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Don't let that horse -- Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Guest poem submitted by Dale Rosenberg:
(Poem #1836) Don't let that horse
   Don't let that horse
          eat that violin
 cried Chagall's mother
              But he
         kept right on
              painting
 And became famous
 And kept on painting
                   The Horse With Violin In Mouth
 And when he finally finished it
 he jumped up upon the horse
                  and rode away
         waving the violin
 And then with a low bow gave it
 to the first naked nude he ran across
 And there were no strings
                  attached
-- Lawrence Ferlinghetti
I was surprised to see that only two of Ferlinghetti's poems have made it to
minstrels.  He's my favorite of the Beat poets, and this is one of my
favorite poems of his.  I love his exuberance and the sheer *fun* of his
poems.  In this one I admire his ability to use humor without snarkiness, to
convey the joy of creation of art.  I saw him read this one when I was in
high school.  I can still see his smile at the last line and hear the
audience's happy laughter.

Dale Rosenberg.

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