To rage like Dido, scorned
By cruel-hearted Aeneas
Or weep like Echo mourned
For self-obsessed Narcissus
Will perhaps be seen as grave exaggeration.
Hyperbole was the
Classic poet’s saving grace,
But today t’would seem
Arrogant and out of place.
Modernity, it seems, demands moderation.
If we are only permitted one-syllable words
And trite, overwrought clichés,
How then, shall we grieve?
(March 7, 2008)
