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Michael's Reviews > Poems Selected by Himself
Poems Selected by Himself
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I had to push through the initial third of the book as I found the poems generally uninteresting. As Graves sloughed off the stylistic conventions of a past era I felt more engaged with his imagery, some of which is striking, but it felt too little and too fleeting. Whilst this was mildly disappointing, I'm not put off from possibly exploring his later poetry, though I won't be actively seeking it out any time soon. I still love his historical fiction, though.
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Poems Selected by Himself.
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Quotes Michael Liked
“A sullen pier-glass, cracked from side to side,
Scorns to present the face (as do new mirrors)
With a lying flush, but shows it melancholy
And pale, as faces grow that look in mirrors.
- The Pier-Glass”
― Poems Selected by Himself
Scorns to present the face (as do new mirrors)
With a lying flush, but shows it melancholy
And pale, as faces grow that look in mirrors.
- The Pier-Glass”
― Poems Selected by Himself
“Take your delight in momentariness,
Walk between dark and dark - a shining space
With the grave's narrowness, though not its peace.
- Sick Love”
― Poems Selected by Himself
Walk between dark and dark - a shining space
With the grave's narrowness, though not its peace.
- Sick Love”
― Poems Selected by Himself
“From husks and rags and waste and excrement
He forms the pavement-feet and the lift-faces;
He steers the sick words into parliament
To rule a dust-bin world with deep-sleep phrases.
When healthy words or people chance to dine
Together in this rarely actual scene,
There is a love-taste in the bread and wine,
Nor is it asked: "Do you mean what you mean?"
But to their table-converse boldly comes
The same great-devil with his brush and tray,
To conjure plump loaves from the scattered crumbs,
And feed his false five thousands day by day.
- Hell”
― Poems Selected by Himself
He forms the pavement-feet and the lift-faces;
He steers the sick words into parliament
To rule a dust-bin world with deep-sleep phrases.
When healthy words or people chance to dine
Together in this rarely actual scene,
There is a love-taste in the bread and wine,
Nor is it asked: "Do you mean what you mean?"
But to their table-converse boldly comes
The same great-devil with his brush and tray,
To conjure plump loaves from the scattered crumbs,
And feed his false five thousands day by day.
- Hell”
― Poems Selected by Himself
“To bring the dead to life
Is no great magic.
Few are wholly dead;
Blow on a dead man's embers
And a live flame will start.
- To Bring the Dead to Life”
― Poems Selected by Himself
Is no great magic.
Few are wholly dead;
Blow on a dead man's embers
And a live flame will start.
- To Bring the Dead to Life”
― Poems Selected by Himself
“The pen moved slowly upon paper
And tears fell.
He had written a name, yours, in printed letters:
One word on which bemusedly to pore -
No protest, no desire, your naked name,
Nothing more.
- The Foreboding”
― Poems Selected by Himself
And tears fell.
He had written a name, yours, in printed letters:
One word on which bemusedly to pore -
No protest, no desire, your naked name,
Nothing more.
- The Foreboding”
― Poems Selected by Himself
Reading Progress
December 20, 2009
– Shelved
April 24, 2013
– Shelved as:
poetry
April 22, 2018
–
Started Reading
May 1, 2018
– Shelved as:
mild-disappointment
May 1, 2018
–
Finished Reading
May 2, 2018
– Shelved as:
no-longer-own
