You could knock me back down with a feather,
Or shrivel me up with a glance;
I feel a bit under the weather,
But people still want me to dance.
So, just let me know what your wish is,
Enough with the hullabaloo;
Or send me to sleep with the fishes,
I really don’t mind if I do.
Just grind me to dust with your pestle,
Then blow me away with one breath,
Or lead me where rattlesnakes nestle,
Below in the valley of death.
I haven’t a reason for crowing,
Or even a wing for my prayer;
Today, I don’t know where I’m going,
Tomorrow, I won’t even care.
My body is clumsy, not agile,
My mind gets more spongy, less crisp;
The life that we lead is so fragile,
We waft in the will-o'-the-wisp.
But though I’m all hat and no cattle,
I do what I can, by and large,
So, prop me back up for the battle:
The enemy’s ready to charge.
One thing I know ... if Leonard Cohen were alive, he would sing your amazing poem.
ReplyDeleteAnd he would sound a lot better singing it than I would!
DeleteHelen, I completely agree!
DeleteEnjoyed this, Great rhythm achieved using the rhyming couplets.Clever.
ReplyDeleteSo many ways to go down. We are morphing all the time but appear the same to others. Love the metaphors.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely LOVE this poem. It has a wonderful rhythm, grit and humor. It goes in my file of keepers to read over and over again. (By the way, I had never heard the term "all hat and no cattle". I surely have met a lot of those people ... and a number of them seem to enter politics!
ReplyDeleteWhat a delight this was to read! Brilliant rhyming, and the jaunty rhythm suits the humorous tone. (Like Bev, I had not heard 'all hat and no cattle' before; what a great saying.) Nothing spongy about your mind!
ReplyDeleteThis was such a fun piece. The rhythm is delightful and I like the defiant tone of the last two lines.
ReplyDeleteGraham, this is an enthralling piece. I love the musicality of the tone, how the rhythm makes me want to dance. Even before I read what Helen said, your word-weaving made me think of Cohen.
ReplyDelete