I CANNOT GIVE THE REASONS
by mervyn peake
I cannot give the reasons,
I only sing the tunes:
the sadness of the seasons
the madness of the moons.
I cannot be didactic
or lucid, but I can
be quite obscure and practic-
ally marzipan
In gorgery and gushness
and all that's squishified.
My voice has all the lushness
of what I can't abide
And yet it has a beauty
most proud and terrible
denied to those whose duty
is to be cerebral.
Among the antlered mountains
I make my viscous way
and watch the sepia mountains
throw up their lime-green spray.

© The Mervyn Peake Estate
......................................................................
i've been discussing my love for 'nonsense poems' with a few people recently - and i've mentioned Lewis Carroll numerous times in this journal.
i'd just like to rectify an obvious missing name from my roll-call and showcase this piece by Mervyn Peake.
i adore Peake's work both as author and artist.
and on a personal note - hello Rosie if you're out there doing the alternative funeral thing, hope the Bone book is being kept and cared for.
by mervyn peake
I cannot give the reasons,
I only sing the tunes:
the sadness of the seasons
the madness of the moons.
I cannot be didactic
or lucid, but I can
be quite obscure and practic-
ally marzipan
In gorgery and gushness
and all that's squishified.
My voice has all the lushness
of what I can't abide
And yet it has a beauty
most proud and terrible
denied to those whose duty
is to be cerebral.
Among the antlered mountains
I make my viscous way
and watch the sepia mountains
throw up their lime-green spray.
© The Mervyn Peake Estate
......................................................................
i've been discussing my love for 'nonsense poems' with a few people recently - and i've mentioned Lewis Carroll numerous times in this journal.
i'd just like to rectify an obvious missing name from my roll-call and showcase this piece by Mervyn Peake.
i adore Peake's work both as author and artist.
and on a personal note - hello Rosie if you're out there doing the alternative funeral thing, hope the Bone book is being kept and cared for.