To-day we are creeping on a man's mind. Yesterday,
We rode a dragon from Gringotts. And to-morrow morning,
We shall have defeated the Dark Lord. But to-day,
To-day we are creeping on a man's mind. His greasy hair
Glistens like a-crow-drowned-in-a-pudlle-of-oil,
And to-day we are creeping on a man's mind.
This is the early mind. And this
Is the mind later in life, whose use you will see,
When you are given the truth. And this is the answer,
Which in your case you have not got. The sacrifice
Held in the forest, silent gestures,
Which in my case I now have got.
This is the love, which is always released
With a flick of the wand. And please do not let him
See any of this side of me. You can do it quite easy
If you have any magic in your wand. The emotions
Are fragile and motionless, never revealing to see
What he really thought of me.
And this you can see is the One. The purpose of him
Is to end evil, as you see. We can test him
Rapidly through sorrow and pain: we call this
Easing the burden. And rapidly backwards and forwards
The final truth is haunting but ending my doubts:
They call it easing the Burden.
They call it easing the burden: it is perfectly simple
If you have any strength in your heart: like the lion,
And the wand, and the cloak, and the stone,
Which in our case we have not got; and the resurrection
Silent in the memories and the flashes going backwards and forwards,
For to-day we are creeping on a man's mind.
For to-day we are creeping on a man's mind.
Reed meets Potter... A good idea to bring that world in and be mapped onto Reed's structure and catch-phrases. Some of those are varied a little bit too much in comparison to the original, but I would still say recognizability of the original is ensured.
ReplyDeleteI was not quite sure of the quality of the second voice - is that meant to be HP himself. Also the recap stanza five - that is very clearly kept in voice two in the original, but less clearly so in your version, unless I misread the stanza...
Definitely enjoyed the part about Snape and 'always', and the fact that you almost go through the entire universe in the five stanzas.
ReplyDeleteIts interesting seeing two so well-known pieces of literature combined. Using Harry Potter is a smart move as it is very clearly recognizable for our generation. While literature and not as traumatic, there must be a somewhat comparable similarity with young people reading the original poem, both having grown up knowing the story well, though one being an older generations memories and the other fiction.
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