'The Hollow men' by T. S. Eliot (Podcast: Season 2, Episode 2)
Summary
TLDRThe 'Lit Poetry Podcast' explores T.S. Eliot's 'The Hollow Men,' a modernist poem reflecting on the disillusionment and decay of post-WWI society. Host James Laidler delves into the poem's free verse form, allusive content, and themes of emptiness, suggesting a parallel to contemporary environmental crises. The episode offers an analysis of Eliot's fragmented narrative and its commentary on cultural collapse, inviting listeners to consider the impact of hollow values on our world.
Takeaways
- ποΈ The 'Lit Poetry Podcast' is hosted by Australian poet and writer James Laidler, who explores and discusses poetry from around the world.
- π The podcast's second season delves into T.S. Eliot's 'The Hollow Men,' a poem reflecting an apocalyptic vision of a morally and spiritually decaying modern world.
- π«οΈ 'The Hollow Men' portrays a world filled with existential uncertainty, where inhabitants are described as 'hollow' and 'stuffed men,' lost and directionless.
- π The poem was published in 1925, in the aftermath of World War I, reflecting the disillusionment and cultural decay felt by many at the time.
- π The poem is characterized by its free verse form, lacking a regular rhyme scheme or meter, which mirrors the fragmented state of society.
- π The podcast discusses the historical and literary context of 'The Hollow Men,' including its association with the modernist movement and its commentary on the changing societal structures of the early 20th century.
- π Eliot's use of allusions to other literary works, such as 'The Heart of Darkness' and 'The Great Gatsby,' enriches the poem's themes of cultural decline and moral emptiness.
- π The poem employs various poetic techniques, including metaphors, similes, repetition, and allusions, to convey a sense of desolation and the loss of cultural certainty.
- ποΈ The 'eyes' in the poem symbolize the power of observation and judgment, with the 'hollow men' unable to meet this gaze, indicating their disconnection from truth and morality.
- ποΈ The setting of 'The Hollow Men' is described as a desolate and barren landscape, symbolizing the state of European culture at the time and possibly reflecting the impact of war.
- πΏ The podcast suggests a modern interpretation of 'The Hollow Men,' drawing parallels between the poem's themes and contemporary issues such as environmental degradation and societal emptiness.
Q & A
What is the main theme of T.S. Eliot's poem 'The Hollow Men'?
-The main theme of 'The Hollow Men' is the moral, cultural, and spiritual decay of the modern world, depicting a society filled with hollow, lost individuals in a state of existential uncertainty.
How does the poem 'The Hollow Men' reflect the post-World War I era?
-The poem reflects the post-World War I era through its apocalyptic vision of a society in disrepair and confusion, with individuals described as 'husks of humanity' wandering aimlessly, mirroring the disillusionment and loss felt by many after the war.
What is the significance of the 'hollow men' in the poem?
-The 'hollow men' symbolize the emptiness and lack of substance in people's lives, representing a generation that has lost its way and purpose, unable to find meaning or direction in a rapidly changing world.
How does the poem use the imagery of 'death's dream kingdom'?
-The 'death's dream kingdom' is used to describe a desolate and lifeless realm that the hollow men inhabit, a place devoid of hope and vitality, reflecting the spiritual and emotional emptiness they experience.
What is the role of allusions in 'The Hollow Men'?
-Allusions in 'The Hollow Men' serve to connect the poem to a broader literary and cultural context, drawing on works like 'The Heart of Darkness' and 'Paradise Lost' to enrich the poem's themes of decay, disillusionment, and the decline of European culture.
What poetic devices are used in 'The Hollow Men' to convey its themes?
-The poem employs various poetic devices such as metaphors, similes, repetition, assonance, alliteration, enjambment, and allusions to convey its themes and create a sense of fragmentation and disorientation.
How does the poem's structure contribute to its overall mood?
-The poem's structure, characterized by free verse and irregular stanza lengths, contributes to its overall mood by reflecting the chaos and disorganization of the world it describes, reinforcing the sense of disarray and despair.
What is the significance of the 'prickly pear' in the poem?
-The 'prickly pear' represents the harsh and unyielding environment in which the hollow men exist, a place of suffering and struggle, symbolizing the difficult and painful reality they face.
How does the poem's ending, 'not with a bang but a whimper,' relate to its themes?
-The ending signifies that the world does not end in a grand, dramatic event but rather in a quiet, insignificant manner, reflecting the poem's themes of emptiness and the gradual decline of meaning and purpose in life.
