FreeWrights Peer Review™

The time has come to discuss
the Saxon vernacular attraction
that draws us to words which
puritanical attempts to cleanse
past from present
dismiss as unsuitable
for the poetic palate

And yet, let us consider
Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow,
who, when faced with Grendel’s mother,
might just have let a small syllable
pass his brave lips
to give him greater strength
before he swung his mighty Hrunting blade

Poetry forgets that fuck

Perhaps Harold of Wessex
winning the Battle of Hastings
seeing off the challenge of vile William
– Bill the Dastardly Bastard –
sure that the throne was his when,
turning, he copped an arrow to the eye,
might have uttered that all-purpose Saxon
syllable before he expired into the mud

Poetry forgets that fuck

Maybe Macbeth, fought into a corner
for a crime no man should commit
-- listening to his wife --
desperately offered Macduff
lands, castles, nobility
to which, disdainful, Macduff might have uttered
that so-useful word, coupled with an “off”,
before striking the murderer down

Poetry forgets that fuck

For the sake of sanitation
we are confronted with historical inaccuracy
at every turn of phrase

There are fouler words than fuck
and one is censorship

This is a great "flash" essay. And how very true. Censorship, of course, being the prohibition of usage, deletion after usage, or punishment for usage. Courtesy, on the other hand, is giving one the opportunity to choose for usage. There are fuckier words than foul, and one is thrust.

Though not a big fan of a fuck for the hell of it, I also don't trust people who deny one the right. The world is far too full of the miserable fuckless.

Agree. But it seems to me that most of the miserables are that way because of self-imposed fucklessnesses. They are afraid of the image others will have of them. I say to those poor miserable bastards that they should do like in the movie Network but instead of opening the windows and yelling, "I'm mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore!" they should let the f-word fly. They have no idea how good it will make them feel. In that sense it is for the hell of it, and in that situation it is okie dokie by me.

For poems of sheer purgative genius, I'd suggest a visit to www.poetry-dog.com -- in particular, the marvellous "Anger Management" http://poetry-dog.com/Anger-Management