Dear Frank,
I'm going to be the lone voice here because this didn't hit the spot for me
at all.
I think there might have been a time when I could think of a poet as a
canary, but too much exposure to poets on the lists has made be think of
them more like one of the twa corbies, shuffling their feathers and viewing
the world with a very beady eye.
I'm trying to think of any poet who
'sings
just to celebrate air'.
and wondering if I would want to read the work of anyone who did. No, I
wouldn't.
For me the idea of the poet-canary is too syrupy and over-sentimental.
Kind regards,
  grasshopper

----- Original Message -----
From: Faust
Sent: Saturday, March 22, 2003 6:54 AM
Subject: [THE-WORKS] Poet at war - repost - please ignore previous edition


it wasn't right enough for posting. I apologise.

This version, however, you may crit as you please, thanks for indulgence,

Frank

~~~~~~~~~~
a poet at war
~~~~~~~~~~
he's like the bird
in a cage
in a pit
in a tunnel
and he sings
just to celebrate air
don't you love to hear his tune
the song of life
doesn't it make
your heart beat sound
a little stronger

he is
the bird in a cage
in a pit
in a tunnel
where light
won't fall any more
where the air
has turned bad
can you touch
the emptiness
feel the silence grow

he was the voice
at the centre
of the heart
he used to sing
to celebrate air
loved the sound
of a song
until the light fell away
until the air
could not be breathed anymore
and sound wouldn't come
until he died alone
in darkness

~