G is for Grooks

ABC Wednesday
February 22nd, 2017

The letter is G for GROOKS

The first book (and there are many)

The Author

Piet Hein (1905-1996)

One of the most original Danes of the 20th century he was a many-sided man in the best sense.

An author, philosopher, mathematician, designer, scientist, game inventor, as well as the creator

of a new form of poetry he called "Grook".

In his philosophical writings he asserted that the great cultural divide in society was not between the haves and the have-nots, but between the knows and the know-nots - and to myself I whispered "yes, yes, yes".

"Piet Hein wrote over 10,000 grooks, most in Danish or English and published in more than sixty books....His grooks first started to appear in the daily newspaper "Politiken' in April 1940 - shortly after the Nazi occupation and under the Old Norse pseudonum "Kumbel" meaning "tombstone"

Grooks are small aphoristic verses characterized by irony, paradox, brevity, precise use of the language, sophisticated rhythms and rhymes, revealing in a minimum of words and with a minimum of lines some basic truth about the human condition."

Here are a few examples to wet your appetite.......

T.T.T.                                                                           The Road to Wisdom

Put up in a place                                                         The road to wisdom?                              
where it's easy to see                                                   Well it's plain to see
the cryptic admonishment                                            and simple to express
T.T.T.                                                                            err
                                                                                      and err
When you feel how depressingly                                 and err again
slowly you climb                                                          but less
it's well to remember that                                             and less
Things Take Time                                                         and less

On Problems

Our choicest plans

have fallen through,

our airiest castles

tumbled over,

because of lines

we neatly drew

and later neatly

stumbled over.

Today I really like this one, the February sun being loathe to appear......

PRAYER (to the sun above the clouds)

Sun that givest all things birth

shine on everything on earth.

If that's too much to demand

shine at least on this our land

If even that's too much for thee

shine at any rate on me.

More interesting Gs here at ABC Wednesday

with thanks to all who have, are and will maintain

this lovely meme.