Sall-ee You are right, as usual ,about "dinning" nearly took it out twenty
times. I should have done. The offset middle stanza has been intruded into
the original and is a reference to some of Van Gogh's paintings as are the
blackbirds and the bone-white church of the orginal poem.  Theo was his
brother who kept him in paints and to whom Vincent wrote. Redeemed by Irises
is a reference to my favourite painting of his. I think his madness, that
involved self-mutilation and suicide, is redeemed by the glory of his gifts
to us.Regards Arthur.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sally Evans" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, April 04, 2002 8:47 PM
Subject: Re: New Sub: Redeemed by Irises


> on 4/4/02 7:54 am, Arthur at [log in to unmask] wrote:
>
> > This is  a rewrite of "Rooks" with an additional strophe which gives it
new
> > focus. I think I realised what poem I was in fact writing after I had
posted
> > it before.
> >
> > Its fascinating and fun. Why Theo? and why the balanced stanza heap (
rooks'
> nest?) which has lost itself in the reply. and I don't quite get the
title.
> Is it Van Gogh. It must be. Rackt is ok but I'm not sure about dinning -
you
> already have raucous in that stanza so the poem is noisy enough already.
> Nice one though.  Sally ee
> >
> > Redeemed by Irises.( for Vincent)
> >
> > south of the bone
> > -white church in high elms
> > they racket
> > swirl around thorned
> > nests       knot-bunched
> > in top branches
> >
> > they scavenge laced wheat,
> > Theo!          always
> > snake-limbed cypresses
> > tumultuous stars
> > light-haloed lamps
> > burn night's
> >
> > black  they tumble-
> > down in raucous mockery
> > harsh against a sun
> > -bleached sky
> > beaked and fractious
> > as dinning taunts of madness.