"St Paul the Apostle" by Claude Vignon‘Simple Contrivance’ and Other Poetry by Ruey Fern Tan The Society January 31, 2018 Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Terrorism 8 Comments Simple Contrivance So simple – yet divine! Such is contrivance of the pen The hollow spine of ink is light like bones of flitting wren So simple – yet divine! Indeed, no sword could strike so true As every drop of ink – and the words that gush right through So humble – yet with honour! The deeds that pens have done Atrocities were brought to light, laid bare under the sun So humble – yet with honour! The lives that pens have touched A moving quake that sprang from pages sweating hands did clutch So common – yet unique! Reserved for none but human hand No other creature could it wield so deftly in this land So common – yet unique! Because among us even here No two of us would wield the same, the tool we hold so dear To See Darkness from the Fire Terror does itself inspire Do not let it chill so simply Huddle, children, ‘round the fire Nations we from here admire Falter – but unbothered, we Terror must not us inspire (Some of ours have left the fire Gone to join the monsters – really! Closer, children, guard our fire) Neighbours’ love that turns to ire Then to fear then hatred, swiftly Terror does itself inspire Hate’s replies of violence mire Us in vicious cycle, see? Huddle, children, ‘round the fire Even here, do not retire Shadows could spell doom, spread briskly Terror does itself inspire Knowing still our gentle pyre Love, compassion learnt last cent’ry Huddle, children, round this fire Our own peace – yet to expire But erode it does, so quickly Terror does itself inspire – so huddle, children, ‘round the fire Views expressed by individual poets and writers on this website and by commenters do not represent the views of the entire Society. The comments section on regular posts is meant to be a place for civil and fruitful discussion. Pseudonyms are discouraged. The individual poet or writer featured in a post has the ability to remove any or all comments by emailing submissions@ classicalpoets.org with the details and under the subject title “Remove Comment.” Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) 8 Responses Fr. Richard Libby January 31, 2018 These are well-constructed and thoughtful works. Congratulations! Reply Ruey Fern Tan February 8, 2018 Thank you so much for the kind words! I just got into classical poetry in my final year of secondary school and am eager to learn. If it’s not too much trouble, could you offer some suggestions on how to improve my work? Reply Joe Tessitore January 31, 2018 Evocative and well-done! Reply Ruey Fern Tan February 8, 2018 I’m glad to hear you think so. As a newbie, I’m eager to improve my work, so it would be very much appreciated if you could offer some suggestions on how to do so. Thanks in advance. Reply Lenore February 1, 2018 I enjoyed reading this..thanks. Reply Ruey Fern Tan February 8, 2018 Glad to hear it! Reply David Hollywood February 1, 2018 Reminiscent and unaffected and enjoyable poems. Reply Ruey Fern Tan February 8, 2018 I’m happy you think so! I just started writing classical poetry this year, so it would be much appreciated if you could point out any areas on which I could improve. Thanks in advance. Reply Leave a Reply to David Hollywood Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Fr. Richard Libby January 31, 2018 These are well-constructed and thoughtful works. Congratulations! Reply
Ruey Fern Tan February 8, 2018 Thank you so much for the kind words! I just got into classical poetry in my final year of secondary school and am eager to learn. If it’s not too much trouble, could you offer some suggestions on how to improve my work? Reply
Ruey Fern Tan February 8, 2018 I’m glad to hear you think so. As a newbie, I’m eager to improve my work, so it would be very much appreciated if you could offer some suggestions on how to do so. Thanks in advance. Reply
Ruey Fern Tan February 8, 2018 I’m happy you think so! I just started writing classical poetry this year, so it would be much appreciated if you could point out any areas on which I could improve. Thanks in advance. Reply