“FLAX AND FERNSEED”

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22066, 23 September 1933, Page 4

“FLAX AND FERNSEED”

“MARSYAS ” -CHALLENGES APOLLO AGAIN “ Flax, and Fernseed.”. By “ Marsyas.” Dunediri: Coulla, SommQrville, Wilkie. (7s 6d.net.) : The appearance of A new hook of poems from - the pen of ■ Marsyas ” is an event in the .somewhat* circumscribed world or poetry in, this Dominion, There arc few in New Zealand more definitely dedicated to the calling of the poet. It is true that Mr D’Arcy Creswell has hawked his poems through London and the English Counties, and is. at the moment," living byTiis" chosen trade in Auckland. Me cannot forsee what Mr Creswell s output will bo by the time he reaches the age of “Marsyas.” One may speculate as to the Age of a Writer who adopts such a provocative nom de guerre. At the outset one isl aware of a certain sense of disappointment in reading “ Flax and Fernsoed. “. Novissima Tuba ” is a lon'g poein that attempts to render the afflatus of Armistice. Day. Poets of the highest attain; meat in the Old Country were aware of their inadequacy to .meet the occasion of peace. Kipling waited till the King made his pilgrimage to the War Cemeteries m France four or five years later, lucre is, by the way, a considerable body of war poetry in this latter volume, and in none of it is “Marsyas” seen at his happiest. We are in accord; however, with the-angle at which he approaches hia subject m “Novissima Tuba ”: >'■

Peace! Knew we peace before this visible O’er maddened earth In devastation flamed* Never; Us ghastly light 'but three out To- each and.all hls hateful natural bent; ' Shewed man by man, brother by brother Strength ’trampling upon, weakness all unFor aughfbut self, nor heart, nor eye, nor . ear. • ? £ * A.few lines late* on “Marsyas” lets the temperature down; by The introduction ’of-The Tern) - “ dugout.” There does not seem to be much heart m the third section of “Novissima Tuba, which partakes of the nature of a Te Deum. “Marsyas,” of course, has a Theosophical bent, and his esoteric reference are very stimulating To the uninitiated . li e Mark” is a lyric in his best vein, it it be not the Pauline mark towards which the poet presses, he. beliefs, that There are many mansions inThe House oi God, and it is clear that he is steadfast to his goal:— One thing have I desired of the Lord, That will I seek —yea, eeek until I .find. In vain they call, these voices on the wind ' To right, to left, urging the softer sward, The dappled shade, the exquisite accord Of bird-song, zephyr, crooning stream, re

i Wherebyln delicate fancies manhlsmlnd ' - -May steep, taste joy no errantries afford, “barihne” and “Res Non” are lyrics with a cognate theme, the arows- through Buffering. - ft »b a vc . r s comforting article of faith to. thpse vh look on, but some of us are too individual; istic at'heart to rely on any testimony but-that which we have acquired through ouf own- pains' and -limitations. We pass through a series of somewhat sententious war poems to “The Price/’ a sounet on the theme of renunciation. It appears from this sonnet that it is not enough to acquiesce in being broken, but that a secondary surrender must take place, ihis idea may have some Theosophical sanctiori, but to the ordinary reader it is novel.' The principal virtue of this sonnet lies in the clearness in line of, demarcation between the octave and the sestette. It is expected of the modern sonnet that tlie lost six lines should either epito,mise or answer what has gone,. before. Violence is occasionally done to the iambic pentameter. “ Mater Matnun is a song in praise of England. Here one catches echoes of the song of the Levites, and of “Oh. the wild joy of living, ’ from Browning’s “ Saul,” in

0 the charm, the lithe grace of each man’s supple frame. “ The Making ” is a piece of special pleading on behalf of Soviet, Russia. It ig tlie most considerable poem in the book, and marred though' it is by ?uch pedestrian. nhrascs as “Come to the conclusion, “ Mind ; you,” and “ Tut- tut,” lo . the mind of the present reviewer, it is a fine piece of .work. ; It is written in blank verse, and at times it recalls Browning. The author is more impressive here than in “ Novissinia Tuba, ” because he is not expatiating upon the obvious. Here are a few lines from the heart of the,poem: i Hava you,-at pinch of some necessity, Bent over, softly blown upon a coal Till light leapt,to.your y-oolng; and flames Sprang, • ' Twigs crackled, faggots caught, and up--1 * -ward’streamed ■ , ... The red and yellow glory, and you laugnt ■; For- the. pure joy of . the bright, creature there? , , . - “More of the. Alother’s Moods "is hardly comparable with the Sister Songs of Francis' Thompson, but there are some p-itty vignettes. When will our Antipodean poets realise'that it is equivocal, to designate eucalyptus trees as gums. “Gums,” of course, is more amenable to rhyme, but the association of .ideas is Unfortunate to the reader, who nurses a denture. “The Ringing Grooves of Change” is another piece of special pleading in justification of war. What would our 'poets have done there, had been ho wars? What woujd our young reporters ’do if there were no fires street accidents? “Song of Goodwill' was set to music by. the late : Bryant Williams as a thanksgiving anthem for peace, and " Requiem ” was read at the dedication of the memorial gate at the Otago Boys’ High School. Both these poems establish the claim of “Marsyas” to be called- in by his country for an Occasion. C. R. A.