Poetry - toast
 

Hey guys,

I have to give the first toast at a wedding on Sunday. I thought I would read a part of a poem (no need to reinvent the wheel). Any suggestions in terms of poets to consider?

- Tash

Re: Poetry - toast
 

odb

Re: Poetry - toast
 

Hey Tash,

You can't go wrong with the master, John Keats.

One of my favorites is this:

[ QUOTE ]
WOMAN! when I behold thee flippant, vain,
Inconstant, childish, proud, and full of fancies;
Without that modest softening that enhances
The downcast eye, repentant of the pain
That its mild light creates to heal again:
E’en then, elate, my spirit leaps, and prances,
E’en then my soul with exultation dances
For that to love, so long, I’ve dormant lain:
But when I see thee meek, and kind, and tender,
Heavens! how desperately do I adore
Thy winning graces; - to be thy defender
I hotly burn - to be a Calidore -
A very Red Cross Knight - a stout Leander -
Might I be loved by thee like these of yore.

Light feet, dark violet eyes, and parted hair;
Soft dimpled hands, white neck, and creamy breast,
Are things on which the dazzled senses rest
Till the fond, fixed eyes, forget they stare.
From such fine pictures, heavens! I cannot dare
To turn my admiration, though unpossess’d
They be of what is worthy, - though not drest
In lovely modesty, and virtues rare.
Yet these I leave as thoughtless as a lark;
These lures I straight forget - e’en ere I dine,
Or thrice my palate moisten: but when I mark
Such charms with mild intelligences shine,
My ear is open like a greedy shark,
To catch the tunings of a voice divine.

Ah! who can e’er forget so fair a being?
Who can forget her half retiring sweets?
God! she is like a milk-white lamb that bleats
For man’s protection. Surely the All-seeing,
Who joys to see us with his gifts agreeing,
Will never give him pinions, who intreats
Such innocence to ruin, - who vilely cheats
A dove-like bosom. In truth there is no freeing
One’s thoughts from such a beauty; when I hear
A lay that once I saw her hand awake,
Her form seems floating palpable, and near;
Had I e’er seen her from an arbour take
A dewy flower, oft would that hand appear,
And o’er my eyes the trembling moisture shake.

[/ QUOTE ]

Re: Poetry - toast
 

Annabel Lee
EAP

Unless of course you like the couple getting married.

Re: Poetry - toast
 

[ QUOTE ]
Hey Tash,

You can't go wrong with the master, mike myers

One of my favorites is this:

[ QUOTE ]
WOMAN! whoa man!
whooooooa man!
she was a thief
you got to belief
she stole my heart and my cat

[/ QUOTE ]

[/ QUOTE ]

fyp

Re: Poetry - toast
 

The lanky hank of a she in the inn over there
Nearly killed me for asking the loan of a glass of beer;
May the devil grip the whey-faced slut by the hair,
And beat bad manners out of her skin for a year.

That parboiled ape, with the toughest jaw you will see
On virtue's path, and a voice that would rasp the dead,
Came roaring and raging the minute she looked at me,
And threw me out of the house on the back of my head!

If I asked her master he'd give me a cask a day;
But she, with the beer at hand, not a gill would arrange!
May she marry a ghost and bear him a kitten, and may
The High King of Glory permit her to get the mange.

-- David O'Bruadair

Sis will love it.

scrub

Re: Poetry - toast
 

Awesome...now all I have to do is a rough Russian translation. I think that ensures that I forfeit all claims to family jewels, invites to other social gatherings...and possibly the use of last name.

Re: Poetry - toast
 

There once was a bride from Nantucket.
Her ass was the shape of a bucket.
The best man exposed her tail.
And filled up that pail.
Without even letting her suck it.