Industrious, affable, having brain on fire,
Henry perplexed himself; others gave up;
good girls gave in;
geography was hard on friendship, Sire;
marriages lashed & languished, anguished; dearth of group
and what else had been;
the splendour & the lose grew all the same,
Sire. His heart stiffened, and he failed to smile,
catching (enfit) on.
The law: we must, owing to chiefly shame
lacing our pride, down what we did. A mile,
a mile to Avalon.
Stuffy & lazy, shaky, making roar
overseas presses, he quit wondering:
the mystery is full.
Sire, damp me down. Me feudal O, me yore
(male Muse) serf, if anyfing;
which rank I pull.
(John Berryman)
More Poetry from John Berryman:
John Berryman Poems based on Topics: Friendship, Law & Regulation, Fire, Smiling, Mystery, Pride, Laziness, Marriage- The Ball Poem (John Berryman Poems)
- Dream Song 73: Karensui, Ryoan-ji (John Berryman Poems)
- Dream Song 96: Under the table, no. That last was stunning (John Berryman Poems)
- Dream Song 77: Seedy Henry rose up shy (John Berryman Poems)
- Dream Song 115: Her properties, like her of course & frisky & new (John Berryman Poems)
- Dream Song 113: or Amy Vladeck or Riva Freifeld (John Berryman Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Friendship Poems, Fire Poems, Smiling Poems, Law & Regulation Poems, Pride Poems, Mystery Poems, Marriage Poems, Laziness PoemsBased on Keywords: stuffy, avalon, lacing, enfit, anyfing
- The Jamestown Anniversary Ode (James Barron Hope Poems)
- The Demon Of The Study (John Greenleaf Whittier Poems)
- For The Carrier Of The Mirror. 1826 (John Gardiner Calkins Brainard Poems)
- Hymn To Light (Abraham Cowley Poems)
- Upon The Death Of, Mr. Addison; Inscrib'd To The Earl Of Warwick (Nicholas Amhurst Poems)