"When the poet selected an existing tune he was
bound by its whole structure. The tunes registered in the
catalogue under the title of the original song determined
not only the total number of words (i.e. characters and
therefore syllables) in any given poem, but also the
division into stanzas (tuan) and the lengths of the lines"
J.Prusek, from the definition of T'zu, Dictionary
of Oriental Literature
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| (A
short recitation by Stan Laurel, found in The
Laurelude) 'I
wandered lonely as a trout
that doesn' t like to swim in shoals
when all at once I heard a shout
from little prawns that lay on coals
upon the barbies by the lake,
sputtering and charring flesh to flake.
'Harmonious as the stars that shriek
and whirl around their nightly wheel
they yelled in French and broken Greek,
and after this al fresco meal
ten thousand tourists swilled in rills,
flossing their teeth with daffodils.
'The fishes in the friendly mere
suggested that I should return
to an element devoid of fear
where no-one' s ever seen to burn:
all company, I disagreed,
contains the pain of thoughtless greed.
And even flowers suck the sun
that sinks down emptied every night
just as I flop and try to shun
the vision of each victim's fright.
Small wonder, then, I go without
and wander lonely as a trout.'
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