The Grook Thread - A Tribute to Piet Hein

[Beelzebub2]

Piet Hein (December 16, 1905 – April 17, 1996) was a Danish scientist, mathematician, inventor, designer, author, and poet, often writing under the Old Norse pseudonym "Kumbel" meaning "tombstone". His short poems, known as gruks or grooks (Danish: Gruk), first started to appear in the daily newspaper "Politiken" shortly after the Nazi Occupation in April 1940, and were meant as a spirit-building, yet slightly coded form of passive resistance against Nazi occupation. A grook is a form of short aphoristic poem; they are characterized by irony, paradox, brevity, precise use of language, sophisticated rhythms and rhymes and often satiric nature. He wrote over 7,000 of them, most in Danish or English, published in 20 volumes.

THE ROAD TO WISDOM?

Well, it's plain
and simple to express.
Err and err and err again,
but less and less and less.

MANKIND

Men, said the Devil,
are good to their brothers:
they don’t want to mend
their own ways, but each other's.

A PSYCHOLOGICAL TIP

Whenever you're called on to make up your mind,
and you're hampered by not having any,
the best way to solve the dilemma, you'll find,
is simply by spinning a penny.
No -- not so that chance shall decide the affair
while you're passively standing there moping;
but the moment the penny is up in the air,
you suddenly know what you're hoping.

[Beelzebub2]

A WORD TO THE WISE

Let the world pass in its time-ridden race;
never get caught in its snare.
Remember, the only acceptable case
for being in any particular place
is having no business there.


WHAT PEOPLE MAY THINK

Some people cower
and wince and shrink,
owing to fear of
what people may think.
There is one answer
to worries like these:
people may think
what the devil they please.


THE ULTIMATE WISDOM

Philosophers
must ultimately find
their true perfection

in knowing all
the follies of mankind
- by introspection.

[charlou]

Yeah, I like these.

[Beelzebub2]

THE EGOCENTRICS

People are self-centered
to a nauseous degree.
They will keep on about themselves
while I'm explaining me.


THE CENTRAL POINT
A philosophistry

I am the Universe's Centre.
No subtle sceptics can confound me;
for how can other viewpoints enter,
when all the rest is all around me?


AN ODE TO MODESTY

Talking of successful rackets
modesty deserves a mention.
Exclamation marks in brackets
never fail to draw attention.

[Beelzebub2]

Yeah, I like these.

[charlou]

Moar!


And for you, too.

[Beelzebub2]

Moar!


And for you, too.

PROBLEMS

Problems worthy
of attack
prove their worth
by hitting back.


T. T. T.

Put up in a place
where it's easy to see
the cryptic admonishment
T. T. T.

When you feel how depressingly
slowly you climb,
it's well to remember that
Things Take Time.


PAST PLUPERFECT

The past, -- well, it's just like
our Great-Aunt Laura,
who cannot or will not perceive
that though she is welcome,
and though we adore her,
yet now it is time to leave.

[cowiz]

I like pie

[Beelzebub2]

I like pie

[cowiz]

I like pie

Really? You should have mentioned it earlier.

On an unrelated issue, i like pie.

Oh, and the poems above are genius.

[Bella Fortuna]

These are clever, I like them. Thanks for the nice find!

[Beelzebub2]

Just in case I haven't mentioned it sooner, I like pie.


Glad you like the poems - more of them can be find here.


SATURATION

The heavens are draining,
it’s raining and raining,
and everything couldn’t be wetter,
and things are so bad
that we ought to be glad:
because now they can only get better.

[Beelzebub2]

These are clever, I like them. Thanks for the nice find!

You're very welcome.

[JOZeldenrust]

Piet Hein (nov. 25. 1577 - jun. 17. 1629) was a Dutch seafarer and commander of the Dutch West Indies Company. He is most famous for capturing the Spanish silver fleet in 1628, capturing a cargo of precious metals, pigments and spices worth approx. 11,000,000 gilders, the equivalent of about 500,000,000 euros today.

[Beelzebub2]

Piet Hein (nov. 25. 1577 - jun. 17. 1629) was a Dutch seafarer and commander of the Dutch West Indies Company. He is most famous for capturing the Spanish silver fleet in 1628, capturing a cargo of precious metals, pigments and spices worth approx. 11,000,000 gilders, the equivalent of about 500,000,000 euros today.

Piet Hein, Piet Hein
Your name will always shine
In your little ships so neat
You beat the silver fleet
The mighty silver fleet from Spain