"Nor Strange It Is" by Frederick Goddard Tuckerman

Soundtrack to this episodeText of poem:Nor strange it is, to us who walk in bondsOf flesh and time, if virtue's self awhileGleam dull like sunless ice; whilst graceful guile—Blood-flecked like hematite or diamondsWith a red inward spark—to reconcileBeauty and evil seems and correspondsSo well with good that the mind joys to haveFull wider jet and scope nor swings and sleepsForever in one cradle wearily:Like those vast weeds that off d'Acunha's isleWash with the surf and flap their mighty frondsMournfully to the dipping of the wave,Yet cannot be disrupted from their deepsBy the whole heave and settle of the sea.Topics discussed in this episode include:-That time Italy almost got involved in the Civil War-Transcendentalism (or not)-Hawthorne continues to demonstrate his good taste-Yvor Winters? Witter Bynner? Who names these people? -Previous feature N. Scott Momaday-Nonce sonnets!-Antinomian ruminations-Virtue vs. Goodness-The cradle and the weed-Poe's "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym"-Pesky dualities-Surfing the TaoSupport the showVISIT MY WEBSITE HERE.BUY VERSECRAFT MERCH HERE.VISIT THE VERSECRAFT SUBSTACK HERE.Please subscribe, rate, and review! Thanks so much for listening.You can leave me a tip, support the podcast, or request a commission here! TikTok:  @versecraftSend me a note at: [email protected] favorite poetry podcasts for: Sharp thoughts and cutting truths (Matthew): Sleerickets  Lovely introspection and sensitive reflection (Alice): Poetry Says The landscape of Ohioan poetry (Jeremy): Poetry Spotlight  Supported in part by The Ohio Poetry AssociationArt by David Anthony KlugList of the most common metrical feet: Iamb: weak-STRONG (u /)Trochee: STRONG-weak (/ u)Anapest: weak-weak-STRONG (u u /)Amphibrach: weak-STRONG-weak (u / u)Dactyl: STRONG-weak-weak (/ u u)Cretic: STRONG-weak-STRONG (/ u /)Pyrrhic: weak-weak (u u)Spondee: STRONG-STRONG (/ /)