Thought Order v The Senses
Out of nothing but a need
From sense unsatisfying
Thought arose
Found its order gratifying.
The need for satisfaction
Is what brought it all about.
Something about the senses
Thought order put to rout.
The degrees of satisfaction
Existing in the senses
Enable thought to overwhelm
Sensual pretences.
poem by Douglas Scotney
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B: XVIII: Writer's Recipe
Mix:
Selfishness
And foolish tricks,
Taking the wrong turn,
Envy, bitterness
And treating others badly.
However sad it tastes,
It cannot be too sad.
If it was you wouldn't make it.
The mix makes good
Of not-so-good
And not-so-good's not boring.
By measured dose of bad
You'll stop the reader snoring.
poem by Douglas Scotney
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M: I: Hair-shirt
He'd run away from haredom,
polished his defeat,
then got an invitation
from the hares of his old seat:
'COME AWAY DEAR PHANTOM,
TO OUR AFRICAN RETREAT',
He spoke but didn't eat,
and when they didn't get,
'What I haven't's what I have,
I have done without the doing',
he laughed at their defeat.
poem by Douglas Scotney
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Consolation
We knew not on Aonian mount
The outskirts of pollution,
Needed not then, I know need now,
A negative solution.
Purge thyself of thy love, dear Lamb,
Make poetry of thy hate,
Kow tow to those above, dear Lamb,
Ain't genius rules your fate.
(Charles Lamb considered giving up writing poetry
Coleridge replied)
poem by Douglas Scotney
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B: XVII: Windsock
The old, the sad, the learned,
The saint and the romantic
All attribute to their muse
The power of gratification,
The only difference being
The type of tribute
each pays
On seeing how good she is
At her usual occupation;
The tribute of honour, laughter,
Acceptance, resignation,
Or more fantastic assignation.
poem by Douglas Scotney
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B: X: Hope Concern
Fear by hope was eased,
Requiring that easing plight
Came and went at random,
Polishing fear's might.
Fear was much too proud
And that caused hope concern:
Hope had all the brains,
Fear no hope to learn.
Hope concerned its brains with fear,
Expressed fear so well,
Surprise hope found at any turn
Kept hope out of hell.
poem by Douglas Scotney
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Une Bagatelle
I wondered lonely in my bed
What odour held domain,
Brought my wrist up to my nose....
....Parfum de Guerlain.
I asked l'expert in the store,
'What's the dominant smell? '
'Gardenia's what they use to make
Jardins de Bagatelle.'
O God of Essence, Reason too,
Dieu Substance Gluant
Feuer mein Mut
Adhere me to
Wherever you are put.
poem by Douglas Scotney
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Crane
A neighbour finds a crane noble
who neither warns nor boasts.
Ripples, hindrance to scheme,
trigger the neighbour's dream
of visiting a lake, as needed,
but living in the sky
where nobility's required:
'An albatross, you know,
would flop around down here;
should always only fly.
I disdain the ripples.
I keep my thought on high.'
poem by Douglas Scotney
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The Day He Outaged Joyce
(one three one one nine four one
minus
two two eight two)
equals
five eight and three four five
equals
(one six five two o two one
minus
five six five three)
Mathemusing so
Spent sage
The day he passed
James Joyce in age
Bambloomzling just for fun
(13 1 1941
-
2 2 82)
=
[...] Read more
poem by Douglas Scotney
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B: XIII: Double Feature Picture Show
Living tomb to the memory of the dead,
inscriptions it just could not read,
life, living off itself,
confounded by enquiry,
sent a rep. to Mars
to find the last thing that withdrew
to close the life out there.
It reintroduced that thing.
New life came around.
Old life at the helm,
life made a better fist of it
the second time around.
poem by Douglas Scotney
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