February 15, 2008

Poetry Friday: Love...Word

"To His Lover, That She Be Not Overdressed"


And why take ye thought for raiment?
—Matthew 6:28

The lilies of the field
That neither toil nor spin
Stand dazzlingly revealed
In not a thing but skin

And in that radiant state
Sheer essences they wear.
Take heed, my fashion plate.
Be so arrayed. Go bare.


© X.J. Kennedy, The Lords of Misrule: Poems 1992-2002
(Johns Hopkins University Press).

There probably isn't a better gift for a logophile or linguist than witticisms and wordplay - the clever kind or the chocolate version of such. Verbal calisthenics are usually more fun than the physical kind, and poet X.J. Kennedy's wry disingenuity makes me chuckle. How can I not like a guy who published his own science fiction magazine, Terrifying Test-Tube Tales, at age twelve?

Eat. Words. Love. Yum. Found the cool chocolate at Fritinancy. More mouth-watering poetry to be found at Hip Writer Mama's. Have a great weekend and enjoy ferreting out the last of the chocolate hearts... you must eat them all before it's time to hide the chocolate eggs, after all. (!)

10 comments:

  1. First it was those BitterSweet hearts...and now Chocolate Scrabble! You're killing me.

    I can see this poem being posted somewhere mischievous, like a fitting room. :)

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  2. Chocolate scrabble! So cool! And I love the poem. (A little too cold to go bare just yet, though.)

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  3. Poets have the best (pick up) lines, don't they?

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  4. Strip down for chocolate, I say. Strip down for chocolate...

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  5. At my age, going bare is bittersweet. Probably more bitter than sweet!

    Enjoyed Kennedy's poem. I love his "Nude Descending a Staircase." He's nimble with wordplay

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  6. This is a new one for me and I love it! The chocolate is great too. If it were me I would have made a few words and eaten them before the picture, of course ;). The m&ms at my blog are my son's and I had to quick snap the picture before they disappeared. At breakfast no less!

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  7. XJ Kennedy so rocks.

    And man, do I want chocolate scrabble pieces.

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  8. That's a great poem. And I can already think of at least three people who would love the chocolate scrabble...I'll have to make a note of that.

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  9. A new and daring take on a Bible verse... and the chocolate is calling my name. (Spelled there. Under the wrapper.)

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  10. Two Bible-related poems so far this week -- yours and Sara's -- both fun in different ways.

    GREAT chocolate!

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