Jeremy Gregg who raises money for Dallas Central Ministries:
I’d rather be the anonymous box of fruit pulled from the vineyard;
I’d sooner be the stone that grounds the wheat pulled from the chaff;
I do not want my name and title hung upon a lanyard;
I prefer to be the trough than the blade that piths the calf.
Let board members bend their bows one last time, aimed at me:
my back is stiff and bent from rowing; my planned gift waits for thee.
Biblical influence, no doubt, but by way of Gerard Manley Hopkins, maybe? In any case, "the blade that piths the calf" - is he talking about philanthropy, social capital markets, a real job, or what? As poetry, I can't make it yield common sense and so read it over and over. I mean, what is this about it being his planned gift? How are the board members so ungentle? And is the "he" Jeremy or the one who sent him?
As Plato would say, "We must kill the poets first."
Posted by: Manlier than Gerard? | February 26, 2008 at 07:52 PM
To keep peace in the Kingdom, no poets.
Posted by: phil | February 26, 2008 at 08:17 PM
paradise lost could be found, some have mused.
Posted by: Humdrum Calliope Needed | February 27, 2008 at 09:32 PM