Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Giordano Bruno, Corporate Accountant

For a contest at Sol Magazine (see sidebar): Pick a historical personage. Imagine them in a modern job.
If you're curious about Bruno, I recommend Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition by Frances Yates.

There's no place here for mad hermetic thought.
No flaming comets stitch the firmament.
Accounts Received. Payables. Items bought.
Customers billed; Past Due notices sent.

Straight rigid columns of Arithmetick
confine my sorely wandering attention.
Monastic disciplines were no more strict
than double-entry bookkeeping conventions.

Peace and quiet. Humdrum and routine,
colorless, professional conversations.
Forget the mad, fantastic things I've seen!
Astrologic fantasy was my damnation.

I'm not the warrior Bruno. I'm at peace.
Leave it to young souls to expel the Beast.

4 comments:

Tumblewords: said...

Nicely done - you brought him forward in fine fashion!

Unknown said...

The last two lines, in my opinion, collects all his traits in one single capsule. Great narrative verse

Andy Sewina said...

Yeah, I like it, especially the thought in the last line..

Crafty Green Poet said...

entertaining narrative, thoughtful too