Versus Populum
They have lied in the chapel and schoolhall.
They have practiced a terrible fraud.
For the priests have not turned to the people:
They instead turned their backs on their God.
We were told that the past was mistaken;
That to hold with Tradition was odd;
That the East was the source of all shadow,
And the West held the Son and our God.
But the Dayspring on High was not mocked by this;
He allowed them to flirt with this baud,
And revealed that the things done in secret
Were true sins against Man and his God.
And so those in the Nave and the Choirloft
Still await the day when we may laud
The return of the prodigal Fathers,
Who will turn with us back to our God.
--Bernard Brandt
posted by Bernard Brandt at 10:09 PM
4 Comments:
Dear Ian:
Thank you for your kind words.
Baud should probably have been respelled as Bawd, from Old French Baud, noun, primary meaning: whore. From it is derived the word bawdy, primary meaning: unseemly talk.
Mr Brandt:
I apologize if the comment I made at Pontifications about your poem was itself the "facile swipe." It wasn't terribly charitable, I admit. I'd appreciate it if you would be willing to cast light on the more obscure passages, though. And thanks for leaving a comment at Eye & Mind. I have heard of the Anglican Use and wish I knew of one near me, because I would certainly go. Thanks.
Dear Garland:
No need for an apology: I took no offense at your words. My original comments at your weblog were only meant to indicate that your exegesis of my "poem" were less than accurate. That's all.
I believe my comments at the relevant Pontificator's posting should answer most of your questions. For any others, I suggest that you e-mail me privately. Though I would think that an art critic would know better than to ask a poet for the meaning of his poems. As Socrates remarked in Plato's Apology, the last person with an understanding of the meaning of a poem is usually the poet himself.
By the bye, may I link to your weblog? There is some good writing there.
Versus Populum needs to go :) Extraordinary Form all the way.
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