leonardcohenforum.com

(To the Lady in White)
Helen of Chess.

Across the chequered board I stare;
move a pawn, a bishop too
then catch a glimpse of you

across the Trojan seas. I sail
to Homer’s lands, classical lips;
the face that launched a thousand ships?

Across millenniums I float.
Lose a rook; a kingdom too!
Could this be de-javu?

Across the crowded room you stare.
I watch the board in solemn hush.
Did you see me blush?

On Morphean seas once more I roam
Helenic lands, romantic tales
weigh my anchor; loose the sails

upon the chequered board: I stare.
Replace the pawns; the kingdom too!
As only poets do.


matj

As one who's played and lost a thousand times, it seemed, as losing always does , I like this romantic view of the chessboard, and how my victor may have seen me, as his captor . I almost won once ~ not enough to save the marriage .

This was fun, Mat.


~ Lizzy

I UNDERSTAND;the poem being a chess player '
when you focus on the game a t hand'and youcan move 10

small steps r head of your opponent in your mind predicting
what his responce will be'it really a beautiful game.total silense'
and we know who the winner be'the white lilly.set her free......................

This was fun, Mat.

LT

It was surreal
and fun
at the same time.

matj: This poem is utterly gorgeous. One of the finest I've read, IMO. I think Beckett, the Oresteia, O'Neill, The Lord's Prayer, St. Paul's "shipwreck," the glorious works. I'm thumbing through the index of my vividly gem-crammed thoughts wondering so many things. Ah, never mind; another time . . . Check, Mate!

BoHo
--
"You speak your fair pleasure, sweet queen. Fair prince, here is good broken music."
— Pandarus

Oh, damn, Robert Graves, The White Goddess. Those trees, branchings, leaves, and rugged trunks.

BoHo
--
"It should seem, Fellow, that thou hast not seen the Lady Cressida. I come to speak with Paris from the Prince Troilus: I will make a complimental assault upon him, for my business seethes."
— Pandarus

Excellent one, Mat. Nice to read over and again.

Diane

Graves concluded, in the second and expanded edition, that the monotheistic god of Judaism and its successors were the cause of the White Goddess's downfall, and thus the source of much of the modern world's woe. He also suggested that women cannot function as poets and lack the capacity for true poetic creation, because woman's role in poetry remains exclusively to serve as a muse for a male poet who worships her as a goddess. He did, however, acknowledge Sappho as a possible exception.

Wikopoedia

BoHo, I don't know if I am brave enough to suggest this!

However, there is no doubting the power of the "Muse" .
I am usually "mystified", but also, sometimes "muse-ified", though I accept Plato's judgement in the Phaedrus that this type of love (muse inspired) is madness, though "madness divine".

Ah, it all sounds so Leonard Cohen-ish!



And Diane, if you bother to re-read my poems, I am doubl'y complimented.

Are you Leonard Ladies all "White Goddesses"?
Or would you like to be?

Matj.

With regard to your surreal comment, Mat, it also reminded me of those old films we used to see at the drive-ins... the Japanese-made ones of Greek mythology... where Zeus and Athena and the other Greek gods would watch and influence, from high above, and the camera would zoom down into the reality of people trying to navigate the waters, get around the Sirens, et al. The footage and the sound generally tended to be a bit mis-timed. The colours were always distinctly 'this' type of film. I always loved them. As I recall, their controlling of the earthly situations was akin to chess, as well.

My favourite colour for clothing is White. Does that count ?


~ Lizzy

mat james wrote:I don't know if I am brave enough to suggest this!

However, there is no doubting the power of the "Muse" .
I am usually "mystified", but also, sometimes "muse-ified", though I accept Plato's judgement in the Phaedrus that this type of love (muse inspired) is madness, though "madness divine".

Ah, it all sounds so Leonard Cohen-ish!

You're funny, in a L! kind of way, not a weird way, is what I mean. Plato and yours truly have never seen aye to aye, sorry, wrong numbness. I'm simply too much the Peripatetic; but, your distinction's an interesting and appropriate one. I think it's the twisted evil that makes me laugh; if your writing's any indication (since I cannot see your avatar), you're accomplishing near-angelic sets of exactitude, ISTM. This one's intricately honed in a way I've not noticed before. But, speaking of twisted evil, I must ask you: Did you acquire those haiku through the haiku generator? If not, no insult intended; but, how come you're not spilling the beans on them, now, then?

Are you Leonard Ladies all "White Goddesses"?
Or would you like to be?

<*sniggle*>

Leucothea? Hell, no!

As much as I love both Frazer's Golden Bough and the biblio-mythos varia man's work, the latter's impervious and a cur, a cad, a right royal creep:

[Robert]Graves concluded, in the second and expanded edition, that the monotheistic god of Judaism and its successors were the cause of the White Goddess's downfall, and thus the source of much of the modern world's woe. He also suggested that women cannot function as poets and lack the capacity for true poetic creation, because woman's role in poetry remains exclusively to serve as a muse for a male poet who worships her as a goddess. He did, however, acknowledge Sappho as a possible exception.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_White_Goddess

It's attitudes like that what makes you look damned good. Write on, Bro! I always wanted to say that. Is all is why, a few years too late.

