Parodies Of Classical Poetry

Harry Kim (Israfel)
Mrs Mac — 24 Jun 1998

Oooo POE! I LIKE POE! Here's mine!

Can I play? Here is Poe's first version of "Israfel".

In Delta space a spirit dwells in
Whose heart-strings are a lute;
None sing so well (a lie, I sin),
As Ensign Harry Kim
And the giddy stars (so legends spin),
Ceasing their hymns, attend the din
Of his voice, all stunned mute.

Tottering above
The endowed moon
Blushes with love,
While, to listen, the red levin
(With the other Pleiads, even
Which are Seven)
Pauses in Heaven.

And they say (the starry choir
And the other listening things)
That Harry's fire
Is owing to that lyre
By which he sits and sings,
The trembling living wire
Of those unusual strings.

But the skies that ensign trod,
Where deep thoughts are a duty,
Where Love's a grown-up God,
Where the Maquis glances are
Imbued with all the beauty
Which we worship in a star.

Therefore thou art not wrong,
Harry Kim, who despisest
An unimpassioned song;
To thee the laurels belong,
Best bard, because the wisest:
Merrily live, and long!

The ecstasies above
With thy burning measures suit:
Thy grief, thy joy, thy hate, thy love,
With the fervor of thy lute:
Well may the stars be mute!

(Based on Israfel by Edgar Allan Poe)