What is the role of the narrator in 'The Hollow Men'?
-The narrator is a member of the hollow men, describing their state of being with a sense of detachment and despair. The narrator's voice, along with the appearance of another voice in the fifth section, contributes to the poem's exploration of alienation and the search for meaning.
How does 'The Hollow Men' connect to other works of literature, such as 'The Great Gatsby'?
-The poem's themes of disillusionment and the decline of culture influenced authors like F. Scott Fitzgerald, who incorporated similar imagery and modernist outlooks in his work 'The Great Gatsby,' particularly in the description of the 'valley of ashes.'
Outlines
ποΈ Introduction to 'The Hollow Men'
The podcast episode begins with an introduction to T.S. Eliot's poem 'The Hollow Men,' setting the stage for a deep dive into its themes and historical context. The host, James Laidler, an Australian poet and writer, outlines the podcast's focus on poetry's transformative power. He emphasizes the poem's depiction of a world in moral and spiritual decay, inhabited by 'hollow men' lost in existential uncertainty. The episode promises an exploration of Eliot's apocalyptic vision of modern society, influenced by the aftermath of World War I.
π Historical and Literary Context of 'The Hollow Men'
This section delves into the historical and literary background of 'The Hollow Men,' situating it within the modernist movement. The modernist era, marked by a reaction to rapid societal changes, saw artists like Eliot experimenting with new forms of expression to capture the sense of disorientation and disillusionment prevalent in post-World War I society. The poem's fragmented structure and language reflect the crumbling Western culture and the loss of confidence in traditional values. The host also draws parallels between Eliot's work and F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby,' highlighting the influence of modernist themes on contemporary literature.
π Poetic Form and Narrator Analysis
The analysis of 'The Hollow Men' continues with a focus on its form, meter, and rhyme, as well as the poem's narrator. The poem's free verse structure, lacking a regular rhyme scheme or meter, mirrors the disorder and chaos of the subject matter. The use of slant rhymes and the absence of a fixed pattern contribute to the poem's unsettling mood. The narrator is portrayed as part of the 'hollow men,' a group emblematic of a generation scarred by war and unable to find meaning in their crumbling cultural landscape. The setting is described as a bleak, desolate underworld, reinforcing the themes of decay and hopelessness.
π Allusions and Poetic Techniques in 'The Hollow Men'
This part of the podcast explores the rich use of allusions and poetic techniques in 'The Hollow Men.' The poem is described as a 'literary trash heap,' layering references to European literature to symbolize the decline of culture. Allusions to works like Joseph Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' and Dante's 'Purgatory' are analyzed for their contribution to the poem's themes of emptiness and loss of cultural moorings. The use of epigraphs, biblical references, and the distortion of a children's song add depth to the poem's commentary on the hollowness of modern society.
πΏ Themes of Loss and Cultural Decay
The final part of the podcast centers on the central themes of 'The Hollow Men,' particularly the loss of culture and the emptiness experienced by the poem's characters. The 'hollow men' are depicted as fragmented, alienated figures struggling to find their place in a world that has lost its moral and spiritual grounding. The poem's imagery of disease, death, and a barren landscape underscores the danger these characters pose to society. The host connects the poem's themes to contemporary issues, suggesting that our own 'hollow values' may be shaping the world around us in ways that reflect our inner emptiness.
π§ Conclusion and Upcoming Episode Preview
The podcast concludes with a summary of the discussion on 'The Hollow Men' and a preview of the next episode, which will feature a poem by Ali Whitelock. The host expresses excitement about an upcoming video poem and interview, encouraging listeners to subscribe to the podcast or YouTube channel for more poetry resources. The episode ends with a call to support the podcast's efforts to produce audiovisual interpretations of poems, including the costs of hiring voice-over artists and purchasing music licenses.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Poetry
π‘T.S. Eliot
π‘Modernism
π‘Hollow Men
π‘Existential Uncertainty
π‘Cultural Decay
π‘Allusions
π‘Free Verse
π‘Slant Rhymes
π‘Dante's Purgatory
π‘Environmental Impact
Highlights
Introduction to 'The Hollow Men' by T.S. Eliot, a poem reflecting the apocalyptic vision of the modern world.
The poem portrays a world in moral, cultural, and spiritual decay, with inhabitants lost in existential uncertainty.
Eliot's 'The Hollow Men' was published in 1925, reflecting the aftermath of World War One and societal disillusionment.
The 'hollow men' are described as lifeless, unable to 'rage against the dying of the light', indicating a passive acceptance of fate.
