I caught a hint of Christmas in the air . . .

and so I thought I'd polish up my recitation of the Night Before Christmas. And since I have no reason to recite it, I though I might annoy you with it. So here's my favorite line,

"As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle mount to the sky
So up to the roof-tops his coursers they flew
With a sleigh full of toys and St Nicholas too."

I have always liked the name Nicholas. . . and no Santa that wasn't just for brownie points!

Favorite War Poets

-Seigfred Sassoon (Actually known more for his anti-war verses.)
-Wilfred Owen (also showed the dark side of war, with very vivid imagery)
-Rupert Brooke (known for idealistic war sonnets.)

It interests me that of the three men, all of whom were soldiers, only the one (Brooke) who didn't see active combat wrote of war idealistically, while those who fought in the trenches, (Sassoon received a medal for his service) wrote blatantly of the horror they saw. Of course this was all during the WWI, and some would say that war has become much more "civilized" but it is something for one to think about.

Here are my favorite works by each author.

Sassoon

-Glory of Women

-Suicide in the Trenches

Owen

-Dulce et Decorum Est

-Anthem for a Doomed Youth

-Strange Meeting

Brooke

-The Solider

Not quite April, but this is how I feel lately

The beginning of Sword Blades and Poppy Seeds
by Amy Lowell

A drifting, April, twilight sky,
A wind which blew the puddles dry,
And slapped the river into waves
That ran and hid among the staves

Of an old wharf. A watery light
Touched bleak the granite bridge, and white
Without the slightest tinge of gold,
The city shivered in the cold.

All day my thoughts had lain as dead,
Unborn and bursting in my head.
From time to time I wrote a word
Which lines and circles overscored.
My table seemed a graveyard, full
Of coffins waiting burial.

I seized these vile abortions, tore
Them into jagged bits, and swore
To be the dupe of hope no more.
Into the evening straight I went,
Starved of a day's accomplishment.

This is one of my favorite poems, but is too long to post entirely. I always think of the first few lines on cold, wet, windy days.

Thief

First you stole my breath away
Then you stole my time
Then you stole a kiss from me
Then you stole my mind

I knew you for the thief you were,
I knew right from the start,
First you'd steal my dreams away,
Then you'd steal my heart.

Then like a thief on some dark night
Or maybe some bright day,
You'd quietly slip the window up
And steal yourself away.

mnb