BroBoHo
--
--
TOM SAKIC & JUDITH FITZGERALD @ LTAC:
http://www.attlc-ltac.org/Langs.htm
THE ITEM THAT HE SENT HER:
http://www.judithfitzgerald.ca/leonardcohen.html
ADAGIOS III — ELECTRA'S BENISON, BOUND!
http://www.oberonpress.ca/titles.pl?v=new
JUDITH FITZGERALD'S EVER-EVOLVING WRITESITE:
http://www.judithfitzgerald.ca/
LEONARD COHEN'S OPEN BOOK OF LONGING:
http://tinyurl.com/yno7z7
POET PARLIAMENTAEIRIAL JUDITH FITZGERALD:
http://tinyurl.com/38ssjq
THE AMERICAN BOOK REVIEW:
http://tinyurl.com/2h6op6
SUNITI NAMJOSHI'S BRIGHTSITE:
http://tinyurl.com/37jjvy

Did you acquire those haiku through the haiku generator? If not, no insult intended; but, how come you're not spilling the beans on them, now, then?

BoHo

Yes. The generator!
The one at the still point of the turning world.

the Generator!
what a great name for the authentic creative unity
tao
God
thou art That
the big G
...Generator!

Yes, you are right on track BoHo. The generator is responsible for those dancing butterfly journeys; haiku.
...and as for "spilling the beans"????
I'm looking for my can opener. Can you see it?

Matj

mat james wrote:I'm looking for my can opener. Can you see it?

a can/adian river's disguise

what glitters gloriously
among spring's garbage
and blossoms of the floor 'em

— The ReGenerative T & Orange Goddess

BoHo
p.s. Mat, your replies in the Haiku thread were utterly delicious, then; and, I love the way "dancing butterfly journeys" just rolls off the mind of one's "eye"; but, my-oh-mayan, you're such a sly one, I see you've gone and changed your game again
p.p.s. Jarkko, the review's done to first-final draft form; all I can say right now is Teddy Thompson took my breath away; and, for that reason alone, makes the price of the DVD singularly worth it; Hank Sr. never shone so brightly / blindingly in his cover of "Tonight Will Be Fine"; I swear, I almost heard him coughing in the Tower of Song
Confidential to Jack: Something unavoidably urgent's come up so I shall have to stick to a single hi-cy fly-by communique from the Beautiful Downtown Middle of Elsewhere for now and the next few, too (meaning, to all expecting e-plys, pls forgive my silence till I've straightened things out); but, I am not going to the Toronto event; however, you are more than welcome to join us for the PoLo get-to-get in August, the Inaugural B'Losers BBQ since there's room enough for you, you, and yet another U, 2; it's not an official event and not worthy of being called an official "gathering" but, I might add, not even God can change the past and I think you nailed it when you said boulders can become sand and that's where I'd like each of us to stand on the peaceful strand, speaking only for myself, of course. (I also think Simon explains what I was trying, in my own sorely lacking abilities, to communicate concerning "goyim" and "nation"; there is so much I'd like to say about Doron's introduction to the next prayer, I hope others — Joe, Tom, Manna? — have added their deux by the time these inconvenient obstructions are cleared away. L8R, 'Gators.)
--
TOM SAKIC & JUDITH FITZGERALD @ LTAC:
http://www.attlc-ltac.org/Langs.htm
THE ITEM THAT HE SENT HER:
http://www.judithfitzgerald.ca/leonardcohen.html
ADAGIOS III — ELECTRA'S BENISON, BOUND!
http://www.oberonpress.ca/titles.pl?v=new
JUDITH FITZGERALD'S EVER-EVOLVING WRITESITE:
http://www.judithfitzgerald.ca/
LEONARD COHEN'S OPEN BOOK OF LONGING:
http://tinyurl.com/yno7z7
POET PARLIAMENTAEIRIAL JUDITH FITZGERALD:
http://tinyurl.com/38ssjq
THE AMERICAN BOOK REVIEW:
http://tinyurl.com/2h6op6
SUNITI NAMJOSHI'S BRIGHTSITE:
http://tinyurl.com/37jjvy

Hi Mystic Mat,

Are you Leonard Ladies all "White Goddesses"?
Or would you like to be?

No. I want to be Juli Furtardo, World Champion mountain biker of the 1990's, a woman who took the trails with the most skill, verve and style I have ever seen.

Hey, man, sometimes you have to put down your pen and just beeeeeeeeeee poetry.

Diane, who had a good bike ride today .

(Sorry 'bout that. Do continue with your serious discussion.)

a can/adian river's disguise

what glitters gloriously
among spring's garbage
and blossoms of the floor 'em

— The ReGenerative T & Orange Goddess Twisted Evil

BoHo

...and have you heard the Rivers' answer?
(S)he'll always be your lover...

Was that Leonard's Suzanne or Hesse's Siddhartha?

I have made a couple of very minor changes to the poem but I am still not entirely happy with the title.
Titles are a strange thing. I get the feeling that they lead people into the poem in no small way.
Any Ideas?

Your Classical Lips

Across the checkered board I stare;
move a pawn, a bishop too
then catch a glimpse of you

across the Trojan seas. I sail
to Homer’s lands, classical lips;
the face that launched a thousand ships?

Across millenniums I float.
Lose a rook; a kingdom too!
Could this be de-javu?

Across the crowded room you stare.
I watch the board in solemn hush.
Did you see me blush?

On Morphean seas once more I roam
Hellenic lands, romantic tales
weigh my anchor; loose the sails

upon the checkered board: I stare.
Replace the pawns; the kingdom too
…as only poets do.



Poem by Mat j