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Monday, April 09, 2018

The Prince of Egypt and the Sphinx

"The Prince of Egypt and the Sphinx" is up today at Autumn Sky Poetry Daily, where you can read poems, share, like--and where you can also find some other poems by me: "I Met My True Love Walking," "Epistle to F. D.," "Icarus, Icarus, Paratrooper," and "Landscape with Icefall." Thank you to editor Christine Klocek-Lim.




Today at Autumn Sky Poetry DAILY: The Prince of Egypt and the Sphinx by Marly Youmans. #poem #formalverse


Autumn Sky Poetry DAILY
5 hrs
The Prince of Egypt and the Sphinx On the northern and the southern roads, He reveled, shooting at a bronze target, Pursuing lions and vast herds of beasts Until his chariot was a gold blur And horses changed to coursers of the wind. At noon, the young prince napped between the paws Of Horus-in-the-horizon, the Sphinx Who guards the sun and gates to the beyond. [ 138 more words ]



The Prince of Egypt and the Sphinx by Marly Youmans
The Prince of Egypt and the Sphinx On the northern and the southern roads, He reveled, shooting at a bronze target, Pursuing lions and vast herds of beasts Until his chariot was a…
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7 comments:

  1. Roderick Robinson2:39 AM, April 10, 2018

    I think I've raised this before. "I Met My True Love Walking" sounds like a candidate for setting to music. Not by me, of course, although I might find a tune that fits. Mind you it can be a painful experience for the poet: music loves "ah" but hates the e in "the". Adjustments may be necessary.

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    Replies
    1. Marly Youmans11:55 AM, April 10, 2018

      And maybe I have said this before (if so, apologies!), but I'm sure that I was thinking of Yeats's "Down by the Salley Gardens," which has been set to music multiple times...

      Delete
  2. scott g.f.bailey12:39 PM, April 10, 2018

    This is what I mean when I say I have no idea how your poems will swerve. The first stanza is idyllic (I love the image of the prince sleeping between the Sphinx's paws), the second prods and doubts (how do we know the Sphinx doesn't give that dream to everyone who sleeps at her feet, and that scores of men didn't pick away the sand with no reward at all?).

    "True Love" could surely be set to music without changing a syllable. I'd repeat the last line of each stanza, though, and maybe modulate from major to minor for the second half. Yes, that's what I'd do.

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    1. Marly Youmans12:52 PM, April 10, 2018

      Well, I will leaves those musical decisions to you and the alliterative Roderick Robinson!

      I like your reading of the poem (as usual.)

      Delete
    2. Marly Youmans8:05 PM, April 12, 2018

      LEAVE LEAVE LEAVE
      Aaaagh!
      Typos are my enemy!

      Delete
    3. scott g.f.bailey12:09 PM, April 13, 2018

      If we were meant to use keyboards, God would've given us 60 fingers!

      Delete
    4. Marly Youmans12:47 PM, April 13, 2018

      Mmm. I'm visualizing them in various conformations. Not attractive. Probably hard to get dressed, too.

      Delete

Alas, I must once again remind large numbers of Chinese salesmen and other worldwide peddlers that if they fall into the Gulf of Spam, they will be eaten by roaming Balrogs. The rest of you, lovers of grace, poetry, and horses (nod to Yeats--you do not have to be fond of horses), feel free to leave fascinating missives and curious arguments.