Elegy for an Unrepentant Sinner

(in reply to Ted Hughes “Soliloquy”)

Wherever I am bourne, from this hard land,
Allowed at last to shuck this bag of bones,
Whenever the all absolving darkness
Commands my soul hell or heaven bounded,

I shan't mock my comrades choice of gravestones,
Nor sing a half-measured refutation
For my sole minded crimes of omission:
No, by God, I'll go with a clear conscience.

Accepting my eternal condition

I'll lie beside whatever forlong lover
Fate determines my lasting companion,

Content to pass the slow unwinding hour.

Ken e Bujold

© 2022

Author's Note

a minor tweak to last line of the opening stanza, on the sage advice of a wise owl
written in response to Ted Hughes Soliloquy A personal fav of mine

Reviews

[Chris Shaw]

He certainly left a trail of destruction in his wake. First Sylvia and then Assia.

I shan't mock my comrades choice of gravestones

No by God, I'll go with a clear conscience

Those two lines, stuck out for me. I haven't read Ted's Soliloquy. I have to say Ted was most unfortunate. To lose two women in the way he did, nothing short of catastrophic. Interesting subject to write about.

Chris

[Ken e Bujold]

thanks for the review Chris. Hughes "The Soliloquy" is a very early poem for him, from The Hawk in the Rain collection (1957). The poem has always been a fav of mine, partly for its biting cynicism, but mostly in later years as an odd bit of foreshadowing for what as you so nicely put "his trail of destruction". He is/was of course a polarizing figure for many. The I shan't mock line is in response to his poems opening line "Whenever I am got under my gravestone".

[Lorry]

Well, I reckon I'll be getting buried under the naughty step then, where I seem to recall from childhood that no one was allowed to talk to you either. I'd probably quite like that silence now, but would like a comfy pillow to sit on more 😊
I certainly heard Ted speaking your words with this one Ken. Excellent. A plus. Now go to the top of the class and take a nice shiny gold star for your troubles. 😊🌟😊

[Ken e Bujold]

thank you very much Lorry, but may I please stay at the back of the class, I find it much more conducive to writing. Far fewer prying eyes on what I may or may not be doing
:)

[Lorry]

Yes. I understand. And you don't have to share your Toffos either (soft caramel chews you could unwrap one handed and quietly 😊

[Ken e Bujold]

your the best

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I would say, Hell, and yes, unrepentent...
I did my Masters Thesis on Plath and Sexton...about 30 years ago...
Something about Ted that both his women committed suicide the same way...and that Assia had their 4 year old daughter with her.
Ted once wrote to Sylvia's mother saying "Sylvia writes good poetry, for a woman."
I know his work was astounding but I have little use for him...
I do love this poem...as I find myself writing many poems referencing Bukowski...whom I also despised for being an abusive drunk...and mean to his women...being an artist does not reconcile that behavior.
Your poetry has such depth....I react. Thank you.

[Ken e Bujold]

thanks for the review Jacob. Love to chat some day about that thesis, I admire both Sylvia and Annie work as well, though in the spirit of honest discourse, I'll admit to finding Ted's body more appealling. As you might have wondered, yes I actually wrote this piece sometime back, but this is its first posting. Growing through some old folders of mine, and when I came across it I thought this deserves a viewing because I am proud of it.

As to Ted's trail of destruction or his degree of repentance, I'll leave that to another judge to determine. We all are quilty of the same crimes of omission to one degree or another.
Finally one last aside, don't know if you have read his late life collection "Birthday Letters" much of which is of his time with Slyvia, adds an additional level to the whole debate

[jacob erin-cilberto]

I own Birthday Letters, yes...
and in my view, too little too late.
She busted her butt working on his manuscripts to help him publish...not reciprocated...at least not as it should have been.
But again....lots of debate and opinion....
I like your write very much...
and differentiality makes the poetic world go round...right?

[Ken e Bujold]

it does indeed Jacob. the shelves would pretty damn sparse if we had to remove all the warring poets

[Crowley]

You have piqued my interest, I will have to pull that one up and have a go. I am pretty sure you did it justice, this was fantastic.

[Ken e Bujold]

thanks crowley. for me, it's one of my favored early poems from Hughes, found in Hawk in the Rain collection. What has always made it stand out for me in later years is the youthful cynicism of the poem juxtaposed against as Chris Shaw in her review notes the "trail of destruction" that Hughes seemed to leave in his wake so often. I admire him as a poet, a lot, and while I also like some of Sylvia's work, Ted is for my money the far better of the two. Though I have learned to bite my tongue with that view depending on the company I'm in LOL

[W. Barrett Munn]

The final two lines are terrific. The poems flows easily and leads to those killers. The only glitch I see is “heavenly” as it is out of parallel with hell, so “hell or heaven bound” would have been my choice.
Winston

[Ken e Bujold]

yes I considered that too, in the end settled on heavenly. Still, will mull it over for a while and see where I eventually settle. Thanks for the critique