POEMS - With Tongue In Cheek

[keithgood838]

Courtesy of my wife's love for nature our garden is an abundant
bird-life habitat, consequently we are regularly visited by a wide
variety of feathered friends. Of course I have always appreciated
the aesthetics of an appealing bird.
William Cowper was a pious poet who wrote many hymns but, sadly,
he was prone to depression. However writing the following lines must
surely have lifted his spirits:

THE JACKDAW

There is a bird who, by his coat,
And by the hoarseness of his note,
Might be supposed a crow;
A great frequenter of the church,
Where, bishop-like, he finds a perch,
And dormitory too.

Above the steeple shines a plate
That turns and turns to indicate
From what point blows the weather,
Look up - your brains begin to swim,
'Tis in the clouds - that pleases him,
He chooses it the rather.

Fond of the speculative height,
Thither he wings his airy flight,
And thence securely sees
The bustle and the raree-show
That occupy mankind below,
Secure and at his ease.

You think, no doubt, he sits and muses
On future broken bones and bruises
If he should chance to fall.
No; not a single thought like that
Employs his philosophic pate,
Or troubles it at all.

He sees that this great roundabout -
The world, with all its motley rout,
Church, army, physic, law,
Its customs, and its bus'nesses -
Is no concern at all of his,
And says - what says he? - Caw.

Thrice happy bird! I too have seen
Much of the vanities of men;
And, sick of having seen 'em,
Would cheerfully these limbs resign
For such a pair of wings as thine,
And such a head between 'em.

William Cowper
(1731-1800)

[Lena & Harry Smith]

Room for thought there Keith, and thanks to both you and Marian for the jokes. Going down well today, coupled with the sunshine we have here in London.
We wonder how long before we see the ..UNCOUPLING

[maxine]

aawww love it ..... i love birds ..we have a budgie and we feed the ducks once a week .....i swear they wear watches and know when we are due

[ROBERT M.]

CUP CONCERNS

Robert, any praise of mine
translates as an Indian sign;
without star players in the Cup
could prompt Arsenal' proneness to slip up.

But Keith, our best strikers Long and Jelavic are both cup tied

..........anyway we have lost again today, thing's are going wrong for us now ..........we better pull our socks up rather sharpishly ....................our keeper McGregor was send off on Wednesday v. West Ham...........West Ham scored from the resultant penalty, but now the FA have rescinded that sending off decision, which is no good to us now!!!!!!

[Gray]

Keith, thank you for writing that wonderful verse!
Very kind.
You have placed an enormous smile on my face, and smiles have been few and far between of late!
What has happened to my beloved Leeds United....?
I have been crestfallen.

So, Keith, thank you for thinking of me.
I wish I could buy you a pint...maybe one day?!

[keithgood838]

I hereby dedicate the following lines to our
esteemed forum member, Graham from Leeds:

X FACTORS

Evoking orchestral strings
when the singing is a cappella;
refusing to cower identity
under a fake accent umbrella.
Not letting wanchoos and neechoos
bespatter pristine expression,
rather showing respect for the writing
by appeasing the god of diction.
(And rejecting the flattering enticements
of grace-notes' over-embellishments.)
Equalling the breath-control finesse
of a brass-section virtuoso:
all bequests in the timeless legacy
of trans-dimensional Matt Monro ...

Keith Good

[Eman]

Nice one Keith!!

[maxine]

class

[Gray]

Lovely stuff, Keith

[keithgood838]

Thanks folks, I'm glad you enjoyed my latest paean
to our eponymous hero.
No other poet elucidates as graphically as John Keats,
the experience of being in the arms of unpredictable
Morpheus. The poet created his personal sonnet form
whereby it doesn't end in a final couplet:

TO SLEEP

O soft embalmer of the still midnight,
Shutting with careful fingers and benign
Our gloom-pleased eyes, embowered from the light,
Enshaded in forgetfulness divine:
O soothest Sleep! If so it please thee, close,
In midst of this thine hymn, my willing eyes,
Or wait the 'Amen', ere thy poppy throws
Around my bed its lulling charities.
Then save me, or the passed day will shine.

Upon my pillow, breeding many woes;
Save me from curious conscience, that still hoards
Its strength for darkness, burrowing like a mole;
Turn the key deftly in the oiled wards,
And seal the hushed casket of my soul.

John Keats
(1795-1821)

[Eman]

Keith, I loved reading Keats back in High School (I read him on my own and not because of school) and then studying him in College Literature classes. I remember this one fondly!!

[keithgood838]

Eman, Ode To a Nightingale, by John Keats, topped a poll
to find the best classic poem written in English. "If" by
Rudyard Kipling was voted the most popular verse written
in English.

DOUBLE DEMISE

Today is the day that Windows XP
starts a sad countdown to closure,
while my laptop, in grave infirmity,
faces cyberspace erasure.

[maxine]

Eman, Ode To a Nightingale, by John Keats, topped a poll
to find the best classic poem written in English. "If" by
Rudyard Kipling was voted the most popular verse written
in English.

DOUBLE DEMISE

Today is the day that Windows XP
starts a sad countdown to closure,
while my laptop, in grave infirmity,
faces cyberspace erasure.

My dear late Dad loved the poem IF Keith

[Marian]

My original computer too Keith, thank goodness for my laptop that has Windows 7. Apparently for XP you should download all updates from Microsoft before they cut the ties. Also have other choices than Internet Explorer like Firefox. See you in cyberspace!

[ROBERT M.]

John Keats passed away aged 26.....sad