Rückblick II
by
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From page 34: What has to be, has already been I was here from the start, alone; the calendar on the wall, the picture a Christmas scene, the re-created Mr Scrooge patting a little child gently upon the head, and me a mere child staring at the picture and seeing myself both in the child and in the aged man; and me an ageing man, and seeing myself both in the aged man and in the child. From page 78: Edging closer to hell There’s a subdued feel to the sky this morning. Jupiter, in Cancer, struggling against the advancing light of dawn, a veil of diffuse cloud, high spread by an east wind advancing from the continent of Europe. The islands huddle together, grey blobs on a silver shield, the sea audible, ripple and shudder against a continuous wash breaking over the slanting sandstone. Saturn, its rings opening to the full, sits at the heel of Pollux, Castor looks heavenwards. We, down below, edge perceptibly closer to hell. From page 90: Immaculate A blackbird swallows a worm, A cat devours a blackbird, A fox catches a cat, A hound savages a fox, And I survey my breakfast table And pretend to be immaculate.
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About the Book
Explanation A selection of my poems entitled Rückblick was first published for private distribution in March 2001. At that time I had produced a number of collections of poems for private circulation. In 2004 it was suggested I might extend Rückblick to include work written since 2001. I had the idea of a selection to contain only those works written since Rückblick and which I was to call The Old Voices. The possibility of offering these poems to a wider readership caused me to reconsider the original plan. Accordingly, I have put together a selection from all the poems written up to May 2005. Since this book retains most of Rückblick intact, I have decided to name the present work Rückblick II. John Vetterlein June 2005 Foreword Rückblick - looking back (Brahms used the word for the fourth movement of his Sonata in F minor, Opus 5) - contains poems already published. It is my alternative title for the somewhat hackneyed “Selected Poems”. They are the most satisfactory things I have done from my perspective. This is not to imply they are the “best”, whatever that might mean. With over a thousand poems from which to choose, the task has not been an easy one. (Reading poetry simply reinforces for me what fickle creatures we are.) It has all been carefully thought through (that much is to be hoped for at least). There is no saying, however, that I won’t have a different mind of the matter tomorrow. John Vetterlein (From the original, dated March 21, 2001.)
About the Author
John Vetterlein was born in 1935. He spent the years of the Second World War at Redbridge, on the eastern approaches to London, and considers himself fortunate to have survived the V1 (flying bomb) and V2 (rocket) attacks. His father served throughout that war in the Royal Air Force. Having studied physics and mathematics, Vetterlein went on to work in civilian hospitals as a conscientious objector to military National Service. Before continuing his studies in chemistry and pharmacology, he worked as an astronomer and lecturer. In 1971, following a short spell as a secondary school teacher in London, Vetterlein moved to Wales in order to concentrate on writing and music. He worked in the Music Department, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth from 1983 until its closure in 1990. John Vetterlein is a true polymath. He is a prolific writer: his fiction output alone includes sixteen novels, six books of short stories, long stories, plays for radio and twenty poetry collections. An active musician, John Vetterlein is a member of the Haydn Society of Great Britain, the Rachmaninoff Society and the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society. His association with Orkney goes back to 1970. He has lived on Rousay full-time since 1990 from where he pursues his interests in astronomy, hill walking, music, photography and writing.