Grecian Urn II

Meant to contrast and be more free form relative to my original "Grecian Urn"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a faithful photographic reproduction of an original two-dimensional work of art.  The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason:  This image (or other media file) is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.   This applies to the United States, Australia, the European Union and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years.

 

Grecian Urn II

 

Oh godly art, rare flower of antiquity

Please spill thy tale of heartless fate’s ubiquity

Of battles, deeds of Man, of Love--

And life’s fragility!

 

Oh, never have I deeply pondered fate before

But you inspire, and my spirit longs for more

With all your knowledge of the world

My aspirations soar!

 

Yet still I must confess I know you’re aught but clay

O’er history of Man I know you hold no sway

You are observer, nothing more--

Yet teach me, I do pray!

 

For oh, so many things you have seen in your time

The things you know, your knowledge quite o’erwhelms my rhyme

But you are silent on this theme--

Why must you play the mime?

 

Oh godly art, I honor you and wish you well

How long you still shall watch Mans deeds but time will tell

But on that fateful day

When thy molded clay

And artful form is felled

My tears shall fall to ground

As I shudder from that sound

And with grief my heart shall swell

 

Oh sad cracked art, lost flower of antiquity

I studied you and hoped to find congruity

With blind and savage twists of fate--

And life’s acridity

 

Yet I see you’re mortal, too

And in death make space for new

For more time you will not sue

Less pretentious than I knew

In your selflessness my hope for future dwells!

 

Oh godly art, rare flower of antiquity

Please spill thy tale of heartless fate’s ubiquity

Of battles, deeds of Man, of Love--

And life’s fragility!

 

 

 

©2010 Richard Puetter

All rights reserved

 

Reviews

[Helena]

Rick,

This is exquisite poetry. You are a master of writing about precious antiquities, history and the past in vivid detail. Your poems are very special.....I adore them.

This no exception my dear friend. Very touching and balm to the senses; You are a master craftsman, know your subjects perfectly and thoroughly and wield your golden pen with panache and flair!

Bravo!

Kindest regards,

Helena :)

[ShaneBerry]

very Deep and very different. i liked this continuation! not only was it another reat peice, it was giving a different view on it

[Legion]

We are nothing but jars of clay. Each a work of art within itself. I like your homage here. Kudos.

[Mark]

The allegory that I could not seem to avoid was that the urn, despite it's indeniable loveliness, is but a transient work of the hands of a Man, and that all such works, and indeed, Man himself, are "(n)aught but clay", and thus are subject to the inexorable onslaught of Time.

So, then, better to appreciate things of beauty now, or to seek things which do NOT decay? The Beloved, or Love? The Temporal, or the Eternal? Or, perhaps best of all, to see the Eternal IN the Temporal! A short step, but a critical one!

A truly insightful and thought-provoking work, my friend, as are most all your carefully-crafted works. I liked Sheila's comment that in the one poem, we saw your mind and craft, and in the other your heart. (I have not as yet seen GU-1, but will seek it forthwith...then go back to the bookshelf and read Keats' take on the subject!) Also, a definition please for "divagate"; a typo?, perhaps "divergent" was intended?

[Sheila Kline]

Dear Rick!

Your first rewrite of this "timeless" creation of poetic art by John Keats was exceptional, and delivered a powerful message, but in a totally different way than the manner/form it is presented in this reading, your Part II

I stop and ask myself, "Which am I able to understand/relate to better"?

Please allow me to elaborate!

The first version was easy to understand, and was clearly associated with the original message by John Keats, but it was "tight" and more reserved, but always with you as the author, meter and accent perfect. However it impresses me as being more restrained in the message. In summary, perfect, but with constraint.

Now to this version..........

I LOVE IT.......EVERY WORD OF IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is much like the urn that still watches, still keeps its secrets, messages unspoken while wistfully beckoning man to surmise what it has seen, what it has heard, what it may share, yet in this version, it hides its secrets as a godly art, rare flower of antiquity. The repeated usage of the term seems to get inside of my spirit, and sing of its virtues, where in "Grecian Urn"...(Part I), I hear the tick tock of a clock. And, in the first version, with the more concise form, it reads, and flows as a bit more rigid.

