Gnothi seauton
A tribute to Charles Horton Cooley, the inventor of the "looking glass self".
O, thou white bathroom, thy spirit of honesty reigns
When thou invitest sincerely thy guests to denude,
After which many feel vanity slacken its reins,
In thy pure cleanness, with laundry and towels bestrewed.
Look, how the merciless looking-glass mirrors the real,
Look, how the bather distorts it because it is his,
How he will care it, anoint it with perfervid zeal,
Till he is blindfold with selfish and satisfied bliss.
After the bathing the mirror is damped with mist,
The real is enrobed with fresh-washed cloth;
Thou lettest in mercy these untrue enjoyments desist
And swalloweth manfully left-behind broth.
O, thou dear weblog, thy spirit of honesty reigns
When thou invitest sincerely thy guests to denude,
After which many feel vanity slacken its reins,
In thy pure features, with postings and comments bestrewed.
Look, how the merciless screen-glass mirrors the real,
Look, how the blogger distorts it because it is his,
How he designs it, and fills it with perfervid zeal,
Till he is blindfold with selfish and satisfied bliss.
After the session the screen is turned off and shows mist,
The real is enrobed with fresh-washed thought
Thou lettest in mercy these untrue enjoyments desist
And swalloweth manfully ev’rything, anything wrought.
O thou white bathroom, prepared to receive me,
I keep on my clothing, to hide whom I am,
Oil and hot water, let them not deceive me!
(But I am not sure if this stanza will not be a scam).
When thou invitest sincerely thy guests to denude,
After which many feel vanity slacken its reins,
In thy pure cleanness, with laundry and towels bestrewed.
Look, how the merciless looking-glass mirrors the real,
Look, how the bather distorts it because it is his,
How he will care it, anoint it with perfervid zeal,
Till he is blindfold with selfish and satisfied bliss.
After the bathing the mirror is damped with mist,
The real is enrobed with fresh-washed cloth;
Thou lettest in mercy these untrue enjoyments desist
And swalloweth manfully left-behind broth.
O, thou dear weblog, thy spirit of honesty reigns
When thou invitest sincerely thy guests to denude,
After which many feel vanity slacken its reins,
In thy pure features, with postings and comments bestrewed.
Look, how the merciless screen-glass mirrors the real,
Look, how the blogger distorts it because it is his,
How he designs it, and fills it with perfervid zeal,
Till he is blindfold with selfish and satisfied bliss.
After the session the screen is turned off and shows mist,
The real is enrobed with fresh-washed thought
Thou lettest in mercy these untrue enjoyments desist
And swalloweth manfully ev’rything, anything wrought.
O thou white bathroom, prepared to receive me,
I keep on my clothing, to hide whom I am,
Oil and hot water, let them not deceive me!
(But I am not sure if this stanza will not be a scam).
1 comment:
Sorry that I not not replied to your comments until now. I got a new job...at a fast food restaurant.
I really encourage you to learn more about twentieth-century classical music. To tell the truth, I'm hardly crazy about Stockhausen myself. Try Schoenberg's piano pieces or "Five Pieces for Orchestra" if you want good twelve-tone stuff. Of course, Schoenberg is hardly contemporary nowadays. For more recent stuff, check out Frederic Rzewski, Leonardo Balada, Arvo Part, or Conlon Nancarrow. Those are some of my favorites, as they have definitely escaped the tyrannous influence of Boulez and Stockhausen so many contemporary European (and to a lesser extent American) composers still hold dear. I like the music Boulez and Stockhausen themselves, but they're part of the past. Both are in their final years, unless Boulez turns out to be the Antichrist or something. Which wouldn't surprise me.
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