“The Forlorn Rags of Growing Old” — Jack Kerouac, On the Road
The ghosts, they thrive, for they don’t know
they’re not alive, they’re not alive.
Relentless stars, too, never knew
that they should wane, that they should wane.
Daquiris soothe with slushy fruit, enspiriting with booze.
Defiant, I sit, at Death, I spit,
a ragged saint, a battered bonepile,
relentlessly alive, on earth emparadised.
13 thoughts on "“The Forlorn Rags of Growing Old” — Jack Kerouac, On the Road"
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“at Death, I spit,” eh? love your bravura
Yes, same — love that “at Death, I spit.” And “a battered b0nepile” is a wonderful image.
This is fun and the language is delicious.Love the Daiquiri line, the battered bone.
I’m a big Kerouac fan l. Think he’s under -rated.
I dig this poem a lot. Great cadence and repetition. Relentlessly alive is a perfect pair of words. 🤩😎 Perhaps consider trimming first line of stanza two—something like “Daiquiris soothe, fruit slushy, enspiriting,” to keep it as smooth and powerful as the rest. 💚🍹
Yes, definitely. Maybe “Daquiris soothe, enspiriting fruity booze.”
I like the repetition in the first stanza, like a blues song.
A battered bone pile relentlessly alive!!
Emparadised!
Revision:
Relentlessly Alive
The ghosts, they thrive, for they don’t know
they’re not alive, they’re not alive.
Relentless stars, too, never knew
that they should wane, that they should wane.
Daquiris soothe. Ah, fruitful booze.
Defiant, I sit. At Death, I spit,
a ragged saint, a battered bonepile,
relentlessly alive, emparadised.
The ghosts, they thrive, for they don’t know
they’re not alive, they’re not alive.
Relentless stars, too, never knew
that they should wane, that they should wane.
Daquiris soothe. Ah fruitful booze.
Defiant, I sit. At Death, I spit,
a ragged saint, a battered bonepile,
relentlessly alive, emparadised.
line breaks all messed up, by my phone, I guess. Should be two quatrains.
The sound & rhythm are exquisite here! They hold hands perfectly with the bad-ass speaker.