The Greats

All I want
Is the voice of W.B. Yeats
In his glorious prime;
The all-seeing mind of Borges
In his infinite intertwines;
The audacity of Szymborska
(whose mouth would curl at this pitiful sight);
The lyrical grace of Mansfield
Who wove tragedy to the conceptual divine

I want to find my Innisfree
Where peace comes dropping slow;
I want to touch Infinities
And communicate their incomprehension to the world;
I crave to write in clear-cut rebellion
In a dualisitic, revering tone;
I long to spin my tragedies
Into timeless lessons of love —
(I try to craft the Lapis Lazuli I await upon
Only to realise my glittering eyes
Are too bound by youth
To empathise with those of the Ancient.)

All these writers
And hundreds more
Have born my thoughts anew,
Have inspired me to renew
The passion with which
I touch the body that cradles me.

© 2018 Anna Rabinov

The writers and their works I refer to in this poem:

W.B. Yeats:
‘The Lake Isle of Innisfree’: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43281/the-lake-isle-of-innisfree

‘Lapis Lazuli’:  https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43297/lapis-lazuli

Jorge Luis Borges:
‘The Book of Sand’: https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.annecoale.com/web4pics/bookofsand.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwid2rbAn9PbAhXHW7wKHff6BpsQFjAeegQIBhAB&usg=AOvVaw3l4g9m0BRpy1n-GlWLfc6P

Wislawa Szymborska: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisława_Szymborska

‘Utopia’: I was unable to find the translation of this poem that I liked, but other translations are available on the web should you wish to read them 🙂

Katherine Mansfield:
‘The Garden Party’: http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/GardPart.shtml

‘The Fly’:  https://commapress.co.uk/resources/online-short-stories/the-fly

Featured image from https://www.writing.com