"Souls" by Dannie Abse

Moderators: thief of dreams, nekot

Post Reply
User avatar
nekot
Poetry Piper
Posts: 1568
Joined: Tue Jan 09, 2007 10:11 pm
Location: North Carolina, USA
Contact:

"Souls" by Dannie Abse

Post by nekot » Tue Nov 13, 2007 9:43 pm

anthology
1640, from L. anthologia, from Gk. anthologia "flower-gathering," from anthos "a flower" (see anther) + logia "collection, collecting," from legein "gather" (see lecture). Modern sense (which emerged in Late Gk.) is metaphoric, "flowers" of verse, small poems by various writers gathered together.

An anthology is a collection of writings, usually revolving around a theme, by different authors or the same author. I found the etymology of anthology quite beautiful. Hmmm....thinking about it, Poetry Pages is like a garden. :grin:

During my tenure as poet laureate, I'd like to feature poems by people from different cultures, faiths, beliefs. How far I'll get is yet to be seen. :wink: I'll do my best to dig out the context in which the poems were written.

Scroll down to read "Souls" by Dannie Abse. Enjoy!!

:hello:

Cheers,
~carol

Back to index:
Gathering of Flowers Index
~eloquently scattered~
nekot's tokens

Image

User avatar
nekot
Poetry Piper
Posts: 1568
Joined: Tue Jan 09, 2007 10:11 pm
Location: North Carolina, USA
Contact:

Re: "Souls" by Dannie Abse

Post by nekot » Tue Nov 13, 2007 10:11 pm

"....born to Jewish parents in Cardiff, Wales, on September 22, 1923.....Abse's Jewish heritage, his Roman Catholic education, and his practice as a physician have helped to shape his individual sensibility....Abse's concern for social issues has continued throughout his life."
Read more here: Dannie Abse

In a 2002 interview Dannie Abse stated: I like to think I’m a poet and Medicine my serious hobby.


by Dannie Abse

Souls

"After the last breath, eyelids must be closed
quickly. For eyes are windows of the soul
--that shy thing which is immortal. And none
should see its exit vulnerably exposed,"

proclaimed the bearded man on Yom Kippur.
Grownups believed in the soul. Otherwise
why did grandfather murmur the morning prayer,
"Lord, the soul Thou hast given me is pure"?

Near the kitchen door where they notched my height
a mirror hung. There I saw the big eyes
of a boy. I could not picture the soul
immaterial and immortal. A cone of light?

Those two black zeros the soul's windows? Daft!
Later, at medical school, I learnt of
the pineal gland, its size a cherrystone,
vestige of the third eye, and laughed.

But seven colors hide in light's disguise
and the blue sky's black. No wonder Egyptians
once believed, in their metamorphosis,
souls soared, became visible: butterflies.

Now old, I'm credulous. Superstition clings.
After the melting eyes and devastation
of Hiroshima, they say butterflies, crazed,
flew about, fluttering soundless things.
~eloquently scattered~
nekot's tokens

Image

Post Reply

Return to “Poet Laureate October 2007 - March 2008: Nekot”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest