After Kavanaugh

A minor major, not Yeats yet 

near enough. A voice 

cutting through the mystic 

drizzle to the unadulterated 

clay of life, sings --

to the irony of saints --

songs of men hardened, in harness 

to the plough, broken down 

but never broken.  

Like an old horse, his furrowed lines

tear through the loam, opening up 

the mind to the real tragedy …

The dark cave of the unconscious … 

A warning: life is an examination 

of everyday real moments, the tedious 

trudge across fields left fallow 

for want of enlightenment. To be a poet 

and not know the trade … 

Poverty of the flesh, if unavoidable, is not 

so scornful, as withering as 

indigence of ignorance. The Book 

of Death, self-sealing, is full 

of yesterdays, tropes of corn 

never harvested … 

The graveyard in which we lie 

Is just a deep-drilled potato-field … 

The agonizing pincer-jaws of Heaven. 

Ken e Bujold

Author's Note

The italic lines are from Kavanaugh. The dark cave ... an interview. To be a poet ... and the agonizing pincer ... from Sanctity. The graveyard in which we lie ... from the Hunger.

If people are unfamiliar with his work I highly recommend reading. PK is considered at worst #3 in Irish canon, but as with all debates, arguments for 1/2 are certainly made.

Reviews

[andrew mitchell]

Such wonderful lines here Ken, enjoyed the ease in which they effortlessly flowed with the imagery. A piece of art indeed. A true wordsman.

[FGFRANKLIN]

The writing of Joyce has to be contended with but I admire anyone who can string together such eloquent imagery with the deft grace of a premier ballet dancer. Being just a North Carolina hillbilly poet I'm not among the grandiose elite given to pontificating critique. I only know what I like when I read it. And I like this piece. Well done.

[Bhuyanshi Talukdar]

Your poem is a powerful meditation on the human condition and the struggle to find meaning and purpose in life. The way you use language to describe the harsh realities of existence is striking, and the contrast between the beauty of nature and the poverty of the flesh is poignant. Your use of metaphors to describe the struggle to find enlightenment is effective, and the warning about the dangers of ignorance is clear. The way you describe the graveyard as a potato field is both haunting and evocative, and the image of the pincer-jaws of heaven is chilling.

[John the Baptist]

Is this the Kavanaugh who wrote "Raglan Road?"

[Ken e Bujold]

Yes. Though my personal fav of PK is The Hunger

[John the Baptist]

The late Irish folksinger Luke Kelly has a version of "Raglan Road" that is deeply moving.

[Ken e Bujold]

yes i'm familiar with it. in fact a great many Irish singers have performed it. Van Morrison also has a great version

[W. Barrett Munn]

I really enjoyed reading a fine poet writing really well about another fine poet. I have dived into Neruda and must now add Kavanaugh to my list.

Winston