness, and filled
with angst and a weltanschauung that reflected
your own weltschmerz and its original tang.
But it's true; yours was the voice that within me sang;
yours the rationale that easily connected
with a mindset fresh and all too obviously naif
and one never quite, as years went by, discarded,
though not retained as a fancy dutifully guarded
while still seeking to find new reason for belief.
Time and politics took their obvious toll
on both of us, but on me much more than you
and I, youth passing, developed a wider view
expecting to achieve a different goal.
And that I did, but now the wheel of time
brings me back to your enigmatic message
about ends, about beginnings, and the passage
from deepest depths to reach for the sublime.
You showed the wasteland desolate, forsaken,
left me correlatives still not totally rejected;
I find my own steps by some of them directed
in the alpha to omega of my journey undertaken.
I can not complain that I was trapped
and held by a mind that configured half a life,
part positive, part negative, with balanced strife
allowing me to grow and to adapt.
You were, I now believe, a needed part
that moulded what I later would become
and let me march to a far more distant drum
that echoed the beating of my hidden heart.
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Written by Talisker (1336 comments posted) 27th August 2008 |
A fine tribute (to whom? Sorry if I'm being dumb).
I love the German terminology in the first stanza - so few words taken up into comon parlance from that language.
The last two lines manage to retain gravity and finish the piece strongly in spite of the slightly cliched "distant drum".
Enjoyed reading this very much.
Oli  |
Written by Bottleblondesurfer (3590 comments posted) 27th August 2008 |
You're obviously a big fan and this was a wonderful tribute to someone who has played a big part in your life. I was very touched by the comment on ends and beginnings and the way you look at it now. It was also what told me who he was. I've never been a big fan of Eliot but I acknowledge his talent. I remember a programme about him where it was revealed he was a friend of Groucho Marx. And when they met Groucho had learned swathes of his poetry to impress him and all Eliot wanted to do was quote his jokes. That was quite cute.
It was a pleasure to read a work that was so well written and was the product of such careful [and intelligent] thought. I always feel I've gained something from reading your poems.I wish I could say the same about Eliot, pleb that I am
Superb piece
jane
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Toilets!
Written by Brett (1001 comments posted) 27th August 2008 |
A worthy tribute to the world's most famous anagram of 'toilets.'
Jane has beaten me to the Groucho Marx anecdote, so to the poem: a very direct tribute, yet also very reflective and I think it is this that holds the interest of the reader more than if it had been 'merely' a tribute. There are too many resonating lines to quote in full, suffice to say that I found this enjoyable, powerful, and intriguing. Loved the rhyme scheme.
Cheers |
Forgot to add...
Written by Brett (1001 comments posted) 27th August 2008 |
I like the humble introduction, Brian.
Cheers |
Well,
Written by audrie (454 comments posted) 27th August 2008 |
of course, the 'wasteland' gave it away. I'm surprised Talisker didn't twig it.
It's funny how things we read in our youth come back to haunt us in later life and make us realise the truth and inspiration of the words.
But you haven't reached Omega yet, Brian!
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Written by Phil (7001 comments posted) 27th August 2008 |
I have to confess, I didn't twig until I read the reviews - I also had to look up the German.
As Oli said, a fine tribute. I actually like the end stanza. It works well for me. Horses for courses, I guess.
It's always Yeats I keep going back to - and in my poetic greenness, I've still a lot to read and learn.
Phil |
Written by Veronica_Milvus (768 comments posted) 27th August 2008 |
Tom Stearns Eliot, to put others out of their misery. I re-read the Wasteland recently at your prompting, PJ, and it makes slightly more sense than formerly, but not a lot. There is an on line version with a whole load of footnotes to help us poor plebs who didn't study classics or English at Uni.
As for the German... I can barely tell a zeitgeist from a schadenfreude. Like TS himself, a little too clever for the unwashed masses.
Should we have to work at our understanding of poetry or should the poet have to work to communicate? |
Thank you Audrie
Written by patterjack (1435 comments posted) 27th August 2008 |
Long time no see ! I trust you are well and happy !
