UnPoetia:Do Not Shag Gentle During That Good Night
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Poetry for people who hate poetry |
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Do not shag gentle during that good night (file info) |
| The poet reads his most famous work |
— famous last words
Do not shag gentle during that good night is a poem, or more precisely a villanelle, written by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914–1953), which is widely considered to be one of his finest works. Originally published in 1951, it also appeared as part of his 1952 collection Inn, Cunt, Tree, Sleep and Other Poems. Written for his girlfriend at the time, it is one of Thomas's most popular and accessible poems. The poem has no title other than its first line, "Do not shag gentle during that good night", a line which appears as a refrain throughout. The poem's other equally famous refrain is "Rage, rage following the turning off of the light", referring to the poet's raging hard-on.
Do not shag gentle during that good night,
Youthful lust should burn and rave after close of day;
Rage, rage following the turning off of the light.
Though wise scholars in their minds know safety is right,
Because their getting laid was so unlikely they
Do not shag gentle during that good night.
Weak men, whilst observing with delight
Their frail Percys stiffening in this newfound way,
Rage, rage following the turning off of the light.
Wild men who cut down angels in their flight,
And learn, too late, there'd be a price to pay,
Do not shag gentle during that good night.
Diseased men who beareth plague and plight
Have sores that blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage following the turning off of the light.
And you, my lover, there in the midst of your height
Curse, bless me now with your climactic groans, I pray.
Do not shag gentle during that good night.
Rage, rage following the turning off of the light.
