A mountain hurled onto a fly,
The fly surviving still —
Scarce more than a mere fly am I,
And overwhelmed by hill
Am I.
The psalmist wondered who was he,
God of eternity,
That he of time should know of Thee —
Timeless fidelity
Of Thee.
How much less I, the little fly,
Who with not even half
Of David's pious fervency,
That I should ask of why
Why the mountain fell on me —
Who serves* You shamefully —
The mountain of such levity:
That under so heavy
A lightness I should be
Crushed —
and being crushed, blessed.
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*or treats (I couldn't decide on which)
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I have just finished a collection of Emily Dickinson's poems, and was struck by the skill and ease with which she poetized in common meter. Common meter is one of the most common (duh) rhythm schemes for hymns ("Amazing Grace," for example), and I've been hearing it at least fifteen years now. But Emily Dickinson's made me view it in a refreshed way, and I felt the impulse to try my luck with it. I borrow more than one theme from her poetry. Of course, I cheat: the first two quatrains (or cinqtains, is that what you call them?) both have little addenda. The fourth quatrain doesn't maintain rhythmic consistency. The third has a general iambic beat (not really) but uses off-kilter rhyme. And let's not bother with the quasi-couplet at the end.
