tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post8470581275677657127..comments2024-03-23T20:37:37.891-07:00Comments on First Known When Lost: Two Linnets, A Dove, And A LarkStephen Pentzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-76243732823985602182017-09-21T08:42:55.708-07:002017-09-21T08:42:55.708-07:00Mr. Ahern: Thank you very much for sharing the so...Mr. Ahern: Thank you very much for sharing the source of "tenebris interlucentem," which I would never have discovered on my own. This adds a further layer to the poem. It is my understanding that Flecker was well-acquainted with classical literature, so the allusion is not surprising. Thank you again.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-5018052594311618802017-09-19T18:14:54.658-07:002017-09-19T18:14:54.658-07:00The title of Fletcher's poem,"tenebris in...The title of Fletcher's poem,"tenebris interlucentem," comes from a speech at the end of Apuleius' Metamorphoses (2nd century C.E.). The goddess Isis is speaking to Lucius, a human who became an ass, then was turned back into a human, and now wants to be initiated into Isis' mystery cult. Isis is referring to herself, "I whom you see shining out of the darkness of Acheron and reigning over the depths of the Styx" ["me, quam vides, Acherontis tenebris interlucentem Stygiisque penetralibus regnantem"].John Ahernhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17720154285431989521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-8406310981101920362017-09-09T21:04:54.428-07:002017-09-09T21:04:54.428-07:00John: I suspected that was the reason I hadn'...John: I suspected that was the reason I hadn't heard from you. I'm sure you are busy, so I appreciate your taking the time to visit, and share your thoughts.<br /><br />You put it well: "not striving to be anywhere else" is the secret of these walks, isn't it? And, as you have heard me often say in the past, to turn off our incessant thinking as well: always a challenge (for me, at least).<br /><br />I'm pleased you liked the poem by de la Mare. I know we share a fondness for his poetry. I have been revisiting it the past few weeks, and have been delighted. As I believe we have discussed in the past, returning to him is like returning to Hardy: visiting old favorites, renewing acquaintances with poems half-remembered, and making new discoveries. Enough to last a lifetime.<br /><br />Thank you for sharing the lovely poem by MacCaig: one of those "half-remembered" poems I spoke of above. You have reminded me what a wonderful poet of birds MacCaig is. As is de la Mare, as you know. One could spend months immersed in their marvelous observations on, and meditations upon, birds (and their human companions: "Their Lonely Betters," as Auden would have it).<br /><br />As always, it is a pleasure to hear from you. Thank you very much for stopping by again. So, we now move into autumn again . . .Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-63939095939504365242017-09-08T08:05:25.936-07:002017-09-08T08:05:25.936-07:00Jane: Thank you very much for your kind words abo...Jane: Thank you very much for your kind words about the blog. That's very nice of you to say.<br /><br />Yes, "The trees, the wind, the golden day" is a wonderful line, isn't it? I agree with you that it can serve as "a talisman": as I suggested in the post, for me it embodies, to use your phrase, "the beauty of the world" in seven simple unforgettable words.<br /><br />Thank you for visiting again.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-55750382359326051222017-09-08T01:53:28.360-07:002017-09-08T01:53:28.360-07:00Stephen, I hope you are well. It’s that time of ye...Stephen, I hope you are well. It’s that time of year again when preparation for new and returning students has meant having limited time over the past month or so. <br />The opening paragraph of your post reminded of my own regular walks, and how that wonderfully simple activity so quickly and wholly distances us from the “fret and fume in our human world”. <br /><br />Hopefully when we are walking we are not striving to be anywhere else and the world we experience, if we’re attentive and take notice always deepens and fulfils.<br />The De La Mare poem is lovely. Those lines you pick out, “By this small parcel of life/Is made more fair”. Quite exquisite.<br /><br />This very busy time will probably last through until mid-October. I just wanted to drop by and say thank you for continuing with these wonderful posts and to share one of my own favourite bird poems by Norman MacCaig, which I’m sure you know.<br /><br />Different musics – Norman MacCaig<br /><br />Extraordinary what's contained<br />in a bird song, say a skylark's.<br />It's as though it's a synopsis<br />of a Beethoven sonata<br />or a century of folksongs.<br /><br />Hegel, Kant, Schopenhauer -<br />I tell you my favourite philosopher<br />is a blackbird perched on a chimney pot<br />and explaining to the morning<br />the meanings of a morning<br />so simply, so lucidly<br />and sadly, so untranslatably.<br /><br />And all the coarse human does<br />is claim that the yellowhammer<br />say over and over<br />A little bit of bread and no cheese<br />and that a cuckoo<br />only keeps shouting its own name over the green valley.<br />John Ashtonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-55425332830503871262017-09-07T23:24:59.073-07:002017-09-07T23:24:59.073-07:00" The trees, the wind, the golden day"
