08-17-2012, 10:52 PM
Thanks, Tom. I'll try and answer your points verse by verse but running through the poem is the political context. It was written, or started, on the day Gordon Brown announced he was "going to the country".
So my political senses were heightened and the field and tractors seemed symptomatic of something in the country, the UK that is - that we produce so very little of our own stuff, so many essentials have been abandoned. In retrospect "stopped" would be better than "paused".
The cadence of branches is straightforward, their rise and fall in the wind.I never did get round to changing "flatters" to "flatter". I'm suspicious of the romantic impulse, myself, "lends the appearance" and "flatter" are marks of my cynicism.
3rd verse is difficult, yes, even for me! The fair-weather features are those of political candidates. Is it still the practice for electoral candidate's mugshots to be pinned in public spaces? I think so. They deface and are defaced in turn. They will tell you black is white in order to gain and stay in power.That's one Commons plight. The other is simple overpopulation and overuse of land.
Democracy is the greatest good of the greatest number - or summat like that.Forests are felled etc.
All that said, I think there's some truth in your remark about bending things into a barrel!
The discipline that rhyme brings is not the only poetic discipline, though. I wouldn't be the first to point out that "free verse" is not free and I pay a lot of attention to rhythm.
So my political senses were heightened and the field and tractors seemed symptomatic of something in the country, the UK that is - that we produce so very little of our own stuff, so many essentials have been abandoned. In retrospect "stopped" would be better than "paused".
The cadence of branches is straightforward, their rise and fall in the wind.I never did get round to changing "flatters" to "flatter". I'm suspicious of the romantic impulse, myself, "lends the appearance" and "flatter" are marks of my cynicism.
3rd verse is difficult, yes, even for me! The fair-weather features are those of political candidates. Is it still the practice for electoral candidate's mugshots to be pinned in public spaces? I think so. They deface and are defaced in turn. They will tell you black is white in order to gain and stay in power.That's one Commons plight. The other is simple overpopulation and overuse of land.
Democracy is the greatest good of the greatest number - or summat like that.Forests are felled etc.
All that said, I think there's some truth in your remark about bending things into a barrel!
The discipline that rhyme brings is not the only poetic discipline, though. I wouldn't be the first to point out that "free verse" is not free and I pay a lot of attention to rhythm.
Before criticising a person, try walking a mile in their shoes. Then when you do criticise them, you're a mile away.....and you have their shoes.