The Kraken by Alfred Tennyson

A quick note, this week I am the editor of the Tuesday Poem,  with Keith Westwater's Poem, "Resiliance", so if you want to find out more about why I like it, or about Keith Westwater, then click on the link - or take no heed of the warning and follow me into the treacherous deeps...

Below the thunders of the upper deep,
Far, far beneath in the abysmal sea,
His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep
The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee
About his shadowy sides; above him swell
Huge sponges of millennial growth and height;
And far away into the sickly light,
From many a wondrous grot and secret cell
Unnumber'd and enormous polypi
Winnow with giant arms the slumbering green.
There hath he lain for ages, and will lie
Battening upon huge sea-worms in his sleep,
Until the latter fire shall heat the deep;
Then once by man and angels to be seen,
In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die.


Found this while looking up random London myths, legends, alchemists etc in an effort to do a little pre-research "Wizard's Guide to London. And came across - "And dross to gold with glorious alchemy,"  It  wasn't quite the direction I was looking for - although it was very useful - otherwise I'd have had nothing to post today.  :)

 So much great stuff to work with - I'm only getting more and more excited by the idea - but the goal really has to be making enough money from Wizard's Guide to actually go and visit London itself.

Have a great week folks

A.J.

A.J. Ponder's books are available through Rona Gallery, Amazon, Paper Plus and good Wellington bookstores.

PS It amuses me to think that Lord Alfred Tennyson, and quite a few celebrated literary poets from the past wrote a fair amount of fanatasy/scifi/speculative fiction :) 

The Eagle by Lord Alfred Tennyson

He clasps the crag with crooked hands;

Close to the sun in lonely lands,

Ring'd with the azure world, he stands.

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;

He watches from his mountain walls,

And like a thunderbolt he falls. 

The analysis of this poem is both plentiful and varied.   I have nothing really to add except I happen to like it - the rhythm within the poem is quite beautiful but the ambiguous decisiveness of the last line is masterful.  :)

The picture is Bruegel's Landscape with the Fall of Icarus (ca. 1558) - I was really looking for a closer pic of Icarus - but this seemed most relevant.

A.J. Ponder 

 A.J. Ponder's work is available through Rona Gallery, Amazon, and good Wellington bookstores

The Sleeping Beauty, by Sir Alfred Tennyson

Year after year unto her feet,
She lying on her couch alone,
Across the purpled coverlet,
The maiden's jet-black hair has grown,
On either side her tranced form
Forth streaming from a braid of pearl:
The slumbrous light is rich and warm,
And moves not on the rounded curl.

The silk star-broider'd coverlid
Unto her limbs itself doth mould
Languidly ever; and, amid
Her full black ringlets downward roll'd,
Glows forth each softly-shadow'd arm,
With bracelets of the diamond bright:
Her constant beauty doth inform
Stillness with love, and day with light.

She sleeps: her breathings are not heard
In palace chambers far apart.
The fragrant tresses are not stirr'd
That lie upon her charmed heart.
She sleeps: on either hand upswells
The gold-fringed pillow lightly prest:
She sleeps, nor dreams, but ever dwells
A perfect form in perfect rest.

Another Fairy Tale poem, boy am I a sucker for the old-fashioned stuff!  The way it rolls off the tongue, its beautiful (apparent) simplicity.  And of course as a fairy tale cover, it will be a lovely addition to my Fairy Tale portal. 


A.J. Ponder

A.J. Ponder's work is available through Rona Gallery, Amazon, and good Wellington bookstores