one of my favorite roethke pieces, which, for obvious reasons, i fell i love with in my late teens: The Serpent There was a Serpent who had to sing. There was. There was. He simply gave up Serpenting. Because. Because. He didn’t like his Kind of Life; He couldn’t find a proper Wife; He was a Serpent with a soul; He got no Pleasure down his Hole. And so, of course, he had to Sing, And Sing he did, like Anything! The Birds, they were, they were Astounded; And various Measures Propounded To stop the Serpent’s Awful Racket: They bought a Drum. He wouldn’t Whack it. They sent, —you always send, —to Cuba And got a Most Commodious Tuba; They got a Horn, they got a Flute, But Nothing would suit. He said, “Look, Birds, all this is futile: I do not like to Bang or Tootle.” And then he cut loose with a Horrible Note That practically split the Top of his Throat. “You see,” he said, with a Serpent’s Leer, “I’m Serious about my Singing Career!” And the Woods Resounded with many a Shriek As the Birds flew off to the end of Next Week. -Theodore Roethke
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 07:17:53 +0000
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