Get Your Weekend On, Damn Your Eyes!
Ladies and brutes, the delectable Mz Von Teese...Here - have a poem. Not just any poem, mind - (I wouldn't do that to you, as I generally regard poetry as the refuge of those who can't handle their prose. I await the fatwa taken out on me by poetry lovers everywhere. Such is life.) - this is by Verlaine, the infamous barfly, absinthe connoisseur and geezer of La Belle Epoque. It makes me think of Dita Von Teese. Whom we love.
The Young Fools (Les Ingénus)
by Paul Verlaine
(Translated by Louis Simpson)
High-heels were struggling with a full-length dress
So that, between the wind and the terrain,
At times a shining stocking would be seen,
And gone too soon. We liked that foolishness.
Also, at times a jealous insect's dart
Bothered out beauties. Suddenly a white
Nape flashed beneath the branches, and this sight
Was a delicate feast for a young fool's heart.
Evening fell, equivocal, dissembling,
The women who hung dreaming on our arms
Spoke in low voices, words that had such charms
That ever since our stunned soul has been trembling.
And while you're at it, have a tune. Go on, then, you know you wanna.
The Cardigans - Erase & Rewind (2008 Remix by Kleerup).mp3
Odd you're not keen on poetry - always thought you were for some reason?
How can anyone deny the stark beauty of lines like these:
'I cannot say what loves have come and gone,
I only know that summer sang in me,
A little while, that in me sings no more.'
Or even the salaciousness of John Fuller's 'Valentine'? Hmmm?
Depends what you're after I guess, prose is infinitely more varied, but poetry can cut to the gordian knot of an emotion in a few brief words. Can't have one without the other, even if a lot of poetry is little more than impenetrable self-indulgent arse dribble.
PS - in your blog, it should be 'whom', not 'who'. I apologise for being a pedant. I'm not proud of this quality.
Duly noted and corrected. Thanks.
I've the same problem. We should probably join PA.
It's not that I dislike poetry in general. It's the drivel that keeps the best at bay, though. Once drivelled, twice running, or thereabouts.
Thanks for reading!