The poem's form, free verse and broken structure, mirrors the fragmented reality of Western culture post-World War One.
Use of slant rhymes in the poem adds to the sense of decay and desolation, reflecting the 'hollow men's' inability to complete actions.
The narrator as a member of the 'hollow men' describes the group as devoid of substance and empathy.
Allusions to the Bible and Joseph Conrad's 'An Outcast of Islands' suggest a search for meaning amidst chaos.
The poem's setting is depicted as an underworld or purgatory, symbolizing a bleak and desolate European culture.
Eliot's use of allusions to Dante's 'Purgatory' and 'Paradise' reflects the loss of moral and spiritual direction.
The 'hollow men' are seen as a representation of a generation scarred by war, unable to uphold their culture.
The poem's themes include the loss of culture, emptiness, and the impact of modernity on human values.
Eliot's 'The Hollow Men' influenced other authors, such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, who mirrored its modernist outlook in 'The Great Gatsby'.
The poem questions the impact of the 'hollow men' on the environment, suggesting a reflection of their inner barrenness.
The episode concludes with a reflection on the relevance of 'The Hollow Men' to contemporary society and its impact on the world.
Upcoming episode teaser featuring a poem by Ali Whitelock and an interview on the Lit Poetry podcast.
Transcripts
[Music]
welcome to lit poetry
the podcast where we go on a journey of
discovery
reading analyzing and discussing great
poetry from around the world
poetry is worth it because the reading
and writing of poetry is a revolutionary
act
that has the potential to transform both
the reader
and our world
welcome to the lit poetry podcast season
2.
my name is james laidler australian poet
writer and your host
in today's episode we'll be stepping
inside t.s eliot's
apocalyptic vision of our modern world
in his famous poem
the hollow men this poem presents a
world descending into a state of deep
moral
cultural and spiritual decay its
inhabitants the hollow men
are lost within the misty fog of
existential
uncertainty is a place full of restless
washed out and forsaken people this is
as
eliot puts it deaths are the kingdom the
dead land
the cactus land describes this place as
shape without form shade without color
paralyzed force gesture without motion
published in 1925 in the shadows of
world war one
the blasted landscape of this poem is
filled
with the forever wandering the forever
empty and the forever lonely
husks of humanity these are the stuffed
men
the hollow men whose lives refused to
rage against the dying of the light
as poet dylan thomas famously wrote but
rather
whose lives simply bleed out not with a
bang
but with a whimper but enough of me
going on about this magnificent poetic
masterpiece
when you haven't even heard it yet so
let me present you with the hollow men
by t.s eliot read for you by the very
talented
simon jackson
[Music]
the hollow man by t s eliot
we are the hollow man we are the stuffed
men
leaning together head piece filled with
straw
alas our dried voices
when we whisper together are quiet and
meaningless
as wind in dry grass or rats feet
over broken glass in our dry cellar
[Music]
shape without form shade
without color paralyzed force
gesture without motion
those who have crossed with direct eyes
to death's other kingdom remember
us if at all not as lost
violent souls but only
as the hollow men the stuffed men
eyes i dare not meet in dreams
in death's dream kingdom these do not
appear
there the eyes are sunlight on a broken
column there is a tree swinging
and voices are in the winds singing
more distant and more solemn than a
faded star
let me be no nearer in death's dream
kingdom let me also wear such deliberate
disguises ranch coat crow skin
crossed staves in a field behaving
as the wind behaves
not that final meeting in the twilight
kingdom
[Music]
this is the deadland this is the cactus
land
here the stone images are raised
here they receive the supplication of a
dead man's hand
under the twinkle of a fading star
[Music]
it is like this in death's other kingdom
waking alone at the hour
when we are trembling with tenderness
lips that would kiss form prayers
to broken stone
[Music]
the eyes are not here there are no
eyes here in this valley of dying stars
in this hollow valley this broken jaw
of our lost kingdoms in this last of
meeting places
we grope together and avoid speech
gathered on this beach
of the tumid river sightless
unless the eyes reappear as the
perpetual star
multi-foliate rose of death's twilight
kingdom
the hope only of empty man
here we go round of the prickly pear
prickly pear
prickly pear here we go round the
prickly pear
at five o'clock in the morning between
the idea
and the reality between the motion and
the act
falls the shadow for thine is the
kingdom
conception and the creation between the
emotion
and the response falls the shadow
life is very long
between the desire and the spasm
between the potency and the existence
between the essence and the descent
falls the shadow
for thine is the kingdom for thine is
life is for thine is the
this is the way the world ends this is
the way the world ends this is the way
the world ends not with a bang but a
whimper
[Music]
so i want to start here by saying a few
words about the historical and literary
context of the poem the holloman is a
poem associated with the modernist
movement
starting around 1870 in europe modernism
lasted till about 1945.
