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John Keats 31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821

Melancholy’s lack of zest
written all over his palimpsest:
to die at twenty-five to some
will hardly seem to have been alive.
but  for Johnny Keats and the footloose Cavaliers
poetry, music, art, tears were eternal.
They eschewed self-pity, untold fears.

They tried their best to stay alive
In a world without antibiotics.
no easy crossing of the river Lethe
no seeking out of empty-headed
oblivion.They preferred to breathe
the clear air of Hampstead heath.
for Johnny Keats and the footloose Cavaliers
did not, and could not,. measure out life in years
but sought to rise to the attainment of that rarest
of rare orchids, love. What will survive of us.
For Johnny Keats and the footloose Cavaliers
life was so much more
than just the passing of the years.


Keats, the poet-physician, balanced
his surface understanding of anatomy
with the hidden mysteries of the body.
Alchemical intuitions unified body and soul.
Intuitions borne out by the mysteries of quantum physics.
Tme was such a slippery beast:for Johnny Keats
and the footloose Cavaliers
they writ their poems in water.

20 of John Keats' Most Famous Quotes - Art-Sheep

◄ Wie prophetisch - Rainer Maria Rilke

Gérard Manley Hopkins SJ ►

Comments

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M.C. Newberry

Tue 20th Apr 2021 15:11

They made do with what they had - and, by heaven didn't they do a
wonderful job in the time - and the times - they knew?

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John Coopey

Tue 20th Apr 2021 09:34

I’d not heard that cover of “Boots of Spanish Leather”, John. Lovely accompaniment.

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Ferris Ty Taylor

Tue 20th Apr 2021 00:36

Lack of zest/palimpsest ?

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