Willows Revisited

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ISwivel: Well, get the coffee on. It can be boiling while we have our ten minute silence. Bessie Udderton; Mr. Swivel, couldn't we have the ten minutes' silence after lunch? Then those of us who wanted to could make it a full half hour and have a bit .of a nap, or we could just sit around. Middleduck; Mr, Chairman, this is all irregular. Just for the sakeof the record wouldn't it be better if we went into Committee as awhole for half an hour after lunch and then if Mrs/Waffle or anybody else want to take a nap or do some revision for the Department, it could be done then. In the meantime, let's have a kind of token silence here and now so that it can be recorded in the minutes. I therefore move, Mr/Chairman, that we have a token silence here and now, and if the coffee boils over when we're having it you can call us to order.Bessie Udderton: I'm starved.Swivel: Okay, Okay it has been moved and seconded that we have a token silence right here and now before beginning with the reading of the tributes. And just watch that fire. Now, if you'll all just keep quiet for a second we'll have the silence. I'll tell you when to quit.(There is silence for a moment. The wind rises again to a howl and after a bit of static the voice of the Muse comes in.The Muse;Sarah, can you hear the wind?Oh rare the gift within their giving,That of silence �they have dinned.Endless verses to the living; But to you, beyond their seeing, Now their greatest gift bestow,And in silence yield their being � Sarah, can you hear it blow?
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155Swivel: That's It, Friends. I think that was a real tribute. I always think there is nothing like a few moment's silence when it comes to tributes, find that Muse wasn't so bad either. I think you are to be congratulated on that Muse, Jones-Jones. We'll have to give you a vote of thanks when it's all over. I suppose that's Government tape you're using. That stuff is expensive.Wraitha Dovecote: Pilt, I thought I heard that owl again. Pilt dosnakes make noise like owls?Bedfellow: You're hearing things. I didn't hear anything that time.Bessie Udderton: I didn't hear anything.Swivel: Look, Folks, let's not start worrying about things unless its that fire,I dont like the looks of the grass. Did you have to make it that big, Mrs Waffle? After all, it isn't as if we were at a cremation.Bessie Udderton; We've got to keep it fairly big if we ever get that coffee boiling on time. Anyway, it's clearing out the ants. All the same, I'll watch It. I don't want to set the cemetery on fire. Bedfellow; Some cemetery!Bessie Udderton; What did you expect� Forest Hill?Swivel; Just watch it, that's all, Mrs. Waffle, since you seem to have taken charge. Its certainly plenty big enough for all our poems.Bedfellow; I suppose that's his idea of being funny.Swivel; I'll Ignore that, Dr. Bedfellow. We want to get going. NowI'll begin. This poem is called Willows Revisited.Bedfellow: After Wordsworth, I suppose.Wraitha Dovecote: Shut up, Pilt, I want to listen.Swivel; As you see, Friends, I'm stepping up to the fire ...Middleduck; Mr Chairman!
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156Swivel; Yes, Mr. Duckmiddle.Middleduck; Before we go on, shouldn't we first have the minutes of the last meeting. Swivel: There was no last meeting. This is our first meeting. There cant be any minutes of a meeting if there was no meeting held.reading ofMiddleduck: In that case, Mr/Chairman, I move that the/minutes ofthe last meeting be omitted. We cant do anything else but omit them since there aren't any, but at least we keep the record straight. Bessie Udderton; Why not omit them later? This coffee is getting hot. Swivel; Look, Friends, this is all getting to be too technical. We want to get on with this ceremony, and as I said I'm stepping up to the fire, and its called Willows Revisited and I'm damned if I'm going to stand for any snide remarks that it was written by Wordsworth or anybody else. These are our own poems or the Departmentdoesn't want them. Just let me stand there, Mrs. Waffle, so that Ican hit the fire when I'm through. We dont want to chase them allacross Saskatchewan in this wind.Jones-Jones: Wasn't^the Muse to introduce you first? Swivel: Oh yea, Mr/jones-Jones, I forgot. Turn her on. The Muse:Untie the ribbons now, and string, That binds each treasured scroll, and fling Upon the fire with loud, declaim, The rhymed and metered bid for fame; Revisit Willows, call alive Once more the spirit from the grive.Much static and a shocked pause.)Jones-Jones: Sorry about that. We had to re-do it and I didn't^ have time to go over it all. Just a minute...The Muse:Revisit Willows, call aliveOnce more the spirit, and revive Once more the soil and hallowed sod Where once poetic feet have trod �
