Revisions
This carving may be gently touched
Original Version
(Pseudo-Jackpine-sonnet with a fifteenth line)
It doesn’t act like a bear. It has a
Spaniel’s stop. Its jaws are wedged in a
grin. Its tongue hangs still. No saliva drops
from its chin. Motionless eyes. This carving’s
tame. Children sit safely on its back, may
stroke the mighty muscles. It’s safe. Woodworm,
like moth, have left holes in its back. More:
many a crack ensures its tameness. Its shoulders
hunch. Sixteen claws probe at the concrete museum
floor. It’s nearer ear is chipped like my grandmother’s
tea-set. There’s lots of room for slips between cups
and this bear’s lips. Yet I can sense death’s closeness.
Suddenly, I know you’re in there, Bear, alive, alert,
angry, hungry. I feel you move: cold sweat covers
my false, carved skin.
Revised version:
(Meaning within each line rewrite)
It doesn’t act like a bear.
Its head bears a Cocker Spaniel’s short, sharp stop.
Its jaws are wedged in a grin.
Its tongue hangs still.
No saliva drops from its chin.
Motionless eyes.
This carving’s tame.
Children may sit safely on its back,
may stroke the mighty muscles.
It’s perfectly safe.
Woodworm, like moth, have left holes in its back.
More: many a crack ensures its tameness.
Its shoulders hunch.
Sixteen wooden claws chisel the concrete museum floor.
It’s nearer ear is chipped like my grandmother’s tea-cup.
There’s lots of room for slips between cups and this bear’s lips.
I can sense death’s closeness.
Suddenly, I know you’re in there, Bear,
alive, alert, angry, hungry.
I feel you move:
cold sweat covers my false, carved skin.
Comment:
Be careful how you revise your earlier work. The ‘revision’ often loses the impact of the original. By extension, don’t destroy you original, ever: you may want to restore it one day. My horoscope said: ‘You will dither all day and never get anywhere. Take a firm grip. Drink less coffee.’
Indeed – it’s easy to lose the essence of what you started with.
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Indeed it is: I think I did when revising this one. An Olde Golden Oldie.
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It’s a great piece to ponder, Roger. I liked both forms, but the first version drew a more vivid picture for me than the revision.
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My feeling, too, Tanya. The first version is ore compact and draws me in The second is looser and more of a narrative. I prefer the first. Watch out for those revisions!
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Roger: You must subscribe to a different Horoscope – that one is anti-writer! -j
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
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Don’t worry, Jan. I topped up with the best Ethiopian and now I am back writing. Thanks for visiting. I love the Jackpine sonnets, incidentally. Good old Milton Acorn, a good friend of mine, back in the days.
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