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Title: Whipperginny
Author: Robert Graves
Release date: January 7, 2019 [eBook #58642]
Most recently updated: January 24, 2021
Language: English
Credits: Produced by Chuck Greif, MWS and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WHIPPERGINNY ***
WHIPPERGINNY
WHIPPERGINNY
BY
ROBERT GRAVES
NEW YORK
ALFRED A. KNOPF : MCMXXIII
TO
EDWARD MARSH
Printed in Great Britain
AUTHOR’S NOTE
The poems in this volume cover a period of three years, beginning at the New Year of 1920, except for the rhymes “Henry and Mary,” “What did I dream?” and “Mirror, Mirror!” with parts of “An English Wood,” “The Bed Post” and of “Unicorn and the White Doe,” which are bankrupt stock of 1918, the year in which I was writing Country Sentiment. The Pier Glass, a volume which followed Country Sentiment, similarly contains a few pieces continuing the mood of this year, the desire to escape from a painful war neurosis into an Arcadia of amatory fancy, but the prevailing mood of The Pier Glass is aggressive and disciplinary, under the stress of the same neurosis, rather than escapist. Whipperginny for a while continues so, but in most of the later pieces will be found evidences of greater detachment in the poet and the appearance of a new series of problems in religion, psychology and philosophy, no less exacting than their predecessors, but, it may be said, of less emotional intensity. The “Interlude” in the middle of the book was written before the appearance of these less lyrical pieces, but must be read as an apology for the book being now even less homogeneous than before. To those who demand unceasing emotional stress in poetry at whatever cost to the poet—I was one of these myself until recently—I have no apology to offer; but only this proverb from the Chinese, that the petulant protests of all the lords and ladies of the Imperial Court will weigh little with the whale when, recovering from his painful excretory condition, he need no longer supply the Guild of Honourable Perfumers with their accustomed weight of ambergris.
ROBERT GRAVES.
CONTENTS
WHIPPERGINNY
(“A card game, obsolete.”—Standard Dictionary.)
To cards we have recourse
When Time with cruelty runs,
To courtly Bridge for stress of love,
To Nap for noise of guns.
When Time with cruelty runs,
To courtly Bridge for stress of love,
To Nap for noise of guns.
On fairy earth we tread,
No present problems vex
Where man’s four humours fade to suits,
With red and black for sex.
No present problems vex
Where man’s four humours fade to suits,
With red and black for sex.
Where phantom gains accrue
By tricks instead of cash,
Where pasteboard federacies of Powers
In battles-royal clash.
By tricks instead of cash,
Where pasteboard federacies of Powers
In battles-royal clash.
Then read the antique word
That hangs above this page
As type of mirth-abstracted joy,
Calm terror, noiseless rage,
That hangs above this page
As type of mirth-abstracted joy,
Calm terror, noiseless rage,
A realm of ideal thought,
Obscured by veils of Time,
Cipher remote enough to stand
As namesake for my rhyme,
Obscured by veils of Time,
Cipher remote enough to stand
As namesake for my rhyme,
THE BEDPOST
Sleepy Betsy from her pillow
Sees the post and ball
Of her sister’s wooden bedstead
Shadowed on the wall.
Sees the post and ball
Of her sister’s wooden bedstead
Shadowed on the wall.
Now this grave young warrior standing
With uncovered head
Tells her stories of old battle,
As she lies in bed.
With uncovered head
Tells her stories of old battle,
As she lies in bed.
How the Emperor and the Farmer,
Fighting knee to knee,
Broke their swords but whirled their scabbards
Till they gained the sea.
Fighting knee to knee,
Broke their swords but whirled their scabbards
Till they gained the sea.
How the ruler of that shore
Foully broke his oath,
Gave them beds in his sea cavern,
Then stabbed them both.
Foully broke his oath,
Gave them beds in his sea cavern,
Then stabbed them both.
How the daughters of the Emperor,
Diving boldly through,
Caught and killed their father’s murderer,
Old Cro-bar-cru.
Diving boldly through,
Caught and killed their father’s murderer,
Old Cro-bar-cru.
How the Farmer’s sturdy sons
Fought the giant Gog,
Threw him into Stony Cataract
In the land of Og.
Fought the giant Gog,
Threw him into Stony Cataract
In the land of Og.
Will and Abel were their names,
Though they went by others;
He could tell ten thousand stories
Of these lusty brothers.
Though they went by others;
He could tell ten thousand stories
Of these lusty brothers.
How the Emperor’s elder daughter
Fell in love with Will,
And went with him to the Court of Venus
Over Hoo Hill;
Fell in love with Will,
And went with him to the Court of Venus
Over Hoo Hill;
How Gog’s wife encountered Abel
Whom she hated most,
Stole away his arms and helmet,
Turned him to a post.
