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Posted by Ken MacLeod to the Christmas 2003 thread:
One for the carpenterHappy birthday to you,
Josh Davidson! Whoever you were, you
could never be nailed,
planed, sanded, dove-tailed
to cross or crib.
Joiner, leader, agitator, king;
teller and told in contrary
stories; healer with a sword—
here’s a word in your ear:
I wish you Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year.Two thousand and three
candles and counting:
we can stop holding our breath:you’re not coming back.
Against the rough
But you’re still here, walking
in writing on water,
in vexed texts talking
at cross purposes.
places, still not smooth,
the high places, still not low
still Mary’s hand lights your candle: blow.
I agree with PNH's comment on the original post, and have pointed several friends to it before it got Threadhood.
Seriously good.
That is the most...amazingly...wonderful poem.
A wonder-full poem for this wonder-filled season. Thank you, Ken!
I wish all the poetry to which I was directed this season were as beautiful.
Come on, tell. What other poems have you had recommended to you?
In an attempt to point you towards Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry, let me suggest (as Google does, if you input "science fiction poetry"):
http://www.magicdragon.com/UltimateSF/sfpo.html
Feel free to also look at:
http://www.magicdragon.com/EmeraldCity/Poetry/
hotlinks to 19 poems and poem sets by or co-authored me, starting with "I'm Certified for Sleep" -- an illustrated humorous fantasy poem that relates to our thread on dreaming.
...Plus (the main point of this posting) the aforementioned hotlink to The Ultimate Science Fiction Poetry Guide (An entire encyclopedia of Science Fiction, fantasy, and Horror poets and poetry from some 20 countries, from the dawn of history to the present...)