PREFACE
---------------
This classic epic of 
Britannian literature 
is one of those works 
one must read before 
they die. Hence 
many citizens save 
#EOP
it for life insurance.
  While it is turgid 
going indeed, it 
offers a sample of 
the formal poetic 
styles prevalent two 
hundred years ago, 
when iambs roamed 
#EOP
the land freely and 
sonnets were not yet 
extinct.
  The "garland of 
sonnets" form 
consisteth of 
fourteen sonnets, 
where the last line 
#EOP
of one sonnet 
be the first line of 
the next; and the last 
line of the fourteenth 
sonnet is the first 
line of the first one. 
Lastly, the "crown" 
or fifteenth sonnet 
#EOP
doth consist solely of 
the first lines of the 
other fourteen.
  This is the only 
known instance of 
this form in 
Britannian literature, 
perhaps because it be 
#EOP
too pedantic to suffer 
to live.
  Woidswuth lived 
and died long ago 
enough to be studied 
in schools. Little is 
known of his life, 
save that he willed 
#EOP
his second-best hat 
to his cousin Javlin 
Wiggle. A member of 
the Romantic School, 
he also dabbled in 
painting, and 
illustrated many of 
his own books.
#EOP
A RAISED FIST'S 
PROGRESS

I. I First Notice 
Something Wrong 
With Heaven

The surest sign of 
#EOP
  love is jealousy;
Without a warning or 
  compassion, with
Little thought of 
  consequence, it 
  creeps,
A slow and certain 
  sleuth, along the 
#EOP
  bliss-
Ful wedding halls, 
  around the Nuptial 
  bed.
It eyes your lover's 
  friends, and 
  ruptures old
Acquaintanceships; it 
#EOP
  plays the organ-led
Last waltz, the 
  dance that feels so 
  empty cold.
It is a sign, erected 
  high, like grass
Upon a grave, like 
  flowers on a hill--
#EOP
Like tripping to fall 
  right on your blind 
  ass
And landing eyes 
  wide can give you 
  the will
To find the sparkles, 
  glimmerings 
#EOP
  bewitched
In water in a 
  storm-filled 
  stagnant ditch.

II. I Set Off On A 
Quest To Find A 
Purer Paradise Than 
#EOP
Nature Offers Man

In water in a 
  storm-filled 
  stagnant ditch
I found the images of 
  Camelot.
So I set off, bade love 
#EOP
  farewell, and 
  wished
My way 
  along the questing 
  path. A motley
Figure I was; my 
  friends said Stay! 
  You've found
#EOP
A heaven here at 
  home! But I saw 
  much
In that rainwater 
  puddle: free and 
  boundless
Generosity, without 
  the inching
#EOP
Flaws I saw in what 
  was merely love.
The path to find 
  perfection clear to 
  me,
I undertook a classic 
  quest, to solve
Away the weeping 
#EOP
  worm of jealousy.
How could home seem 
  filled with hope and 
  freedom,
Seeing the beauty of 
  the earth so free?

III. I Am Punished 
#EOP
For My 
Impertinence; It 
Merely Makes Me 
Strive


#EOP
#EOP
#EOP
#EOP
#EOP
#EOP
#EOP
#EOP
#EOP
#EOP
#EOP
#EOP
#EOP
#EOP
#EOP
#EOP
#EOP
#EOP
#EOP
#EOP
#EOP
#EOP