I am not sure enough of the Greek alphabet to know exactly how close I am to Omega -- but assonantly (?) , it is ominously so.
Review much appreciated
patterjack |
Sorry Oli
Written by patterjack (1435 comments posted) 27th August 2008 |
I thought the wasteland reference -- and the Four Quartets reference of end and beginning would have clued you in.
Distant drum of course goes back to my old love of the Rubaiyat as well
Review much appreciated |
Veronica
Written by patterjack (1435 comments posted) 27th August 2008 |
I don't think that there should be compulsion to work at understanding, or at communication, for that matter.
A poem is there as an expression of thought or emotion -- if it hooks a reader then fair enough , let him contribute from within himself to enrich what the writer said. Obviously ,if a poet wants to communicate he does not deliberately set out to confuse, to obscure etc. His referents , life ,literary and other may not be clear to all , may never be fully understood ( dear lord, just look at the dense , often poetic ,prose of Finnegans Wake as compared to Joyce's clarity in Pomes Penyeach ) .
If a reader is interested enough to want ot |
ctd with correction lol
Written by patterjack (1435 comments posted) 27th August 2008 |
to want work hard on a poem , then the hope is that there will be enlightenment forthcoming.
I reckon I have a fair idea of what Thomas'sRefusal to mourn the death by fire of a child in London is about -- but every time I read it and think about it , it yields more .
Not sure what your point is here as regards unwashed :
Like TS himself, a little too clever for the unwashed masses.
I think less of him now than I did at age 17 .
Thanks for the review , appreciated.
patterjack |
Written by mia_ms_kim (1057 comments posted) 27th August 2008 |
I simply love this piece, another deep personal reflection on life, seen through eyes that have now gained wisdomof life and a clear hindsight. TS Elliot being such an influence on your life, is so interesting. I know very little about Elliot, but his quartet did remind me of your deeply reflective poems.
I think in our youth, our capacity to truly understand or interpret our admired mentors accurately, is severely limited. So inevitably when we are young, we tend to build the sandcastles of our illusion and idealism, which cannot stand the test of time and reality. (Your 'desert sand' seems to imply Elliot's Wasteland had a profound impact on you. I haven't read it.)
I think the mentors we follow in our youth, help build the foundation to who we are, that is not immediately obvious or visible then. Just as foundation of any building is hidden underground and they support and hold up the structure that is built on it, so the mentors of our early years serve that purpose in my opinion. And how big or high we can build, depends on how deep and strong our foundation is, or else in the time of testing the whole thing would collapse. And I think many things we build in our lives, do suffer partial collapses because we build on illusion or misinformation, most probably a bit of both.
Sorry about going on and on, but your poems often makes me reflect on my life. This piece seems to warn me against being bitter against the inevitable imperfections of those who had foundational influences on my life but be thankful for them, and that it takes wisdom of years to know that they were more right than wrong, and that they were the necessary steps that allowed me to go further.
I especially loved the last stanza, and the las 2 lines. They are exquisite.
Loved it, pj.
Mia  |
Phil
Written by patterjack (1435 comments posted) 28th August 2008 |
Thanks for the review.
I do not so much go back and back to Eliot -- though I did recently reread Four Quartets and was surprised to find that I appreciated them much more than I did years ago.
Am I getting older ? -- mmm , I suppose so 
patterjack |
To the emailers
Written by patterjack (1435 comments posted) 28th August 2008 |
Thank you for the reviews via email or pm.
Very much appreciated.
patterjack |
Thank you Jane
Written by patterjack (1435 comments posted) 29th August 2008 |
And I confess that there are areas where one can say , with the man himself How unpleasant to meet Mr Eliot but there are poems that really grip me . like La figlia che piange I am not at one with his religious views , but it was great fun assisting with the production of his Murder in the Cathedral in an actual cathedral -- though I had to apologise to a statue of the Virgin for a mild profanity before her statue. My * Sorry Lady * caused considerable mirth among the cast .
Thanks for the kind comments , Jane . I really appreciate them
patterjack |
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