Monday, October 13, 2008

I Get a Little Highbrow (With Help From My Friends)

This is probably as close as I’ll get in this blog to political commentary. . .

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Choruses from ‘The Rock’, by T. S. Eliot

VI

It is hard for those who have never known persecution,
And who have never known a Christian,
To believe these tales of Christian persecution.
It is hard for those who live near a Bank
To doubt the security of their money.
It is hard for those who live near a Police Station
To believe in the triumph of violence.
Do you think that the Faith has conquered the World
And that lions no longer need keepers?
Do you need to be told that whatever has been, can still be?
Do you need to be told that even such modest attainments
As you can boast in the way of polite society
Will hardly survive the Faith to which they owe their significance?
. . .
Why should men love the Church? Why should they love her laws?
She tells them of Life and Death, and of all that they would forget.
She is tender where they would be hard, and hard where they like to be soft.
She tells them of Evil and Sin, and other unpleasant facts.
They constantly try to escape
From the darkness outside and within
By dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good.
But the man that is will shadow
The man that pretends to be. . .

6 comments:

Therese in Heaven said...

That is very good commentary on our times, particularly this line:

They constantly try to escape
From the darkness outside and within By dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good.


Thanks for sharing this.

Desmond Jones said...

Gosh, Therese, if it wasn't for you, no-one at all would ever comment on my 'poetry' posts. You try to 'raise the level' a little bit, and look what you get for it. . . ;)

That's my favorite line, too, along with the ones that follow -

But the man that is will shadow
The man that pretends to be. . .


Which is to say, you can't fool Human Nature. . .

Phyllis Renée said...

Sorry, Desmond, I don't make it over here often enough to know you've even posted poems before this. I'll have to work on that.

Anyway, thanks for sharing this. I like it!

Desmond Jones said...

Hi, Phyllis!

Well, shoot, drop on by as often as you can; I try to post at least once a week or so. At least, while I have material. . .

And, glad you like it; thanks.

Bijoux said...

Eliot is too taxing for my mind. Maybe I'm not alone, Desmond!

Desmond Jones said...

Oh, not to worry, Cocotte; just, you know, whenever you're moved to say something. . .