Sunday 28 September 2014

Magpie 239



"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom friend of the maturing sun." 
Yet Keats ne'er knew the joys of cars and bootfulness;
Just horse and cart, to take him for a run.
When winter came, no cosy down-filled quilts,
No television, Kindle, mobile phone.
No holidays in trembling huts on stilts,
No social networks, when he felt alone.
Only the mists and fruitfulness remain,
And very soon - who knows? - they may be gone.
For global warming means nothing's the same;
Yet still, we humans seem to struggle on.
And yet I know that at this moment, I
Could do with Keats, to help with this Magpie...

(With thanks to Tess at Magpie Tales for the picture.)

25 comments:

  1. Keats,alas is dead and gone,
    I'm sorry to say you're all alone.
    And I'm embarrassed.

    I always enjoy these Magpies.

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  2. I don't think you need Keats; you handled it beautifully all by yourself. :-)

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    1. You're very kind, Berowne. But everyone needs Keats (one of my favourite poets)!

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  3. Very nice. We do seem to struggle on throughout changes good or bad.

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  4. An almost perfect sonnet thou hast wrought,
    Save one line of hexameter, not pent.
    The line ‘tis but the third one, so thou ought
    Not fret thyself about John Keats, a gent
    Who spoke to us of beauty and of truth,
    Of Grecian urns and, yes, St. Agnes Eve.
    For he is dead and you’re alive, forsooth,
    And who’s to say whose words we should believe?
    If Samuel Coleridge should leave Xanadu
    And gaze upon this humble British home,
    He might bid Kubla Khan fond toodle-oo
    And choose instead this modern pleasure dome.
    Just know, lest one disparage or despise,
    That beauty rests in the beholder’s eyes.

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  5. Excellent! But I think we're quits, as your ninth line has thirteen syllables!

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    1. Not if you pronounce his name the way Americans do: Sam-yul Cohl-ridge

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    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. Hexameter, pentameter. Pedantic. I don't care. I love it.

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    1. I love it too. Who said I didn't love it? I also paid attention in English class.

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  7. Autumn is such a perfect time for reminiscing and the classics as well as anticipation--your poem caught the contrasting moods very well.

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  8. Keats is also one of my favourite poets. Mind you I do tend to admire anyone who can think up poetry.

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  9. Clever. Now I'm off to find my poetry book of Keats :)

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  10. Tennyson, Keats, they are good, but yours is as it should be- originally you!

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  11. Well done, as always. Love the sonnet, as is.

    =)

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  12. I enjoyed reading your work..enjoyed hearing your voice.

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