One of my Chinese friends is writing a thesis on the poems of Kenneth Rexroth. From time to time he asks me for the meaning of word or phrase and, until now, I have been able to answer every question. However...

Today he has come across the line "Thought wanders like goose-crossed smoke." and I have had to admit that I haven't the faintest idea what that means. Anyone here ever encountered this phrase? Googling just brings up copies of the poem that it comes from.

Geese fly away; smoke dissipates. Impermanence is the issue, IMHO.

But why "goose crossed"?

Just a terrible mixed metaphor? And why "crossed"?

Someone on one of my facebook groups suggests that the image is of smoke from a fire rising and geese flying through it causing it to drift apart and so the idea is of the thoughts breaking into other thoughts and, as you suggested, dissipating.

Never heard it put that way before, but that's what I would come up with if you asked me to interpret it.

Not apropos the question, but since it popped into my mind I'll post it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9VrgRIgOK0

...and while we're on the subject - "Go Tell Aunt Rhody that the old grey goose is dead".

(This is an early Burl Ives album, and Aunt R is a good way down, at 15:45.)

I grew up with this very album, 75 years ago! (Okay, okay, it was only 73...)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: haberdasher,

I have no idea, Bob. i couldn't find anything about it in Google.

Annnnd, let's not forget "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2di83WAOhU

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Geoff,

Yup, that one, too.

Definitively.

(Is there any indication on your screen that that's a clickable link? They used to appear as a different colour on my screen but now they look like the rest of the text so that it's only by mouse over that I know there's a link there at all. Not very user friendly. I will edit the post to bold it and make it clearer but it's irritating to have to do that.

I must be too old. I've not heard any of those Goose-themed songs. I know about this Goose, though: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grumman_G-21_Goose

Oh, and I remember the Beach Boys song, "Little Goose Poop."https://genius.com/The-beach-boys-little-deuce-coupe-lyrics Oh, my mistake. I must have misheard "deuce coupe." No wonder I never understood it.

As for the link, Bob, it was underlined so that would indicate to me it's a link.

The flock-passing-smoke / transience is most likely, but I instinctively went to smoked-goose...

Good one, RJA! Thanks for returning!

Interesting, Robert. I looked and looked on Google and found lots of weird things - but nothing like that.

Guess I'm just lucky with food...
https://www.thespruceeats.com/...-goose-recipe-335509

Now, that looks great!

Goosey goosey gander,
Whither do you wander?
Upstairs and downstairs
And in my lady's chamber...


As a teen I told my mother this nursery rhyme always gave me a really bad feeling-- was there something in my past she wasn't telling me about?
Yes but not what I imagined: when I was about 18 months old the landlady's goose-- taller than I was-- waddled over and bit me.

That is really weird, Bethree. I am sure that's it. Kids are more perceptive than we think.

Ouch! Geese can bite much harder than most people realize. Been there, have the t-shirt.
I've also been "goosed" by a duck. Lesson: Never get between a mama goose or duck and her offspring!

If one believer Bruno Bettelheim, all nursery rhymes and fairy tales have dark messages. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Uses_of_Enchantment

We forget how hard life was for our ancestors, how the plague inspired "ring around the roses"
It's a wonder we can read fairy tales with a smile.

quote:

Originally posted by Robert Arvanitis:
We forget how hard life was for our ancestors, how the plague inspired "ring around the roses"
It's a wonder we can read fairy tales with a smile.

The way the world has been going recently, I'm trying to forget how hard things will be for our descendants.

Descendants??? What an optimist!

RJA is, I think, dead-on right. Imagine Disney doing fairy tales as they were originally. Not syrupy kid stuff. Grimm indeed.

Geoff, you and Bob are a bit negative.

Times will get better. We just have to be patient and do our best to promote real change.