Welcome to Post-weekend Poetry and the ninety-third poem in this series. This week’s piece is by freelance critic, poet and scholar Phillip A Ellis.
After Marius the Epicurean
The names of that great populace
dear to the Roman home,
on special occasions were not forgotten
about the place of their former abode,
a little cold;
a few violets,
a cake dipped in wine:
the dead genii were satisfied with little.
Crying in the stillness
of the night,
the dead genii were satisfied–
bread, oil, wine, milk–
with simple gifts
like other objects,
all the means of daily life,
the dead genii were satisfied with little.
Old wine was poured out freely
as he sank into a sleep,
moving in procession
through the fields
with a kind of awe
that was still upon him;
as he awoke amid the rain,
the dead genii were satisfied with little.
Gods were all around his bed:
the spell of his religion
as a part of the essence of home,
the dead genii were satisfied with little.
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I asked Phillip what prompted this piece and he said…
“After Marius the Epicurean” is a found poem, derived from Marius the Epicurean> by Pater. It is a form I have used here and there, as the result of being attracted to certain short passages in my reading matter.
Intriguing. Thank you, Phillip.
**
Phillip A. Ellis is an Australian poet, critic and scholar. In addition, he compiles bibliographies and concordances. His The Flayed Man, has been published by Gothic Press, and he is working on A Harvest, for Diminuendo Press. Another collection has been accepted by Hippocampus Press, which published his concordance of Donald Wandrei’s poetry. He is the editor of Melaleuca, a journal of poetry. He has recently had Symptoms Positive and Negative, a chapbook of poetry about his experiences with schizophrenia, published by Picaro Press, and Arkham Monologues published by Atlantean Publishing.
Phillip lives in northeastern New South Wales, and derives inspiration Australia’s landscapes, wildlife and people. He also loves to respond to Australian poetry, from poets such as Brennan and Slessor, up to contemporaries such as Tranter and Stuart Barnes. He also finds inspiration in his many interests.
Phillip’s poetry relies on a strong sense of technique. As a result, he has had over nine hundred poems published in places such as Jacket, Bluepepper, Freefall, and Contemporary Rhyme. A certain proportion of his poetry is speculative verse, since science fiction, horror and fantasy are among his interests. He is also interested in working further with narrative and prose poetry.
Phillip’s website is http://www.phillipaellis.com.
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