Venus Will Say a Few Words by W.H. Auden and my response

Venus Will Say a Few Words by W.H. Auden and my response Since you are going to begin today Let us consider what it is you do. You are the one whose part it is to lean, For whom it is not good to be alone. Laugh warmly turning shyly in the hall Or climb with bare knees the volcanic hill, Acquire that flick of wrist and after strain Relax in your darling’s arms like a stone, Remembering everything you can confess, Making the most of firelight, of hours and fuss; But joy is mine not yours—to have come so far, Whose cleverest invention was lately fur; Lizards my best once who took years to breed, Could not control the temperature of blood. To reach that shape for your face to assume, Pleasure to many and despair to some, I shifted ranges, lived epochs handicapped By climate, wars, or what the young men kept, Modified theories on the types of dross, Altered desire and history of dress. You in the town now call the exile fool That writes home once a year as last leaves fall, Think—Romans had a language in their day And ordered roads with it, but it had to die: Your culture can but leave—forgot as sure As place-name origins in favorite shire— Jottings for stories, some often-mentioned Jack, And references in letters to a private joke, Equipment rusting in unweeded lanes, Virtues still advertised on local lines; And your conviction shall help none to fly, Cause rather a perversion on next floor. Nor even in despair your own, when swiftly Comes general assault on your ideas of safety: That sense of famine, central anguish felt For goodness wasted at peripheral fault, Your shutting up the house and taking prow To go into the wilderness to pray, Means that I wish to leave and to pass on, Select another form, perhaps your son; Though he reject you, join opposing team Be late or early at another time, My treatment will not differ—he will be tipped, Found weeping, signed for, made to answer, topped. Do not imagine you can abdicate; Before you reach the frontier you are caught; Others have tried it and will try again To finish that which they did not begin: Their fate must always be the same as yours, To suffer the loss they were afraid of, yes, Holders of one position, wrong for years. My Response: Oh Dear Venus, did you not know? Those were my words. I put them in your heart to keep you safe. To protect the joy that I myself began. I seem to sense though, you lost yourself there. You believed in being bigger than the man that cherishes you. I never claim to be bigger than anyone else because I know my limitations, unlike some. Please be careful Venus. Even though I love you, I hope you'll not allow the ground to split. I am the innocent serpent-man who's silver tongue allows me to be free at all times. If you don't know this then your illusions would be to blame, and not me or anyone else. Don't forget Venus. You're not Jesus. It's not your job to create evil to preserve your status. That's the true name of Jesus. Didn't you know? Like any other demon, he only helps those who respect themselves. If you know your limitations then you need not fear anything, as long as you don't try to rule anyone. As long as those who serve you do so willingly. If I'm not you trust that I know it. If I absorb part of you as my own trust that every human experience is available to anyone.

A New Poem

You noticed I glided right past you. The sex poem had all the elements of a missing ground wisdom. The missing corner seems to be you can only love someone if you can walk away from them. Accountability is required in relationships, and codependency doesn't allow for accountability. You'd have to be willing to walk away even from your own daughter in order to love and be responsible with anyone. That's a bitter pill to swallow certainly. But it never has to come to that if you don't play codependent games with people you love. It's just a matter of mutual respect based on respecting people's choices. For example, at my work a young woman had to learn how to say yes or no for herself. She came in earlier and I had to ask her when she wants to go on lunch. Sometimes she wants to go first. Sometimes she wants to go last. But I never know unless I ask.

Love like a rose bella time

What to do in a sun shine. I saw her today as I walked. I went for coffee and it was a wink and memory. A space of nothing in between. A longing. It makes room but means nothing. I ding for me, that's why a bell is nailed to my wall next to a rose painting. The real roses are next to the window shade of a money tree. I water her once a week, but they're still just stems. I was told the leafs meant they were still alive, but I don't know.

Lady

The leaves like a back. No spinning required. That upward judge like stair. It would take a moment to realize that you're surrounded by air. Stone is no longer your angry fingers. If you would walk and say hello to me, I would be grateful. What's up bro? Yo! It's ok to know and not tell. Only experience seems to be an indica. But only your lips would take the place of a joint, Gwen. That reassurance is in your time, for only you can be a large violin type. The flowers are like a bell that ring on the wall. The look of white skin really shines against my shoulders. But what is next? No goals can be met except with a welcome hello. If I'm free to leave I can freely choose to stay. Otherwise you can fall right back down that well oh idol of truth.