Whom she hated most,
Stole away his arms and helmet,
Turned him to a post.
As a post he shall be rooted
For yet many years,
Until a maiden shall release him
With a fall of tears.
For yet many years,
Until a maiden shall release him
With a fall of tears.
A LOVER SINCE CHILDHOOD
Tangled in thought am I,
Stumble in speech do I?
Do I blunder and blush for the reason why?
Wander aloof do I,
Lean over gates and sigh,
Making friends with the bee and the butterfly?
Stumble in speech do I?
Do I blunder and blush for the reason why?
Wander aloof do I,
Lean over gates and sigh,
Making friends with the bee and the butterfly?
If thus and thus I do,
Dazed by the thought of you,
Walking my sorrowful way in the early dew,
My heart cut through and through
In this despair for you,
Starved for a word or a look will my hope renew;
Dazed by the thought of you,
Walking my sorrowful way in the early dew,
My heart cut through and through
In this despair for you,
Starved for a word or a look will my hope renew;
SONG OF CONTRARIETY
Far away is close at hand,
Close joined is far away,
Love might come at your command
Yet will not stay.
Close joined is far away,
Love might come at your command
Yet will not stay.
At summons of your dream-despair
She could not disobey,
But slid close down beside you there
And complaisant lay.
She could not disobey,
But slid close down beside you there
And complaisant lay.
Yet now her flesh and blood consent
In waking hours of day,
Joy and passion both are spent,
Fading clean away.
In waking hours of day,
Joy and passion both are spent,
Fading clean away.
THE RIDGE-TOP
Below the ridge a raven flew
And we heard the lost curlew
Mourning out of sight below;
Mountain tops were touched with snow;
Even the long dividing plain
Showed no wealth of sheep or grain,
But fields of boulders lay like corn
And raven’s croak was shepherd’s horn
To slow cloud shadow strayed across
A pasture of thin heath and moss.
The North Wind rose; I saw him press
With lusty force against your dress,
Moulding your body’s inward grace,
And streaming off from your set face;
So now no longer flesh and blood,
But poised in marble thought you stood,
O wingless Victory, loved of men,
Who could withstand your triumph then?
And we heard the lost curlew
Mourning out of sight below;
Mountain tops were touched with snow;
Even the long dividing plain
Showed no wealth of sheep or grain,
But fields of boulders lay like corn
And raven’s croak was shepherd’s horn
To slow cloud shadow strayed across
A pasture of thin heath and moss.
The North Wind rose; I saw him press
With lusty force against your dress,
Moulding your body’s inward grace,
And streaming off from your set face;
So now no longer flesh and blood,
But poised in marble thought you stood,
O wingless Victory, loved of men,
Who could withstand your triumph then?
SONG IN WINTER
UNICORN AND THE WHITE DOE
“Alone
Through forests evergreen,
By legend known,
By no eye seen,
Unmated,
Unbaited,
Untrembling between
The shifting shadows,
The sudden echoes,
Deathless I go
Unheard, unseen,”
Says the White Doe.
Through forests evergreen,
By legend known,
By no eye seen,
Unmated,
Unbaited,
Untrembling between
The shifting shadows,
The sudden echoes,
Deathless I go
Unheard, unseen,”
Says the White Doe.
Unicorn with bursting heart
Breath of love hath drawn
On his desolate crags apart
At rumour of dawn;
Breath of love hath drawn
On his desolate crags apart
At rumour of dawn;
Has volleyed forth his pride
Twenty thousand years mute,
Tossed his horn from side to side,
Lunged with his foot.
Twenty thousand years mute,
Tossed his horn from side to side,
Lunged with his foot.
“Like a storm of sand I run
Breaking the desert’s boundaries,
I go in hiding from the sun
In thick shade of trees.
Breaking the desert’s boundaries,
I go in hiding from the sun
In thick shade of trees.
Straight was the track I took
Across the plains, but here with briar
And mire the tangled alleys crook,
Baulking desire.
Across the plains, but here with briar
And mire the tangled alleys crook,
Baulking desire.
And there, what glinted white?
(A bough still shakes.)
What was it darted from my sight
Through the forest brakes?
(A bough still shakes.)
What was it darted from my sight
Through the forest brakes?
Where are you fled from me?
I pursue, you fade;
I run, you hide from me
In the dark glade.
I pursue, you fade;
I run, you hide from me
In the dark glade.
Towering straight the trees grow,
The grass grows thick.
Where you are I do not know,
You fly so quick.”
The grass grows thick.
Where you are I do not know,
You fly so quick.”
“Seek me not here
Lodged among mortal deer,”
Says the White Doe;
“Keeping one place
Held by the ties of Space,”
Says the White Doe.
