Wednesday 19 June 2019

Death and Poetry


Death tries his hand at poetry.
‘I’m innovating an inter-dimensional sestina,’
he explains.
‘How’s that working out for you?’ I ask.
‘It’s not as easy as it sounds,’ he replies.
‘It doesn’t sound easy at all,’ I say.
‘Exactly,’ says Death.
‘It’s strange,’ he continues,
‘getting into the creative flow;
‘it’s never really been my forte.’
‘You don’t say,’ I say.
Death screws up the 437th page,
throws it against the wall,
and strikes a pose of poetic angst.
‘Maybe you should start with something
a little simpler,’ I suggest, ‘like a Limerick?’
Inspiration strikes Death,
and after a couple of minutes of fevered scribbling,
he strikes of pose of poetic declamation.
‘There once was a rider called Death,
Who looked, all the time, just like Death,
   “I wonder if Death
   Can die a good death?”
Said that black-hooded rider called Death.’
‘I feel so fulfilled!’ he exclaims, joyfully.
‘Is this how it feels when you win a slam?’ he asks.
‘We write the poems we need to write,
or want to read,
or possibly the other way round,’ I say,
hopefully avoiding the answer to his question
(no).
‘Now can I try my inter-dimensional sestina?’
he asks.
‘How about trying to get to grips
with blank verse first?’ I suggest.
‘I’m all ears,’ says Death,
metaphorically speaking, as we poets say.’
43 minutes and seven seconds
into my explanation,
Death throws a tantrum.
‘This is just stupid,’ he huffs.
‘That’s a very modern reaction,’ I say.
‘Perhaps you’d be more comfortable with free-verse instead?’
‘Which is….?’ he asks.
I explain free verse to Death.
‘Sounds like prose
masquerading as poetry,’ he says.
‘Every poem is poetry masquerading as poetry,’
I explain.
‘Like the one you’re writing now? No offence,’
he says.
‘None taken,’ I reply, as I tend to agree with him.
‘It’s what happens when you read
too much Kirill Medvedev, I think.’
‘I’m bored with poetry,’ says Death.
‘I’m going to write a novel instead.
Where should I start?’ he asks.
‘At the end?’ I say, having no idea
how one goes about writing a novel.
‘Oh, yes, that sounds like an excellent idea,’
says Death.
‘I can cope with endings.’

No comments:

Post a Comment