That Graven Cup

[Hawkman]

That graven cup of polished gold
So dearly bought by young and old
Lies deep within the tannic stream
Where only acid stomachs dream,
Before their wrinkled flesh turns cold.

The bitter-tainted harpy’s scold,
That drives her children from the fold:
“Go, seek ye, find, attain,” she screams,
“That graven cup.”

How many, in despair, have told
Of questing in another’s mould,
Been forced against their will to team
Like draft-beasts, sweaty flanks a-steam,
While others ride and smugly hold
That graven cup?

[AuntShecky]

The meter and rhyme seem impeccable, at least to my mind's "ear." As to the meaning, I'm less certain. I think the theme is similiar to "To an Athlete Dying Young," (one of my faves), but I catch a whiff of Socrates's hemlock as well.

Needless to say, there's more here than meets the eye or ear.

Your fan,
auntie

[YesNo]

I also liked the sound, but all I could make out of the meaning was that the kids have to find some cup for their mother and yet failed to do so.

[Hawkman]

Auntie and Y/N: thank you both for rescuing this from obscurity.

As for Housman's poem; his was themed towards those who die young having achieved a fleeting success. This poem is for those who never know it, but endure: a critique of the eternal lie, "you can achieve anything..." when applied indiscriminately, regardless of personal circumstances. The kind of goal-oriented fallacy broadcast by self-help gurus in neo-liberal economies. Perhaps my mixing of two biblical metaphors is confusing people - note the use of the word "graven". Here one thinks of the "graven image" the false god - and the cup, as well as being a reward for success, also resonates with the idea of the "Holy Grail". It occurs to me that people might be reading "mould" as being soil - perhaps that found in a grave. I'm actually using it in its sense of being a die or former for a casting. Perhaps the poem is too Gramscian, or more properly, Althusserian ;)

I hope this lifts the veil of obscurity for the reader :devil:

Live and be well - H

[virtuoso]

If talking about a silly quest, then yes there is no "pie in the sky" or "pot of gold at the end of the rainbow". But, on the other hand, many that have embarked on a dream that seemed unobtainable have been rewarded. Maybe they did not obtain their ultimate objective, but they still obtained a lot more for trying. Just my two cents. For what its worth.

[Hawkman]

Thanks for the bump...

Live and be well - H