rakemag And time to think of more than death. So, here’s to love today. Go home early, enjoy the weather and a comely companion. I Knew a Woman By Theodore Roethke I knew a woman, lovely in her bones, When small birds sighed, she would sigh back at them; Ah, when she moved, she moved more … Read more
A very funny bit from today’s NY Times on the problems of the poet laureate of England having to write a marriage poem for Charles and Camilla. Aside from having to compete for headlines with the funeral of the Pope, imagine Camilla having to endure the jibes that John Paul, even today, looks better in … Read more
Sailing to Byzantium by W. B. Yeats THAT is no country for old men. The young In one another’s arms, birds in the trees – Those dying generations – at their song, The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas, Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long Whatever is begotten, born, and dies. Caught in that sensual … Read more
Aristotle–Mr. Moderation I heard from a friend today–a “moderate” Republican who wanted to talk about the possible rise of a moderate presidential candidate from his side of the fence. He had a candidate in mind, and wrote a nice remembrance of the first time he’d met this candidate and where the candidate came from and … Read more
My Papa’s Waltz by Theodore Roethke The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy; But I hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy. We romped until the pans Slid from the kitchen shelf; My mother’s countenance Could not unfrown itself. The hand that held my wrist Was battered on one … Read more
Housman Horace Diffugere Nives by A. E. Housman Horace, Odes, iv, 7 The snows are fled away, leaves on the shaws And grasses in the mead renew their birth, The river to the river-bed withdraws, And altered is the fashion of the earth. The Nymphs and Graces three put off their fear And unapparelled in … Read more
Before he died, the Holy Father admonished the anti-Christ by John Donne Death be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so, For, those, whom thou think’st, thou dost overthrow, Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me. From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures … Read more
by Percy Bysshe Shelly SWIFTLY walk o’er the western wave, Spirit of Night! Out of the misty eastern cave,— Where, all the long and lone daylight, Thou wovest dreams of joy and fear Which make thee terrible and dear,— Swift be thy flight! Wrap thy form in a mantle grey, Star-inwrought! Blind with thine hair … Read more
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun Ok, it’s national poetry month, and I’m going to post a poem every day– Sometimes in addition to another post, sometimes just by itself. Enjoy. The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall … Read more
It’s about George Bush. Here’s his comment today when told of the death of Schiavo. “I urge all those who honor Terri Schiavo to continue to work to build a culture of life, where all Americans are welcomed and valued and protected,” the president said, “especially those who live at the mercy of others. “The … Read more