In at the last minute, and badly scanned, my "Tales and Legends" theme for Illustration Friday this week. Inspired by a James Tate poem:
It Happens Like This
I was outside St. Cecelia's Rectory
smoking a cigarette when a goat appeared beside me.
It was mostly black and white, with a little reddish
brown here and there. When I started to walk away,
it followed. I was amused and delighted, but wondered
what the laws were on this kind of thing. There's
a leash law for dogs, but what about goats? People
smiled at me and admired the goat. "It's not my goat,"
I explained. "It's the town's goat. I'm just taking
my turn caring for it." "I didn't know we had a goat,"
one of them said. "I wonder when my turn is." "Soon,"
I said. "Be patient. Your time is coming." The goat
stayed by my side. It stopped when I stopped. It looked
up at me and I stared into its eyes. I felt he knew
everything essential about me. We walked on. A police-
man on his beat looked us over. "That's a mighty
fine goat you got there," he said, stopping to admire.
"It's the town's goat," I said. "His family goes back
three-hundred years with us," I said, "from the beginning."
The officer leaned forward to touch him, then stopped
and looked up at me. "Mind if I pat him?" he asked.
"Touching this goat will change your life," I said.
"It's your decision." He thought real hard for a minute,
and then stood up and said, "What's his name?" "He's
called the Prince of Peace," I said. "God! This town
is like a fairy tale. Everywhere you turn there's mystery
and wonder. And I'm just a child playing cops and robbers
forever. Please forgive me if I cry." "We forgive you,
Officer," I said. "And we understand why you, more than
anybody, should never touch the Prince." The goat and
I walked on. It was getting dark and we were beginning
to wonder where we would spend the night.
- James Tate
More poems by James Tate at:
http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/jamestate/
smoking a cigarette when a goat appeared beside me.
It was mostly black and white, with a little reddish
brown here and there. When I started to walk away,
it followed. I was amused and delighted, but wondered
what the laws were on this kind of thing. There's
a leash law for dogs, but what about goats? People
smiled at me and admired the goat. "It's not my goat,"
I explained. "It's the town's goat. I'm just taking
my turn caring for it." "I didn't know we had a goat,"
one of them said. "I wonder when my turn is." "Soon,"
I said. "Be patient. Your time is coming." The goat
stayed by my side. It stopped when I stopped. It looked
up at me and I stared into its eyes. I felt he knew
everything essential about me. We walked on. A police-
man on his beat looked us over. "That's a mighty
fine goat you got there," he said, stopping to admire.
"It's the town's goat," I said. "His family goes back
three-hundred years with us," I said, "from the beginning."
The officer leaned forward to touch him, then stopped
and looked up at me. "Mind if I pat him?" he asked.
"Touching this goat will change your life," I said.
"It's your decision." He thought real hard for a minute,
and then stood up and said, "What's his name?" "He's
called the Prince of Peace," I said. "God! This town
is like a fairy tale. Everywhere you turn there's mystery
and wonder. And I'm just a child playing cops and robbers
forever. Please forgive me if I cry." "We forgive you,
Officer," I said. "And we understand why you, more than
anybody, should never touch the Prince." The goat and
I walked on. It was getting dark and we were beginning
to wonder where we would spend the night.
- James Tate
More poems by James Tate at:
http://www.americanpoems.com/poets/jamestate/
7 comments:
I love the goat!
Like tales and legends, your piece conveys a dimensional spread in that it portrays the simultaneous distance and immediacy of a tale through the juxtaposition of the universal and the personal. For me it does this through the juxtaposition of concretely real elements (the goat's head, legs and boots) with the abstract elements of text of the goat's body and crown. You contrast personal and the universal not only inter-element, but intra-element as well. For example, the concrete elements reference objects seen in the world, thereby taking my thoughts away from the page and out into the world, yet they are also very present and personal in the fact that they are so concrete and therefore have a direct relationship to my experience. The abstract elements of the text are two dimensional, literally, and therefore create a personal experience through their presence on the page, yet they are abstract through the tale they tell and through their referencing of fantastical tropes such as royalty. Your piece seems especially successful in working with James Tate's piece, as the juxtaposition of universal and personal is central to the experience of reading his text and to the meaning of the tale itself.
Thank you for this lovely goat! I have touched it and it is right now in the subtle process of changing my life!
A touching visual for a touching poem. I wish to touch the goat.
I love this!! Was thinking of you and the Todd on the walk home. Love coast to coast.
Tim
It's true! I touched it and my life just isn't the same.
It's true! That goat has magic powers. Try it.
I loved the goat immediately, such great taste in footwear!! And goats already have a special place in my heart. I have yet to touch the Prince of Peace, but trust that I will.
I must read more James Tate, that poem blew my mind! Love Moony
i touched James Tate once and i am changed -- but not into a goat!!!
Post a Comment