Friday, July 21, 2006

A Little Poetry for You (John Berryman)

There are many times when I too have "no inner resources" which may be why I find this poem so funny and captivating.

The poem is "The Dream Songs # 14" by John Berryman.

Life, friends, is boring. We must not say so.
After all, the sky flashes, the great sea yearns,
we ourselves flash and yearn,
and moreover, my mother told me as a boy
(repeatingly) "Ever to confess you're bored
means you have no

Inner Resources." I conclude now I have no
inner resources, because I am heavy bored.
Peoples bore me,
literature bores me, especially great literature,
Henry bores me, with his plights & gripes
as bad as Achilles,

who loves people and valiant art, which bores me.
And the tranquil hills, & gin, look like a drag
and somehow a dog
has taken itself & its tail considerably away
into mountains or sea or sky, leaving
behind: me, wag.

4 comments:

Douglas Twitchell said...

Okay, that was just weird. I'm currently reading Richard Winter's Still Bored In A Culture Of Entertainment, and he quotes that poem...so I read it just this week!

Nancy said...

Wow. Kind of suggests you should pay attention to it, huh?

I'm in Maine tomorrow -- will do a Queen Elizabeth type wave as I pass near your whereabouts.

Be well!

Robin said...

I love that poem - even have it memorized. What does THAT say about me?

Great post!

Nancy said...

Only that you have excellent taste in poetry!