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ROCKING THE BOAT AND DISTURBING THE SH*T *** SINCE 2003 ***

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The Spotlight Summer         Reading         Those of you looking for some amusing images or hoping to hear some strange new sounds in the Give-a-Buck Spotlight are out of luck. It's not that I don't have any thoughts to share. It's summer, and that means people are taking it easy. The two or three of you not already at the cottage and are still here reading this probably don't want to be overly-stimulated with anything loud or obnoxious (especially if you're hung over).         And so it is in the spirit of the season that I present to you some thoughtful and not overly-long reading material in the form of three poems. I know less about poetry than do most Canadians, but I still know what I like and what I don't like. And so I have structured this anthology in a way that would make Sergio Leone proud; I call this modest collection The Good, The Bad, and The (Truly, Truly) Ugly. THE GOOD High Flight by John Gillespie Magee Jr. (This is my favorite poem, narrowly edging out T.S. Eliot's darker and longer masterpiece, The Hollow Men. The author of High Flight was only 18 or 19 when he penned this glorious piece of verse, and he died a few weeks later during World War Two. In an age when Canada's military heritage is being trodden upon and obsequiously tarnished, this simple poem serves us as a reminder that mankind is capable of finding beauty where we least expect it.) Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds...and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of...wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there, I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air. Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace Where never lark, or even eagle flew. And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod The high untrespassed sanctity of space Put out my hand, and touched the face of God. - - - * * * - - - THE BAD Unknown by Unknown (This poem comes from an English textbook that I recall seeing when I was in Grade 6 or 7. I do not recall the poem's particulars, but it originates from China and is translated from the original Chinese dialect. You might be an intellectual person who thinks beauty and knowledge transcends language barriers, or you can be like me and find amusement in taking this poem at face value. Because this is a translation, any mistakes I have made in transcribing it from memory are academic.) Old Chang died after three years sickness. Old Wu went out one night. My body is hard like steel. I lean on the door, gazing at the green hill. - - - * * * - - - THE (TRULY, TRULY) UGLY Banality of the Modern Horse by Mark Marschner (Back in my early 20's, I was a graduate student just finding my idealistic milieu and creative voice. I became an ardent animal lover and vegetarian, before even coming within ten feet of an equine. Writing stories and free verse allowed me to cope with my fragile ego and emotions of not being able to fulfill what I thought was my life's ambition of being around horses. I have since put aside the vegetarianism, grown up, and found my way inside the horse world. So looking back at this poem, if you can even CALL it that, is an exercise in humility and dark humour. If you are thinking of writing to me to complain about my treatment of the previous poem above, read this and think twice. I need your PITY, not your grief, LOL.) Knowing not from where they came Or where they are destined Without a concept of time, they contentedly Find exuberance in mere trivialities: A nibble of trampled grass, The pursuit of a dissipated scent wafting on the wind... No galloping today. Why bother? An endless circle of fence in every dimension. Existing merely as someone's quaint pleasure A few soothing words A rub on the flank A taste of something sweet And not a thought of the future. How did it ever happen And where is it finally leading? (So, if you enjoyed that last entry, you have unresolved mental issues. Otherwise, please open your heart and your wallet and buy some of my coins and paper money before I post more reading material like this.) Background music is the last movement of Nash the Slash's "Un Chien Andalou", one of his earliest compositions. It can be found on his 1979 LP "Dreams and Nightmares" and the 1997 CD re-release entitled "Blind Windows". The CD is out of print, but the music can be downloaded from emusic.com.

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