.
Dreamy babies say "bee!"
and play while I lay about
with their mamas -- lovely
self possessed women in
summer dresses -- and listen.
1969
Two honey bees collecting pollen from Night-blooming Cereus, Paniniokapunahoa, papipi pua (Cactaceae): photo by Mila Zinkova, 2007
I'm looking forward to someday seeing I'm On An Island on Beyond The Pale (unless it's already here and I've missed it).
ReplyDeleteCurtis,
ReplyDeleteI have noted you are a Ray Davies fan. From 1966 (when I was still in England) onward for many years, the Kinks were a great joy and point of reference for me as well.
The 1967 poem I'm On An Island, from my 1969 book Stones, can be found here.
That one and in fact a majority of the poems I have found worth keeping can be located on this blog by way of the left-margin Contents link. Click on it and you will see all the poems on the blog (as well as all other posts here) alphabetically listed for readers' convenience.
The three poems I posted today (Where I Live, Pillow, Sunday) come from my book Air (1970). The first two were written in March '68, the third in '69. They were posted to commemorate Angelica's and my wedding anniversary.
On this date in 1968 (when, it seems, the world was quite a bit younger), Angelica and I were married in St. Marks Church, New York. Ron Padgett was best man, Ted Berrigan "gave away the bride" (yet, characteristically, not without a few "harmless" attempts at being what, once upon a time, was termed an "Indian giver"), and the music accompanying the ceremony was performed by Mike Goldberg (lead vocal on "I Love You Truly"), Dick Gallup (guitar and vocal), Larry Fagin (guitar and vocal), and David Shapiro (violin, including a virtuoso bit of Bach that brought tears to the eyes of dear sweet Alice Neel, beaming in a front row pew).
Thanks very much for pointing me to your "reversioning" of this wonderful poem, which I first read around the time Stones was published and appreciated and connected with both as a reader and a (very surprised) Kinks fan. And, wow, you did it -- this is great. More importantly, happy anniversary.
ReplyDeleteYes, as Curtis said, "happy anniversary" (yesterday)! What a wonderful recollection of your wedding day.
ReplyDeleteThese are the ones that always knock me over, the packed short ones, each word a fluffy fist to the face, and I smile.
ReplyDeleteAh, such lovely friends.
ReplyDeleteA "fluffy fist"...
As I believe Joe Frazier once said upon being helpfully punched out in a tv razor blade (or was it shaving cream?) commercial: Thanks, I needed that.