Xiphias: Shot to His Aim

Mar16

Sweet is the dew that falls betimes,
And drops upon the leafy limes;
Sweet, Hermon’s fragrant air:
Sweet is the lily’s silver bell,
And sweet the wakeful tapers’ smell
That watch for early prayer.

Sweet the young nurse, with love intense,
Which smiles o’er sleeping innocence;
Sweet when the lost arrive:
Sweet the musician’s ardour beats,
While his vague mind’s in quest of sweets
The choicest flowers to hive.

Sweeter, in all the strains of love,
The language of thy turtle-dove,
Paired to thy swelling chord;
Sweeter, with every grace endued,
The glory of thy gratitude.
Respired unto the Lord.

Strong is the horse upon his speed;
Strong in pursuit the rapid glede,
Which makes at once his game:
Strong the tall ostrich on the ground;
Strong through the turbulent profound
Shoots Xiphias to his aim.

Strong is the lion—like a coal
His eyeball—like a bastion’s mole
His chest against the foes:
Strong the gier-eagle on his sail,
Strong against tide the enormous whale
Emerges as he goes.

extract: A Song To David
by Christopher Smart (c. 1760)

Smart’s “Song to David”

Mar3

As winter slowly withdraws her uncomfortable presence from New England, amidst piles of filthy snow, with gusting raw winds, and the inhabitants of the mud-spattered landscape long for longer days and budding branches warmed by forgotten sunshine, I escape once again to hide myself in the verdant vales of poesy.

One of my all-time favorite poems is A Song to David by Christopher Smart, written in 1763. I stumbled upon this epic rhythmic screed in an anthology sometime in the 1990’s. The poetic form is that of the Horatian Ode, exactly like Marvell’s …Ode Upon Cromwell’s Return. Immediately upon reading it, I perceived the unhinged and mind-expanding use of poetic language; and all this in the service of David, the sainted psalmist and poet of Israel . . . it is, however, not a poem of dissipation or Dionysiac excess but rather a powerfully-measured tribute to God and Man in a Biblical poetic context. It is a beautiful and transcendent poem and I love it with heart and soul.

In the coming weeks between winter’s end and National Poetry Writing Month, I will offer up Smart’s epic verses in assimilable portions. Stay tuned.

And when in doubt, read the Psalms.

Christopher Smart was a true Poet !

Revelation thru Agitation

Jun12

HO HO, HEY HEY —
Donald Trump has GOT to STAY !

WHY ?
Because he is the only true poet and humble philosopher-king we have.

Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God:
defend me from them that rise up against me.
Deliver me from the workers of iniquity,
and save me from bloody men.
For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul:
the mighty are gathered against me;
not for my transgression, nor for my sin, O Lord.
They run and prepare themselves without my fault:
awake to help me, and behold.
Thou therefore, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel,
awake to visit all the heathen:
be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah.
They return at evening:
they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.
Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips:
for who, say they, doth hear?
But thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them;
thou shalt have all the heathen in derision.
Because of his strength will I wait upon thee:
for God is my defence.
The God of my mercy shall prevent me:
God shall let me see my desire upon mine enemies.
Slay them not, lest my people forget:
scatter them by thy power; and bring them down, O Lord our shield.
For the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips
let them even be taken in their pride:
and for cursing and lying which they speak.
Consume them in wrath, consume them, that they may not be:
and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the earth. Selah.
And at evening let them return;
and let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.
Let them wander up and down for meat,
and grudge if they be not satisfied.
But I will sing of thy power;
yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning:
for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.
Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing:
for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy.