Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Ode to my knees (An die knien)

When I was young a long day I'd ride,
A-flexing in the saddle.
Through porcelanic moonlight's tide
And noontime heat from cattle's hide.

But four decades have set their traps-
After fifteen hours in a chair-
My knees now creak like leather straps
As I stand or sit and stand and sit and bear without the chaps.

Heaven bless this weathered cartilage,
No longer supple but still sublime,
Who but the foolish, youngish pledge
Would try rising all the time?

AUTUMN, n. The last season of folly before Christmas.

24 comments:

Rio said...

Autumn,
Where we find the wind changing with the leaves and my heart crunches unnoticed under soft rubber soles.

Nessa said...

Very nice poem, Doug. Autumn is my favorite season and i don't need to get down on my knees to enjoy it.

TLP said...

Oh, thanks. Listen, winter is a fine, fine season.

k. riggs gardner said...

Ariel the Thief:

Did you know Tim Burton directed the "Nightmare Before Christmas"?

xoxoxo

broadcastellan said...

Don’t let that force you “in die Knie.”

Jim said...

Sorry, K.A: (I know, your comment wasn't directed to me but it was here for all to read)

"The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) Directed by Henry Selick and produced/co-written by Tim Burton [emphasis is Jim's]" per Wikipedia.

Thanks Doug, for the Wikipedia Monitor title. Got to have the straight skinny here for your blog readers.
..

k. riggs gardner said...

Actually, J.H., I didn't use Wikipedia for a reference.

I used a simple search query for Burton.

International Movie Database's acronym is IMDb.

Jim said...

Autumn: end of a hot and miserable season here in Texas.

My neighbor and friend has a Colorado ranch for cooling from May to October . Another friend has a place in Maine (not the Bush's).
..

Jim said...

www.imdb.com/title/tt0107688:

Director: Henry Selick
Writers: Tim Burton (story)
.......... Michael McDowell (adaptaion)
..

Jim said...

Doug, since I'm not being very nice today (and not from Wikipedia),
knien / knie --> kneel / knelt or knee or knees.
..

k. riggs gardner said...

Very well, J.H. I'm sure you're more than right.

But Johnny Depp had the lead role in both Ed Wood and Edward Scissorhands.

Let's now play "Six Degrees of Separation".

I'll start.

"Pirates of the Caribbean"

~~~~

Jim said...

Johnny Depp has a Bacon number of 2.

Johnny Depp --> L.A. Witout a Map (1998)
with
Andre Royo --> Super (2010)
with
Kevn Bacon.
..
I'm watching Road Warrior right now. Do you want that one?
I have a Bacon number of 2 for its star also.
..

k. riggs gardner said...

Lemme git back atcha J.H. I'm agonna be watching the television set for a spell. I might git me an idea for a hot and miserable texan.

;-)

Jim said...

That's fin, K.A. It's a boring game anyway. And I cheat.
I also multitask, meaning I am watching my movie and sorting groceries and blogging.
Next will be packing up for two dogs for a Friday outing. I can't do that tomorrow because I'm having three teeth pulled. :)
..

Jim said...

Tomorrow at 10:15 for the teeth. Mrs. Jim will drive me home.
..

k. riggs gardner said...

O.k. The commercials are on now. Did somebody say something?

Where is Cantaloupe?

Good to see you,
Karen

quilly said...

Look, it's the Karen and Jim show.

Autumn-bull on the floor laughing wherever they interact. (Bull being the operative part of that contraction.)

tsduff said...

Autumn: A name I wished was mine, as I was born in it. Also my favorite time of year - frost on the pumpkin and all. Doug, your knees are not even half past summer.

cooper said...

So, when Camus called autumn "the second spring", he was speaking post knee replacement???

Besides the autumn poets sing,
A few prosaic days
A little this side of the snow
And that side of the haze.

Emily Dickinson

Doug, shoes are the knees worst enemy, flip flops and barefoot works best.

Jim said...

I have some flip flops on my blog for tomorrow. :)
..

k. riggs gardner said...

Q. ~

You are so right. The cast of characters in this day's episode is beyond hilarious. It's a classic!

If Chris Berman were to call this episode he would say, "And-he-could-go-all-the-way" !!

By the way, who won the Stanley Cup tonight?

??????????????

k. riggs gardner said...

The Black Hawks won and I'll bet Terry is glad. I'm sure she can bake a pumpkin pie because she knows how to cook.

!!

Doug The Una said...

Rio, the crisp hearts makes crunchy sounds.

Actonbell, just so.

Nessa, you're fortunate that way, or will be.

TLP, I hope so more and more every day. I like winter. Less crowded.

Ariel, that's some compliment for a vampire.

Karen, trivia isn't new here but the question mark is an innovation.

Nah, Harry. Wenn Ich nicht laufen kann, schlafe ich gern.

Right from the source of truth, Jim. I appreciate it.

Jim and Karen, nice to see the two of you play well together.

Quilly, that's a contraction?

Terry, after about 12 hours of getting up to help voters and sitting back down every five or ten minutes, my patella was blowing a New Year whistle.

Cooper, I'm guessing existentialists don't bend much. Emily Dickinson should be the poet laureate of seasons. Thanks for the advice, too. In November, maybe I'll inspect barefoot.

Jim, can I borrow them?

Yeah, Karen. Go Blackhawks!

A. Vivaldi said...

Celebra il Vilanel con balli e Canti
Del felice raccolto il bel piacere
E del liquor de Bacco accesi tanti
Finiscono col Sonno il lor godere.