Happy Birthday

[Hawkman]

Gaze upon the newborn
mewling in the arms of fate.
In a year we’ll mourn him,
and recapitulate
those notable events -
as seen on TV.

Then we’ll celebrate his brother’s birth
with fire in the sky,
a moment’s passing bonhomie,
though as the old one dies,
his scythe and hourglass
are grasped by younger hands.

Already they are aging
and our eyes look forward
into dark potential voids
once occupied by those we loved,
mown down
by time’s relentless dog.

[Jack of Hearts]

... a dog from hell?






J

[Hawkman]

No Jack, not from hell. Are you familiar with the old song, "one man and his dog?" If so, have you ever wondered why he took his dog to mow the meadow? The reason is that the 'dog' is a form of scythe. "Mown down by time's relentless dog" is saying people die of old age.

Live and be well - H

[PrinceMyshkin]

Brrr. Notwithstanding your customary elegance, what a grim poem!

[blank|verse]

Yes, grimly effective stuff, Hawk, which put me in mind of Janus and his being the source of January, of course.

I wasn't sure about the 'as seen on TV' line, which is a bit distracting and out of synch with the rest of the poem's allusion to mythic figures; I wonder if the poem would work better without lines 4-6.

I think 'ageing' with the 'e' is the preferred British spelling. But I never knew that about the 'dog' being a scythe...

[Hawkman]

Prince: thanks for reading and I agree it's not exactly cheerful, however, grim as in reaper, despite the similarity in anthropomorphic representation, is not the primary subject of my poem. ;)

b/v: Whilst in Roman mythology Janus presided over the begining of things, as well as the seasons (and gates, hence the two faces) and indeed gave his name to the first month, my poem is centred around a concept, which, although it had it's genesis in classical Greek mythology as Chronos, (the god of time, not the Titan) its personification is now commonly referred to as Old Father Time. Since the middle ages he has been represented as an old man with a scythe and hourglass, and is frequently depicted as handing over his accoutrements to an infant version of himself at New Year. Though old in origin, these images are still reserrected seasonally in popular culture. Consequently I don't have a problem with highlighting the TV compilations of the year's noteworthy events, or referencing the now obligatory firework displays.

You are, of course, quite right about 'ageing' being an acceptable spelling, but as both are correct my spell-checker wasn't disposed to highlight it as a mistake :D

Anyway, thanks for reading and appreciating the grim effectiveness :) Oh, and a belated Happy New Year to you. May it treat you well.

Live long and prosper - H

[Delta40]

L3 In year seems to be missing a word. I like as Prince says the grimness of it all, especially when yesterday the tv played re-reruns of the best and worst moments of 2011! Good writing Hawk and always with a touch of dark humour.

[qimissung]

It's good, Hawk. I like the "mewling in the arms of fate" line.

[Hawkman]

Thanks Delta, all the times I've read it and I never noticed! I knew it was supposed to be there so I just mentally inserted it I guess. Dark humour? Well, if you can find it you're welcome to it - lol

Thanks qim. A nod to The Bard and the Malancholy Jaques, "...First the infant, mewling and puking in the nurse's arms." Glad you liked it.

Live and be well - H

[Buh4Bee]

Hi Hawk, I read your poem several times and I thought I actually put a response into writing. Anyway, I really liked this poem. I like how you capture how fast time passes. Finite time never stops, and I miss each minute that passes. Thanks for the good read.

[Haunted]

Took me a while to figure it out. The personification is so complete. But by the sound of it, it's more like an Unhappy Birthday. There's two ways to look at a timeline, just like glass half full or half empty, and I guess it's half empty. A new year has exactly a year's time to "live", and as soon as it is born, it starts to die. mown down / by time’s relentless dog is a powerful image. This concept takes some doing to make it work, and you did it with the amazing precision of a scythe. Brilliant, Hawk.

[Jack of Hearts]

Well, definitely did not know that. It was easy to pick up that this was about the birth and passing of a year. Missed the allusion to 'mythic figures' other than death, but the tv part made sense- New Year's Eve of course.

There might be a level of depth to this poem that this reader didn't pick up on, though!






J

[Hawkman]

B4B: Hello and thanks for reading, especially as you have done so several times :) I'm delighted that you enjoyed it so much.

Haunted: Well I guess the birthday itself is quite a lot of fun, but what comes afterwards can be a bit of a downer :D "Precision of a scythe," Eeek! I'm glad surgeons don't use them! lol. Seriously though, I'm most gratified that you think it brilliant ;)

Jack: Yes, there are similarities in the traditional anthropomorphic personifications of Time and Death, although Death tends to be thinner. But his looks never fade; I put it down to good bone structure :D Thanks again for reading.

Live and be well - H

[Haunted]

Your pessimism is definitely well placed. A new year cannot begin unless the current year dies, so birth mandates death. Because Years can't coexist there's always a sense of loss brought by the passing time and fading memories.

[Hawkman]

"In the midst of life we are in death" from the burial service in the Book of Common Prayer.

another layer of cheerfulness for contemplation of this poem ;)

live and be well - H

[kittypaws]

Hawk ~ I enjoyed it. I thought your description of the passing of time from birth to end was done well.

Happy New Year to You.:smile5:

kittypaws

[tonywalt]

Very good poem. Enjoyed it!

[aliengirl]

This is definitely one of your best. Recalled the reference to the Jacques' mewling and puking infant, to television recaps and also to the mythical image of death. But the 'dog' reference was lost upon me. Thanks for explanation.

[Hawkman]

Kitty, tony & Ripley, thank you all for reading and appreciating this poem, and for being kind enough to take the trouble to let me know you have.

Live and be well - H

[AuntShecky]

The poem itself is a perfect time capsule of the New Year motif, not really grim at all.

I liked (a lot!) your response to the replies about the Chronos myth. And couldn't agree with you more about the fireworks. Over on these shores, fireworks used to be "special," taken out of chemically-compatible mothballs and shot off ONLY on the Fourth of July. Now they've become more or less almost an everyday event throughout the year-- such as supermarket openings, various ethnic, religious, or street festivals, and for some unknown reason, in my area, after the final out of every blessed minor league game whether it's a win or loss. Have to admit though, that the TV broadcasts of the New Year's Eve fireworks from Sidney harbor are fantastic.

Good piece, appropriate for the season. A very happy 2012 to you.

[Hawkman]

Thanks Auntie, and if I havent already wished you the same, then I do so now :D

There is traditional precident for making a noise at this time. Ringing in the New Year with a full peal of changes used to be the norm over here, and when you lived next to a church it could be a pain, as I know from personal experience, but it seems not to happen these days. At least fireworks give you something to look at when enduring the noise - lol. Sidney certainly set the standard a few years ago, but this year's London display was seriously spectacular!

Glad you enjoyed the poem, and the discussion :)

Live and be well - H