Off the Shelf Archive - February #1

February is well on its way, and the Archivist bestirs herself, finally. I've picked a rather well-known poem this time, from Irish poet and dramatist William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), because for one, it's a very fine poem, and secondarily, I'm currently working with the form of which it is one of the prime examples in English. It's always humbling to see a form that is driving you to cross-eyed mania executed with perfect poise, and Yeats definitely humbles me thoroughly with this selection, Sailing to Byzantium. The poem is built from four stanzas in the ottava rima form, and deals with the subject of age and the mind, and how to remain spiritually and intellectually alive. It was written in 1928, when Yeats was about 60.

For those who've read it, I think it's worth a re-read; for those who haven't, it's  not my favorite poem by Yeats (that would be When You Are Old) or his most accessible, but it's rather one of a kind.

You can find it here, in the second Off the Shelf Archive for February.

The previous selection consists of two short poems by the 20th Century American poet,  Richard Brautigan and is rolled out here for a last look.

As always, feel free to comment on either poem here, as comments are disabled off the main page. Suggestions for the next selection are always welcome, also.

 

I.

Karma Repair Kit, Items 1-4

1.
Get enough food to eat,
and eat it.


2.
Find a place to sleep where it is quiet,
and sleep there.


3.
Reduce intellectual and emotional noise
until you arrive at the silence of yourself,
and listen to it. 

II.

Hinged to Forgetfulness Like a Door

Hinged to forgetfulness
like a door,
she slowly closed out of
sight,
and she was the woman I loved,
but too many times she slept like
a mechanical deer in my caresses,
and I ached in the metal silence
of her dreams. 

Richard Brautigan

Image: Cover art, In Watermelon Sugar, By Richard Brautigan

Off the Shelf Archive - January #3

Wrapping up January with a final Off the Shelf selection, and this time it will be two short poems by the 20th Century American poet and writer Richard Brautigan (1935-1984) Brautigan wrote during the end of the Beat era and the full onslaught of the 60's counterculture years with black humor and directness. He may be best known for his longer works like A Confederate General from Big Sur or Trout Fishing in America, but his poetry has a sad and clean feel well worth a read or reread. Friend of the blog the walking man suggested 

Karma Repair Kit, Items 1-4, and I've added  Hinged to Forgetfulness Like a Door.  

You'll find them here in Off The Shelf Archive for February, #1

As always, feel free to comment on either poem or make suggestions for next time here, as comments are disabled off the main page.

Thanks to the walking man for the  Brautigan rec, and you can find his own ever-intriguing writings here on his blog, The Walking Man

Here for a last look is the prior selection,  Pablo Neruda's excellent poem, Cat's Dream

 

Cat’s Dream

How neatly a cat sleeps,
Sleeps with its paws and its posture,
Sleeps with its wicked claws,
And with its unfeeling blood,
Sleeps with ALL the rings a series
Of burnt circles which have formed
The odd geology of its sand-colored tail.

I should like to sleep like a cat,
With all the fur of time,
With a tongue rough as flint,
With the dry sex of fire and
After speaking to no one,
Stretch myself over the world,
Over roofs and landscapes,
With a passionate desire
To hunt the rats in my dreams.

I have seen how the cat asleep
Would undulate, how the night flowed
Through it like dark water and at times,
It was going to fall or possibly
Plunge into the bare deserted snowdrifts.

Sometimes it grew so much in sleep
Like a tiger's great-grandfather,
And would leap in the darkness over
Rooftops, clouds and volcanoes.

Sleep, sleep cat of the night with
Episcopal ceremony and your stone-carved moustache.
Take care of all our dreams
Control the obscurity
Of our slumbering prowess
With your relentless HEART
And the great ruff of your tail.

Pablo Neruda

Image: Sleeping Cat, Pierre Auguste Renoir, 1862, courtesy google image search