Now For Some Poetry

The Poetry of Ted Hughes

From Crow

Crow Blacker Than Ever

When God, disgusted with man,

Turned towards heaven,

And man, disgusted with God,

Turned towards Eve,

Things looked like falling apart.

But Crow Crow

Crow nailed them together,

Nailing heaven and earth together-

So man cried, but with God's voice.

And God bled, but with man's blood.

Then heaven and earth creaked at the joint

Which became gangrenous and stank-

A horror beyond redemption.

The agony did not diminish.

Man could not be man nor God God.

The agony

Grew.

Crow

Grinned

Crying: "This is my Creation,"

Flying the black flag of himself.

Now this is a great poem.

The Poetry of Ted Hughes
From Crow

Apple Tragedy

So on the seventh day
The serpent rested,
God came up to him.
"I've invented a new game," he said.

The serpent stared in surprise
At this interloper.
But God said: "You see this apple?"
I squeeze it and look-cider."

The serpent had a good drink
And curled up into a question mark.
Adam drank and said: "Be my god."
Eve drank and opened her legs

And called to the cockeyed serpent
And gave him a wild time.
God ran and told Adam
Who in drunken rage tried to hang himself in the orchard.

The serpent tried to explain, crying "Stop"
But drink was splitting his syllable.
And Eve started screeching: "Rape! Rape!"
And stamping on his head.

Now whenever the snake appears she screeches
"Here it comes again! Help! O Help!"
Then Adam smashes a chair on his head,
And God says: "I am well pleased"

And everything goes to hell.

Hey, April is Poetry Month & I haven't posted anything about, save the piece of the discovery of a big bunch of Walth Whitman's papers. Ted Hughes was a great poet.  His poetry is still great.  He's dead now.  He also loved to catch steelhead trout in the waters of British Colmbia.