Geoffrey Chaucer Lived on Vellum When the Dukes Had Died
“By 1386 he had written more than half of his poetry, a body of work sufficient to establish him as the greatest English writer before Shakespeare…. He wrote not for hire or on command or, most certainly—prior to 1386—for fame, but simply because he wanted to. He had not made, and would never make, a penny from his verse.”
~ Paul Strohm, The Poet’s Tale: Chaucer and the Year that Made the Canterbury Tales, 5
I challenge you to name the richest men
In England of his time. Perhaps you’ll be
A specialized historian, but then
That might not be enough. If your degree
Is in the filthy rich medieval peers,
Then maybe. Everyone has heard of him,
Though. So, the losers (poets)—offstage sneers—
Are winners. Poets’ fate is not so grim
As philistines would have us think. The rich
Can lord it over us, and money wins
The day in ordinary life. The glitch
Is this: immortality’s violins
Don’t play for money grubbers. They are those
Like Dives who disappear in hell fire’s glows.