modernism in general was a movement that
was made up of various views and
perspectives
but what all modernists had in common
was concerns about the drastically
changing society in which they lived
society was becoming increasingly urban
industrial
less agricultural and less tied down by
traditional
and religious moral frameworks in
response to shifting cultural goal posts
modernists engineered new forms of
expression that departed from older
traditions
in an attempt to address the emerging
realities they found around them
t.s eliot was one writer who felt
increasingly alienated from the modern
world
in response elliot tried to pioneer new
poetic ways of writing
that would express this growing sense of
disorientation
and disillusionment that he believed
people were experiencing
the poems he famously wrote in the 1920s
such as the hollow men and the wasteland
seem to be assembled as fragments scraps
of language that are loosely held
together
but that read quite unpredictably these
fragments reflect a society
that was collapsing falling into
disrepair and confusion
as a modernist poem the hollow men
mirrors
the broken and crumbling reality of
western culture particularly after
the bloodshed of the first world war and
the gradual perceived failure of its
once
strong value systems living in the
shadow of world war one and left feeling
adrift in a world that had lost
confidence
in its own cultural foundations many
members of
eliot's generation became hollow men
ghostly empty figures left to haunt the
world in which they lived
and it is interesting to note here that
elliot had a profound influence on the
literary world at large and
more specifically affected the writing
style and thematic concerns of authors
such as
f scott fitzgerald and his novel
the great gatsby picking up on the
images of elliot from poems like the
hollow moon and the wasteland
fitzgerald describes the valley of ashes
in the great gatsby
and in doing so closely mirrors elliot's
modernist
outlook fitzgerald writes in the great
gatsby
this is the valley of ashes the
fantastic farm where ashes grow
like wheat into ridges and hills and
grotesque gardens
where ashes take the form of houses and
chimneys and rising smoke and finally
with a transcendent effort of men who
move
dimly and already crumbling through the
powdery air
[Music]
so here i want to talk about the form
meter and rhyme
and the narrator of the poem for that
matter the hollow men does not follow a
standard form
instead the poem is written in free
verse and broken up into five
sections separated by numbers it doesn't
have a regular
rhyme scheme or meter and its stanzas
vary in length
some as short as two lines some as long
as ten
as such the poem comes across somewhat
disorganized and chaotic
it never settles on a fixed pattern
whenever it seems to the poem morphs
into
something else in a poem about
fragmentation and trauma
this formal disorganization reinforces
the intended mood elliot was trying to
capture
poetic forms like the sonnet for
instance which represent the legacy
of an older european style have no
relevance here
the poem is fragmented and disorderly
just like the broken stone described in
the poem itself
furthermore the hollow men makes no use
of rhyme scheme
it contains rhymes yes but not
predictable orderly ones
indeed the speaker only really makes use
of
partially failed rhymes called slant
rhymes such as
between the words meaningless and grass
in line seven to eight these rather
unsteady rhymes
prod and probe at the reader's senses
their erratic and unpredictable nature
reinforce the state of decay and
desolation
that the poem is describing like the
hollow men
who seem unable to complete anything
they start
who are gesture without motion the poems
rhymes gather energy only to dissipate
the poem's rhymes are as fragmented and
defeated as the hollow men are
themselves
as for the poem speaker or narrator he
portrays the hollow men as a group of
exhausted
defeated people of whom the speaker of
the poem
is also a member he describes the group
members as being without substance
their heads are literally filled with
straw and he points out that their
voices are vacuous
they show no empathy towards one another
rather they flounder around
blindly praying to broken stone or
in other words to false gods and idols
that can never
bestow upon them a sense of purpose or
meaning
here these hollow men can be interpreted
as representing the generation that
fought in and survived the war
emerging from it permanently scarred
unable to participate in or preserve
their western
european culture which seemed to be
crumbling before their very eyes
it is interesting to note here however
that another voice does make an
appearance in the fifth
section of the poem the use of italics
and the orientation of words on the
right hand margin of the poem indicate
a new voice that is present in the poem
this new voice recites words from both
the bible
and from a novel by joseph conrad an
outcast of islands
this new voice is able to quote these
other texts precisely
perhaps hinting that the being behind
the voice unlike the speaker himself
enjoys an intimate relationship with god
in contrast the main speaker remains in
his state of alienation and confusion
when he tries to repeat the quotes of
the mysterious voice
