There is no doubt that poetry is emo, it goes hand in hand with the emotion, fashion, and overall stereotype. It’s so ubiquitous that we even have a whole forum dedicated to it.

In light of this I have decided to periodically post a poem or two for the blog; tell me what you think of this excerpt from Conrad Aike’s 1953 preludes series entitled “Preludes for Memnon.”

“I read the primrose and the sea

                                    and remember nothing

I read Arcturus and the snow

                                    and remember nothing

I read the green and white book of spring

                                    and remember nothing

I read the hatred in a man’s eye

                                    Lord, I remember nothing.

. . .

 

Scorn spat at me and spoke

                                    I remember it not

The river was frozen round the ship

                                    I remember it not

I found a secret message in a blade of grass

                                    and it is forgotten

I called my lovers by their sweet names

                                    they are all forgotten.

. . .

 

Where are my lovers now?

                                    buried in me.

The blades of grass, the ships, the scorners?

                                    here in me

The haters in the spring, snow and Arcturus?

                                    here in me

The primrose and the sea?

                                    here in me.

. . .

 

Lie down poor heart at last

                                    and have your rest

Remember to forget

                                    and have your rest

Think of yourself as once you were

                                    at your best

And then lie down alone

                                    and have your rest”

For a little background, a lot of Conrad Aike’s work centers around his sadness from when he was a child; when he was eleven his father shot his mother during a fight and then killed himself, this traumatic event influenced Conrad’s thought his literature.