I ... entered the poem of life, whose purpose is ... simply to witness the beauties of the world, to discover the many forms that love can take. (Barabara Blackman in 'Glass After Glass')

These poems are works in progress and may be updated without notice. Nevertheless copyright applies to all writings here and all photos (which are either my own or used with permission). Thank you for your comments. I read and appreciate them all, and reply here to specific points that seem to need it — or as I have the leisure. Otherwise I reciprocate by reading and commenting on your blog posts as much as possible.

27 January 2017

No, Old Men – Things Fail to Fall Apart (and that's the trouble)

When we neglect our country,
monuments tatter.
The holy gyre is revealed
as turning by artifice.
Drowsy in our anarchy,
we fail to see, in the centre
of the incoming tide,
the waste it carries. We turn
even oceans to desert. Pitiless 
and without ceremony, how 
we debauch earth’s innocence.


In Get Listed! today, at 'imaginary garden with real toads', we are asked to use at least three words from two poems by Yeats (Sailing to Byzantium and The Second Coming) in a poem of our own. I used all the words, in the order given, and in keeping with Yeats's despairing view of the world in the poems cited. The words are: 

neglect
country
monuments
tatter
holy
gyre
artifice
drowsy

anarchy
centre (center)
tide
waste
desert
pitiless
ceremony
innocence
By -
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14 comments:

  1. Anonymous27 January 2017 at 15:58

    That's incredible..all the words and in that order too! Wow!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kim M. Russell27 January 2017 at 19:24

    Wow, Rosemary, you've used all the words in the order of the lists!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Gillena Cox27 January 2017 at 22:59

    Incredible!!! you turned it into a wordle

    much love...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rosemary Nissen-Wade28 January 2017 at 09:20

      Ha ha, I have been avoiding them, thinking it would be too difficult.And now I have gone and done it inadvertently!

      Delete
  4. Sanaa Rizvi27 January 2017 at 23:39

    My goodness this is absolutely incredibly penned Rosemary!! You rock :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kerry O'Connor28 January 2017 at 01:23

    This packs a solid punch, Rosemary. Well done.

    ReplyDelete
  6. kaykuala28 January 2017 at 03:34

    Pitiless and without ceremony, how
    we debauch earth’s innocence.

    All in the name of progress when it is the outcome of greed by politicians and corporate entities!

    Hank

    ReplyDelete
  7. paul mortimer28 January 2017 at 04:36

    Very smart! Taking all the words is a potential pitfall to poor poetry. You've handsomely avoided that and crafted an excellent and pertinent piece.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Rommy28 January 2017 at 05:44

    All too true I'm afraid. You did do a marvelous job with the words.

    ReplyDelete
  9. brudberg28 January 2017 at 08:42

    Yes, I wonder if the tide will turn before we drown.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sherry Blue Sky28 January 2017 at 08:45

    You turned those words into a powerful statement. Wonderfully done!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous28 January 2017 at 10:28

    Impressive! To convert these words into s powerful message in verse

    ReplyDelete
  12. Jim28 January 2017 at 16:00

    Very nicely written, Rosemary, really good with the words. You have nailed our problem to come. I see them on TV, old men in dark suits trying to run the country. I see too many generals on the "news" programs, one like them is too many, we have several.
    ..

    ReplyDelete
  13. Susie Clevenger31 January 2017 at 16:22

    Such fine crafting... This is a verbal slap to awaken us.

    ReplyDelete

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