Ars Poetica? Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCD EFGH IJKL MNOP QCRL SLTU LULU UIUV LLWE| I have always aspired to a more spacious form | A |
| that would be free from the claims of poetry or prose | B |
| and would let us understand each other without exposing | C |
| the author or reader to sublime agonies | D |
| - | |
| In the very essence of poetry there is something indecent | E |
| a thing is brought forth which we didn't know we had in us | F |
| so we blink our eyes as if a tiger had sprung out | G |
| and stood in the light lashing his tail | H |
| - | |
| That's why poetry is rightly said to be dictated by a daimonion | I |
| though its an exaggeration to maintain that he must be an angel | J |
| It's hard to guess where that pride of poets comes from | K |
| when so often they're put to shame by the disclosure of their frailty | L |
| - | |
| What reasonable man would like to be a city of demons | M |
| who behave as if they were at home speak in many tongues | N |
| and who not satisfied with stealing his lips or hand | O |
| work at changing his destiny for their convenience | P |
| - | |
| It's true that what is morbid is highly valued today | Q |
| and so you may think that I am only joking | C |
| or that I've devised just one more means | R |
| of praising Art with thehelp of irony | L |
| - | |
| There was a time when only wise books were read | S |
| helping us to bear our pain and misery | L |
| This after all is not quite the same | T |
| as leafing through a thousand works fresh from psychiatric clinics | U |
| - | |
| And yet the world is different from what it seems to be | L |
| and we are other than how we see ourselves in our ravings | U |
| People therefore preserve silent integrity | L |
| thus earning the respect of their relatives and neighbors | U |
| - | |
| The purpose of poetry is to remind us | U |
| how difficult it is to remain just one person | I |
| for our house is open there are no keys in the doors | U |
| and invisible guests come in and out at will | V |
| - | |
| What I'm saying here is not I agree poetry | L |
| as poems should be written rarely and reluctantly | L |
| under unbearable duress and only with the hope | W |
| that good spirits not evil ones choose us for their instrument | E |
Czeslaw Milosz
(1)
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