#dramatic-poetry — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #dramatic-poetry, aggregated by home.social.
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for these
for these
#DramaticPoetry #earlyModernEurope #HistoricalFiction #Imagery #lifestylesOfThePeasantry #literary #literature #Poetry #SerialPoetry #SpokenWord #spring #writing
and for all those who have
no plow
and no anvil over which to bend
a plow into being
no seed
and no burgage1 over which
to spread seed
no meadow
and no swine to shepherd
into the meadow
for all those who wait
and in their wait make
the square drunk and quarrelsome
lewd and a fright
wait for the roads to thaw
and for the thawed roads to dry
wait to watch a plow cross
a selion2 pulled by an ox
wait for the winter cloak to be hung
and for the grass to green
who wait for the bloom to blow
off the branch and for the apricot to ripen
to see a robin wait
for there to come an end of winter
for there to come a war to go to
for all these
under what you’ve already written
in your scroll write
we the undersigned
1 In a medieval context, a "burgage" refers to a tenure, or holding of land, within a borough or town, typically involving a fixed rent or other services to a lord or the crown. AI
2 A "selion" is a historical term referring to a narrow strip or ridge of land used for cultivation in the open-field system of medieval Europe. It was typically one furlong long and one chain wide, making it roughly one acre in area, though exact measurements could vary. -
for these
for these
#DramaticPoetry #earlyModernEurope #HistoricalFiction #Imagery #lifestylesOfThePeasantry #literary #literature #Poetry #SerialPoetry #SpokenWord #spring #writing
and for all those who have
no plow
and no anvil over which to bend
a plow into being
no seed
and no burgage1 over which
to spread seed
no meadow
and no swine to shepherd
into the meadow
for all those who wait
and in their wait make
the square drunk and quarrelsome
lewd and a fright
wait for the roads to thaw
and for the thawed roads to dry
wait to watch a plow cross
a selion2 pulled by an ox
wait for the winter cloak to be hung
and for the grass to green
who wait for the bloom to blow
off the branch and for the apricot to ripen
to see a robin wait
for there to come an end of winter
for there to come a war to go to
for all these
under what you’ve already written
in your scroll write
we the undersigned
1 In a medieval context, a "burgage" refers to a tenure, or holding of land, within a borough or town, typically involving a fixed rent or other services to a lord or the crown. AI
2 A "selion" is a historical term referring to a narrow strip or ridge of land used for cultivation in the open-field system of medieval Europe. It was typically one furlong long and one chain wide, making it roughly one acre in area, though exact measurements could vary. -
those west faced
those west faced
#DramaticPoetry #earlyModernEurope #HistoricalFiction #HoratioDialogue #Imagery #literary #literature #morningShadows #Poetry #SerialPoetry #SpokenWord #urgency #writing
walls of masonry and brickwork
that all wednesday were
damp darkened by rain wash
through all the hours of sunrise
today
those housefronts and market
stalls were shadow tinted
but now that sunless hue recedes
down those walls like a tide
now those walls are sunlight shaded
like mortar like mud at midday
go to that dark monastery where i live
and i’ll pay for your daily bread
walk like one who knows
the time between the shades is short -
those west faced
those west faced
#DramaticPoetry #earlyModernEurope #HistoricalFiction #HoratioDialogue #Imagery #literary #literature #morningShadows #Poetry #SerialPoetry #SpokenWord #urgency #writing
walls of masonry and brickwork
that all wednesday were
damp darkened by rain wash
through all the hours of sunrise
today
those housefronts and market
stalls were shadow tinted
but now that sunless hue recedes
down those walls like a tide
now those walls are sunlight shaded
like mortar like mud at midday
go to that dark monastery where i live
and i’ll pay for your daily bread
walk like one who knows
the time between the shades is short -
my father could afford to pay the fare
my father could afford to pay the fare
#DramaticPoetry #earlyModernEurope #HistoricalFiction #Horatio #Imagery #literary #literature #Poetry #SerialPoetry #SpokenWord #travel #writing
the horizon ahead was a curtain closed
behind the curtain in the next day lay
wittenberg and that winter two winters before
the carriage that brought me from