he can only regurgitate fragments for
thine
is the it's as though the hollow men
have ventured beyond
redemption even in hearing the bible
they can only cough up
empty and lifeless fragments from its
pages
speaker describes the setting as some
type of underworld or purgatory
and refers to the place as death's dream
kingdom or
death's twilight kingdom the location is
consistently bleak and desolate being
compared to a desert
this is made clear when it is referred
to as the cactus land
it is a haunting and hopeless place that
the speaker also calls the valley of
dying stars
it is full of ruins and damaged objects
broken stone and broken columns
these ruins serve as symbols for a
failing and damaged european culture
whose positive influence
is in the decline
[Music]
[Music]
poetic techniques the hollow man is
chock full of poetic devices including
metaphors similes repetition
consonants assonance alliteration sagira
enjambment and more
too many to adequately unpack here as
such i just want to spend a little bit
of time talking about allusions which
play a very important role in the poem
before talking about themes in the poem
for instance it's important to
quickly take note of these many
illusions that are scattered
through the poem and they come from
famous texts and works of literature
each illusion is very important but
before
looking at them in isolation it's
important to think about their
accumulative
presence in the poem piled one on top of
the other
the poem can be read as a kind of
literary trash heap
onto which scattered pieces of european
literature are being swept
this connects to the poem's intent to
demonstrate the demise of european
culture
whose former glory has ended with its
mixed bag of quotations and illusions
the poem itself is an image of a culture
and decline whose masterpieces have been
reduced to rubble
and whose authority now lies in ruin the
illusions begin in the poem
through the inclusion of two epigraphs
that frame the reader's entry into the
disturbing world
of eliot's poem although it must be said
these weren't read out
in the version that you heard a little
earlier the first quote is
mr curtsy dead and can be found in the
novel
the heart of darkness by joseph conrad
conrad's novel
examines the story of captain kurtz an
ivory trader in colonial africa who
loses his sanity
moves into the heart of the jungle and
sets himself up as a godlike figure
ruling over a group of natives
the quote thus hints at some valiant's
concerns regarding european decline
captain kurtz represents eliot's
greatest fear for his society
that it will lose its former instinctual
and moral moorings in life and end up
adrift like kurtz
dead hollow empty and floating like
flotsam on an endless sea of
meaninglessness
the second epigraph comes from guy
fawkes day which occurs
on november 5th the catholic
revolutionary
forks in 1605 plotted to blow up
parliament
in england and was arrested as a
tradition
since the event children would make
effigies of forks
out of old clothes filled with straw to
be set alight
on the 5th of november children would
door knock neighbors saying a penny for
the old guy
to help buy what they needed and this is
the line that appears as the epigraph
in the poem of course the straw effigies
of forks
become an image of the hollow men
themselves inhuman
ghastly creatures that deserve to be
consigned
to the flames the poem also contains
allusions
to key passages in dante's purgatory and
paradise
in these poems when dante encounters his
great love
beatrice he cannot meet her gaze she is
an image of holiness
and purity so holy and so pure that
dante
feels it would be disrespectful to even
look at her through the illusion of
dante the eyes thus become symbolic of
god
and god's holiness and purity
people who go to heaven have the speaker
notes crossed with
direct eyes this will eventually become
an important symbol in the poem
eyes become associated with god and
god's power to observe and judge
human life with their direct eyes
the people going to heaven are closely
linked with that power
they are able to look at things and
judge the truth
as the poem progresses it becomes
obvious that the hollow men's
eyes have lost their directness as they
hide themselves away from truth and
judgment
and this perhaps occurs because in the
20th century witnessed the rise of
relativism
and a decline in the belief of objective
moral truths
the mention of the two mid river in the
poem could also be interpreted
as an allusion to the river archeron
which surrounds hell
in dante's inferno and as for the fifth
section of the poem
there is a direct allusion to the
children's song here we go around the
mulberry bush
the speaker refrains the song to make it
far more sinister and distorted
and finally of course there are multiple
allusions to the book of matthew in the
new testament
in the quote for thine is the kingdom
[Music]
so i want to finish our discussion of
this poem with a look at one of the
central themes
the loss of culture and emptiness
the poem begins in a very disturbing
fashion by introducing us to the hollow
men
fragmented alienated and shadowy figures
who struggle to live in the real world
and instead abide in a wasteland the
speaker points out that the hollow men's
voices are dried to emphasize their
barrenness of being
