Sunday, January 07, 2007

With Ardor We Regard YOUR Paw!


I cannot think of a better way to get our feet wet in the swollen river that is John Ashbery than with this gymnastic display of poetic interpretation, courtesy of the thoughtful Ana. She writes: "I should like to help inaugurate the month of Ashbery with the attached rendering of the first stanza of Glazunoviana:

The man with the red hat
And the polar bear, is he here too?
The window giving on shade,
Is that here too?
And all the little helps,
My initials in the sky,
The hay of an arctic summer night?

It features Ashbery as a polar teddy with a red hat, killing, as it were, two birds with one stone. I have skipped the window, since I didn't have enough space. But you will notice his initials in the sky of the arctic summer night. Feeling bad about drawing such a dubious picture of the great poet, for whom I feel only ardor, I also include myself as a 'little help' aka the teddy's tag. With ardor I regard his paw."

Wonderful work, Ana--when the Lord comes down on his little cloud and tells me to start fattening my eyes for the slaughter, I will gorge them on this fluffy body until the knife is raised.

8 comments:

Radish King said...

oh crap this made me laugh. if i ever have a grandchild, this will be its first and most beloved toy.
yrs,
loudon

Patricia Lockwood said...

Ditto! When I first saw it I laughed out loud, a behavior I am told is reserved mainly for loons.

Anonymous said...

I may or may not have imaginary sex with that thing in mere moments

Patricia Lockwood said...

I myself already have, and can recommend it.

Radish King said...

Me too!

Furry Rebecca

Ana Božičević said...

Desecrate my teddy away; I too am sick with desire /And fastened to the tempting animal

Richard Epstein said...

The face on the bear looks oddly like Mike Ditka's. Ashbery is a better poet than Ditka, of course, but he has no Super Bowl ring. Ditka has 2. This proves something about the Balance of Nature or the Uniform Law of Reciprocity & Mustachios.

Patricia Lockwood said...

Oh God, Richard is right. Ana, this artwork is even more multilayered than I first thought. Also, I'm going to steal that quote and utter it ominously to Elegant Choice the next time he tries to freak me with seriousness.

Rebecca, I knew it!