I love the way you have changed the line count with the fifth and seventh stanzas in this version.......with the fifth being my favorite of the write! This change was almost like the urn that had been filled with the choicest of oils, or whatever rare commodity might have been available. at the time suddenly allowed its contents to spill outward as the tears of man! It was broken, or "life ended", secrets unveiled............,

My tears shall fall to ground

As I shudder from that sound

And with grief my heart shall swell

I have already shelved this version in my favorites, so you know which one I prefer. Perhaps, I may sum it up as this..........

In the first version, I understand the mind of Rick Puetter, the scientist.
In the second version, I understand the heart and soul of Rick Puetter, the writer of beautiful poetry!!

To me, this is the MASTERPIECE!! And, oh how I long to know the secrets of The Grecian Urn!

BRAVO.........ANOTHER FABULOUS WRITE!!!

Best Regards,
Sheila

[Ruth]

This is beautfiully vivid:) A yearning feel almost to it!
A beautiful urn, the poem dwells on that but also, the fragility about life, the essence of the making, the feeling of everything that has been experienced and battled for whilst this has seen the faces of many years!
Wonderful poem love, beautiful!
xx

[emmajoy]

When we look at an ancient object - still beautiful, still intact or as near as, surely we wonder how it's survived, how it's been viewed by people now passed into another world, and wonder. So much is lost over the centuries, perhaps certain items are meant to last to remind us of history. We can look and think, 'This was made in such and such a period, when this or that happened, when battles were fought, when he or she ruled this or that land .. etc.. '

Plus the maker of this wonderful urn represents an art form that's no longer in existence, and has created immortality for himself - that in itself speaks out.

I believe that such objects absorb time, take on a natural affinity to their environment, to the sighs and gasps at their long age, change colour - perhaps fade or are embellished by the atmosphere in which they're contained:

'Oh sad cracked art, lost flower of antiquity
I studied you and hoped to find congruity
With the divagate course of fate
And life’s acridity '

As to their ability to tell us what they've seen .. maybe our thoughts do that for them, our wondering what they might have experienced had they been human:

'Oh godly art, rare flower of antiquity
Please spill thy tale of fate’s heartless ubiquity
Of battles, deeds of Man, of Love--
And life’s fragility!'

I so appreciate this variation, it compliments your first poem, is neither better or worse but, wonderfully different.

[Samuel Dickens]

I wrote one review, the content of which dealt with inanimate objects and the possibilities of whether or not they could speak and if we could hear if they did, but abandoned it. Now about an hour later, I'll just say that I think the poem is sophisticated and well-written.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

Nice form, I like the repeating stanzas, " fate’s heartless ubiquity" Only,I don't know if its heartless or not since "misery loves company". I see you smiling now. :o) As The Eagles sang in the song, Sad Cafe' , "I don't know why fortune smiles on some and lets the rest go free" I guess fate has different hands for us all. I was thrown by "divagate", I've never heard it used in this fashion before but I suppose digression is digression.Now I'll end this review lest I be guilty of it myself. Great write.

[deeps]

This is such amazing write, powerful as well.
Very well written

[Anthony M Smith Jr]

I see the picture you put into my mind. I think that way when I watch my Grandson and my younger children who are ready to go back to school. Elijah is going into 1st grade and my son Haga is going into 2nd grade. Young minds that soak up everything and I see no limits they draw unless it is from pain or loss of interest. I admire the way they look at life, they make it look easy but later they always make it complicated.
As far as pottery, I too admire the time and effort that is for me to enjoy and my interpretation is never matched. Good poem my friend!
I see myself sitting around our ceremonies and watching for that one who acts and doesn't speak. Life and Light!
TT-TTO-NI-K
Elk