{"id":10143,"date":"2020-12-15T11:54:57","date_gmt":"2020-12-15T11:54:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cassandravoices.com\/?p=10143"},"modified":"2020-12-15T11:54:57","modified_gmt":"2020-12-15T11:54:57","slug":"poetry-edward-clarke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/2020\/12\/15\/poetry-edward-clarke\/","title":{"rendered":"Poetry &#8211; Edward Clarke"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Assembly<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One morning during the first week of Advent,<br \/>\n_\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When I was possessed,<br \/>\nAfter a birthday\u2019s dark exhilarations,<br \/>\n_\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 By a terrible kind of nervousness,<br \/>\nWe saw, on stage, the judgement of our son,<br \/>\nBefore his class, the Egyptian pantheon.<\/p>\n<p>I was chosen, he said, to be mummified today:<br \/>\n_\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My life was cut short<br \/>\nWhile I was out in my papyrus boat,<br \/>\n_\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hunting hippos (a dangerous sport).<br \/>\nThen they took the brains out of this son of ours,<br \/>\nAnd placed his viscera, like pasta, in cardboard jars.<\/p>\n<p>As in the womb of Advent, I\u2019d put myself<br \/>\n_\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In that small space<br \/>\nIn which they shut him, cured and bandaged up,<br \/>\n_\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And pray to God I feel the grace<br \/>\nOf Christmas, afloat inside its heavily<br \/>\nExpectant bustle, remote as a vessel at sea.<\/p>\n<p>And what strange afterlife shall I find there,<br \/>\n_\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 On stage, when they lead<br \/>\nMe out, to weigh my heart against its feather?<br \/>\n_\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid<br \/>\nIn this book\u2019s manger, roughly I perceive<br \/>\nAngels, livestock, and men, the gifts you\u2019ll leave.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Image: Lighting of O&#8217;Connell Street Christmas Tree, Garda Band (1988),<\/em> <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"http:\/\/digital.libraries.dublincity.ie\/vital\/access\/manager\/Repository\/vital:35290\">Dublin City Library And Archive.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Assembly One morning during the first week of Advent, _\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When I was possessed, After a birthday\u2019s dark exhilarations, _\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 By a terrible kind of nervousness, We saw, on stage, the judgement of our son, Before his class, the Egyptian pantheon. I was chosen, he said, to be mummified today: _\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My life was cut [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":10221,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[2841,2844],"class_list":["post-10143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-poetry","tag-edward-clarke-christmas-poem","tag-edward-clarke-poetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10143"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10143\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}