dackelretten.org

Ich habe The Oxford book of Children's Poetry ausgeliehen, in unserem Leben fehlen Gedichte.

Jetzt kann ich endlich die truebsinnigen moralischen Originale lesen, die Lewis Caroll parodiert. Anybody?
Vater William, bist alt? Im Garten der Hummer ereiferte sich - du bukst mich zu braun, jetzt streu Zucker auf mich?

'T is the voice of the sluggard: I hear him complain,
'You have waked me too soon, I must slumber again.'
As the door on it's hinges so he on his bed
Turns his sides and his shoulders and his heavy head.

I passed by his garden, and saw the wild brier,
The thorn and the thistle grow broader and higher;
The clothes that hang on him are turning to rags;
And his money still wastes, till he starves or he begs.

(Isaac Watts, 18. Jahrhundert)

T' is the voice of the lobster: I hear him declare,
'You have baked me too brown, I must sugar my hair.'
As a duck with its eyelids, so he with his nose
Trims his belt and his buttons, and turns out his toes.

I passed by his garden, and marked, with one eye,
How the Owl and the Oyster were sharing a pie;
While the Duck and the Dodo, the Lizard and Cat,
were swimming in milk round the brim of a hat.

'You are old, Father William,' the young man cried,
'the few locks which are left you are grey;
You are hale, Father William, a hearty old man,
Now tell me the reason, I pray.'

'In the days of my youth,' Father William replied,
'I remembered that youth would fly fast,
And abused not my health and my vigour at first,
That I never might need them at last.'

'You are old, Father William,' the young man cried,
'And pleasures with youth pass away;
And yet you lament not the days that are gone,
Now tell me the reason, I pray.'

'In the days of my youth,' Father William replied,
'I remembered that youth could not last,
I thought of the future, whatever I did,
That I never might grieve for the past.'

'You are old, Father William,' the young man cried,
'and life must be hastening away;
You are cheerful and love to converse upon death,
Now tell me the reason, I pray.'

'I am cheerful, young man,' Father William replied,
'Let the cause thy attention engage,
In the days of my youth I remembered my God,
And He hath not forgotten my age.'

(Robert Southey, 18./19. Jh.)

'You are old, Father William,' the young man said,
'and your hair has become very white;
And yet you incessantly stand on your head,
Do you think, at your age, it is right?'

'In my youth,' Father William replied to his son,
'I feared I might injure the brain;
But now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,
Why, I do it again and again.'

'You are old,' said the youth, 'as I mentioned before,
And have grown most uncommonly fat;
Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door -
Pray, what is the reason of that?'

'In my youth,' said the sage, as he shook his grey locks,
'I kept all my limbs very supple,
By the use of this ointment - one shilling the box -
allow me to sell you a couple?'

...

'You are old,' said the youth, 'one would hardly suppose
'that your eye was as steady as ever;
Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose -
What made you so awfully clever?'

'I have answered three questions, and that is enough,'
said his father. 'Don't give yourself airs!
Do you think I can listen all day to this stuff?
Be off, or I'll kick you downstairs!'

Und das ist natuerlich auch wirklich das, was fuer meine Begriffe hinter dieser Nonsense-Geschichte steht.
Die Frage ist ja, was will man mit Kindern machen, auf welche Weise will man ihre Seelen ruinieren? Indem man sie mit schwermuetigen und suessen Morallektionen traktiert, in der Hoffnung, etwas davon moege haengenbleiben bevor sie von selbst mitkriegen, dass das nicht die Art ist, wie die Welt ticketitackt, dass kein Schwein daran glaubt und dass ihr abweichendes Sinnen und Trachten nicht bedeutet sie seien ungewoehnlich verdorben, was natuerlich in gewisser Weise nicht ausschliesslich nur verbitternd ist, sondern auch, wie alle Dinge, die man selbst rausfindet, und wie jeder ehrliche Zorn, eine empowernde Komponente hat? Oder treibt man sie von Anfang an in den Wahnsinn verzweifelter Verunsicherung indem man sie mit der Schlechtigkeit der Welt, allen Arten von Ambivalenzen und der eigenen Unperfektheit gnadenlos konfrontiert?

Nonsense weicht mehr oder weniger dieser Entscheidung aus, und da ich finde, das ist meistens das beste, was man machen kann, Entscheidungen ausweichen, genau der Weg des Samurai, deshalb finde ich auch Nonsense so gut. Ich finde, das ist die beste Art, Kindern zu sagen, dass sie nicht alleine sind. Obwohl natuerlich die Frage ist, ob diese Flaschenpost auch tatsaechlich bei ihnen ankommt.

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