National Poetry Day

[amberdreams]

In celebration of National Poetry Day, one of my favourites.

The Second Coming

TURNING and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.

The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.

The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

William Butler Yeats

Comments

[dizzojay.livejournal.com]

I'm not familiar with this one!

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

It's really just these lines that I love - so powerful: Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed

[galwithglasses.livejournal.com]

I like the way it's only mere anarchy, not Very Serious anarchy, that's coming. Mere anarchy is an elementary school lunchroom. 8-) Cool poem. It always seemed sort of nuclear apocalyptic to me but it was written much too early for that, I think.

[amberdreams.livejournal.com]

ha ha IKR? I wonder why mere - was it just that it scanned better with something in front of anarchy? And yes, it does feel like a nuclear apocalyptic scenario now, doesn't it.

[milly-gal.livejournal.com]

I love this one, I have for ages, but I don't get much chance to ruminate on my poetry loves. National Poetry Day is the perfect excuse.
I have to giggle when I read this though, mere anarchy, LOL! Not huge scary serious anarchy ;)