22 min
Episode 53: Killing Rabbits (Seven Days/Shelter From The Storm) Poetry Koan
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- Arts
Are there any connections to be made between Miroslav Valek's poem Killing Rabbits (read here by the American poet Brigit Pegeen Kelly), and Craig David's R&B "banger" Seven Days from the year 2000?
Many.
Killing Rabbits
On Sunday after breakfast,
when air is halfway to ice,
and thin flutes of mice
squeak in the chimney.
On Sunday after breakfast
to walk on virgin snow
to the hutches.
For the pink right to remove your gloves.
To stick them on the picket fence
like freshly severed palms,
and to blow smoke through the wire-net door.
Then to insert a searching hand,
and speak sweet words
through smoke-stained teeth,
cajolery, fine words,
to pity a bit,
to grab the skin firmly
and to lift it from the cosy straw.
On Sunday after breakfast
to sniff ammonia.
With your left hand to hold the head down,
watch the ears turn purplish,
tenderly to stroke the nape,
blow on it,
and suddenly with the right hand to strike the nape.
Once more to feel on your hand
the pushing off for the unrealised leap,
to feel a heaviness in your hand,
sweetness,
to hear Rabbit Heaven open,
and big clumps of fur falling down.
Viennese blue,
Belgium Giant,
French Baron,
Bohemian Skewbald Dappled.
But even the mongrel with all kinds of blood,
each dies as fast as the next
and without a word.
On Monday to have rings under your eyes, silent.
On Tuesday to consider the lot of the world.
On Wednesday and Thursday to invent
the steam engine and discover stars.
On Friday to think of others,
but mainly blue eyes,
all week to pity orphans
and admire flowers.
On Saturday to scrub yourself pink
and fall asleep on her lips.
On Sunday, after breakfast,
to kill rabbits.
--
The image I've used for this episode was created by the Oracle after being shown a photograph I'd taken earlier on in the day of a cute little slug and spider duo hanging out together on my windowsill. I asked GPT to commemorate their loving connection through a portrait in the style of Maria Sibylla Merian (1647–1717).
Maria Sibylla Merian's work is known for its unparalleled attention to detail, especially in her studies of insects and plants. Merian's work in the late 17th and early 18th centuries was groundbreaking, not only for its artistic beauty but for its scientific accuracy. She meticulously documented the life cycles of insects, making detailed observations that were far ahead of her time, integrating precise scientific detail with artistic elegance. Her dedication to capturing the minutiae of her subjects has left a lasting impact on both art and science, making her work an exceptional example of the fusion of detailed observation and aesthetic beauty.
Are there any connections to be made between Miroslav Valek's poem Killing Rabbits (read here by the American poet Brigit Pegeen Kelly), and Craig David's R&B "banger" Seven Days from the year 2000?
Many.
Killing Rabbits
On Sunday after breakfast,
when air is halfway to ice,
and thin flutes of mice
squeak in the chimney.
On Sunday after breakfast
to walk on virgin snow
to the hutches.
For the pink right to remove your gloves.
To stick them on the picket fence
like freshly severed palms,
and to blow smoke through the wire-net door.
Then to insert a searching hand,
and speak sweet words
through smoke-stained teeth,
cajolery, fine words,
to pity a bit,
to grab the skin firmly
and to lift it from the cosy straw.
On Sunday after breakfast
to sniff ammonia.
With your left hand to hold the head down,
watch the ears turn purplish,
tenderly to stroke the nape,
blow on it,
and suddenly with the right hand to strike the nape.
Once more to feel on your hand
the pushing off for the unrealised leap,
to feel a heaviness in your hand,
sweetness,
to hear Rabbit Heaven open,
and big clumps of fur falling down.
Viennese blue,
Belgium Giant,
French Baron,
Bohemian Skewbald Dappled.
But even the mongrel with all kinds of blood,
each dies as fast as the next
and without a word.
On Monday to have rings under your eyes, silent.
On Tuesday to consider the lot of the world.
On Wednesday and Thursday to invent
the steam engine and discover stars.
On Friday to think of others,
but mainly blue eyes,
all week to pity orphans
and admire flowers.
On Saturday to scrub yourself pink
and fall asleep on her lips.
On Sunday, after breakfast,
to kill rabbits.
--
The image I've used for this episode was created by the Oracle after being shown a photograph I'd taken earlier on in the day of a cute little slug and spider duo hanging out together on my windowsill. I asked GPT to commemorate their loving connection through a portrait in the style of Maria Sibylla Merian (1647–1717).
Maria Sibylla Merian's work is known for its unparalleled attention to detail, especially in her studies of insects and plants. Merian's work in the late 17th and early 18th centuries was groundbreaking, not only for its artistic beauty but for its scientific accuracy. She meticulously documented the life cycles of insects, making detailed observations that were far ahead of her time, integrating precise scientific detail with artistic elegance. Her dedication to capturing the minutiae of her subjects has left a lasting impact on both art and science, making her work an exceptional example of the fusion of detailed observation and aesthetic beauty.
22 min