“I
Equally
In air
Above your bare
Hill crest, your basalt lair,
Mirage-reflected drink
At the clear pool’s brink;
With tigers at play
In the glare of day
Blithely I stray;
Under shadow of myrtle
With Phœnix and his Turtle
For all time true;
With Gryphons at grass
Under the Upas,
Sipping warm dew
That falls hourly new;
I, unattainable
Complete, incomprehensible,
No mate for you.
In sun’s beam
Or star-gleam,
No mate for you,
No mate for you,”
Says the White Doe.
Lodged among mortal deer,”
Says the White Doe;
“Keeping one place
Held by the ties of Space,”
Says the White Doe.
“I
Equally
In air
Above your bare
Hill crest, your basalt lair,
Mirage-reflected drink
At the clear pool’s brink;
With tigers at play
In the glare of day
Blithely I stray;
Under shadow of myrtle
With Phœnix and his Turtle
For all time true;
With Gryphons at grass
Under the Upas,
Sipping warm dew
That falls hourly new;
I, unattainable
Complete, incomprehensible,
No mate for you.
In sun’s beam
Or star-gleam,
No mate for you,
No mate for you,”
Says the White Doe.
SULLEN MOODS
Love, do not count your labour lost
Though I turn sullen, grim, retired
Even at your side; my thought is crossed
With fancies by old longings fired.
Though I turn sullen, grim, retired
Even at your side; my thought is crossed
With fancies by old longings fired.
And when I answer you, some days
Vaguely and wildly, do not fear
That my love walks forbidden ways,
Breaking the ties that hold it here.
Vaguely and wildly, do not fear
That my love walks forbidden ways,
Breaking the ties that hold it here.
If I speak gruffly, this mood is
Mere indignation at my own
Shortcomings, plagues, uncertainties;
I forget the gentler tone.
Mere indignation at my own
Shortcomings, plagues, uncertainties;
I forget the gentler tone.
You, now that you have come to be
My one beginning, prime and end,
I count at last as wholly me,
Lover no longer nor yet friend.
My one beginning, prime and end,
I count at last as wholly me,
Lover no longer nor yet friend.
Friendship is flattery, though close hid;
Must I then flatter my own mind?
And must (which laws of shame forbid)
Blind love of you make self-love blind?
Must I then flatter my own mind?
And must (which laws of shame forbid)
Blind love of you make self-love blind?
Do not repay me my own coin,
The sharp rebuke, the frown, the groan;
Remind me, rather, to disjoin
Your emanation from my own.
The sharp rebuke, the frown, the groan;
Remind me, rather, to disjoin
Your emanation from my own.
Help me to see you as before
When overwhelmed and dead, almost,
I stumbled on that secret door
Which saves the live man from the ghost.
When overwhelmed and dead, almost,
I stumbled on that secret door
Which saves the live man from the ghost.
A FALSE REPORT
Are they blind, the lords of Gaza,
That each his fellow urges
“Samson the proud is pillow-smothered,”
They raise mock dirges?
That each his fellow urges
“Samson the proud is pillow-smothered,”
They raise mock dirges?
Philistines and dullards,
Turn, look with amaze
At my foxes running in your cornfields
With their tails ablaze,
Turn, look with amaze
At my foxes running in your cornfields
With their tails ablaze,
CHILDREN OF DARKNESS
(“In their generation wiser than the children of Light.”)
We spurred our parents to the kiss,
Though doubtfully they shrank from this—
Day had no courage to review
What lusty dark alone might do—
Then were we joined from their caress
In heat of midnight, one from two.
Though doubtfully they shrank from this—
Day had no courage to review
What lusty dark alone might do—
Then were we joined from their caress
In heat of midnight, one from two.
This night-seed knew no discontent,
In certitude his changings went;
Though there were veils about his face,
With forethought, even in that pent place,
Down towards the light his way he bent
To kingdoms of more ample space.
In certitude his changings went;
Though there were veils about his face,
With forethought, even in that pent place,
Down towards the light his way he bent
To kingdoms of more ample space.
RICHARD ROE AND JOHN DOE
Richard Roe wished himself Solomon
Made cuckold, you should know, by one John Doe;
Solomon’s neck was firm enough to bear
Some score of antlers more than Roe could wear.
Made cuckold, you should know, by one John Doe;
Solomon’s neck was firm enough to bear
Some score of antlers more than Roe could wear.
Richard Roe wished himself Alexander,
Being robbed of house and land by the same hand;
Ten thousand acres or a principal town
Would have cost Alexander scarce a frown.
Being robbed of house and land by the same hand;
Ten thousand acres or a principal town
Would have cost Alexander scarce a frown.
