I found this while I was looking up another poem of hers to make sure I had it right. I'd never seen this one before. She wrote it during World War II. Good time to find it, I think.
Modern Declaration
Edna St Vincent Millay
I, having loved ever since I was a child a few things, never having wavered
In these affections; never through shyness in the houses of the rich or in the
presence of clergymen having denied these loves;
Never when worked upon by cynics like chiropractors having grunted or
clicked a vertebra to the discredit of these loves;
Never when anxious to land a job having diminished them by a conniving
smile; or when befuddled by drink
Jeered at them through heartache or lazily fondled the fingers of their alert
enemies; declare
That I shall love you always.
No matter what party is in power;
No matter what temporarily expedient combination of allied interests wins the war;
Shall love you always.
In these affections; never through shyness in the houses of the rich or in the
presence of clergymen having denied these loves;
Never when worked upon by cynics like chiropractors having grunted or
clicked a vertebra to the discredit of these loves;
Never when anxious to land a job having diminished them by a conniving
smile; or when befuddled by drink
Jeered at them through heartache or lazily fondled the fingers of their alert
enemies; declare
That I shall love you always.
No matter what party is in power;
No matter what temporarily expedient combination of allied interests wins the war;
Shall love you always.
99 comments:
That's really lovely. I love you too :)
Now, shall we try to catch Sherlock? He's gone stratospheric since Nicky reported snow in their part of the world...
Do you think it's even possible? He may have already broken the sound barrier...
I'm glad you like it. it's not exactly flowery but... Yeah.
maybe I should learn to tie a large net...
Doesn't need to be flowery. It's sincere. And not 'overly' as your tag claims.
Ideally before tomorrow night, yes...
Good.
There's a great deal to be said for a poem (or person) that plants its feet and speaks the truth. :) (It's a lovely poem.)
I hope you're having a great day!
Wow, that poem is a perfect find.
It's rare for me to like a poem actually. What I like about this one is that it says what it means without hiding behind flowery words or metaphors that go over my head. That very directness, wanting to make sure everyone gets it, is what makes it work best.
That is a wonderful poem. And a new one for me, too, I think, although I know I sat down with a book of her poetry back in college. Time to reread!
rsf
That's lovely John, thanks for sharing it :-)
Did someone say "reread"? :D
Kholly if you don't like flowery poetry why don't you try In Paris with you by James Fenton? He's quite blunt but in a good way.
Doc, I know I've asked this before, but is Edna St Vincent Millay your favorite poet?
Think my favourite poet is Leonard Cohen.
Leonard Cohen does singing not poems. You play him on the guitar.
He did write the lyrics, Sherlock, and if you read them without the music, I would agree that they read as poetry. Not all lyrics do--most pop songs do not--but his do.
DW - I'm not sure. There are individual poems by other people that I like better than hers, but I like a higher proportion of hers than anyone else's. So...sort of?
He was a poet before he put music with some of them, Sherlock.
John said experimental cooking on his other post and I watched a man make a mango and yoghurt egg on a cooking show and I want to do that!
Is that an egg made out of mango and yoghurt or...or what is it?
Experimental cooking is fun, but sometimes it can get a little strange. The guys who wrote the world's most expensive cookbook use just about anything you can imagine in their recipes, including fishing lure molds to make gummi worms.
rsf
Yeah, it is, Danger. The yellow is mango, the white is yoghurt, you eat it on brioche.
It's not hard to do, maybe we will one day.
Lovely poem, John. It reminds of a scene in Much Ado About Nothing, when the two protagonists, who have spent all of the play to that point snarking and mocking each other, end up alone together at the end of a emotionally draining situation, and he says, "I do love nothing in the world so well as you: is not that strange?". It's such a wonderful, heartfelt, straightforward declaration.
And of course, they end up wonderfully in love and still happily snarking at each other. But it's that quiet, intense statement, that has the impact.
