A poet looked at a pope

Andmymare · [Mon Apr 25, 2005 12:21 am]

Ah, excellent conversation!!
who delivereth hope,
better than a poet,
Damn, (sorry, pope)
and as logicus would point out,
Pope were a poet,
this is fine and I know it

grand idea,
eloquent sitting down in the univeral pub of ideas.
you go! Cool

Dan dee Lion · [Mon Apr 25, 2005 12:59 am]

...must agree with all of the above...lovely plain-speaking very intelligent poetry...well done...

Very Happy

Dan

carrieann · [Mon Apr 25, 2005 1:05 am]

Too intelligent for me to review. Couldn't find the right words to describe how I felt about the piece. I said earlier the standard round here's going up by the day - and this just proves my point.

pinktwirl · [Mon Apr 25, 2005 3:25 am]

Two very different people. Each bringing very different things.
I firmly believe that every person has something valuable to offer, and between them, these two punks have it covered!!!! Here you show us two contrasting viewpoints, working together for the common good.

Conversation sang like a melody. Very musical, each phrase answering the next.

Intelligent, thoughtful dialogue.
Poignant too.

Pinktwirl

Indie · [Mon Apr 25, 2005 8:42 am]

nony,

you have some good reviews and i agree with all of them...its a lovely idea (and quite contemperory, as well, given the circumstances) to link art and religion...

only this stanza doesn't gel with the rest:

What can you do for me? wondered the poet.
What can you do for mankind? queried the pope.

in the rest: it is an equal relationship between poet and pope, with each facet of their contributions emerging on par..this is the only one where the poet seems to ask the pope for something, and the latter parries with a superior response. so the thread of equality is broken.
_________________
Indie

Mmagic · [Mon Apr 25, 2005 2:26 pm]

An interesting comparison of the poet & the pope. Despite being only one letter apart in name, your poem demonstrated that they are the flip sides of the same coin.

The final lines summed this up best, 'I feel the suffering of men, said the pope. / I believe, said the poet, that we can give them hope.'

Overall, a freeforming feel to the rhythm made it an interesting read. As did the slightly shifting positions of the protagonsists. I thought this might irritate me, but it was perhaps indicative of the indecision present in any man.

(Ohh, get me!)

To start from, 'What can you do for me? wondered the poet. / What can you do for mankind? queried the pope' and end up with the two concluding in the final lines as they did represented a shift in attitude from selfish to unselfish (the poet) and benevolence to malelovance (the pope).

I was on the poet's side.

An interesting read, Anony, thanks.

Andrew

SparroWyrm · [Mon Apr 25, 2005 2:41 pm]

I found this truly beautiful anony. Wonderful way of showing the intrinsic differences yet true similarities between the two. One and the same. Poignant, simply put and potent. Humbly striking.
I can't really express what I mean but it's great. Affecting.
_________________
"Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair but manifestations of strength and resolution." - Kahil Gibran

coastmoor · [Tue Apr 26, 2005 8:20 am] **tinker tailor soldier.....**

Too eloquent by half

said the poet to the pope, said the gypsy to the thief

Oh to embrace immortality, nah, for me, just to escape on that higher plane, once more to the seashore, thats the stuff that words are made of.

A very controlled thought out piece of work, my two little stabbings at the poets passing have been well surpassed.

Thanks for this clever little ode (Yes I know it also is with some big, deep, shadowy footprints)

Thanks

Coast
_________________
>
When everything is electronic and eternally renewable, the gap between the rough draft and the fair copy is eroded; and perhaps it is within the gap that thoughts, as well as letters, are finally joined up

Biwater; Lost Worlds

maipenrai · [Tue Apr 26, 2005 10:40 pm] **a poet looked at a pope**

an excellent, excellent piece of work
_________________
I know that you have suffered lad
but suffer this a while
whatever makes a soldier cry
will make a killer smile

L. Cohen

Anonymouse · [Wed Apr 27, 2005 7:19 pm]

Thanks, everyone, for the positive feedback on this poem. I am glad that the message came over ok, i.e. the complementary influences of religion and art. The jury seems to be out on which does the most for us ultimately!!

Anony Smile

_________________
"We are such stuff as dreams are made on
And our little life is rounded with a sleep!"
WS

Logicus tracticus · [Wed Apr 27, 2005 8:11 pm]

Indeed i would point out Alexandra Pope was a poet ,and a catholic ,living in precarious times when no catholic was allowed to live within ten miles of london ,bring back the good old days.

now not a lot i can say about this work other than its not a political allegory like , the"a key to the lock" popes most well known work,
this is also more lighter reading and more enjoyable ,all though a pope that shows

little miss serendipity [<18] · [Wed Apr 27, 2005 8:20 pm] -

this poem made me think differently about the current situation.

intelligent, quick-firing, dialoge.

i really enjoyed this poem.
_________________
~little miss serendipity~

Anonymouse · [Wed Apr 27, 2005 11:14 pm]

Thanks, Logicus and lms for your comments. Yes, Alexander Pope did cross my mind while I was writing this. But sorry I can't join you in hankering for those "good old days" - however would I have managed to commute?!

Anony
_________________
"We are such stuff as dreams are made on
And our little life is rounded with a sleep!"
WS

CarrieOut · [Thu Apr 28, 2005 5:22 pm]

Very interesting and well-written piece of work. The boundaries between literature and spirtuality overlap in so many ways...was just discussing with an English guru last week the close link between poetry and prayer.

Poet/Pope comparison developed nicely here, and loved the way the two vocations seemed to overlap and cross each other at the end.
_________________
'But in my arms til break of day
Let the living creature lie
Mortal, guilty, but to me
The entirely beautiful'

W.H. Auden; 'Lullaby'

Anonymouse · [Thu Apr 28, 2005 11:23 pm]

Thanks for your comments, CarryOut. I did intend to show the overlap where "sacred" and "profane" are both clothed in altruism.
By the way, Monkey magic, where did you pick up the "malevolence" from the pope? Do tell. It may come over as pompous or sanctimonious perhaps, but malevolent?

Anony Confused

_________________
"We are such stuff as dreams are made on
And our little life is rounded with a sleep!"
WS

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A poet looked at a pope

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