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157Here, hot sun and prairie rain, Nurtured genius �call again, Her own blithe spirit, free of drivel, Speak, poet, now �let's hear from Swivel.';The wind rises to a shriek and then dies down to a sighSwivel: Now I'll do mine. I think I mentioned its called Willows Revisited.Bedfellow: As if we dldn'; know by this time. Wraitha Dovecote: Shut up, Pilt, I want to hear him.Swivel (Very slowly and portentiously):Here then is Willows; through the years' long run,Serene and sere, brooding on time's long last, Battered by storms, baked by the prairie sun, Holding in ageless hands the past, Holding in ageless hands the trust, Of once proud day, austerely rugged pile, Twin elevators in majestic rust, Guarding the railroad's mile on mile, Stand like colossi looking on the Nile, Keeping the vigil of eternal dust.There is a smattering of applauseBedfellow: Not bad, Dean, I've known you to do worse. Swivel: Thank you Dr, Bedfellow. Coming from you that's really appreciated. Look, Friends, I'm tossing this on the ceremonial pyre. Remember to allow a bit for the wind. Now I think Miss Dovecote it's your turn next. Just dont get too close to that fire. Rayon is pretty inflammable stuff, you know. Wraltha Dovecote; It's not rayon.Swivel; Well, whatever it is, be careful. A nice mess it would have been if anyone had caught fire at Edmund Shakespeare's tomb. We dontwant anything like that even though it might set a precedent. Get set.
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158Jones-Jones: Just a minute. We've got a Muse on that.The Muse: Wraitha with the broken heart Step right up and do your part,Love must come, but love can cease So Wraitha, come and say your piece; Ring the long forgotten bell In sad nostalgic tones, and tell. Of love in sweet poetic fluff � Wraitha, come and do your stuff.Wraitha Dovecote; I'm not sure I like that Muse. She's a damn cat.Mlddleduck; Mr, Chairman.'Swivel; Later, Mr, Duckcote, Miss Middledove is going to recite.Are you ready Miss Duck -- sorry, Miss Dovecote.Wraitha^ (Very sadly);Weeping Willows, Willows weeping, Here within your timeless keeping, Lies a gentle maiden, sleeping � Maiden take your rest; Hurried winds above you blowing, Far beyond all care and knowing, Spread their dust upon your going � Dust is dust, and best.Maiden, who of us can borrow, Of your dreams without their sorrow, Or have known love's wakened morrow � Sleep alone -�and best.Bedfellow; Wow!Swivel: Thank you, Miss Dovecote. I hope you will keep the Department in mind when you make revisions. You may now consign it to the flames.Bedfellow; Smack in the coffee.Bessie Udderton: Did you have to do that. How do you think that coffee is going to taste with your poem in it.Wraitha Dovecote; Fish it out, cant you. I cant get close to that I holocaust of yours without burning up. What did you think you werewhen you lit it? Mrs. O'Leary' s cow?(p (There is loud laughter from Dr. Bedfellow)
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159Middleduck: See if you can get it out with this stick.Bessie Udderton: It doesn't look very clean to me. Where did you get itMiddleduck: Just here over the fence.Bessie Udderton: And all those cows? No thanks. There's a fork here in my lunch if I can get at it.Wraltha Dovecote; what's that other stuff? Looks like leaves. I cant imagine how leaves could get in. It isn't as if there were trees in this country. Bessie Udderton: Oh Lord, it's some of that bay. Wraltha Dovecote: Bay leaves?Bessie Udderton: I suppose so. You see I bought some on the way down. I was going to make a wreath. Wraltha Dovecote; What on earth?Bessie Udderto: Well, you see, I thought it would be nice if one of us could wear a laurel wreath like the poets used to, but then you cant buy laurel in this country. everybody flavors with bay, and so I bought bay and was going to sew it together, but it's so darn dry that it wont sew and I had to let it go. And now a bunch of it got in the coffee. I should never have left it in the same bag withthe lunch.Wraitha Dovecote; It might not hurt It. After all it isn't poison, is it? Leave it in. Its too small bits for the fork.Bessie Udderton: It might be worth trying at that. I dont mind it insoup.Swivel; Come to order please. Its your turn Mr. Middleduck.Middleduck: Middleduck, if you please.Swivel: Sorry, Mr. Middleduck. Its your turn now. Mr. Jones-Jones, haveI you got a Muse on Middleduck?