summer and a place where
there was nothing for me to do there was
a draft that entered those long days
in from around the windows
in from around the doors
in from where the walls joined walls joined
the top joined the floor that draft entered
in through the spaces between the threads of my blouse
between the threads of my trousers
that entire life through i shivered
i wanted a blanket a hooded robe
i asked that the carriage be stopped
stopped at a roadside inn or at a tavern
that wind that draft that entered
in it would have diminished
i could have warmed stepped out eaten
but the driver whipped
the sweat on those horses even more
and the turn of those carriage wheels never stopped
‘til the carriage skidded no sledded into wittenberg
wittenberg grounded in snow
the clothes i wore
that i’d outgrown in the summer left behind i i shrank
i had to employ a hand to hold
my trousers up from down in the snow around my ankles
i was so hungry
and wittenberg was just another carriage
worse than the first
but there was philosophy to distract
from the misery and there were books to read
and my father could afford to pay the fare -
my father could afford to pay the fare
my father could afford to pay the fare
#DramaticPoetry #earlyModernEurope #HistoricalFiction #Horatio #Imagery #literary #literature #Poetry #SerialPoetry #SpokenWord #travel #writing
the horizon ahead was a curtain closed
behind the curtain in the next day lay
wittenberg and that winter two winters before
the carriage that brought me from
summer and a place where
there was nothing for me to do there was
a draft that entered those long days
in from around the windows
in from around the doors
in from where the walls joined walls joined
the top joined the floor that draft entered
in through the spaces between the threads of my blouse
between the threads of my trousers
that entire life through i shivered
i wanted a blanket a hooded robe
i asked that the carriage be stopped
stopped at a roadside inn or at a tavern
that wind that draft that entered
in it would have diminished
i could have warmed stepped out eaten
but the driver whipped
the sweat on those horses even more
and the turn of those carriage wheels never stopped
‘til the carriage skidded no sledded into wittenberg
wittenberg grounded in snow
the clothes i wore
that i’d outgrown in the summer left behind i i shrank
i had to employ a hand to hold
my trousers up from down in the snow around my ankles
i was so hungry
and wittenberg was just another carriage
worse than the first
but there was philosophy to distract
from the misery and there were books to read
and my father could afford to pay the fare -
in the sun brillianced square
in the sun brillianced square
#DramaticPoetry #EarlyModernMarket #HistoricalFiction #Horatio #Imagery #literary #literature #marketDay #Poetry #SerialPoetry #SpokenWord #WittenbergTownSquare #writing
my saturday shadow had shrunk
down to the small
circle in which i stood
loudly the gander flocks gaggled
and more loudly the merchant throngs
and the throngs of purchasers haggled
i received
free rumours of plagues and of wars
free news of birth and of death
i was offered cabbage and kale
offered turnips and carrots
garlic and leeks beans and peas
spinach and lettuce good king henry
pork lamb poultry
before i bought a loaf
of rye bread for a pfenning or
for a pfenning a pound of cheese
a chemise for a half thaler
or for a whole thaler i was offered
a barrel of peasant wine
before my shadow lengthened
i escaped the sun blinding market
through the door into the black eagle
into the dark dimmed with torches -
in the sun brillianced square
in the sun brillianced square
#DramaticPoetry #EarlyModernMarket #HistoricalFiction #Horatio #Imagery #literary #literature #marketDay #Poetry #SerialPoetry #SpokenWord #WittenbergTownSquare #writing
my saturday shadow had shrunk
down to the small
circle in which i stood
loudly the gander flocks gaggled
and more loudly the merchant throngs
and the throngs of purchasers haggled
i received
free rumours of plagues and of wars
free news of birth and of death
i was offered cabbage and kale
offered turnips and carrots
garlic and leeks beans and peas
spinach and lettuce good king henry
pork lamb poultry
before i bought a loaf
of rye bread for a pfenning or
for a pfenning a pound of cheese
a chemise for a half thaler
or for a whole thaler i was offered
a barrel of peasant wine
before my shadow lengthened
i escaped the sun blinding market
through the door into the black eagle
into the dark dimmed with torches -
