~Ed Zern
Matthew, my resident food photographer and the recipient of my Tummy Tamer glycerite, has read over a dozen books since the end of spring semester. (He's in a graduate program, which expects at least 40 hours of study a week.) The only ones that he's grumbled about are by D.H. Lawrence. Lawrence's prose might sometimes be a slog, but his poetry is much more manageable. Colorful imagist poems by D.H. Lawrence:
photo by Trisha Shears
excerpt from Butterfly
by D.H. Lawrence
Will you go, will you go from my warm house?
Will you climb on your big soft wings, black-dotted,
as up an invisible rainbow, an arch
till the wind slides you sheer from the arch-crest
and in a strange level fluttering you go
out to sea-ward, white speck!
*************
excerpt from Grey Evening
by D.H. Lawrence
Dim lamps like yellow poppies glimmer among
The shadowy stubble of the under-dusk,
As farther off the scythe of night is swung,
And little stars come rolling from their husk.
*************
Green
by D.H. Lawrence
The dawn was apple-green,
The sky was green wine held up in the sun,
The moon was a golden petal between.
She opened her eyes, and green
They shone, clear like flowers undone,
For the first time, now for the first time seen.
*************
excerpt from Blue
by D.H. Lawrence
The earth again like a ship steams out of the dark sea over
The edge of the blue, and the sun stands up to see us glide
Slowly into another day; slowly the rover
Vessel of darkness takes the rising tide.
I, on the deck, am startled by this dawn confronting
Me who am issued amazed from the darkness, stripped
And quailing here in the sunshine, delivered from haunting
The night unsounded whereon our days are shipped.
*************
Nothing to Save
by D.H. Lawrence
There is nothing to save, now all is lost,
but a tiny core of stillness in the heart
like the eye of a violet.
*************
A Word Edgewise has the Poetry Friday round-up. Thanks, Linda!
12 comments:
All so lovely. I have to admit that D.H. Lawrence is an intimidating author to me. Thank you for making it manageable to enter into these poems. I love, "tiny core of stillness of the heart" and the line you gave me--"You have made a hammock from / Two pieces of dental floss." This one looks like fun!
The Ed Zern quote had me laughing out loud!
D.H. Lawrence is somewhat overwhelming, but I enjoyed these bits of poetry, expecially this bit here:
"the scythe of night is swung"
Dear Tab, I am loving all the colors highlighted in these excerpts! Yay for finding the joyful poetry amid the sludgy prose... and thank you sharing, you apple-green poet, you. xo
On this, the first day of summer, I am loving, "The earth again like a ship steams out of the dark sea..." I can just picture us chugging along in our orbit around the sun, passing the port of call for Summer Solstice with a wave as we sail by into shorter days.
That review of Lady Chatterly's Lover is hilarious! It almost makes me want to crack open my copy (not opened since high school days) and check out the game keeping tips. The poetry, though, is gorgeous.
Beautiful images all around, but "Nothing to Save" stops me in my tracks. Thanks for sharing, T!
D.H. Lawrence & his poetry - new to me & many appreciations for the education dear Tabatha.
My favorite line, from the link you generously provided dear Tabatha:
David Herbert Lawrence ""If there weren't so many lies in the world . . . I wouldn't write at all."
So glad you posted this lively lesson.
And, best wishes to your industrious grad. student!
We have one who just finished up her grad. school & it was tough work, but she says, worth it.
These are all so lovely, Tabatha! I can't say why, but I love this image: "dim lamps like yellow poppies glimmer" Thank you for sharing!
I'll be honest, I took a Lawrence seminar when I studied in Scotland, but read only his novels. Never his poetry. Yes, they were a slog, indeed, so looking forward to revisiting old D.H. and working through his poetry this time around.
Oh, DH is an early bird after my own heart, and a lover of color so basic that all the slog is forgiven! This:
"Me who am issued amazed from the darkness, stripped
And quailing here in the sunshine..."
Thanks as always!
Thanks for sharing these, Tabatha. I think Green is my favorite, but Nothing To Save is so poignant.
That review is so funny. I read Lady Chatterley a long time ago, but I haven't read much of Lawrence's poetry at all. I like what you shared. I'll have to look for more.
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