I.

A doting mother is twice blessed,
By nested baby on her breast.
Hallowed at the first by praise
Of pursed lips,
Then by sheer bliss from cooing kiss
Of sleepy gaze —
The musing eyes
Angelic entrance to the soul,
A welling bosom
The wholesome console.

II.

When you and I
Apprise
Each other
With open eyes,
If I try
To pry
In two,
Not one,
But both
Are haze.

Or, if my gaze
Should solely plumb
The depths of one
The other’s rays
Are dumb.

III.

If, so some extol,
Eyes are
Windows
To the Soul,
Is the vapor therein
Bound in only one?
Propounded by its
Smoky twin?
Or found best
When you console me
On your breast?

If you would grant me
Entrance to your soul,
Then first bid me come
To your console

© Roy Conant

7 Responses to “Eyes A Breast”

1. Eyes A Breast Says:
   April 28th, 2008 at 9:49 pm

   […] ノートパソコン&aelig… wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt A doting mother is twice blessed, By the nested baby on her breast. Hallowed at the first by praise Of pursed lips, Then arrested by caress Of dreamy gaze — The musing eye Angelic entrance to the soul, A welling bosom, The wholesome console. When we appraise With open eye, If I try To pry Yours in two Both are haze. Or, if my gaze Should solely plumb The depths of one The other’s rays Are dumb. If, so some extol, Eyes are Windows To the Soul, Is the vapor therein Bound […]

2. Roy Conant Says:
   April 28th, 2008 at 10:45 pm

   Can anybody tell me what generates this kind of comment? Is it when someone forwards a poem to a third party? Thanks! roy

3. oxygon Says:
   April 29th, 2008 at 9:31 am

   Hello, Roy! Great poem, as is characteristic of your artistry and craftsmanship! As for the comment, there are certain blogs that monitor a variety sites, looking for key words in articles, poems, essays, etc., and they will zero in on a work that happens to fit a particular promo on the blog. Rest assured, they only cite items of quality. On occasion, I’ve been able to pull up the blog and detail what exactly they’re up to, and I’ve had no cause for concern.

   Art

4. Roy Conant Says:
   April 30th, 2008 at 1:05 am

   Thanks, Art! I guess you can see there was more than a bit of fun in composing this one! There are a couple spots where the diction is a little difficult, but then (without drawing a comparison between myself and him) old Ben Jonson once said John Donne should be hanged for the fracturing of the syntax. Of course, he later wrote DONNE, the delight of Phoebus, and each Muse, Who, to thy one, all other braines refuse … (To John Donne, by Ben Jonson).

   This poem actually grew out of another idea I was trying to finish. I’m still trying to finish that one, but another has popped up and I am following it. In a way it’s a stream-of-consciousness approach to writing verse — let the story surprise you! A novelist once told me he knew everything that would happen in his novels because he had it outlined ahead of time. I was a bit incredulous when I asked him if his stories ever surprised him and he said no, ‘they are very real.’ When I asked him about Godels Incompleteness Theorem (In a closed system the rules cannot predict all of the outcomes) he couldn’t believe that could happen in his stories. Naturally, he was not acquainted with fuzzy set theory… The velcro/cockleburr belief that whereever you go, something you didn’t expect sticks to you — sometimes to the bottom of your shoe and other times in other places…

   Anyway, gotta go find me a beer and a slice of pizza then get ready to head for Salt Lake City.

   I really enjoy your comments on mine and other’s posts — they sometimes help me get a grip on what I’m missing! roy

5. oxygon Says:
   April 30th, 2008 at 9:44 am

   I really enjoyed your informative comment, Roy. Thanks! I am still reading “Eyes a Breast” and am taking my time before I post a comment. There is so much there I don’t want to submit a casual response. In the meantime, looking forward to your next. Good luck in mighty UT!

   Art

6. clematis Says:
   July 2nd, 2009 at 3:25 am

   roy i do like the first stanza - it is very gentle & very tender:

   A doting mother is twice blessed,
   By nested baby on her breast.
   Hallowed at the first by praise
   Of pursed lips,
   Then by sheer bliss from cooing kiss
   Of sleepy gaze —
   The musing eye
   Angelic entrance to the soul,
   A welling bosom
   The wholesome console.

   but then one begins to wonder what hidden ulterior motives does the poet have? apparently not just mother’s love

   aha! therein lies the….

   ‘cos then it becomes - you & i

   & what heights or depths does the poet want to soar or plummet?

   one wonders…one wonders…

   whyfore are the eyes being prised or pried open? therein lies the mystery - making the poem intriguing & ambiguous

   only towards the end one get a glimmer of what the poet is about:

   Or found best
   When you console me
   On your breast?

   If you would grant me
   Entrance to your soul,
   Then first bid me come
   To your console

   seems to me a bit of an about turn - or the coming around the full circle -

   if you want a freudian interpretation i would say the poet is mourning the loss of childhood or infancy

   but i’m afraid i would go for the donne-ish interpration - donne was a very persuasive lover - any argument to get the women to bed - not to sleep either.

   that soul thing notwithstanding.

   roy i do remember conversing with you about the console - the wholesome console etc. but perhaps that was another poem - another time.

   a console these days would mean something entirely different - like the keyboard - right?

   yea well to conclude i would say a fine example of metaphysical poetry very donne-ish in argument:

   If, so some extol,
   Eyes are
   Windows
   To the Soul,
   Is the vapor therein
   Bound in only one?
   Propounded by its
   Smoky twin?
   Or found best
   When you console me
   On your breast?

7. Roy Conant Says:
   July 2nd, 2009 at 3:37 am

   yea, Clematis — this is as close I get to being sort of metaphysical in my compositions and it is one of my favorites and, you do have it right, it is about me as her “Baby.” And, I am happy to be thought of in those terms… This and Night Light are the two that I think would reveal I had read Donne somewhat closely and learned from him even if my compositions have not attained the same degree of refinement….

   Night Light, I do think you commented on — “Tis not the prying eyes of light/Rather cover of the night/Which brings me all manner of delight/So/When you come/Say/Not that you are here/To Bring me light/But/Take it away!

   One of these days soon, I’ll get back to writing — probably when I take off on my next trip after a few of life’s complications have been addressed….

   Cheers!

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