Richard Roe wished himself Job the prophet,
Sunk past reclaim in stinking rags and shame;
Job’s plight was utterly bad, his own even worse,
He found no God to call on or to curse.
Sunk past reclaim in stinking rags and shame;
Job’s plight was utterly bad, his own even worse,
He found no God to call on or to curse.
THE DIALECTICIANS
Thought has a bias,
Direction a bend,
Space its inhibitions,
Time a dead end.
Direction a bend,
Space its inhibitions,
Time a dead end.
Is whiteness white?
O then, call it black:
Farthest from the truth
Is yet half-way back.
O then, call it black:
Farthest from the truth
Is yet half-way back.
Effect ordains Cause,
Head swallowing its tail;
Does whale engulf sprat,
Or sprat assume whale?
Head swallowing its tail;
Does whale engulf sprat,
Or sprat assume whale?
THE LANDS OF WHIPPERGINNY
(“Heaven or Hell or the Lands of Whipperginny.”—Nashe’s Jack
Wilton.)
Come closer yet, sweet honeysuckle, my coney, O my Jinny,
With a low sun gilding the bloom of the wood.
Be this Heaven, be it Hell, or the Lands of Whipperginny,
It lies in a fairy lustre, it savours most good.
With a low sun gilding the bloom of the wood.
Be this Heaven, be it Hell, or the Lands of Whipperginny,
It lies in a fairy lustre, it savours most good.
“THE GENERAL ELLIOTT”
He fell in victory’s fierce pursuit,
Holed through and through with shot,
A sabre sweep had hacked him deep
’Twixt neck and shoulder-knot....
Holed through and through with shot,
A sabre sweep had hacked him deep
’Twixt neck and shoulder-knot....
The potman cannot well recall,
The ostler never knew,
Whether his day was Malplaquet,
The Boyne, or Waterloo.
The ostler never knew,
Whether his day was Malplaquet,
The Boyne, or Waterloo.
But there he hangs for tavern sign,
With foolish bold regard
For cock and hen and loitering men
And wagons down the yard.
With foolish bold regard
For cock and hen and loitering men
And wagons down the yard.
Raised high above the hayseed world
He smokes his painted pipe,
And now surveys the orchard ways,
The damsons clustering ripe.
He smokes his painted pipe,
And now surveys the orchard ways,
The damsons clustering ripe.
He sees the churchyard slabs beyond,
Where country neighbours lie,
Their brief renown set lowly down;
His name assaults the sky.
Where country neighbours lie,
Their brief renown set lowly down;
His name assaults the sky.
He grips the tankard of brown ale
That spills a generous foam:
Oft-times he drinks, they say, and winks
At drunk men lurching home.
That spills a generous foam:
Oft-times he drinks, they say, and winks
At drunk men lurching home.
No upstart hero may usurp
That honoured swinging seat;
His seasons pass with pipe and glass
Until the tale’s complete.
That honoured swinging seat;
His seasons pass with pipe and glass
Until the tale’s complete.
A FIGHT TO THE DEATH
OLD WIVES’ TALES
Were the tales they told absurd,
Random tags for a child’s ear?
Soon I mocked at all I heard,
Though with cause indeed for fear.
Random tags for a child’s ear?
Soon I mocked at all I heard,
Though with cause indeed for fear.
Of the mermaids’ doleful game
In deep water I heard tell,
Of lofty dragons blowing flame,
Of the hornèd fiend of Hell.
In deep water I heard tell,
Of lofty dragons blowing flame,
Of the hornèd fiend of Hell.
Now I have met the mermaid kin
And find them bound by natural laws,
They have neither tail nor fin,
But are the deadlier for that cause.
And find them bound by natural laws,
They have neither tail nor fin,
But are the deadlier for that cause.
Dragons have no darting tongues,
Teeth saw-edged nor rattling scales,
No fire issues from their lungs,
Poison has not slimed their tails.
Teeth saw-edged nor rattling scales,
No fire issues from their lungs,
Poison has not slimed their tails.
But they are creatures of dark air,
Unsubstantial tossing forms,
Thunderclaps of man’s despair
In mid whirl of mental storms.
Unsubstantial tossing forms,
Thunderclaps of man’s despair
In mid whirl of mental storms.
And there’s a true and only fiend
Worse than prophets prophesy,
Whose full powers to hurt are screened
Lest the race of man should die.
Worse than prophets prophesy,
Whose full powers to hurt are screened
Lest the race of man should die.
Ever in vain may courage plot
The dragon’s death with shield and sword,
Or love abjure the mermaid grot,
Or faith be fixed in one blest word.
The dragon’s death with shield and sword,
Or love abjure the mermaid grot,
Or faith be fixed in one blest word.