{"id":1656,"date":"2009-04-24T00:45:53","date_gmt":"2009-04-24T06:45:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1656"},"modified":"2009-12-08T08:24:08","modified_gmt":"2009-12-08T14:24:08","slug":"poetry-friday-genesis-dylan-thomas-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=1656","title":{"rendered":"Poetry Friday: Genesis, Dylan Thomas-style"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2026burning ciphers on the round of space, heaven and hell mixed as they spun.<\/a>If you’ve known me for very long, then you probably know that I have a very… let’s call it “complicated” relationship with organized religion. What you may not know about me is that, in spite of it, I do still love the Bible. At least, I love parts of it, as mythology, and as literature. For example, I think Song of Solomon<\/strong><\/a> has some of the most beautiful passages of any love poem ever written. I mean, how great is this: “Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love.” Wouldn’t you swear that was Sappho<\/strong><\/a>? <\/p>\n

I also love the first chapter of Genesis<\/strong><\/a>. That line about the holy spirit moving upon the waters always gave me chills. So of course the first time I heard “The Creation”<\/strong><\/a> by James Weldon Johnson<\/strong><\/a> I was totally blown away. Such a powerful retelling, with such rich imagery… but that’s a post for another day.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I recently discovered that one of my favorite poets, Dylan Thomas<\/strong><\/a>, also re-imagined the creation story with his poem “In the Beginning.”<\/strong><\/a> And just as you would expect from the brilliant Mr. Thomas, it is amazing<\/em>. Here’s how it starts:<\/p>\n

In the beginning was the three-pointed star,
\nOne smile of light across the empty face;
\nOne bough of bone across the rooting air,
\nThe substance forked that marrowed the first sun;
\nAnd, burning ciphers on the round of space,
\nHeaven and hell mixed as they spun.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Please, oh please, click here to read the rest<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Every time I read Dylan Thomas, I find myself repeating this question over and over: “How the hell did he DO that?” I just don’t know how he came up with phrases like “bough of bone” and “substance forked that marrowed the first sun.” I mean, it’s perfect<\/em>. It conjures with utter precision the harrowing violence inherent in the act of creating a universe. A Big Bang of words.<\/p>\n

It seems like a fitting poem to share, in the aftermath of all the spring holidays: Easter, Passover, Vernal Equinox… um, Zombie Day. They’re all celebrations that reflect on the cycle of life, and new beginnings.<\/p>\n

* * * * * * *<\/center><\/p>\n

This week Lisa Chellman’s got your back, rounding up all the Poetry Friday posts at her blog Under the Covers<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you’ve known me for very long, then you probably know that I have a very… let’s call it “complicated” relationship with organized religion. What you may not know about me is that, in spite of it, I do still love the Bible. At least, I love parts of it, as mythology, and as literature. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry-friday"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1656\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}