Open Poetry #42 |
The Boy and the Bomb |
gilead Senior Member
since 2008-03-10
Posts 1067nevada, USA |
School is out! Spring is ending— A prelude to a new beginning. The caterpillars are falling From the trees; The girls are screaming; The devilish boys are laughing! I am walking in silence Amidst the noise . . . School is out. I am thinking of Prof. W— And feeling warm About my newfound freedom To dream in mathematics, To relish the satisfaction Of solving word problems Without duress, and reading books Just for the pleasure of reading, And without the iron hand of order— Social necessity—resting heavily on my shoulder. So summer is here in the magic of its splendor. I am free to run barefoot in the clover. Fall and it disciplines are a future memory away, And I have lots of time to lie in the shadows Of clouds, and to rest amid daffodils, While contemplating the end of the world, And to sort out the enormity Of H-Bomb/megaton equivalence, and other oozing fears that begin to mar the fleeting bliss of summer . . . |
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© Copyright 2008 arthur chapman, jr - All Rights Reserved | |||
gilead Senior Member
since 2008-03-10
Posts 1067nevada, USA |
This is a reflection from life in the early 50s, when I was a half naked (the sweltering heat of summer) barefoot boy in Arkansas. Art |
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Ocean Vuong Junior Member
since 2008-03-29
Posts 37NYC |
very good write, but also........very Rimbaudish.....perhaps too much.......perhaps coincidence. Great imagery nevertheless! -ocean |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
Excellent job...all of the hope, laden with all of the onslaught of coming responsibilities... well done! |
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gilead Senior Member
since 2008-03-10
Posts 1067nevada, USA |
Wow! it's interesting you mentioned Rimbaud. My high school girlfriend said I reminded her of Rimbaud---"The Drunken Boat" comes to mind. Thanks for the comment, I will consider it carefully. Regards, Art |
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2islander2 Member Ascendant
since 2008-03-12
Posts 6825by the sea |
hello art, I can't think of Rimbaud writing in english as i can't imagine Shakespeare writing in french...They fit so well to their language and their time... Perhaps contemporary poetry is more simple and ride images that we all understand and share and so is easier to translate...That's only an idea... excellent work yann |
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gilead Senior Member
since 2008-03-10
Posts 1067nevada, USA |
Hi again, yann. I first became acquainted with Rimbaud when I was a high school senior. I was in jail on a traffic warrant, and my girlfriend brought me a novel about Rimbaud titled "Days of Fire". By the way, I only served 6 days of a thirty day sentence; the Judge gave me a break after considering that I was just a typical sophomoric senior of the wondrous Sixties! See you soon Art |
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r v wooo Senior Member
since 2007-08-07
Posts 656 |
interesting poem...from one sharing the commonality of time and space...the '50's and '60's...it took me all the way back to evergreen, detoted and the formation of boundary functions...including conrad's imagination expressed in "the secret agent" and the professor's compulsion with the development of the perfect detonator and how it all has evolved into a human device promoting terrorism...would have to conclude by saying, i found the poem, to be,nostalgic. |
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r v wooo Senior Member
since 2007-08-07
Posts 656 |
finding your poetry stimulating! |
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Robert E. Jordan Member Rara Avis
since 2008-01-25
Posts 8541Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Gilead, You read books during the summer? Good grief--come on now, fess-up. Bobby |
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gilead Senior Member
since 2008-03-10
Posts 1067nevada, USA |
That was half a century ago! But, yes, I did read in summer, though mostly by kerosene lamplight in the night. Art |
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Seoulair Senior Member
since 2008-03-27
Posts 807Seoul S.Korea |
very good. Life made us think a lot, wide and deep. love the read. |
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