01 April - Roger Zelazny Poetry Month - For A Breath I Tarry

 Okay, here's what we're going to do this month. 

For every day, I'm going to take a novel or story by Roger Zelazny and match it to a poem that I think best represents it. I'll summarize the story briefly, name the poem and talk a little bit on why I think they fit together and include the poem or a relevant passage. 

We're going to start with an easy one:

The first story is For A Breath I Tarry, the tale of the machine Frost, who seeks to become that extinct creature, Man.

The poem is poem 32 (or XXXII if you like) from A Shropshire Lad by A.E. Housman.

          From far, from eve and morning
           And yon twelve-winded sky,
          The stuff of life to knit me
           Blew hither: here am I.

          Now- for a breath I tarry
           Nor yet disperse apart-
          Take my hand quick and tell me,
           What have you in your heart.

          Speak now, and I will answer;
           How shall I help you, say;
          Ere to the wind's twelve quarters
           I take my endless way.

It's really a no-brainer. The collection is mentioned by name and gives the story its title and the poem  itself closes out the piece. I love how audaciously on the nose the parallels are between the poem and the story, particularly concerning Frost's creation.