Pound did wind up having a great ear, but dear Lord, his diction is fusty in that piece! But he is comprehensible and I don’t argue with the sentiments.
Sack-stains half thy screed discloses, / Th' other half doth hold the morn is quite marvelous, despite being fusty.
I’m pretty high on the discovery of
Kabir, who is IMO in the most excellent lineage of Blake and Whitman and the Sufis. I love this piece for its koan-like nature and for its zany imagery.
Brother, I've Seen Some
Brother, I’ve seen some
Astonishing sights:
A lion keeping watch
Over pasturing cows;
A mother delivered
After her son was;
A guru prostrated
Before his disciple;
Fish spawning
On treetops;
A cat carrying away
A dog;
A gunny-sack
Driving a bullock-cart;
A buffalo going out to graze,
Sitting on a horse;
A tree with its branches in the earth,
Its roots in the sky;
A tree with flowering roots.
This verse, says Kabir,
Is your key to the universe.
If you can figure it out.