And would it have been worth it, after all,
After the cups, the marmalade, the tea,
Among the porcelain, among some talk of you and me,
Would it have been worth while,
To have bitten off the matter with a smile,
To have squeezed the universe into a ball
To roll it toward some overwhelming question,
To say: “I am Lazarus, come from the dead,
Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all”—
If one, settling a pillow by her head,
Should say: “That is not what I meant at all.
That is not it, at all.”
And would it have been worth it, after all,
Would it have been worth while,
After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets,
After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along the floor—
And this, and so much more?—
It is impossible to say just what I mean!
But as if a magic lantern threw the nerves in patterns on a screen:
Would it have been worth while
If one, settling a pillow or throwing off a shawl,
And turning toward the window, should say:
“That is not it at all,
That is not what I meant, at all.”
No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous—
Almost, at times, the Fool...
love this collection.have loved j. alfredsince i met himin professor hanna'sclass, c. 1977.(sue hanna taught me moreabout words than idid imagine at the time)this?it's a departure, isuppose, from the past,but it also hearkensback. like allgreat collections thatwill be remembered,it looks forward.i don't really read fashionpress (did for many years)anymore, just know whati like. that's that. i can onlyimagine what's been saidabout all of this.well. i think thisis one for history,a game changer.that's my vote.
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
Eliot, T.S.
1917
images: chanel + vogue + pgt
