October 23, 2008

Trinity

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee; ~Augustus M. Toplady, Rock Of Ages

Dear Dave,

Today I went flippin' rocks,
the same gray rocks, familiar rocks,
rocks I've flipped day after day
every day for days on end.
Today I went flippin' rocks,
and there you were--a little white stone
pressed into soft black soil, captive,
waiting. I think I'll keep you.

~~~

The poor King looked puzzled and unhappy, and struggled with the pencil for some time without saying anything; but Alice was too strong for him, and at last he panted out, 'My dear! I really MUST get a thinner pencil. I can't manage this one a bit; it writes all manner of things that I don't intend--' ~Lewis Carroll, Through The Looking-Glass

The White King said to the little Black Prince:
You can dance, but you've never done this.
Fire on my wings, I fell from the sky.
I landed on a mirror. I thought I would die.
I sank into the earth, swallowed yellow flame,
then I rose from the ashes and did it all again.

The Black Prince said to the old White King:
No I never did any of those things.
Magna cum laude, I'm Ivy League.
I've never suffered combat fatigue.
I know how to lecture. I can coo and woo.
I'm smooth as butter, and I look good, too.

~~~

Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. ~Patrick Henry

Turn, turn, turn,
and turn again.
Spin yourselves pencil-thin
like icicles, cold and pale.
Sproutarians, grammarians,
spinsters wearing cats
like pearls, leftists, rightists,
guardians of Jesus,
feminists, futurists,
elitist poets, purists,
patriots and pundits
and all activists,
spin, spin, spin,
and spin again.
Unfold your spindly limbs,
wave your bony fists,
flash your sharp teeth
and silver tongues--
let's talk about love.

~~~


[Today's piece was inspired by the words echolalia and controversial, Dave Bonta's rock-flipping day and letter poems, and the number three.]

3 comments:

Andy Sewina said...

What a great post, I loved reading all of this the Limerick's and the intense poem and the last line 'Let's talk about love' and the Lewis Carrol quote... need I say more?
Andy

Anonymous said...

I liked all the quotes and the poems you built around those..

writerwoman said...

Spin yourselves pencil-thin
like icicles, cold and pale.


That's my favorite line.

I found your poem through Writer's Island.