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160Jones-Jones; Just a minute. Something's stuck here. (There is a longpause and the usual static) Okay Here she goes.The Muse:Of man's first disobedience and the fruit, Of that forbidden tree we now will hear --Say this about the stern and rock-bound coot, The usual thing, he's dull but he's sincere, And if he wanders fron the lyric way, Count not his songs among these other screeds, Just tolerantly smile, and nod, and say, 'Tis written in the Book of Golden Deeds.Bedfellow: She may have written the psalms, but at least she knows her Milton. Where did you get this Muse, Jones? She might be worth knowing.Wraitha Dovecote: I said it before and I say it again. She is a damn cat. Swivel: Gome and declaim your poem, Mr. Duckcentre. Mlddleduck: It's Mlddleduck, if you please. Swivel: Sorry! How about declaiming. Mlddleduck: This is called Willows Revisited.Swivel: But you cant do that Mr Middleduck. I've already called mine Willows Revisited. We cant have two poems with the a same title.Middleduck: well, it deals like yours with the change which has come over this town of Willows since Sarah Binks lived here. It's what one notices after coming back to it, and if that Isn't Willows being revisited I'd like to know what is? Swivel: All the same, you cant call it Willows Revisited after what I called mine. You may be right enough, but it's a matter of poetic consistency. Just how is the Department going to knowone poem from another if they have the same name, why dont you just call it Come Back to Willows, or That Dear Old Willows of Mine? There must be dozens of names you can call it without using the name I chose.
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161Bedfellow: Let me call it something.Wraitha Dovecote: Shut up, Pilt, you haven't even heard it yet. Bedfellow: I can still think of things to call it � the pious old bastard.Middleduck: This Poem is called, Willows Revisited Again . It iswritten by Jordan J, Middleduck. I wrote it in pencll. Does that matter? Swivel: Not here. It's the one to the Department which has to be typed. Middleduck:oh Willows, given up to play, Oh Willows, lost in pleasure's aura, Take heed, take heed, recall the day, That happened to Gomorrah; For Sodom's fate may yet befall, A town that thinks alone of lucre, To pay for dances in the hall, And hockey, curling, pool, and snooker. The bingo games and harness race, That Fair Days bring,invite the doom, Descending in its own sure pace, On rink and hall and beverage room.Bedfellow: Amen!Swivel; I hope you'll keep in mind, Mr. Middleduck, that this is the premier's own constituency. However, chuck it in and let's not have another in the coffee. Who's next? Let me see, there's still you Mrs. Waffle, and you, Dr. Bedfellow, and what about you yourself Mr. Jones-Jones? You've been so busy running these tapes we're likely to forget all about you. Perhaps you better come on now. What about the Muse? Did you get a Muse on yourself? Jones-Jones; Well, not really on myself. I thought it might be appropriate to have the Muse give another one to the group as a whole. Just a minute. The usual static The Muse;Peter, Peter, Pumpkin eater,Food is good, but love is sweeter, (And at night when put to bed, Peter, Peters
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162Jones-Jones: Sorry, that was something else. These darn girls atthe office are always fooling with this recorder. Let me see hereshe is: As I said, its to the group as a whole and not just me.The Muse:Away, let once more poets sing, And ring as once their voices rang, And drink at that pelucid spring From whence their inspiration sprang; Revisit Willows, let the choir Give forth again as once they gave, And fan to life the lyric fire, They build today on Sarah's grave.So cry your rhyme above the breeze, And though but coffee, brim the cup Like wine from old Heaperides In wild abandon drink it up; And should you talent fall the Muse With spirits flagged and voices limp, Reach deep the sandwich in the cruse, With pickles, olives, and canned shrimp.Wraitha Dovecote: She even makes me hungry.Bessie Udderton: No wonder I'm famished.Swivel: What about the poem, Mr. Jones-Jones. Have you got one to put on the fire?Jones-Jones: Well, I wasn't going to, but it might be just as well.I've got a bunch here and I'm not sure which I better chose. It is supposed to deal with Willows, isn't it? Swivel: Willows or Sarah. Just one, though.Jones-Jones: I think they'll like this one. Its calledThe Wlllows-Quagmire Constituency. You see its the one representedby the Premier himself, and I think it pays tribute to the communityas well as to the bier of this poet. I did it in a hurry and someof the lines can be improved, although I dont want to change anyof the ideas. The rhymes are good, but some of the lines needfixing.Swivel: Well, tha*ts what we've got the afternoon for. Lets have it as it is.
