A woman's answer to "The Vampire by Felicia Blake

A Woman's Answer to "The Vampire"

Verses by Felicia Blake. (With Apologies to Kipling)

A fool there was, and she lowered her pride (Even as you and I)

To a bunch of conceit in a masculine hide ---

We saw the faults that could not be denied,

But the fool saw only his manly side (Even as you and I)

Oh the love she laid on her own heart's grave

With the care of her head and hand,

Belongs to the man who did not know

(And now she knows that he never could know)

And did not understand.

A fool there was and her best she gave (Even as you and I.)

Of noble thoughts, of gay and grave

(And all were accepted as due to the knave)

But the fool would never her folly save (Even as you and I.)

Oh the stabs she had, which the Lord forbid

Had ever been really planned.

She took from the man who didn't know why

(And now she knows he never knew why)

And did not understand.

The fool was loved while the game was new (Even as you and I.)

And when it was played, she took her cue

(Plodding along as most of us do)

Trying to keep his faults from view (Even as you and I.)

And it isn't the ache of the heart, or its break

That stings like a white-hot brand ---

It's the learning to know she raised a god

And bent her head to kiss the rod

For one who could not understand.


I think this is my favourite, but there are a few others lurking around the internet including "THE VAMPIRE'S ANSWER" but Felicia Blake's A Woman's Answer has used Kipling's original form so nicely and irreverantly that it really is a treat :)

cheers,
A.J.

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

The Vampire by Rudyard Kipling

The Vampire 
by Rudyard Kipling

A fool there was and he made his prayer
(Even as you and I!)
To a rag and a bone and a hank of hair
(We called her the woman who did not care),
But the fool he called her his lady fair
(Even as you and I!)

Oh the years we waste and the tears we waste
And the work of our head and hand,
Belong to the woman who did not know
(And now we know that she never could know)
And did not understand.

A fool there was and his goods he spent
(Even as you and I!)
Honor and faith and a sure intent
But a fool must follow his natural bent
(And it wasn’t the least what the lady meant),
(Even as you and I!)

Oh the toil we lost and the spoil we lost
And the excellent things we planned,
Belong to the woman who didn’t know why
(And now we know she never knew why)
And did not understand.

The fool we stripped to his foolish hide
(Even as you and I!)
Which she might have seen when she threw him aside—
(But it isn’t on record the lady tried)
So some of him lived but the most of him died—
(Even as you and I!)

And it isn’t the shame and it isn’t the blame
That stings like a white hot brand.

It’s coming to know that she never knew why
(Seeing at last she could never know why)
And never could understand.

The poem was famously written as the result of this painting by Philip Burne Jones, but it seems some other factors might have caused a tiny undercurrent in the work.  Personally I rather like much of the parody by Felicia Blake, it begins:

        A fool there was and she lowered her pride
                (Even as you and I)
    To a bunch of conceit in a masculine hide
We saw the faults that could not be denied;
    But the Fool saw only his manly side—
                (Even as you and I).

 And I will post the rest of that next week! :)

So in the meantime I am thinking of Rudyard Kipling as a man scorned and am tempted to find out more - but so much to do today...

A.J.

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

 PS - yes the vampire picture was also used in "Lullaby for Vampires" March 29 2011

Lullaby for Vampires to be sung to the tune of Brahms

Lullaby, little vampire

The sun it is shining

Go to sleep, don't you weep

Night will soon be nigh

Then you'll crawl from your crypt

And wind through the window

Free your fangs on sweet prey

And feed from their flesh

Lullaby, and good-morning

Deathless vampires don't stray

From the cool clods of earth

In the light of the day

Let sleep, little wanton,

And dreams of destruction

Fill your head, little leech

'til the sun goes away

Lullaby and sleep tight

Knowing demons surround you

Around and about you

Above and below

Soon the sun it will fade

To a night dark and cloudy

And to humans we'll hum

This last lullaby

Lullaby and good night

Lullaby, my delight

Go to sleep, don't you weep

As through the night we creep

We've crawled from our coffins

And wound through your window

Freed our fangs, you're our prey

Now we'll feed from your flesh

A..J. Ponder 

Truth is there's no artistic merit to this one at all -  it's only here to match the zombie lullaby, for as everyone knows where there are vampires, zombies soon follow - and vice versa.   It was done with the urge to provide tasteless lullabies to go with a version of Brahms Lullaby I found, and to practise using a set cadence.  After all - who isn't thoroughly sick of vampires yet? 

Of course if you're not sick of vampires - why not check out Rudyard Kiplings Vampire poem - here - who would have thought?