The End of Rhyme
as faithfully and sorrowfully recorded
by one who was present
- - - - - - - - - -
He tottered in and closed the door -
The old and wrinkled guest,
And four and twenty eyes could see
The heaving, panting chest.
The breath of coldest winter spread
A chill across the air.
But some would say the chill came from
The stranger's silver hair.
- - - - - - - - - -
"You mind if I sit down awhile?
My trip's been rather long.
I'll reminisce and rest a bit
And shortly I'll be gone."
- - - - - - - - - -
Then joined with winter's whistle through
A frosted window pane,
The sound of crushing leather and
The rattle of a cane.
The evening sun shone dimly through
The thinly curtained door
And frozen branches cast their fro-
zen shadows 'cross the floor.
Then out the calm a voice spoke out
Though barely but a groan,
And grasping pen in hand the stran-
ger spoke in monotone.
- - - - - - - - - -
"Oh, by the way, my name is Po-
etry and I have news
That may surprise you when you hear
What you're about to lose.
"But just relax and settle back
And maybe close your eyes,
And be the first to hear the news
Of poetry's demise.”
- - - - - - - - - -
Then silence (save the winter wind)
The old one caught his breath,
Then on he spoke for all to hear
A whispered sound of death.
- - - - - - - - - -
"Great poets for a thousand years
Have penned line after line,
And to the world they brought a joy
That matched the finest wine.
"An unknown quantity of rhymes
They've writ across the page,
In numbers man can never count
And only God can gauge.
"But man has now run low on rhymes
So very few remain
And searching for a rhyme is as
A desert seeking rain.
"The rhyming pool is running out,
Just as an empty jug
Pours forth the final drop of wine
That stains an age'ed rug.
"And just as one last drop drips down
From out the Maxwell cup,
When poets can't find words that rhyme
They'll--have to make some up."
- - - - - - - - - -
Now winter shadows stain the walls -
The speaker seems a'faint -
Then with a gusto newly found
Goes on the poet's saint.
- - - - - - - - - -
"As King of Rhyme it's clear to me
That rhyming days are gone
Since all the rhymes that can be made
Have been dee dong dee dong.
"Oh, God in heaven, I have sinned!
I'm running out of time.
Now even I must make up words
To make my poems rhyme!
"The lights are dimming as I sink
Much lower in my chair,
And thoughts of Keats and Byron can't
Erase my dark despair.
"It's over now, no new verse can
Come forth from pens of men.
The last ones have been writ, I fear
Dee dum dee dum dee den.
"Yes---doubtless now the end draws nigh;
My race is almost run.
Soon hold you must the memories
Of Frost and everyone
"Who o'er the ages plucked the rhymes
From out the living words
That soared and plunged across the page
As gay and carefree birds.
"I feel it now, I'm fading fast.
The world is out of rhymes.
They're all used up, we've heard them all
At least ten million times.
"Now, God please help me - bless this pen
As lo I struggle on.
I have but twelve more lines to write
Before my spirit's gone."
- - - - - - - - - -
A darkness now has seized the room
The stranger's pen is slowed.
Have winter's frozen fingers stilled
The heart that brightly glowed?
Then four and twenty ears that strained
To hear the ancient's tale
Were blessed with words that filtered through
A ghostly foggy veil.
- - - - - - - - - -
"I pray my strength will bear me out
Although the end is near.
I'll ink the final rhyme and know
My job is finished here.
"My hands are cold - my grip is weak -
All rhyming has been done
But as the King of Poetry
I'll write the final one!
"So now I bid a fond adieu
To poem lovers all,
My task on Earth is finished and
My pen's about to fa--."
Epilogue
In a world unblessed by rhyme
- - - - - - - - - -
The winter wind withdrew its force
Into its frozen cave;
A dark and deathly silence
Chilled the souls of all who watched.
And four and twenty tears appeared
On just as many cheeks
As strain'ed hearts wept silently
For Poetry's demise.
- - - - - - - - - -
Scribe: Richard Warner
July 8, 1992
copyright©1992 Richard Allen Warner
richardwarner@hotmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment