Tuesday 27 October 2009

Poetry Wednesday; Address to the toothache

Ohh woe is me

Here I sit, thankfully recovered from the dam cold but in agony with toothache.

Been suffering this way since Saturday morning and it’s taken me from then till now to get an appointment. SO……one hour from now I’ll be sat in the dentist chair. Wish me luck

Will look for some suitable painful art work when I get back.

Ok back now with totally numb face, found some suitable art work,.........this guys work reminds me of toothache  !!

Art work by Christopher Le Brun

Christopher Le Brun RA
Born: 20 December 1951, Portsmouth, UK
Elected RA: 12 December 1996
Category of Membership: Engraver
Christopher Le Brun studied at the Slade School of Fine Art, London from 1970 to 1974 and at Chelsea School of Art, London from 1974 to 1975. From 1976 to 1983, Le Brun was a visiting lecturer at Brighton, Chelsea, Slade and Wimbledon Schools of Art.

More information here. 

http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/academicians/engravers-printmakers-and-draughtsmen/christopher-le-brun-ra,427,AR.html

This translation is not mine, it was found here

http://www.worldburnsclub.com/poems/translations/address_to_the_toothache.htm

Address To The Toothache.
Rabbie Burns

1.
My curse upon your venom'd stang,
That shoots my tortur'd gooms alang,
An' thro' my lug gies monie a twang
Wh' gnawing vengeance,
Tearing my nerves wi' bitter pang,
Like racking engines!

2.
A' down my beard the slavers trickle,
I throw the wee stools o'er the mickle,
While round the fire the giglets keckle
To see me loup,
An' raving mad, I wish a heckle
Were i' their doup!

3.
When fevers burn, or ague freezes,
Rheumatics gnaw, or colic squeezes,
Our neebors sympathize to ease us
Wi' pitying moan;
But thee! - thou hell o' a' diseases,
They mock our groan!

4.
Of a' the num'rous human dools --
Ill-hairsts, daft bargains, cutty-stools,
Or worthy frien's laid i' the mools,
Sad sight to see!
The tricks o' knaves, or fash o' fools --
Thou bear'st the gree!

5.
Whare'er that place be priests ca' Hell,
Whare a' the tones o' misery yell,
An' ranked plagues their numbers tell
In dreadfu' raw,
Thou, Toothache, surely bear'st the bell
Amang them a'!

6.
O thou grim, mischief-making chiel,
That gars the notes o' discord squeal,
Till humankind aft dance a reel
In gore a shoe-thick,
Gie a' the faes o' Scotland's weal
A towmond's toothache.

This is the Translation

My curse upon your venomed sting,
That shoots my tortured gums along,
And through my ear gives many a twinge
With gnawing vengeance,
Tearing my nerves with bitter pang,
Like racking engines!

All down my beard the drools trickle,
I throw the little stools over the mickle,
While round the fire the children cackle
To see me leap,
And raving mad, I wish a Heckling comb
Were in their backside!

When fevers burn, or ague freezes,
Rheumatics gnaw, or colic squeezes,
Our neighbours sympathize to ease us
With pitying moan;
But you! - you hell of all diseases,
They mocks our groan!

Of all the numerous human woes -
Bad harvests, stupid bargains, cutty-stools,
Or worthy friends laid in the crumbling earth,
Sad sight to see!
The tricks of knaves, or annoyance of fools -
You bears the prize!

Where ever that place be priests call Hell,
Where all the tones of misery yell,
And ranked plagues their numbers tell
In dreadful row,
You, Toothache, surely bears the bell
Among them all!

O you grim, mischief-making chap,
That makes the notes of discord squeal,
Till humankind often dance a reel
In gore a shoe-thick,
Give all the foes of Scotland's well
A twelve months toothache.

A small boy recites the poem with much enthusiasm for the dialect.


 

 

return to the tour here

http://lauritasita.multiply.com/journal/item/1528/Poetry_Wednesday_102809_Sign_in_and_take_the_tour_

12 comments:

  1. Tried sucking a clove near the bad tooth? It numbs the pain and also has an antibiotic effect too.

    :o)

    Good luck!

    Nessie x

    ReplyDelete
  2. You be careful on the way there and back and good luck there.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks folks, back from dentist now, seems I have an abscess under the base of one of my crowns och!! very painful. Have antibiotics and buckets of painkillers which will hold it at bay until I can get the all the proper treatment etc
    And yes to the clove oil..............used loads over the weekend but thanks anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You have my deepest sympathy. Who would have thought Robbie Burns would have used such language? ---> "I wish a Heckling comb
    Were in their backside!" But quite appropriate.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sorry to hear about the toothache. I hate that. I liked the artwork. I think to go with toothache, though, you needed some Vogon poetry (Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy). Here's an example:

    Oh freddled gruntbuggly,
    Thy micturations are to me
    As plurdled gabbleblotchits
    On a lurgid bee
    That mordiously hath bitled out
    Its earted jurtles
    Into a rancid festering [drowned out by moaning and screaming]
    Now the jurpling slayjid agrocrustles
    Are slurping hagrilly up the axlegrurts
    And living glupules frart and slipulate
    Like jowling meated liverslime
    Groop, I implore thee, my foonting turlingdromes
    And hooptiously drangle me
    With crinkly bindlewurdles,
    Or else I shall rend thee in the gobberwarts with my blurglecruncheon
    See if I don't.

    ReplyDelete
  6. wonderful stuff Mitch, why not post some more of it as a ''poetry wednesday'' post, leave your link here

    http://lauritasita.multiply.com/journal/item/1528/Poetry_Wednesday_102809_Sign_in_and_take_the_tour_

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh, I like some of this art work, especially the knight at the top. Does that mean I like pain?

    ReplyDelete
  8. that's odd!! cos despite the fact he's English when I first saw his work I thought of modern day Goya... somehow this work has a 'Spanish' feel to it .. well to me it does. maybe you just feel some sort of familiarity with it ?? ..:-))

    ReplyDelete
  9. This is a fantastic post. I love the art work and the poem is well just so perfect. I think it is much more effective in the Scots. The translation just takes something out of it.
    I hope you are feeling so much better. Nothing worse than a bad tooth.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hope your toothache is gone by now. This may sound bad but I love the art even though it somewhat catches the dark feel of pain ....

    ReplyDelete
  11. Loretta, I hope you're feeling better now. Your post was wonderful. Feel better, my friend. Love, Laurita.

    ReplyDelete