The image above is from the 1994 movie, Four Weddings and a Funeral. The actor John Hannah plays Matthew, whose love and partner in the movie was Gareth. He used the words of W.H. Auden’s poem “Funeral Blues” at Gareth’s funeral. The poem expresses the devastation of grief. Carried throughout its lines is pessimism andContinue reading ““Stop all the clocks…””
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Repetition!
The poem by Dylan Thomas – “Do Not go gentle into that good night” is a strong protest against death, even a denial of it! Thomas conveys a sense that life is for living, it is all there is, and as such life needs to be lived without hesitation, without regret, without any sense ofContinue reading “Repetition!”
A Wind like a Bugle!
“At last,” I hear you say, “an Emily Dickinson poem.” One of my many New Year resolutions is to read more of Emily Dickinson. Although it is not tornado season, the extreme weather conditions we are experiencing can produce tornadoes “out of season” and often “out of place.” A few weeks ago a tornado was reportedContinue reading “A Wind like a Bugle!”
Taffy
In an anthology of poetry and verse The Rattle Bag edited by Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes you can find such a wide range of poems. My conclusion is if was good enough for Heaney and Hughes then it is certainly good enough for me! Nursery rhymes are strange things and often quiet sad andContinue reading “Taffy”
“A blitz of a boy…”
From the book of poems The Rattle Bag, edited by poets Heaney and Hughes we find Charles Causley’s poem Timothy Winters. Written in the early 1950s the poem is a protest to the post WWII failure of the Welfare State to care for the poor and less fortunate. It begs us to pay attention and toContinue reading ““A blitz of a boy…””
maggie and milly, and molly and may
maggie and milly and molly and may maggie and milly and molly and maywent down to the beach(to play one day) and maggie discovered a shell that sangso sweetly she couldn’t remember her troubles,and milly befriended a stranded starwhose rays five languid fingers were; and molly was chased by a horrible thingwhich raced sideways whileContinue reading “maggie and milly, and molly and may”
Snowy, snowy, night!
As I write this blog snow is forecast to fall later this evening and in the overnight hours. Although snow brings with it some hard shoveling work, yet as it falls it creates much beauty as the landscape is painted white. Even every house in the street looks the same and every yard or gardenContinue reading “Snowy, snowy, night!”
92 Counties!
I know you were not expecting this but to be honest neither was I. As I turned through the pages of Carol Ann Duffy’s Collected poems I found her poem Counties amusing. Now to further complicate things I will introduce you to Munro-Bagging – climbing hills in Scotland over 3000ft. – named after Sir Hugh MunroContinue reading “92 Counties!”
Memory
In 1983 I moved from the city of Edinburgh to the far north of Scotland, to Golspie a village on the east coast of the county of Sutherland. Sutherland has an east coast, a west coast and a north coast with only the county of Caithness to its north and east on the top righthand corner ofContinue reading “Memory”
A little while after!
In the gospel of Matthew, chapter 2, we read of the journey of the wisemen from the east. When they actually arrived is not known, but we should not be surprised to learn that it may well have been some days or many weeks after the birth of the child. However, let us not fuss about theContinue reading “A little while after!”
Prayers, Poems, and Christian Ponderings 