Week 4 (Plunderverse)

Holy Thursday, by William Blake

'Twas on a holy Thursday, their innocent faces clean,
The children walking two and two in red and blue and green:
Grey-headed beadles walked before, with wands as white as snow,
Till into the high dome of Paul's they like Thames waters flow.

O what a multitude they seemed, these flowers of London town!
Seated in companies they sit, with radiance all their own.
The hum of multitudes was there, but multitudes of lambs,
Thousands of little boys and girls raising their innocent hands.

Now like a mighty wind they raise to heaven the voice of song,
Or like harmonious thunderings the seats of heaven among:
Beneath them sit the aged men, wise guardians of the poor.
Then cherish pity, lest you drive an angel from your door.

Source
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Holy, their innocent faces,
Children walking, two in red and blue and green:
Beadles walked before, wands white as snow,
High dome, they like waters flow.

A multitude they seemed, flowers of London town!
Companies sit, radiance their own.
Hum of multitudes there, multitudes of lambs,
Little boys and girls, innocent hands.

A wind to heaven, the voice of song,
Thunderings seats among:
The aged men, guardians of poor.
Pity, you drive an angel from your door.

Week 3 (Poetic Inquiry)

THE EFFECT OF WATCHING TELEVISION

abyss

when I look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into me

renders my consciousness numb

my mind festers upon the images of the tube before me

my outward demeanor could be likened to some sort of vegetable

my mind traces the cornucopia of visuals laced in the programming 

what sort of effect has been influenced based on the action of the screen?



Week 2 (Lyric Analyzation)

Of war and peace the truth just twists

Its curfew gull just glides

Upon four-legged forest clouds

The cowboy angel rides

With his candle lit into the sun

Though its glow is waxed in black

All except when ’neath the trees of Eden

The lamppost stands with folded arms

Its iron claws attached

To curbs ’neath holes where babies wail

Though it shadows metal badge

All and all can only fall

With a crashing but meaningless blow

No sound ever comes from the Gates of Eden

 

The savage soldier sticks his head in sand

And then complains

Unto the shoeless hunter who’s gone deaf

But still remains

Upon the beach where hound dogs bay

At ships with tattooed sails

Heading for the Gates of Eden

 

With a time-rusted compass blade

Aladdin and his lamp

Sits with Utopian hermit monks

Sidesaddle on the Golden Calf

And on their promises of paradise

You will not hear a laugh

All except inside the Gates of Eden

 

Relationships of ownership

They whisper in the wings

To those condemned to act accordingly

And wait for succeeding kings

And I try to harmonize with songs

The lonesome sparrow sings

There are no kings inside the Gates of Eden

 

The motorcycle black madonna

Two-wheeled gypsy queen

And her silver-studded phantom cause

The gray flannel dwarf to scream

As he weeps to wicked birds of prey

Who pick up on his bread crumb sins

And there are no sins inside the Gates of Eden

 

The kingdoms of Experience

In the precious wind they rot

While paupers change possessions

Each one wishing for what the other has got

And the princess and the prince

Discuss what’s real and what is not

It doesn’t matter inside the Gates of Eden

 

The foreign sun, it squints upon

A bed that is never mine

As friends and other strangers

From their fates try to resign

Leaving men wholly, totally free

To do anything they wish to do but die

And there are no trials inside the Gates of Eden

 

At dawn my lover comes to me

And tells me of her dreams

With no attempts to shovel the glimpse

Into the ditch of what each one means

At times I think there are no words

But these to tell what’s true

And there are no truths outside the Gates of Eden

Source

 

 

The abstract poetry inspires a nightmarish vision. Each verse provides a separate description of a decaying society. Although the song's title seems to provide hope of paradise, there is no paradise in this Eden. Rather, the imagery evokes corruption and decay. Dylan's ominous delivery of the last line of each verse followed by a sour harmonica note emphasizes that this is an Eden to be avoided.

The lyrics describe others besides the narrator who are searching for truth in this false paradise. But the experiences that the characters endure are rendered meaningless at the end of each verse by the inevitable specter of the Gates of Eden.

Week 1 (Haiku and Limericks)

Haiku
In the midday heat
Mules seek shady carob trees
Man seeketh the beach

Limerick
Morrie knew he was going to die,
Every Tuesday Mitch would come on by.
Each Tuesday, they would talk,
Still, Morrie could not walk.
After each session, they'd say goodbye.
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Haiku is a good vehicle for capturing a single moment in time. This short, 17-syllable form, usually written in three lines with a 5-7-5 syllable count, focuses our attention on a single, insightful moment.

Composed of five lines, the limerick adheres to a strict rhyme scheme and bouncy rhythm, making it easy to memorize. Very few are serious, as the form isn't equipped to carry deeper thoughts or emotions.