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163This place, where never tyrant trod, Nor bigot forged a chain, Has Government ordained by God, And a cabinet appointed by same; Its car licences cost less than most, Everywhere new roads are made, And the one that leads to Willows boasts Oil gravel with a good wide grade; And everywhere under this Government's rule Are signs of progress and pep � Willows itself has a consolidated school, And a agricultural rep; And perhaps affairs like this today May bring some tourists here, To visit this poetic shrine and pay Respect to Sarah's bier.Swivel: Nothing wrong with that as far as I can see. I particularly like"that part about "never tyrant trod or bigot forged a chain."What gets me is how you fellows think of these things. I dont mindsaying my own ideas sometimes come hard. Not that they aren't worthwhile when they come. I think the Department will like it too. Well,get it burned up and we'll get on with Mrs. Waffle, here. Your turnnext Mrs Waffle. I hope you have something good for us seeing as howits getting on towards lunch and you being the representative ofinnerness and all that. We'll have the Muse first. Go ahead Mr.Jones-Jones. The Muse: What have you planned for tonight, Bessie, A roundel with sherry and cream, Or a deep-fried sonnet With minced chives on it, Or a couplet in sauce-supreme?What is your menu of rhyme, Bessie, To toss on the fire and tell, In verse a la mode, Of a deep-fried ode, Or a jellied villanelle?But give us a song of joy, Bessie, Spiced quatrain and marinade ballad. With eggs sub-gum, And chicken yum-yum, Avocado and lobster salad.
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164Swivel: Are you all set, Mr snaffle?Bessie3 Udderton: Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, this gathering at ha the tomb of Sarah Binks has touched me very deeply though I must say that at the moment I'm more hungry than anything else. But I want to say that in spite of what the Muse has Just said, words cannot ex-press my feelings on this occasion. I dont think that even poetry can do it justice, at least as far as I am concerned though I must say you have all done very wonderful so far at least. But I just cant find words to show how deeply I am moved, and so, if you dont mind, I'll Just throw this blank scroll on the ceremonial fire and let my thoughts go with it. The unwritten page, I always feel, is initself so very expressive. It so, well � virginal, if you know what I mean?Bedfellow: Oh we know what you mean all right,Wraitha Dovecote: Pilt, you're Just being nasty. She doesn't mean it that way.Bedfellow: What way?Wraitha Dovecote: The way you mean it.Bedfellow: What other way is there?Wraitha Dovecote: Well, certainly not quite.Bedfellow: Look. There is no such thing as not quite. Either you are virginal or you aren't. It doesn't lend itself to this not quite business. Its like being or not being Just the least bit pregnant. Swivel; Dr. Bedfellow, please! We are not here to dicuss problems in semantics. Will you go ahead Mrs Waffle, not that I like the idea of the blank page. Bessie Udderton: Well, its expressive. It tells of things to come. Bedfellow; Virginal! Wraitha Dovecote; Pilt!
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165Bessie Udderton; I always feel that once a thing is written/ it's so committed, if you know what I mean. Its a case of tfee moving finger that moves on. So if you dont mind I'll just throw this scroll on the fire as it is. You can see I have done it up in ribbons just like Edmund Spenser used to do and it's kind of parchment-like and it should burn all right although I'm not sure of the ribbons because they're from some of that metallic stuff left over from Christmas, but I guess I'll just toss it on the fire because its the best I can do at the moment.?Bedfellow: Its an idea. There's a lot to be said for it.Middleduck: Mr. Chairman, I move that Mrs. Waffle's contribution be taken as read and be so recorded In the minutes.Swivel: We cant do that, Mr. Middleton. We cant just take as read something that has never been written. You should have told us about this before that you weren't going to write anything. What about the Department?Bessie Udderton: It isn't as if I was going to let this group down. I'm going to write it, all right. I had intended to do it this morning but then I got thinking about the dinner arrangements tonight � it's at five thirty, by the way, and not at five as first announced --and there was all this hurry about getting here on time, and anyway I can never write anything before breakfast. As you know, it's going to be a duck dinner and I'm sure we're all going to enjoy it, but when I started thinking about what I was going to write I got thinking about whether we were having lemon pie or not .because there was something Said about it being rice pudding, which I think can be all right if you put enough eggs and nutmeg in it and serve It with whipped creambut then you can expect the hotels to know that and they cant go very far wrong on lemon pie, even if you have to leave the pastry.

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