A bit like when you two drunkblog :-)
Drunkblog? Us? No idea what you're talking about... ;)
Ha, rsf, that's Nathan Myhrvold's book, that I was just talking about on the other post! It's also a book about the chemistry and physics of cooking. :)
L - sounds...interesting? Are they good? I suppose they taste of mango and yoghurt, which can hardly be bad.
RR & rsf - I think I saw him on one of those TED talks a while ago, cutting an oven in half.
Nameless - that does sound nice. I should remember that play better than I do.
Yeah, I've not had them, but mango and yoghurt can't be bad, right??
That book looks like....something that would gather dust. Lots of dust.
That's the guy, John!
Nameless, Much Ado is one of my favorite Shakespearean plays. I saw it in the Delacorte in Central Park a few years back, and you're right, that line really hits home.
(Mind you, he did say in the TED talk that I hear that he only cut the oven in half when it was given to him free by the manufacturer. It's not like he cut his OWN oven in half!)
I love Much Ado, it's the change of pace in the middle of the thing, if it wasn't for bloody Dogberry it would be perfect. I saw Roger (Cabin Pressure) Allam play Benedick, he was, to quote Arthur, brilliant!
Lancs. Anon
why did he cut it in half?
I don't know, L. The book is full of amazing pictures, for one thing, and they've designed the kitchen manual to be waterproof, so you can clean off the splatters, which would be good for me. I've been looking at it wistfully for a while now.
I think the appeal for me is that they've put a lot of the science in there as well as the cooking. They've included so much about everything from microbiology for cooks, to techniques, to why things work the way they do, that I can't imagine not learning something new from it. And it's the cookbooks with techniques and basics that get off my shelf the most often.
And how can I resist recipes for things like exploding chocolate?
rsf
(p.s., they have an entire chapter on coffee...)
So he could take pictures showing what happens inside an oven--and inside a pot, and inside food--while cooking is going on. (He cut everything in half!) It's pretty cool.
The video I saw is over here--I don't know if it's the same one John saw, because he's given a bunch of TED Talks.
If he's really rich he should cut his own oven in half and give the other one to someone. I'd want to cut my own in half so I could watch everything I did in my own kitchen.
Well, he only needed the half of an oven to work for long enough to take one picture, Sherlock. I don't think anyone has built an oven yet that you could watch everything inside of all the time.
rsf
Ah, but as he pointed out, he only needs it to work for the length of time it takes to take a picture. Most things--including ovens--don't work very well, or at least very long, when they are cut in half. So after he gets it to work long enough to take his pictures, he can't use it anymore.
(But it really would be interesting to be able to watch how things cook while they are actually cooking.)
Hee, rsf! We seem to be sharing a brain today... :D
he's gone to bed, but he thinks we should just get an oven with a glass side, and cook everything in glassware to see what's going on.
RSF - I'm sure the book would be interesting. I just don't think I'd ever have time to read it. And I just want to be able to cook, I don't want to need to buy crazy new bits of equipment or tools. I can rarely be bothered to watch Heston, because it's too far away from 'normal' cookery.
he thinks we should just get an oven with a glass side, and cook everything in glassware to see what's going on.
It's a more practical option, it's true. Although I feel I should mention that our current oven has a largish window in the door, but even with the light on you really can't see much. We still have to open the door to tell if anything is brown, even. (It was a disappointment to me, I well remember!)
You just need an oven made from transparent aluminium...
I'm making bad Star Trek jokes; it may be past my bedtime.
You can see through our oven door pretty well, but he wants much bigger glass. And all glassware to be flat on one side and pressed up against it.
Should I take you to bed then? Seems very early, given I'm off tomorrow... what shall we do??
You should take me to bed. I feel certain we'll think of a way to pass the time.
and tomorrow...all day :) ?
If you define all day as during school hours...then yes. :)
...I mean, I'm assuming we're talking about looking for wedding venues here, right??
Only if you're using that as a euphemism for something completely different but also vaguely related to weddings. Come on.
