No. New. A new man so new he lacks a title yet. Yet because he should get
one because they always do. Boss. Kaiser. Prince. I suppose Elid doesn't
value judgments on the greatness of leaders...
L
On 30 September 2015 at 11:14, Patrick McManus <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> line 7 now not new?? poor old Elid you gotta watch out for those Lords
> cheers P
>
> -----Original Message----- From: Lawrence Upton
> Sent: Wednesday, September 30, 2015 11:04 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Elid
>
> Elid
>
>
>
> A duck repeats loud expostulations
>
> which Elid tries to ignore, without success.
>
> There might be circumstances, or a mood,
>
> in which the creature could entertain him.
>
> Not now. Not here. He has been insulted –
>
> to attend a meeting that seems clandestine
>
> with the most powerful man there is. So new
>
> he lacks a title yet. He is the best
>
> though no one says that. They just all behave
>
> or give him deference and twitching fear.
>
> Soon no doubt he shall become a great lord
>
> employing his wisdom to control vassals
>
> paying in cash, in kind or both to be;
>
> and to be bullied and rewarded well
>
> simultaneously and at random
>
>
>
> and the man has not attended at all
>
> nor has a message been sent – unless
>
> this absence is a message – of its kind
>
>
>
> he is a mouse thinking itself its own creature
>
> to be grabbed suddenly and then tortured
>
> as plaything of the grand with goods. Or left
>
> seeking for nutritious food where there's none.
>
>
>
> Perhaps the man forgot. Or changed his plan.
>
> Or else was waylaid on his way and hurt.
>
> Or taken prisoner. Or killed. The duck
>
> continues its exhortation. Hungry?
>
> Perhaps it is apprehensive. Hungry
>
> no doubt. They are always hungry. Shivery.
>
> He is. The bird is. He tries to see it
>
> as God's creature, but cannot believe
>
> it has any real significance.
>
> How could it be true this small thing matters?
>
> Half-imagined openings in his credo
>
> extend into chasms and dry ravines
>
> a topology of pointless emptiness
>
> in which he shall be abandoned to die.
>
> The duck pecks at his foot, looking upwards
>
> expectantly. He pushes it away
>
> and begins pacing the wet windblown gravel,
>
> often stumbling a little bit; until he tires;
>
> at which point he wonders about his visibility.
>
> Which may be undesirable. Imagine
>
> the villain saying to some bad hireling
>
> “Go out to the promontory and kill there
>
> the idiot you find waiting, that damned priest”,
>
> achieving the Devil's aim with his own thought
>
> waiting there, making himself a small landmark
>
> for the searching murderer clutching a sharpened sword.
>
> He reaches down tenderly towards the bird
>
> which flinches back squawking, but otherwise dumb.
>
>
>
> Elid looks out for a path; and he finds one
>
> which is low down. He follows that through mud
>
> and sometimes stagnant water, through brambles
>
> which cut his ankles painfully, and hides
>
> near to but not in his covert dwelling
>
> for fear the dwelling is known to his lord.
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