“To His Lover, That She Be Not Overdressed”
And why take ye thought for raiment?
—Matthew 6:28
The lilies of the field
That neither toil nor spin
Stand dazzlingly revealed
In not a thing but skin
And in that radiant state
Sheer essences they wear.
Take heed, my fashion plate.
Be so arrayed. Go bare.
© X.J. Kennedy, The Lords of Misrule: Poems 1992-2002
(Johns Hopkins University Press).
There probably isn’t a better gift for a logophile or linguist than witticisms and wordplay – the clever kind or the chocolate version of such. Verbal calisthenics are usually more fun than the physical kind, and poet X.J. Kennedy’s wry disingenuity makes me chuckle. How can I not like a guy who published his own science fiction magazine, Terrifying Test-Tube Tales, at age twelve?
Eat. Words. Love. Yum. Found the cool chocolate at Fritinancy. More mouth-watering poetry to be found at Hip Writer Mama‘s. Have a great weekend and enjoy ferreting out the last of the chocolate hearts… you must eat them all before it’s time to hide the chocolate eggs, after all. (!)
Two Bible-related poems so far this week — yours and Sara’s — both fun in different ways.
GREAT chocolate!
A new and daring take on a Bible verse… and the chocolate is calling my name. (Spelled there. Under the wrapper.)
That’s a great poem. And I can already think of at least three people who would love the chocolate scrabble…I’ll have to make a note of that.
XJ Kennedy so rocks.
And man, do I want chocolate scrabble pieces.
This is a new one for me and I love it! The chocolate is great too. If it were me I would have made a few words and eaten them before the picture, of course ;). The m&ms at my blog are my son's and I had to quick snap the picture before they disappeared. At breakfast no less!
At my age, going bare is bittersweet. Probably more bitter than sweet!
Enjoyed Kennedy’s poem. I love his “Nude Descending a Staircase.” He’s nimble with wordplay
Strip down for chocolate, I say. Strip down for chocolate…
Poets have the best (pick up) lines, don’t they?
Chocolate scrabble! So cool! And I love the poem. (A little too cold to go bare just yet, though.)
First it was those BitterSweet hearts…and now Chocolate Scrabble! You’re killing me.
I can see this poem being posted somewhere mischievous, like a fitting room. 🙂