The Bachelors’ Debate
When I am put before my friends, around the dying flame,
And we have burnt through all our songs that we consider tame,
We all decide to sing a song before we go to bed
A song about the secret thoughts that swim within your head.
‘What makes the fair girl fair?’ we ask. ‘What makes her fair to you?
Blonde hair or brown? Red hair or black? Pink hair or maybe blue?
Perhaps a tall girl makes you tick? Or maybe short’s your style?
Is it her eyes that guide your barque? Or do you like her smile?’
This is the narrow chance men have, to air these thoughts aloud:
‘Do you prefer a skinny girl, or like them well endowed?’
‘But what do you prefer?’ they ask in voices filled with glee.
And I must make my case for what’s the perfect girl to me,
“I do not want a pretty girl who knows my earthly needs.
Of all the girls who walk this earth, I’d love a girl who reads.”
St. Wilfrid’s Church on a Winter’s Morning
The playful dawn-light danced along the sky
But once the dance was spent — it made its way
to rest among the pews, and close its eyes
in solemn prayer to bless the coming day.
The wisps of cold air fled the starving sun
who sought to take and eat the fretful cold,
that leapt and squirmed, to hide within the dun
and sleeping lines of stone, that tried to hold
the wandering chill within its Christian heart.
The church bell taunted me with loving call.
“Oh worthy sinner, come and play your part.
This little hearth has love enough for all!”
How does a house as small as this contain
a wealth above the sum of man’s domain?
Christian Muller is a high school teacher in South Africa. He is currently working on his MA in English Literature at the University of Pretoria.
That’s an interesting debate. Thanks for the read, Christian.
The author is quite astute, on several counts, but one can only wonder how he maintains his equilibrium in a country beset with (often overlooked) systemic problems. This poetry transcends quotidian issues.
Really enjoyed these, Christian. Especially “The Bachelor’s Debate.” Early on in college I had a thing for the “geeky, librarian” type as well, but in a world where every university girl “reads,” or thinks she does, and after attending one too many poetry readings, I started to find the based, illiterate milkmaid type wildly more attractive.
I too had a thing for the prim and proper librarian type. See my poem here at the SCP on the subject — just type in my name and the word “Librarian” at the search engine.
Often a bachelors’ debate on the subject dealt exclusively with a woman’s physical appearance. But a more interesting discussion was about what behavioral style and attitudes and world-view the ideal lady should have.
I noticed the pluralization of bachelor (s’) in the title as positing a query and was surprised with the “what’s the perfect girl for me” providing your own choice. Now we know! LOL. I noticed in the second poem your own name as a sort of double entendre. I was pleased with the question for all of us to ponder at the conclusion.
Of course, these days personality is the clincher!
I was wondering about the line where the word ‘fair’ is used twice (‘What makes a woman fair?’ we ask.). With ‘fair’ sometimes meaning light skinned (especially in archaic literature), and sometimes meaning beautiful, ‘woman’ would make the poem more universal.
Thanks for the read, Christian.
Your personification of the sunlight, and the cold, and the bell, in “St. Wilfred’s” is delightful!
Both of these poems are thoroughly enjoyable for very different reasons. “St. Wilfred’s Church on a Winter’s Morning” is beautiful and I agree with Cynthia on your delightful use of personification.
“The Bachelors’ Debate” and its resulting comments have intrigued me and made me smile. I have it on excellent authority that one’s ideal partner can only be known when eyes meet and hearts meld… dream men and women dissolve when the real deal comes along.
Christian, thank you!
Christian, “Saint Wilfrid’s Church” is a masterpiece of delight. You move through the subtle manifestations of light and cold on a winter morning to treat the great theme of conversion of heart. The littleness of the location sharpens your focus, and the conclusion of overwhelming wonder is practically foreordained. Every word, every aspect of sound and symbolic value, is well chosen. The last lines must be a question, not only because they discover love, but because they concern the hidden mystery and destiny of the Church.
“The Bachelors’ Debate” is also beautifully spoken. The line, “This is the narrow chance men have, to air these thoughts aloud” acknowledges a certain decorum within the bachelor-style glee, and the speaker’s preference turns that in another direction. I get the feeling his fellows are teasing him about a girl whose identity they already suspect–and which he effectively confirms.