Sunday, May 17, 2020

Night-time

Night swallowed the sky
and lit a million white eyes: 
forced silence- as ice.

Meanwhile, memorize

The argument about poetry
comes back often,
is it academic
or a feeling?

The classicists insist:
one must deconstruct,
study Latin and Greek, and etymology,
or at least Middle English.
Shakespeare, they say,
writes in a language that is laudable;
learners owe to their intellect,
and the Upstart Crow,
their most enlightened readings.

And then there are the modernists--
my term.
They love students, especially minorities,
long for them to enjoy all things literary
without stumbles.
They swear there’s nothing “to get”;
you see Ithaca in a text?
Skip or pause, as you feel,
no need to have journeyed with Ulysses.

Some folks,
I among them,
claim no side or proficiency,
and wait instead for the denouement.

But should a line or few float into our memory
like a leaf or a scent carried by a tender breeze,
we take notice
and welcome the ancient practice: 
arguments there will be,
but meanwhile, memorize.