squinted sun peeks
squinted sun peeks
#DramaticPoetry #Imagery #literary #literature #Poetry #SpokenWord #sunrise #writing
over the edge
bright eye opened
eye from the far east
oriental
eye of one pot stoned
eye the colour of fire
white surf stretches
from the corners of the eye
it squints at the house
white comes out of the walls
red comes out of the roof
squints at the barn
red comes out of the walls
green comes out of the roof
squints at the grass at the trees
green comes out of the grass blades
out of the leaves
squints at the parking lot
black comes blacker than the night
was out of the asphalt
the eye squints at you
your colours come blonde
out of your hair
caucasian out of your face
navy blue out of your jacket
denim blue out of your jeans
from the eye’s corners flames roll
like tears across the edge
this is how day wakes
how the sun begins to open -
squinted sun peeks
squinted sun peeks
#DramaticPoetry #Imagery #literary #literature #Poetry #SpokenWord #sunrise #writing
over the edge
bright eye opened
eye from the far east
oriental
eye of one pot stoned
eye the colour of fire
white surf stretches
from the corners of the eye
it squints at the house
white comes out of the walls
red comes out of the roof
squints at the barn
red comes out of the walls
green comes out of the roof
squints at the grass at the trees
green comes out of the grass blades
out of the leaves
squints at the parking lot
black comes blacker than the night
was out of the asphalt
the eye squints at you
your colours come blonde
out of your hair
caucasian out of your face
navy blue out of your jacket
denim blue out of your jeans
from the eye’s corners flames roll
like tears across the edge
this is how day wakes
how the sun begins to open -
collegienstrasse had changed
collegienstrasse had changed
#DramaticPoetry #EarlyModernWittenberg #HistoricalFiction #HoratioDialogue #Imagery #literary #literature #Poetry #SerialPoetry #SpokenWord #Sunset #writing
rapidly from a dusk shaded
cobblestone garden from where
many youthful voices had climbed like vines
and the youthful laughter of many had bloomed
rapidly changed
to a street fallowed for the night where
the students who were
the seeds from where all those voices
and all that laughter had sprouted
the students had gone home
and the avenue had become
a bared road through a shadow
a shadow that
had at first lengthened
first darkened into schlossstrasse
then lengthened and darkened out
of the beggar square that all night
waited for bread and for brew
lengthened darkened
past the windows of linen and parchment
oiled and dim lit extinguished
past the shuttering of houses
past the university
and the students in the dormitories who’d
pulled the blankets to their chins
past this old monastery
and the professors who lived here then
and then wrote midnight lectures
here by candlelight
as the shadow lengthened
darkened into nightfall at the eastern wall
the one who’d drawn
the watch that night came
closed the eastbound road out
locked the elster gate and began
to walk his rounds -
collegienstrasse had changed
collegienstrasse had changed
#DramaticPoetry #EarlyModernWittenberg #HistoricalFiction #HoratioDialogue #Imagery #literary #literature #Poetry #SerialPoetry #SpokenWord #Sunset #writing
rapidly from a dusk shaded
cobblestone garden from where
many youthful voices had climbed like vines
and the youthful laughter of many had bloomed
rapidly changed
to a street fallowed for the night where
the students who were
the seeds from where all those voices
and all that laughter had sprouted
the students had gone home
and the avenue had become
a bared road through a shadow
a shadow that
had at first lengthened
first darkened into schlossstrasse
then lengthened and darkened out
of the beggar square that all night
waited for bread and for brew
lengthened darkened
past the windows of linen and parchment
oiled and dim lit extinguished
past the shuttering of houses
past the university
and the students in the dormitories who’d
pulled the blankets to their chins
past this old monastery
and the professors who lived here then
and then wrote midnight lectures
here by candlelight
as the shadow lengthened
darkened into nightfall at the eastern wall
the one who’d drawn
the watch that night came
closed the eastbound road out
locked the elster gate and began
to walk his rounds -
paracelsus arrived
paracelsus arrived
#DramaticPoetry #EarlyMorningInAnEarlyModernTown #HistoricalFiction #Imagery #literary #literature #Paracelsus #plague #Poetry #SerialPoetry #SpokenWord #writing
