"Horace and Lydia" by Collier‘Arte Discipulus’ by Julie Desmond The Society April 14, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry 6 Comments . Horace, in your guide to painting poems, Bid a poet paint in synchrony. Carve, in sandy caves where writers roam, Ships ensconced in loam and birds at sea. Horace, sir, you broke me at hello. Genius, wit and art—tall cups to fill. Poet’s charge is flow, I know. I know. Teach to thrill and fashion scenes at will. Horace, ancient Horace, I confess, Ink spills red to puddle ‘cross the page. Smart nor art will see this pen be blessed. Given to remorse, reduced to rage. Horace, throw yourself at someone else. Feckless, me, comportment dire, uncouth. You, your leaves are stacked and bound on shelves. This brush bleeds of crass, unvarnished youth. . . Julie Desmond is a writer and career coach living in the heart of Minneapolis, MN. Her poems have appeared in Lower Stumpf Lake Review and Diotima and she has published two books of creative nonfiction. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. Trending now: 6 Responses Paul W Erlandson April 14, 2021 I find this to be very well crafted. Thank you! Reply Julie Desmond May 1, 2021 Thank you! Reply Julian D. Woodruff April 14, 2021 Thanks for the tribute to Horace, Ms Desmond, and for your varied expression of frustration at not being able to meet him at his level. I especially love the line “Poet’s charge is flow, I know. I know.” Do you think “I” rather than “me” would be better in line 14? Reply Julie Desmond May 1, 2021 Yes, you’re right! Thank you! Reply C.B. Anderson April 15, 2021 I normally do not care for sentence fragments (e.g. “Given to remorse, reduced to rage”), but somehow you have managed to make it work in this superbly moody poem. It is this quality that also makes the else/shelves rhyme seem totally appropriate. There is something dreamlike going on in this poems that grows more appealing the more I read it. Julian’s call for the first-person nominative is probably the right idea. Reply Julie Desmond May 1, 2021 Thank you for taking time and for your comments. I appreciate this and agree with the I/me change. Thanks! Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Julian D. Woodruff April 14, 2021 Thanks for the tribute to Horace, Ms Desmond, and for your varied expression of frustration at not being able to meet him at his level. I especially love the line “Poet’s charge is flow, I know. I know.” Do you think “I” rather than “me” would be better in line 14? Reply
C.B. Anderson April 15, 2021 I normally do not care for sentence fragments (e.g. “Given to remorse, reduced to rage”), but somehow you have managed to make it work in this superbly moody poem. It is this quality that also makes the else/shelves rhyme seem totally appropriate. There is something dreamlike going on in this poems that grows more appealing the more I read it. Julian’s call for the first-person nominative is probably the right idea. Reply
Julie Desmond May 1, 2021 Thank you for taking time and for your comments. I appreciate this and agree with the I/me change. Thanks! Reply
