September 25, 2004
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SATURDAY POEM I ADMIRE
There’s no skipping over Frost. Four-time Pulitzer Prize winner who died at age 89 in 1963, he wrote his first poem at 20, this one at 46, and realizing his gift early on, arranged his life to devote himself to it, and was very successful and famous during his lifetime. He lived most of his life in New England and his poetry has a pastoral quality, an appreciation of nature and simplicity. I chose this poem because I’ve loved it from early on and it’s turned out to be the story of my life.
Deep Thought: To my way of thinking, there’s nothing that can’t be cured by a big ol’ pot o beans. Except maybe bean fever.
Today I am grateful for: Fly swatters
Guess the Movie: “There is a silence where no sound may be, in the cold grave, under the deep, deep sea.” Answer: The Piano, 1993
Winner: thenarrator
The EVP guy is taking a break today so no new polls, but here is the history of how my Oregon has been standing. I can attest that when I drive around Portland I see many Kerry signs and very few Bush. Of course, Portland is the big urban center and lots of Oregon is the sticks where it’s a different story. It was fascinating to spend a few hours volunteering at the local political action center yesterday entering data in the computers for them. I got the impression that there was a lot going on but it was only now beginning to come up to speed. It will be interesting to see if the debates have much effect.
End of Day: 8:39 pm
+ = Put up a new squirrel feeder today. Hope the squirrel likes it.
- = Sometimes I feel like a childless mother – and a long way from home.
Comments (11)
That’s some “Brit Lit” Romantic-era poem isn’t it? Or was it in The Piano? (that might be)
I go back and forth on Frost. Of course I heard “too much” of him in school and turned off (why didn’t teachers ever read the Beats?) but much of it is so brilliant. This one, of course, is both so great and so well known and yet it’s idea is so universally ignored in America today, which we do to our detriment.
It’s the Piano! You win.
what’s the poem though? early 19th century?
Oops, here’s the whole thing as poem:
Thomas Hood. 1798–1845
Silence
THERE is a silence where hath been no sound,
There is a silence where no sound may be,
In the cold grave—under the deep, deep sea,
Or in wide desert where no life is found,
Which hath been mute, and still must sleep profound;
No voice is hush’d—no life treads silently,
But clouds and cloudy shadows wander free,
That never spoke, over the idle ground:
But in green ruins, in the desolate walls
Of antique palaces, where Man hath been,
Though the dun fox or wild hyæna calls,
And owls, that flit continually between,
Shriek to the echo, and the low winds moan—
There the true Silence is, self-conscious and alone.
there are a surprising number of kerry signs vs bush signs around here. even more surprising are the houses who have signs for other republican candidates but include a kerry sign.
Speaking of beans, here’s a recipe for baked beans by a fellow xangan chef named smarticus. http://www.xanga.com/item.aspx?user=Smarticus&tab=weblogs&uid=130869035
Robert Frost is a favorite, especially Birches.
i grew up hearing my dad read vachal lindsey and robert frost out loud as often as he read the bible and somehow in my childish mind, i thought they were in the bible.
The Crown Heights thing turned out far better than it “should” have (or anything else in the Giuliani era did) because people worked really hard. You have to go back to Mario Cuomo (at the very beginning of his public career) negotiating public housing in Forest Hills to find a better “on the street” solution. Politicians so often, because they are grandstanding, block creative solutions. Sometimes people can work underneath them.
Thanks for finding the poem for me.
long way from home…very poignant…
I have always loved this poem, too, and found it a very centering reminder of the importance that listening to my inner direction bears on my centeredness.
I like very much your space – the variety of thought and ideas, entertaining as well as provocative, challenging and informational. Look forward to visiting again soon.
peace,
Doris
I adore the work of Frost. My mentor gave me a book of his poetry when I received my master’s degree in literature. She placed her own words of encouragement on the first page. She lost her fight with cancer the following year, but I still feel her near in his words ……….
On a different note, I use microsoft editor to crop my graphics. If you have it, after you click “crop,” choose “oval.”
Tammy