"novels that pander / to my taste for candor / give me a pleasure sublime"

[larryhammer]

Public service announcement:

If you have recently read an ox-cart's worth of Japanese poems about the scattering of sakura petals, and the transience of life they represent, and the beauty of said transience, and the refinement such appreciation evinces, you might have a slightly idiosyncratic reaction to Robert Herrick's "To Cherry-Blossoms":

Ye may simper, blush and smile,
And perfume the air awhile;
But, sweet things, ye must be gone,
Fruit, ye know, is coming on;
Then, ah! then, where is your grace,
Whenas cherries come in place?

In my case, it was to all but fell out of my chair as I tried to keep from howling with laughter. Since said chair was in a coffee shop, this got me some odd looks -- I would probably have been better off just laughing my butt off. Er, off me, instead of off the chair.

It doesn't help that this is the first in a short series, in Hesperides, of codedly smutty verses on flowers.

Fair warning.

---L.

Comments

[jennifergale.livejournal.com]

Oh, good gravy. *dies*

Two days ago, I couldn't help myself, and the cherry blossoms showed up. It's...er...subtle, and it's grounded in serious business like, say, work and murder and blisters, but. Ahem.

(I doubt this scene will survive draft two.)

[larryhammer]

You probably ought to be aware that Herrick was also responsible for an instance of 17th century tentacle porn.

---L.

[behindpyramids.livejournal.com]

oh my god. 17th century tentacle porn AND funny poetry about cherry blossoms.

you have made my day.

[larryhammer]

The internet is full of Things. If only it had a good index, we'd be set.

---L.

[sovay]

It doesn't help that this is the first in a short series, in Hesperides, of codedly smutty verses on flowers.

. . . Is this the same author as the grapevine tentacle porn?

[edit: saw comment above]

Sweet.

[larryhammer]

Good guess there.

Sweet in *cough* multiple senses.

---L.

[sovay]

Good guess there.

He's sort of my go-to poet for plant-based erotica, I guess. There are worse ways to be remembered.

[larryhammer]

Far, far worse.

I'm finding a lot of smutty flower verse in the complete Hesperides, more than one finds even in a generous selection of poems. Of course, Herrick's one collection is huge (1400+ poems) ...

---L.

[movingfinger.livejournal.com]

Herrick would be comfortable taking the piss out of Japanese courtiers too, I think. Is Herrick-Murasaki fanfic TK?

Tangent to this: is this version of your blog on DW; if so, under what 'nym?

[larryhammer]

I'd think Herrick would do better with some of the jollier poet-priests, like Saigyo or Henjo.

Nope -- no echoing to DW, at least yet. I have enough trouble keeping track of three journals as it is. There may be a DW feed, though?

---L.

[starlady38.livejournal.com]

Bwahahaha

[larryhammer]

:-D