Grecian Urn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Grecian Urn

 

     Honoring “Ode on a Grecian Urn” by John Keats

 

What hast thou seen, oh Grecian urn

Since on the wheel thy shape was turned?

Of what great deeds have you since learned

And wept for tragedy unearned?

 

I look at you and think and stare

Your history you will not share

You seem to rest without a care

A cold, clay jar just sitting there

 

And yet the things that you must know!

The laugh of friends, the hate of foes

The pains of fate and lover's glow

The play of child and griever’s woe

 

And ‘though I think you must be wise

You never speak or utter sighs

You shout no truths--you tell no lies

Your silence everything denies

 

How many lengthy years will pass

As you watch silent through this glass

And who will grieve for you, alas

When careless hand ends you at last?

 

 

©2010 Richard Puetter

All rights reserved

Author's Note

Dear Reader,

While this was not originally intended, the rhyme scheme turned out to be aaaa, i.e., a form of mono-rhyme.

Best regards,

Rick

Reviews

[Barbara Walker]

Beautiful, Rick! I humbly make one remark, though I hesitate for who am I to question the master who (whom?) I always learn lessons much appreciated!? It concerns the last line. As written, I stumbled a bit, my brain wanting to read "when careless hands end you at last." It seems such a nitpicky thing, however I want to give you honest feedback. This truly is a beautiful poem.

[Onatah]

I just pulled out my Norton Anthology, ha! This is such a great tribute!

[Ladysue]

This is really good writing..it is classic and timeless...I enjoyed reading about this and the thought of possible stories it may have held...An magnificent piece of writing...

[Ellen Hammond]

Wow! Rick, you have outdone yourself with this one. I honestly enjoyed reading this ever so much more than the poem by Keats. Wonderful rhyme, rhythm, flow, etc. etc. Your interest in times past shows through most of your poetry, but this one seems to have an almost whimsical air which lightens the tone of a deeper philosophical musing. Masterly penned!

[Mark]

Read GU-2 a few days back, and have only gotten to GU-1, which of course necessitated a trip to the Original, c/o our friend Google...
Rick, may I say this, (and may the Poetry Gods forgive me!):
I LIKE YOURS BETTER THAN KEATS'!!
His meanders around a general miasma of heavyweight thoughts, but you address the urn as though it were in fact a sentient thing, which had already witnessed the thousand things in the hundred rooms of the dozen owners it has had. And both your rhyme scheme and your meter are consistent, where his are not...certainly NOT the most important things in a poem, as once I believed, but they tend to make it both easier to read and to comprehend, and tends to make the poem more, indeed, LIKE the urn: a crafted thing wrought with patience and skill, and not merely tossed together in a heap!
Highest kudos, my friend!

[Dinesh Sairam]

"What hast thou seen, oh Grecian urn
Since on the wheel thy shape was turned?
Of what great deeds have you since learned,
And wept for tragedy unearned?"

A fitting tribute to 'Ode on a Grecian urn', I'd say. I've never read much of Keats John (Only two - Ode to a nightingale and To autumn). But I read this 'Ode on a Grecian urn' and thank god you made me to. :)

Indeed, I got what I wished to. Iamb, Tetrameter and a great poem. I just felt the second stanza was a bit 'Odd-one-out'.. Otherwise, this is a good prologue to 'Grecian urn II' :)

Keep writing.

[nono]

interesting, i like it a lot

[JENY]

Wow…
Rick…
I liked it….
In our café you are the only person who selects themes from classics…
And it is really a pleasure to go through a different creative attempt…
Fantastic…..

[alesuriko]

I first have to say that I love John Keats, great poet. Your poem... Wonderful! Great rhyme and rhythm, amazing flow and the wording is wonderful. Definitely in the perfect tone. I adore the imagery of this piece... it really reinforces the age-old theory "if __ could talk" in this case if the urn could talk. Everything has seen stories and events, everything you could think of, even if it's unaware of what it's seeing and learning. Wonderful philosophy. I especially liked the second line in the first stanza and the very last line. Beautiful.

[emmajoy]

Keats would approve, dear Sir!

You write very simply in this but there's a meter that untechnical me recognises and finds silky smooth .. it has a specific lightness that Keat's poem doesn't have. Your appreciation of his poem's title is lovingly inquisitive .. makes the reader think about not just the poem or its theme but about time and time long past .. never a bad thing in our ghastly time of disposable everything.

The past can mock or beckon, even one of our elderly relatives is walking history, has seen and experienced so many things in his or her life, has a fragility that could give way at any time. Imagine the eons of experience your Urn would have 'observed', what stories it could tell, precious in every way, invaluable in its antiquity. Your words say that and more and of course, with your masterly care.

'Beauty is truth, truth beauty - that is all' :)