[New-Poetry] Aphorisms

[TheOldMole]

Questions My Son Asked Me, Answers I Never Gave Him - Nancy Willard


          Do gorillas have birthdays?
          Yes. Like the rainbow they happen,
          like the air they are not observed.

          Do butterflies make a noise?
          The wire in the butterfly’s tongue hums gold.
          Some men hear butterflies
          even in winter.

          Are they part of our family?
          They forgot us, who forgot how to fly.

          Who tied my navel? Did God tie it?
          God made the thread: O man, live forever!
          Man made the knot: enough is enough.

          If I drop my tooth in the telephone
          will it go through the wires and bite someone’s ear?
          I have seen earlobes pierced by a tooth of steel.
          It loves what lasts.
          It does not love flesh.
          It leaves a ring of gold in the wound.

          If I stand on my head
          will the sleep in my eye roll up into my head?
          Does the dream know its own father?
          Can bread go back to the field of its birth?

          Can I eat a star?
          Yes, with the mouth of time
          that enjoys everything.

          Could we xerox the moon?
          This is the first commandment:
          I am the moon, thy moon.
          Thou shalt have no other moons before thee.

          Who invented water?
          The hands of the air, that wanted to wash each other.

          What happens at the end of numbers?
          I see three men running toward a field.
          At the edge of the tall grass, they turn into light.

          Do the years ever run out?
          God said, I will break time’s heart.
          Time ran down like an old phonograph.
          It lay flat as a carpet.
          At rest on its threads I am learning to fly.



Rsgwynn1 at cs.com wrote:
>
>> Poem: "Proverbial Ballade" by Wendy Cope from Making Cocoa for 
>> Kingsley Amis. © Faber &Faber. (buy now) 
>> <http://www.faber.co.uk/book_detail.html?bid=10311&clid=>
>>
>> Proverbial Ballade
>>
>> Fine words won't turn the icing pink;
>> A wild rose has no employees;
>> Who boils his socks will make them shrink;
>> Who catches cold is sure to sneeze.
>> Who has two legs must wash his knees;
>> Who breaks the egg will find the yolk;
>> Who locks his door will need his keys—
>> So say I and so say the folk.
>>
>> You can't shave with a tiddlywink,
>> Nor make red wine from garden peas,
>> Nor show a blindworm how to blink,
>> Nor teach an old raccoon Chinese.
>> The juiciest orange feels the squeeze;
>> Who spends his portion will be broke;
>> Who has no milk can make no cheese—
>> So say I and so say the folk.
>>
>> He makes no blot who has no ink,
>> Nor gathers honey who keeps no bees.
>> The ship that does not float will sink;
>> Who'd travel far must cross the seas.
>> Lone wolves are seldom seen in threes;
>> A conker ne'er becomes an oak;
>> Rome wasn't built by chimpanzees—
>> So say I and so say the folk.
>>
>> Envoi
>>
>> Dear friends! If adages like these
>> Should seem banal, or just a joke,
>> Remember fish don't grow on trees—
>> So say I and so say the folk.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> New-Poetry mailing list
> New-Poetry at wiz.cath.vt.edu
> http://wiz.cath.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/new-poetry

-- 
Tad Richards
http://www.opus40.org/tadrichards/
http://opusforty.blogspot.com/

Don't forget to order your copy of FILM NOIR!
http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=2712239