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Poetry Spam!
Go on, indulge me!
Recently I've been sent a lot of things for consideration and in amongst the mountains of paper I came across a wonderful poem by Anne Simpson which made me think 'Methos' so much I thought I'd share it with you:
A Name, Many Names
by Anne Simpson
I knew you
long before I saw you,
one thing inside another
making itself up. Lightly,
snow fell, kept falling
the night you were born -
like those prayers tied
to branches by the Japanese -
scissored bits of paper,
each one a word:
a name, many names, loose
in the dark.
Later you'll need a name
that's door and window, roof
and bed. You'll need a name to foil
the thief that comes
to live in your heart. But now
you need a name so diaphanous
and small
it takes its shape from air.
This in turn led me to thinking of the other poem, a particular favourite of mine, which also make me thinks Methos. Here it is:
Egyptian Death Song
From the "Dispute of A Man with His Ba," a text from a papyrus manuscript [Berlin 3024] of the 12th Dynasty, ca. 1800 B.C.E.; translation after a German crib by Erik Hornung
Death stands before me today
like the hope of health for a sick man,
like stepping out into the open air after
a time of suffering.
Death stands before me today
like the aroma of incense,
like sitting under the sail on
the Day of the Great Wind.
Death stands before me today
like the odor of lotos-blossoms,
like the first moments on the
edge of sweet drunkenness.
Death stands before me today
like the end of a long rain,
like the homecoming of a soldier
a long time at war.
Death stands before me today
like the clarity of heaven,
like the answer long-desired
to a heavy riddle.
And Death stands before me today
like the way a man feels about home
after he has spent many years
in bondage.
..yeah, Gaiman used a variant of it for Sandman!
Enjoy!
Recently I've been sent a lot of things for consideration and in amongst the mountains of paper I came across a wonderful poem by Anne Simpson which made me think 'Methos' so much I thought I'd share it with you:
A Name, Many Names
by Anne Simpson
I knew you
long before I saw you,
one thing inside another
making itself up. Lightly,
snow fell, kept falling
the night you were born -
like those prayers tied
to branches by the Japanese -
scissored bits of paper,
each one a word:
a name, many names, loose
in the dark.
Later you'll need a name
that's door and window, roof
and bed. You'll need a name to foil
the thief that comes
to live in your heart. But now
you need a name so diaphanous
and small
it takes its shape from air.
This in turn led me to thinking of the other poem, a particular favourite of mine, which also make me thinks Methos. Here it is:
Egyptian Death Song
From the "Dispute of A Man with His Ba," a text from a papyrus manuscript [Berlin 3024] of the 12th Dynasty, ca. 1800 B.C.E.; translation after a German crib by Erik Hornung
Death stands before me today
like the hope of health for a sick man,
like stepping out into the open air after
a time of suffering.
Death stands before me today
like the aroma of incense,
like sitting under the sail on
the Day of the Great Wind.
Death stands before me today
like the odor of lotos-blossoms,
like the first moments on the
edge of sweet drunkenness.
Death stands before me today
like the end of a long rain,
like the homecoming of a soldier
a long time at war.
Death stands before me today
like the clarity of heaven,
like the answer long-desired
to a heavy riddle.
And Death stands before me today
like the way a man feels about home
after he has spent many years
in bondage.
..yeah, Gaiman used a variant of it for Sandman!
Enjoy!
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*scampers off to add to memories for future use*
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