And A first Stave Fearsome, And a second To stomach And a third, Which is a Laughable Thing. Here's a catch and a carol to the great, grand Chan, The King of all the Kings across the sea! "Here's a catch and a carol to the great, grand Chan; For we won through the deserts to his And the mountains of his palace no Where he wields his seignorie! "Red-as-blood skins of Panthers, so bright against the sun On the walls of the halls where his pillared state is set They daze with a blaze no man may look upon. And with conduits of beverage those floors run wet. "His wives stiff with riches, they sit before him there. Bird and beast at his feast make song and clapping cheer. And jugglers and enchanters, all walking on the air, Make fall eclipse and thunder-make moons and suns appear! "Once the Chan, by his enemies soreprest, and sorely spent, Lay, so they say, in a thicket 'neath a tree We gape to And are in And dread it is Devil's Work! Where the howl of an owl vexed his foes from their intent: Then that fowl for a holy bird of reverence made he! "A catch and a carol to the great, grand Chan! Pastmasters of disasters, our desert cara van Won through all peril to his sunset barbican, Where he wields his seignorie! And crowns he gave us! We end where we began: A catch and a carol to the great, grand Chan, The King of all the Kings across the sea!" Those mad, antic Merchants! . . . Their stripèd beasts did beat The market-square suddenly with hooves of beaten gold! The ground yawned gaping and flamed beneath our feet! They plunged to Pits Abysmal with their wealth untold! And some say the Chan himself in anger dealt the stroke For sharing of his secrets with silly, common folk: But Holy, Blessed Mary, preserve us as you may Lest once more those mad Merchants come chanting from Cathay! HOW TO CATCH UNICORNS Its cloven hoofprint on the sand Will lead you-where? Into a phantasmagoric land Beware! There all the bright streams run up-hill. The birds on every tree are still. But from stocks and stones, clear voices come That should be dumb. If you have taken along a net, A noose, a prod, You'll be waiting in the forest yet . In a virgin's lap the beast slept sound, I think (Is anyone around?) That's just a lie! If you have taken a musketoon To flinders 'twill flash 'neath the wizard moon. So I should take browned batter-cake, Hot-buttered inside, like foam to flake. And I should take an easy heart And a tied-up lunch of sandwich and tart, And then I should pretend to snore ... The wind of a mane and a tail, and four Paladins fierce and virgins sweet... ADDENDUM Really hungry! Good Lord deliver us, John Hall Wheelock John Hall Wheelock was born at Far Rockaway, Long Island, in 1886. He was graduated from Harvard, receiving his B.A. in 1908, and finished his studies at the Universities of Göttingen and Berlin, 1908-10. Wheelock's first book is, in many respects, his best. The Human Fantasy (1911) sings with the voice of youth-a youth which is vibrantly in love with existence. Rhapsodic and obviously influenced by Whitman and Henley, these lines beat bravely. A headlong ecstasy rises from pages whose refrain is "Splendid it is to live and glorious to die." SUNDAY EVENING IN THE COMMON Look-on the topmost branches of the world One breathless moment now the city's moaning Fades, and the endless streets seem vague and dim; There is no sound around the whole world's rim, Save in the distance a small band is droning Some desolate old hymn. Van Wyck, how often have we been together LOVE AND LIBERATION Lift your arms to the stars You are armed with love, with love, Nor all the powers of Fate What of good and evil, Joyce Kilmer (Alfred) Joyce Kilmer was born at New Brunswick, New Jersey, December 6, 1886. He was graduated from Rutgers College in 1904 and received his A.B. from Columbia in 1906. |