I..." The trees, the wind, the golden day"<br />I think those words will stay with me as a talisman, or a sort of reminder, to look around and appreciate the beauty of the world.<br />Thank for your beautiful pieces. I receive them by email and save them all. There are so many poems you have introduced me to, which I love. JaneJane the Bookladyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01674464753702292288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-60525577293600939142017-09-07T20:52:00.718-07:002017-09-07T20:52:00.718-07:00Esther: The song is new to me, so thank you for m...Esther: The song is new to me, so thank you for mentioning it. I have now listened both to the version you mention, as well as the version by Mimi and Richard Farina. Lovely. "And will the swallows come again?"Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-69524829318761061732017-09-06T22:27:55.555-07:002017-09-06T22:27:55.555-07:00Speaking of swallows, perhaps you are familiar wit...Speaking of swallows, perhaps you are familiar with an absolutely lovely song sung by Mimi Farina and her sister, Joan Baez, called The Swallow Song. "There is no sorrow like the murmur of their wings. There is no choir like their song...." Esthernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-29636391090948190442017-09-06T22:12:43.187-07:002017-09-06T22:12:43.187-07:00Esther: That's a lovely bit of synchronicity!...Esther: That's a lovely bit of synchronicity! A sensitive dove. I always feel comforted and at peace when they are around. <br /><br />Thank you very much for your kind words about the post. As always, it's a pleasure to hear from you.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-64897061522563000312017-09-06T22:01:20.618-07:002017-09-06T22:01:20.618-07:00George: Thank you very much for the reference to ...George: Thank you very much for the reference to the poem by Gautier, which is new to me. I was able to find an early 20th century translation by Agnes Lee. She gives it the title: "What the Swallows Say -- An Autumn Song." She translates the line you quote as follows: "But where are the summer days, alas!" It is a delightful poem.<br /><br />As ever, thank you for visiting again.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-43910549017429405222017-09-06T21:51:33.350-07:002017-09-06T21:51:33.350-07:00Sam Vega: I'm pleased you liked the poems. Y...Sam Vega: I'm pleased you liked the poems. Yes, the Flecker poem is lovely, isn't it? I agree with you about "The Darkling Thrush": and he has many other wonderful bird poems, doesn't he?<br /><br />Your point about the birds being "jittery" (or disappearing) at this time of year is a good one: things do seem different now. The swallows mentioned in my post may already have departed for the year: the meadows seem quiet and still. As I'm sure you know, birds appear in scores of poems by de la Mare. Your final observation immediately reminded me of a poem by him that, coincidentally, I read last week, which is, again coincidentally, about swallows. I was considering including it in the post, but I thought it would make the post too lengthy. Here it is:<br /><br />Swallows Flown<br /><br />Whence comes that small continuous silence<br />Haunting the livelong day?<br />This void, where a sweetness, so seldom heeded,<br />Once ravished my heart away?<br />As if a loved one, too little valued,<br />Had vanished -- could not stay?<br /><br />It's good to hear from you again. Thank you very much for stopping by.Stephen Pentzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14882220887712092005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-65371408519668317012017-09-06T21:15:35.789-07:002017-09-06T21:15:35.789-07:00An Asiatic turtledove was cooing her (or his) appr...An Asiatic turtledove was cooing her (or his) approval outside my window this morning at the exact moment I was reading your delightful meditation on the murmuring of the dove. I know this because when you moved on to bluejays, swallows, and larks, the cooing ceased. :) Esthernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-44989959525824611642017-09-06T16:00:51.837-07:002017-09-06T16:00:51.837-07:00Perhaps because it is raining in Washington, D.C.,...Perhaps because it is raining in Washington, D.C., I think of Gautier: http://poesie.webnet.fr/lesgrandsclassiques/poemes/theophile_gautier/ce_que_disent_les_hirondelles.html . Probably this is because one of the eponymous Europeans in Henry James's novel quotes "Hélas ! les beaux jours sont finis !" while looking out at autumn rain.<br /><br />Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14819154529261482038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5010170380967519230.post-90467209381944630852017-09-06T13:27:53.086-07:002017-09-06T13:27:53.086-07:00Many thanks - these are beautiful poems, particula...Many thanks - these are beautiful poems, particularly the one by Flecker, which was new to me. One of my favourite "bird poems" is Hardy's "The Darkling Thrush", but that's best kept for other times of year. This time of year seems to renew our interest in birds, and brings them back into focus. They change their habits, I suppose, and because of that become suddenly more noticeable. Here in the UK, the swallows and others in their family (we have swifts and different types of martins - is it the same where you live?) are now getting quite jittery and longing to be away. I don't check every day, but one day I will notice that they haven't been around for a while.Sam Vegahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05978971199859845931noreply@blogger.com