I’ve fallen a little behind preparing for two weddings. The prompt for Day Eight was…
“Today, let’s rewrite a famous poem, giving it our own spin. While any famous poem will do, if you haven’t already got one in mind, why not try your own version of Cesar Vallejo’s Black Stone Lying on a White Stone? If you’re not exactly sure how such a poem could be “re-written,” check out this recent poem by Stephen Burt, which riffs on Vallejo’s. Happy writing!”
I went for a wedding theme, turning W.H. Auden’s ‘Stop the Clocks’ from a funeral poem into a more celebratory marriage poem. Hope you like it.
Reset the Clocks
Reset the clocks, repeat the vows you’ve heard,
Prevent the kids from talking with a quiet word,
Silence the wedding march and with shuffled bum,
Bring out the couple, let the marriage come.
Let aeroplanes circle sweeping overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message They Are Wed,
Let them throw confetti, let flowers fill the air,
Let the bride pick all the petals from her hair.
She is my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My talk, my song, my noon, my midnight;
I think this love will last for ever: prove me right.
The candles are wanted now: light up every one;
Bring out the moon and turn down the sun;
Dance away the night-time and sweep up the floor.
I don’t know if I could love you any more!
consciencenonsense 