Wednesday 2 April 2014

The Lamp Said

A TS Eliot cento

Let us go then, you and I
The lamp said,
To report the behaviour of the sea monster,
Miss Nancy Ellicott,
Queen of Heaven.

And I think, again, of this place
Of cracked cornets
Of faint stale smells of beer
Of sunless dry geraniums
And bats with baby faces in the violet light
And even the Abstract Entities
And other heroes of that kidney.

I smile, of course,
And I say, Cousin Harriet, here is the Boston Evening Transcript
Stirring the water in his bath
With the sword in one hand and the trowel in the other.

Talking of trivial things
The lamp said,
Jellicle cats and dogs all must
Chill
Like a dancing bear
With seaweed in its hair.

It is impossible to say just what I mean
With words and meanings. The poetry does not matter.
I sometimes wonder if that is what Krishna meant.

(Featuring too many TS Eliot poems to mention)

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