John Keats’ Porridge

Reborn_ItIllustration: Elena Caldera

‘When through the old oak Forest I am gone, /Let me not wander in a barren dream, /But when I am consumed in the fire, /Give me new Phoenix wings to fly at my desire.’
–John Keats


john keats porridge

 

The University of Iowa Press have published
A cook-book called ‘John Keats’ Porridge’
It’s subtitled ‘Favourite Recipes of American Poets’.
It invites a curse on the compilers’ knowledge.

For Keats was a cockney who often faced starvation.
He was born in London and wasn’t American.
But thanks to its all-consuming colonial kleptocracy
He’s swallowed up by that arrogant nation.

“Beauty is truth”, said Keats, “and truth beauty”
But the University’s untruth is ugly;
Betraying the American habit of stealing others’ credit;
Of stealing their laurels and then grinning smugly.

In the same vein the US’s Pharmaceutical Companies
Try to patent other countries’ indigenous plants,
Such as the Indian neem and Peruvian ayahuasca –
The U.S. Empire’s guiding light being finance.

But to grab the world’s assets and to call them yours
Is guaranteed to create animosity:
Since 1776 the US has spent 222 years out of 239
In war – thanks to its grasping bellicosity.

By contrast Keats believed that the power of love
Was a better basis for human society
Than money-grubbing, and lies, and armed theft
Which tend to lead to social anxiety.

John Keats felt the world needed unending love
For love can repair every damage,
So for a cruel Empire to claim him as their own
Would have him choke on his porridge.

“The poetry of the earth is never dead,” said Keats
As he prayed for a Phoenix wings
To renew himself and to be forever reborn,
Still rejoicing in the earth as it sings.

Heathcote Williams

 

 


By Heathcote Williams

This entry was posted on in homepage and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

One Response to John Keats’ Porridge

    1. That’s really good…and yeah,they do seem to steal anything not nailed down and yet we still,as a western nation,forgive them everything imagining they give a shit about us…Well done …Keep that pse in your pocket or it’ll get nicked!

      Comment by Viv Harris on 20 July, 2015 at 7:15 pm

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.