Sometimes those moments we are escaping are painful, and these flights of consciousness help keep us safe and sane from what would surely be overwhelming madness if dealt with immediately. Sometimes we just need to breathe and dream to make it through difficult moments. We return to reality as we are able. Sooner, hopefully, rather than later.
Chad and I are thinking about our friends in the blogosphere who are dealing with sad news this week.
Sometimes, though, staying in the moment is difficult because of intense joy or happiness. The bliss can be red-hot, too much to handle. So, we back off and let our minds drift. We are thinking today of our blog friends who are achieving their dreams this week too.
We all interact with the world in our own time and in our own ways. Our connection to life is tenuous at best, but ever so precious.
I hope you all can stay in the moment.
Here is a poem for your enjoyment and your thought:
Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearing white for Eastertide.
Now, of my threescore years and ten,
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.
And since to look at things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room,
About the woodlands I will go
To see the cherry hung with snow.
-A.E. Housman (1859-1936)
What a beautiful post. Thanks for sharing. :)
ReplyDeleteFirst off, wishing you guys the best of luck and that everything goes smoothly!!!!
ReplyDeleteSecond, the poem is lovely! Thank you for sharing it! Can you make reference to the collection of poems it came from? Given the style, you may like Anthology of American Poetry edited by George Gesner, Crown Publishers, 1983. I´ve had the book since college (I'm 45). These are poems going back to the 1700´s up to the 20th century and are amazing and are along the same lines, similar style, of this poem you have shared. kfb from bcn
Rhonda and Gerry, Thanks for reading!
ReplyDeleteKFB, AE Housman was a British poet and scholar who worked in the late 19th and eary 20th century. This poem in particular comes from a larger work of poems called, "A Shropshire Lad." Interestingly, most of his poems, including this one, were written before 1900, but became wildly popular for their imagery and their sombre tone during World War I. I'm always looking for new poems, so I'll definitely check out the collection you mentioned.