they're human voices rather than being
full of emotion and passion and sharp
intellect are quiet and meaningless
as wind in dry grass as such the speaker
is suggesting that the hollow men's
voices roam
senseless across the landscape like the
wind itself
depressed and lonely having lost their
humanity
in their perpetual state of crisis the
hollow men
have also become a danger not just to
themselves but to human society itself
in part two of the poem the speaker
describes them wearing
a rat's coat and crow skin these are
symbols of
disease and death respectively and they
reinforce this idea that hollow men are
dangerous to others
this does not mean that they are
necessarily malevolent people though
rather they are simply riddled with
disease and their condition is
contagious
their despair and intellectual nihilism
is like a virus that can spread
throughout the community
and at the heart of the hollow men's
experience are all the difficult
questions rising out of the horrors and
inhumanity of world war one
and the emergent idea that god is dead
first coined by
nature who famously argued that the idea
of god was basically made redundant
after the enlightenment
of the 17th and 18th centuries and the
emergence of scientific inquiry
probably most disturbing of all however
is that the poem implies that the hollow
men's disease
affects the environment in which they
live too
these men and their outlook in other
words start to shape the physical world
around them for example the landscape is
described as a
hollow valley and there's a barren
wasteland filled with cacti
dry grass and a whistling wind but for
myself i can't but
help to think about the hollow men of
today
our very own souls and how we ourselves
shape the environment with our hollow
values this might sound rather
depressing
pessimistic but it's not that hard to
argue
that it is in our hollow and insatiable
drive for consumption
in the modern world today that we find
the true
force driving things like global warming
and the destruction of our natural world
could it be that we are shaping the
world into an image
of ourselves that simply reflects our
own
inner barrenness
[Music]
so it's time for me to wrap up this
week's episode and say goodbye
next week on lit poetry we'll be
featuring a fantastic poem by ali
whitelock
and interviewing her on the podcast i'm
really excited by the video poem
that poetry has produced of one of her
poems and i can't wait for it to be
published
the poem should make for an excellent
discussion if you want to support our
work update poetry please remember to
subscribe to our podcast or youtube
channel
more poetry resources are available at
www.lippoetry.com
and you can use the links on our website
if you like to make a donation towards
some of the costs we incur
producing our audio visual
interpretations of poems
such as when we hire voice over artists
and purchase music licenses
thanks again for all your support and
i'll see you next week
[Music]
the hollow man by t.s eliot
we are the hollow man we are the stuffed
men
leaning together head piece filled with
straw
alas our dried voices
when we whisper together are quiet and
meaningless
as wind in dry grass or rats feet
over broken glass in our dry cellar
[Music]
shape without form shade
without color paralyzed force
gesture without motion
those who have crossed with direct eyes
to death's other kingdom remember us
if at all not as lost violent souls
but only as the hollow men
the stuffed men
eyes i dare not meet in dreams
in death's dream kingdom these do not
appear
there the eyes are sunlight on a broken
column
there is a tree swinging and voices are
in the winds
singing more distant and more solemn
than a faded star let me be no nearer
in death's dream kingdom let me also
wear such deliberate disguises rat's
coat
crow skin crossed staves in a field
behaving as the wind behaves
not that final meeting in the twilight
kingdom
[Music]
this is the deadland this is the cactus
land
here the stone images are raised
here they receive the supplication of a
dead man's hand
under the twinkle of fading star
[Music]
it is like this in death's other kingdom
waking alone at the hour
when we are trembling with tenderness
lips that would kiss form prayers
to broken stone
the eyes are not here there are no eyes
here
in this valley of dying stars in this
hollow
valley this broken jaw of our lost
kingdoms
in this last of meeting places we grope
together and avoid speech
gathered on this beach of the tumid
river
sightless unless the eyes reappear
as the perpetual star multi-foliate rose
of death's twilight kingdom the hope
only of empty man
here we go round of the prickly pear
prickly pear
prickly pear here we go round the
prickly pear
at five o'clock in the morning between
the idea
and the reality between the motion and
the act
falls the shadow for thine is the
kingdom
between the conception and the creation
between the emotion and the response
falls the shadow life
is very long between the desire
and the spasm between the potency
and the existence between the essence
and the descent
falls the shadow for thine
is the kingdom for thine is
life is for thine is the
this is the way the world ends this is
the way the world ends this is the way
the world
ends not with a bang but a whimper
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