Boken innehåller texter från tidernas begynnelse till samtidens 1900-tal. Dock tycker jag att majoriteten av dikterna vänder sig till en vuxen publik, trots att den är klassificerad som ungdomslitteratur.
Mitt första diktval är av modernt snitt, skrivet av den etablerade poeten Brian Patten, som liksom James Berry brukar vara delaktig i tillkomsten av antologier. Brian Patten har gett ut böcker för såväl barn som vuxna.
The Lion and The Echo, by Brian Patten (f. 1946)
(From Gargling with jelly : a collection of poems. Viking Kestrel, 1985.)
The King of the Beasts, deep in the wood,
Roared as loudly as it could.
Right away the echo came back
And the lion thought itself under attack.
"What voice is it that roars like mine?"
The echo replied "Mine, mine."
"Who might you be?" asked the furious lion,
"I'm king of this jungle, this jungle is mine."
And the echo came back a second time,
"This jungle is mine, is mine, is mine."
The lion swore revenge if only it could
Discover the intruder in the wood.
It roared "Coward! Come out and show yourself!"
But the fearless echo replied simply "... elf."
"Come out," roared the lion, "Enough deceit,
Do you fear for your own defeat?"
But all the echo did was repeat
"Defeat...defeat..."
Frightened by every conceivable sound,
The exhausted lion sank to the ground.
A bird in a tree looked down and it said,
"Dear lion, I'm afraid that what you hear
Is simply the voice of your lion-sized fear."
***
Nästa bidrag är skrivet av en välkänd författare.
George Gordon Byron, känd som Lord Byron (6:e baron Byron), född 22 januari 1788 i London, död 19 april 1824 i Missolonghi, Grekland, var en brittisk poet, känd för sin episka satir i ottave rime om Don Juan. Lord Byron räknas som en av de främsta poeterna under den engelska romantiken. Källa: Wikipedia
She walks in beauty, by Lord Byron
She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!
***
Det tredje bidraget är skrivet av den relativt okände Ronald Charles Scriven, ofta krediterad som R.C. Scriven (1907-1985) var en brittisk poet and pjäsförfattare vars favoritmedium var radiodramatik. När man läser hans biografi kan det vara värt att tänka efter hur bra man har det.
Vid 8 års ålder förlorade han nästan all hörsel på grund av öroninflammation. Vid elva års ålder dog båda hans föräldrar i sviterna av influensaepidemi. I fyrtioårsåldern drabbades han av glaukom, men sökte inte hjälp i tid, vilket medförde att han blev totalt blind.
Cricketer, by R.C. Scriven
(from Classic poems to read aloud. Kingfisher, 1995.)
Light
as the flight
of a bird on the wing
my feet skim the grass
and my heart seems to sing:
"How green is the wicket.
It's cricket.
It's spring."
Maybe the swallow
high in the air
know what I feel
when I bowl fast and follow
the ball's twist and bounce.
Maybe the cat
knows what I feel like, holding my bat
and ready to pounce.
Maybe the tree
so supple and yielding
to the wind's sway
the swinging back, gay,
might know the way
I feel when I'm fielding.
Oh, the bird, the cat and the tree:
they're cricket, they're me.
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