Published on 23rd December 2023 The Carousel is the first piece for Paul Cudenec’s excellent Winter Oak site https://winteroak.org.uk highly recommended. I was angry when I wrote this, the excess deaths, sickness and economic devastation got personal and this piece has something of the vent about it. Paul Kingsnorth refers to the machine as ‘the nexus of power, wealth, ideology and technology that has emerged’, while I like that and Pauls excellent essays on here, I wanted to convey more the hypnotic, delusional madness of it all. And of course I don’t believe the Carousel to be emergent.
I recall reading this one on Winter Oak as Paul Cudenec had referenced it on his substack ... liked it then, like it now.
"Freud’s greatest illusion was marketing a confidence trick as a new science. Now his demon seed is in every aspect of our lives via Bernays and subsequent acolytes." — Nabokov was in the habit of referring to Freud as the "Viennese quack". Here's a relevant poem you're sure to appreciate: https://redpillpoems.substack.com/p/targets
To my mind it's two tiny changes away from being excellent. If it's not too impertinent, I would suggest moving "there is" and "no" to the next lines, thus...
"the morning dew
requires no introduction
there is no qualification
in the spread of diamonds
that prism the morning sun
no certification is required to lift the hearts"
To my mind, ending lines in places that make no sense and do little but break natural flow, is a fashion that does poetry no favours.
I recall reading this one on Winter Oak as Paul Cudenec had referenced it on his substack ... liked it then, like it now.
"Freud’s greatest illusion was marketing a confidence trick as a new science. Now his demon seed is in every aspect of our lives via Bernays and subsequent acolytes." — Nabokov was in the habit of referring to Freud as the "Viennese quack". Here's a relevant poem you're sure to appreciate: https://redpillpoems.substack.com/p/targets
Thank you
Yes you’re right - love it
I’m supposed to be putting a book together titled 100 Short Poems
Here’s one in a similar vein
Bluebells have no Spreadsheets
Bluebells have no spreadsheets
no Pantone colour numbers
there is no plan to assail the eye
no meetings no hierarchy no database
to refer to prior to bloom
bluebells have no conscience or need
to explain their actions
whatever god they have remains pleased
and requires no post hoc rationalisations
of this shade or that angle
the morning dew
requires no introduction there is
no qualification in the spread of diamonds
that prism the morning sun no
certification is required to lift the hearts
of deer who don’t observe anything but are
aware
while even poets can’t see the wood
just wind caught waves of blue
Thanks for sharing. It really hits the mark!
To my mind it's two tiny changes away from being excellent. If it's not too impertinent, I would suggest moving "there is" and "no" to the next lines, thus...
"the morning dew
requires no introduction
there is no qualification
in the spread of diamonds
that prism the morning sun
no certification is required to lift the hearts"
To my mind, ending lines in places that make no sense and do little but break natural flow, is a fashion that does poetry no favours.
Something happened when I transposed the piece - that’s how it’s supposed to be. Thats crazy
"All wars are lies. All carousel. We’ve known this a long time: ‘In war, truth is the first casualty’, Aeschylus." — Here's another relevant poem you might like: https://redpillpoems.substack.com/p/the-road-to-war-is-paved-with-lies