before the south gate
was unlocked
while he waited
to ask the watchman
if the pestilence had come
to wittenberg before he had
the east gate
was opened like an eye
and the morning’s early sun
that had risen from where it waited
its shining entered
the town like a tide -
paracelsus arrived
paracelsus arrived
#DramaticPoetry #EarlyMorningInAnEarlyModernTown #HistoricalFiction #Imagery #literary #literature #Paracelsus #plague #Poetry #SerialPoetry #SpokenWord #writing
before the south gate
was unlocked
while he waited
to ask the watchman
if the pestilence had come
to wittenberg before he had
the east gate
was opened like an eye
and the morning’s early sun
that had risen from where it waited
its shining entered
the town like a tide -
from denmark hamlet brought silver
from denmark hamlet brought silver
#DramaticPoetry #earlyModern #Education #HamletAndHoratio #HistoricalFiction #Imagery #literary #literature #Poetry #SerialPoetry #SpokenWord #UniversityOfWittenberg #writing
speciedalers and cronin
and so he paid to wear the black robe
and the recognition from the towns’ folk
that he was a student here
so he paid for admission
into these corridors of ignorance and revelation
admission to these classrooms
where both daydreams and fascinations were
brought to the table
for me he bought
memories of how he knelt
at his waking and at his bedtime prayers
memories of his voice when he sang hymns
but now sure as i knelt beside his dying
he’s long forgotten what he paid
for a chair
for a place among the gathered
in the assembly hall
his understandings
of german of latin
of philosophy of theology
his ability to speak
in all these languages to read
all these things he bought he left where
like all of us occupants temporary
his bed in the dormitory was rented -
from denmark hamlet brought silver
from denmark hamlet brought silver
#DramaticPoetry #earlyModern #Education #HamletAndHoratio #HistoricalFiction #Imagery #literary #literature #Poetry #SerialPoetry #SpokenWord #UniversityOfWittenberg #writing
speciedalers and cronin
and so he paid to wear the black robe
and the recognition from the towns’ folk
that he was a student here
so he paid for admission
into these corridors of ignorance and revelation
admission to these classrooms
where both daydreams and fascinations were
brought to the table
for me he bought
memories of how he knelt
at his waking and at his bedtime prayers
memories of his voice when he sang hymns
but now sure as i knelt beside his dying
he’s long forgotten what he paid
for a chair
for a place among the gathered
in the assembly hall
his understandings
of german of latin
of philosophy of theology
his ability to speak
in all these languages to read
all these things he bought he left where
like all of us occupants temporary
his bed in the dormitory was rented -
instructed
instructed
#16thCenturyCampusLiving #DramaticPoetry #earlyModernEuropean #HamletAndHoratio #HistoricalFiction #Imagery #literary #literature #Poetry #SerialPoetry #SpokenWord #UniversityOfWittenberg #writing
in my first hour
here by the danish king
to share his chamber with me
his meals and his clothing his books
i possessed nothing and hamlet
he was his father’s desired son
the student favoured
by the dean of philosophy
alberti who instructed him
to show me the town
to be a host to me -
instructed
instructed
#16thCenturyCampusLiving #DramaticPoetry #earlyModernEuropean #HamletAndHoratio #HistoricalFiction #Imagery #literary #literature #Poetry #SerialPoetry #SpokenWord #UniversityOfWittenberg #writing
in my first hour
here by the danish king
to share his chamber with me
his meals and his clothing his books
i possessed nothing and hamlet
he was his father’s desired son
the student favoured
by the dean of philosophy
alberti who instructed him
to show me the town
to be a host to me -
tomorrow
when the shadows of short boys stretch
#DramaticPoetry #earlyModernEurope #HistoricalFiction #Imagery #literary #literature #marketDay #Poetry #SerialPoetry #SpokenWord #writing
long on the cobble stones of collegien strasse
when they stretch toward the west
and toward town square
tomorrow early show
this erasmus the way to the market -
tomorrow
when the shadows of short boys stretch
#DramaticPoetry #earlyModernEurope #HistoricalFiction #Imagery #literary #literature #marketDay #Poetry #SerialPoetry #SpokenWord #writing
long on the cobble stones of collegien strasse
when they stretch toward the west
and toward town square
tomorrow early show
this erasmus the way to the market