To her breast, like a fly on a flower,
An old, mad, blind, despised, and dying king
Ousts mistier peers and thrives, murderous,
Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,
Couched in cauls of clay as in holy robes:
it's raining somewhere, programming flowers
While men pay reverence to mighty things —
in the softest and most profound circus,
No one sees your crystal crown, no one looks.
You are the delirious youth of bee:
sadness stunned you, in you everything sank!
She will be bound with garlands of her own.
When I have fears that I may cease to be,
like a drained inkwell in a swirl of hake,
The petals of the vagina unfold.
Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours
and the birds are falling into the trees
In the trembling of an infinite kiss
Through leafy solitudes and quiet nooks,
And you withdraw to the underground world
beneath the springtime of an apple tree
turning back to the chalk of the sources
But bears it out even to the edge of doom
(Light step that slices, sailing through the foam)
Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red,
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Who totters forth, wrapp'd in a gauzy veil
The rubbish of summers, the black-leaved falls:
She hears the caustic ticking of the clock —
the history of melancholia.
Author notes
Author Note:
syllabic. rhymed. abcde/abcd/bfe/bfe/abcd/abcde/gg/hh/ii
‘First Evening (premier soiree)’
Arthur Rimbaud
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/44931-Arthur-Rimbaud-First-Evening--Premi-re-Soir-e-
To her breast, like a fly on a flower.
‘Sonnet: England1819’
Percy Byyshe Shelley
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/7404-Percy-Bysshe-Shelley-Sonnet--England-in-1819
An old, mad, blind, despised, and dying king,--
‘Poems, Potatoes’
Sylvia Plath
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/13610-Sylvia-Plath-Poems--Potatoes
Ousts mistier peers and thrives, murderous,
‘Ode to Autumn’
John Keats
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/4333-John-Keats-Ode-To-Autumn
Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,
‘The Dead’
Sylvia Plath
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/24385-Sylvia-Plath-The-Dead
Couched in cauls of clay as in holy robes,
‘It’s Raining In Love’
Richard Brautigan
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/10562-Richard-Brautigan-It-s-Raining-In-Love
it's raining somewhere, programming flowers
‘England’
ThomasBaileyAldrich
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/34725-Thomas-Bailey-Aldrich-England
While men pay reverence to mighty things,
‘Fleas Interest Me So Much’
Pablo Neruda
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/8624-Pablo-Neruda-Fleas-Interest-Me-So-Much
in the softest and most profound circus;
‘The Queen’
Pablo Neruda
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/39370-Pablo-Neruda-The-Queen
No one sees your crystal crown, no one looks
‘Brown and Agile Child’
Pablo Neruda
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/8623-Pablo-Neruda-Brown-And-Agile-Child
You are the delirious youth of bee,
‘Song of Despair’
Pablo Neruda
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/9113-Pablo-Neruda-Song-Of-Despair
sadness stunned you, in you everything sank!
‘Sonnet. If By Dull Rhymes Our English Must Be Chain'd’
John Keats
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/4334-John-Keats-Sonnet--If-By-Dull-Rhymes-Our-English-Must-Be-Chain-d
She will be bound with garlands of her own.
Sonnet: When I Have Fears That I May Cease To Be
John Keats
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/804-John-Keats-Sonnet--When-I-Have-Fears-That-I-May-Cease-To-Be
When I have fears that I may cease to be
I Explain A Few Things
Pablo Neruda
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/11703-Pablo-Neruda-I-Explain-A-Few-Things
like a drained inkwell in a swirl of hake:
Discovery
Richard Brautigan
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/10546-Richard-Brautigan-Discovery
The petals of the vagina unfold
Ode To Autumn
John Keats
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/4333-John-Keats-Ode-To-Autumn
Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.
To England
Richard Brautigan
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/24350-Richard-Brautigan-To-England
and the birds are falling into the trees
Sun And Flesh (Credo In Unam)
Arthur Rimbaud
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/44933-Arthur-Rimbaud-Sun-And-Flesh--Credo-In-Unam-
In the trembling of an infinite kiss!
The Lonely God
James Stephens
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/27590-James-Stephens-The-Lonely-God
Through leafy solitudes and quiet nooks.
Sonnett XXVII: Naked You Are As Simple as one of your Hands
Pablo Neruda
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/39377-Pablo-Neruda-Sonnet-XXVII--Naked-You-Are-As-Simple-as-one-of-your-Hands
And you withdraw to the underground world,
Poor Creatures
Pablo Neruda
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/9118-Pablo-Neruda-Poor-Creatures
or the joys of amphibious living.
Ode To Sadness
Pablo Neruda
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/8389-Pablo-Neruda-Ode-To-Sadness
beneath the springtime of an apple tree.
Some Beasts
Pablo Neruda
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/8270-Pablo-Neruda-Some-Beasts
turning back to the chalk of the sources.
Sonnet 116
William Shakespeare
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/7126-William-Shakespeare-Sonnet-116---Let-me-not-to-the-marriage-of-true-minds----
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
Sonnett XLII: I Hunt For A Sign Of You
Pablo Neruda
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/39374-Pablo-Neruda-Sonnet-XLII--I-Hunt-For-A-Sign-Of-You
Light step that slices, sailing through the foam.
Ode To The West Wind
Percy Byshee Shelly
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/7651-Percy-Bysshe-Shelley-Ode-to-the-West-Wind
Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red,
Ozymandias
Percy Byshee Shelly
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/7128-Percy-Bysshe-Shelley-Ozymandias
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
And Like A Dying Lady, Lean and Pale
Percy Byshee Shelly
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/4831-Percy-Bysshe-Shelley-And-like-a-Dying-Lady--Lean-and-Pale
Who totters forth, wrapp'd in a gauzy veil,
The Burned-Out Spa
Sylvia Plath
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/40077-Sylvia-Plath-The-Burnt-Out-Spa
The rubbish of summers, the black-leaved falls.
Cinderella
Sylvia Plath
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/13244-Sylvia-Plath-Cinderella
She hears the caustic ticking of the clock.
Melancholia
Charles Bukowski
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/10715-Charles-Bukowski-Melancholia
the history of melancholia
A contest entry
- Cento Challenge by JM Kenyon.
2400 points, ended August 15, 5 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
-
I'll be honest, thre are other entries with much smoother rhythms but I found this write to be the most content consistent, by that I mean, the individual lines seemed to be much truer to the over scheme/topic for the write. The structure is wonderful and the rhyme scheme adds to the rhythm and compliments the entire poem with a classical, sophistocated air.
Very beautifully done.
s and best wishes always... ~Genie~
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