Hah, maybe this time. But there will be a time when I'm not!!
RR, if we're sharing a brain today, could you find my half and tell it to come home?
L, I think John might get more out of a book on the science of cooking than you would -- at least he would know what was likely to make things blow up and what wasn't.
Sherlock, if you ever invent a stove that has half glass and you can see all the things cooking inside I want one too.
Sleep well, everyone. Happy Fireworks tomorrow!
rsf
rsf--Brain, brain, what is brain?
(Talking about ST jokes... :D)
I'm not sure it'll fit in his stocking at Christmas... we shall see...
Good morning, L! (I hope you can still get a bit of a lie in, seeing as it's a day off for you. :))
I did indeed stay in bed for a bit.
Then had an argument with Sherlock that must have involved me saying 'you're going to school' at least a thousand times.
Don't you just love days that start with conversations like that!
I'm sure you and John won't struggle with keeping warm today but how is anyone other than the constantly moving Sherlock not going to freeze watching fireworks tonight?
Have a great day the pair of you :-)
I'm planning to stuff John inside my coat with me like a very cute hot water bottle.
I had to scrape frost off of the car this morning. Brr. Unfortunately my man is about half again as big as I am, so I cant stuff him inside my coat; I'd have to drape him over me like a large, bearded blanket. Which is nice on cold nights, or at least until I get whiskers tickling my neck.
Have a fantastic day off together, gents!
We're supposed to have temps at or below freezing tonight, too, but--since I don't have anyone to stuff in my coat or drape over my back--thankfully I have no fireworks to stand outside for then, either. :) At least you should have mostly clear skies for it, according to the Weather Channel!
Have a good day and a wonderful evening!
Maz - I'm rather stubbly, having not bothered to shave for three days. So I can spike John with my stubble if he wriggles too much.
RR - I think it'll be great, but standing about on a cold field is sure to be freezing, even if it would be okay if, like Sherlock, you never stop running about.
Hopefully if I can persuade himm to sit on my shoulders to watch the fireworks then I shall remain warm all over. Except for my feet, which will be applied to J ohn the second we're in bed, or on the sofa.
Oh, ow, L! That's mean. At least John can retaliate at some point, if he wants. I don't have that option!
I think I probably over-did it with the complaints, though. Husband actually purchased beard shampoo and conditioner so that the beard/moustache is soft(er). Whoops. I like how it looks - not too keen on how it feels! :)
L--It's good to have a game plan! (And thermals. :D)
Maz--maybe it'll get softer with length?
He's had it for a few years now, RR - it is about as long as he wants it. I've just gotten used to it, at least a little bit!
Oh. Oh, well.
It's not mean! I have to have some form of defense against his ability to be 'adorbs' and he can always tell me to shave. And my heard does grow incredibly fast compared to his, so I have plenty of warning if hes going on the attack.
You could always shave a leg or something, wait for it to stubble up and retaliate.
I hear fireworks and I can almost see them but I am not leaving the house to get a better view!
Enjoy your evening together and enjoy the fireworks :-)
Thanks.
Some of the older boys from the school help set it all up or something - not sure which club it is. Pyromaniacs anonymous??
Sherlock is, of course, desperate to join that club...
This is a club from Mycroft's school?
(Somehow I don't see Sherlock as actually wanting to be part of a club on a day-to-day level...well, maybe heading a club. :))
Have a blast! :D
Yeah - maybe it's a special Bonfire Night club, I don't know.
And no, Sherlock isn't generally the club-type. Only when it involves blowing things up, apparently.
*nods* There are exceptions to almost everything... :)
Have fun and stay warm!
There was a programme on the TV a while ago where someone taught science to a bunch of kids with no interest by teaching them how to make things happen in fireworks, I've always thought it would be an interesting thing to know about and can see it really being Sherlock's thing :-)
I did indeed stay in bed for a bit.
What a lovely way to start the day :-)
Have a good, if chilly, evening guys.
