ODE TO BOOKS
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
Group Poem Exercise VII
ODE TO BOOKS
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
Ars longa, vita brevis
Group Exercise IV
You guys are good at this...I've not seen one before.
Sardith
Sardith
ODE TO BOOKS
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
And doomed to suffer under God's strange plan.
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
And doomed to suffer under God's strange plan.
ODE TO BOOKS
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
And doomed to suffer under God's strange plan.
The musings of mankind are gathered here
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
And doomed to suffer under God's strange plan.
The musings of mankind are gathered here
Ars longa, vita brevis
ODE TO BOOKS
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
And doomed to suffer under God's strange plan.
The musings of mankind are gathered here
Child-rearing, statecraft, money, myths and maps
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
And doomed to suffer under God's strange plan.
The musings of mankind are gathered here
Child-rearing, statecraft, money, myths and maps
ODE TO BOOKS
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
And doomed to suffer under God's strange plan.
The musings of mankind are gathered here
Child-rearing, statecraft, money, myths and maps
A mixed milieu? A hodgepodge? Aye, perhaps
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
And doomed to suffer under God's strange plan.
The musings of mankind are gathered here
Child-rearing, statecraft, money, myths and maps
A mixed milieu? A hodgepodge? Aye, perhaps
Ars longa, vita brevis
ODE TO BOOKS
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
And doomed to suffer under God's strange plan.
The musings of mankind are gathered here
Child-rearing, statecraft, money, myths and maps
A mixed milieu? A hodgepodge? Aye, perhaps,
But apt to rev my sluggish thinking gear.
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
And doomed to suffer under God's strange plan.
The musings of mankind are gathered here
Child-rearing, statecraft, money, myths and maps
A mixed milieu? A hodgepodge? Aye, perhaps,
But apt to rev my sluggish thinking gear.
ODE TO BOOKS
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
And doomed to suffer under God's strange plan.
The musings of mankind are gathered here
Child-rearing, statecraft, money, myths and maps
A mixed milieu? A hodgepodge? Aye, perhaps,
But apt to rev my sluggish thinking gear.
My world is what I read and what I know
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
And doomed to suffer under God's strange plan.
The musings of mankind are gathered here
Child-rearing, statecraft, money, myths and maps
A mixed milieu? A hodgepodge? Aye, perhaps,
But apt to rev my sluggish thinking gear.
My world is what I read and what I know
Ars longa, vita brevis
ODE TO BOOKS
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
And doomed to suffer under God's strange plan.
The musings of mankind are gathered here
Child-rearing, statecraft, money, myths and maps
A mixed milieu? A hodgepodge? Aye, perhaps,
But apt to rev my sluggish thinking gear.
My world is what I read and what I know
Fact, fiction, drama, plain or complex verse
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
And doomed to suffer under God's strange plan.
The musings of mankind are gathered here
Child-rearing, statecraft, money, myths and maps
A mixed milieu? A hodgepodge? Aye, perhaps,
But apt to rev my sluggish thinking gear.
My world is what I read and what I know
Fact, fiction, drama, plain or complex verse
ODE TO BOOKS
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
And doomed to suffer under God's strange plan.
The musings of mankind are gathered here
Child-rearing, statecraft, money, myths and maps
A mixed milieu? A hodgepodge? Aye, perhaps,
But apt to rev my sluggish thinking gear.
My world is what I read and what I know
Fact, fiction, drama, plain or complex verse
Await with holy wisdom to disburse
I have a mania for well-bound tomes
With gilded spines embracing noun and verb
A bibliophilic urge I cannot curb
'Twould drive, I fear, most spouses from their homes.
Yet, though I love my mate with all my heart
I ogle those stout volumes on my shelf
And whisper “darling darlings” to myself
As maudlin aesthetes gush at works of art.
In Greece, men went to Delphi for a sign
To tell their fortune, be it bright or bleak
My oracles are books, all of which speak
Profound but cryptic wisdom in each line.
One volume lauds the innate good of man
With quotes from Plato, Kant, and Oscar Wilde
While some say man’s a tramp—from birth defiled
And doomed to suffer under God's strange plan.
The musings of mankind are gathered here
Child-rearing, statecraft, money, myths and maps
A mixed milieu? A hodgepodge? Aye, perhaps,
But apt to rev my sluggish thinking gear.
My world is what I read and what I know
Fact, fiction, drama, plain or complex verse
Await with holy wisdom to disburse
Ars longa, vita brevis
My world is what I read and what I know
Fact, fiction, drama, plain or complex verse
Await with holy wisdom to disburse
A buzz of joy - and long may it be so.
Actually, I think this last stanza is rather weak compared to the others. What do you think? It's always going to be more difficult at the end of the alphabet!
Fact, fiction, drama, plain or complex verse
Await with holy wisdom to disburse
A buzz of joy - and long may it be so.
Actually, I think this last stanza is rather weak compared to the others. What do you think? It's always going to be more difficult at the end of the alphabet!
- Slava
- Great Grand Panjandrum
- Posts: 8170
- Joined: Thu Sep 28, 2006 9:31 am
- Location: Finger Lakes, NY
Congratulations to Audiendus and sapparis on this wonderful Ode to Books. I'd say it was a rather difficult assignment which you pulled off very well.
As to the ending being weaker than the body, I think that's almost always going to be the case in something written this way, by committee. It's not that it was the end of the alphabet, per se, but that it was the end, and you both knew it had to be closed somehow, and you managed it.
Congratulations again. I look forward to your next endeavor and hope I'll find a way to put in my two cents sometime.
As to the ending being weaker than the body, I think that's almost always going to be the case in something written this way, by committee. It's not that it was the end of the alphabet, per se, but that it was the end, and you both knew it had to be closed somehow, and you managed it.
Congratulations again. I look forward to your next endeavor and hope I'll find a way to put in my two cents sometime.
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.
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