Southword 49 30 Oct Written By Todd Turner Clinical Precision ‘load every rift’ of your subject with ore. —John KeatsWhen Keats sat to compose the letter to Shelley,he had the ‘cold chains’ of procedure in mind.The late perceptions and his brother’s death quickened his resolve. And because the plightof the human heart was now his intent, he furled the wing of his unrest and willed himself into submission.Death was imminent—but there are those, who, facing difficulty, do not allow themselves to be broken.Determined, ‘in a more naked and grecian Manner’,he strove, working the dreamwork out of the dream.In the bower, he took a mould from the blows of grief,and liberated ink on the odes. Hard light poured onto the page.Reading the letter, I run my eyes over the weighted words,follow the precise, hand-pressed, creased lines of the folds.I close my eyes, and imagine Keats invoking Spenser—‘And with rich metall loaded euery rift’. Reaching out to Shelley, I see an open hand, and a baton inscribed—those who fly highest keep their feet on the ground. Todd Turner
Southword 49 30 Oct Written By Todd Turner Clinical Precision ‘load every rift’ of your subject with ore. —John KeatsWhen Keats sat to compose the letter to Shelley,he had the ‘cold chains’ of procedure in mind.The late perceptions and his brother’s death quickened his resolve. And because the plightof the human heart was now his intent, he furled the wing of his unrest and willed himself into submission.Death was imminent—but there are those, who, facing difficulty, do not allow themselves to be broken.Determined, ‘in a more naked and grecian Manner’,he strove, working the dreamwork out of the dream.In the bower, he took a mould from the blows of grief,and liberated ink on the odes. Hard light poured onto the page.Reading the letter, I run my eyes over the weighted words,follow the precise, hand-pressed, creased lines of the folds.I close my eyes, and imagine Keats invoking Spenser—‘And with rich metall loaded euery rift’. Reaching out to Shelley, I see an open hand, and a baton inscribed—those who fly highest keep their feet on the ground. Todd Turner