I told them I could help too and I'd be really good at it but they didn't believe me.
I guess they were figuring you were just an average 7-year-old. But was it fun to watch, at least?
That's because they've all had training about what to do, Sherlock, and you haven't. Maybe when you're older you'll get an opportunity.
Well, L, considering it IS fall, and I'm not wearing shorts any more...it has been a couple of days. I could give it a couple more and just wait until he's almost asleep and...bam! There's a lot more acerage there with a lot more mobility to get him with, too. :)
Fireworks are always fun, no matter what age you are. But yeah, you do have to prove your responsiblity and training and skill before you're allowed to actually set them off. It's a bummer, but there will still be opportunities as you get older, Sherlock.
Sherlock's been desperate for us to buy some fireworks and do a show at his school, but I'm not ready to take responsibility for explosives in a school full of genius kids.
Erm. No, that doesn't sound like a really great idea, really.
IT DOES.
Or even not at school just in someone's garden who said we could it would be the best.
It does take quite a bit of training to handle fireworks safely, Sherlock. That's why they're so tightly regulated in the US, and no doubt in the UK as well.
Someone in the security team must know how I'm going to ask them all.
Actually, anyone over 18 can buy and use fireworks here. There are restrictions on the very large ones, but not on normal rockets or anything. They're freely available on the high street, supermarkets, newsagents, all sorts of places.
I've let them off quite a few times, for small family gatherings.
Interesting thought...
We had fireworks in the back yard on Saturday night, the kids loved them :-)
I'm not sure they were of the size Sherlock would like to have though.
(That last was regard to the security team.)
Actually, anyone over 18 can buy and use fireworks here.
Huh. NYC has a zero tolerance for ANY type of fireworks without a permit. Most states have restrictions of some kind of what kind of fireworks you can buy, and how old you have to be to buy them.
He likes most of them, AnonyBob - the noisy ones the best.
I like the sparkly crackly ones, and he's fairly into those, but yeah, he's not that picky. He even had a few sparklers this year, despite announcing them 'boring'.
RR - the only restriction here is that you're not supposed to let them off after 11pm except on New Years, Bonfire night, Diwali and Chinese New Year. And you can't set them off in the street, it has to be on private land - a garden, field, whatever, unless you've got a public display licence.
It's probably a bit like the degus, Sherlock. You'll have to show that you've done your research and know what the problems are and how to prevent them before anyone will let you even try with fireworks. I know that back when they were legal, my mom made us all write out the safety rules ten times so we couldn't say to her that we didn't know them if we got hurt. And then she showed us pictures of people from the emergency room at her hospital who hadn't known the rules and had lost fingers!
rsf
I've always wondered how they make the crackly ones crackle, My tiny one liked the noisy ones but that didn't surprise me at all!
Are you all ice blocks or have you managed to pool heat effectively?
Do you get a lot of fires and/or injuries? We always seem to get a few tragedies a year from illegal fireworks, and it was worse before states and cities started regulating them. After all, it IS gunpowder.
Not too many fires, but yeah, quite a lot of injuries every year. There's always campaigns about being safe, but there's always a few people who ignore it.
Every now and again they talk about regulating it more strongly, but it's too much of a tradition for ordinary folk to give it up for the government.
AnonyBob - we're back home, now, but yeah, my feet are bloody freezing! As John will soon discover ;)
RR, I'm not sure there weren't actually fewer injuries per poundage of fireworks sold before they made most of the fireworks illegal, because most people grew up watching their older relations handle them correctly (unless there was beer involved.) It would be an interesting statistic to work out.
Did Sherlock try writing his name with the sparklers, or does he not know cursive writing yet?
rsf
They used to be freely available here, but as Guy Fawkes is in the Australian summer there were too many fires.
Yeah, fires were the reason they were made illegal in Colorado, too. The fourth of July got way too smoky!
rsf
Sherlock - aside from wanting to join in, did you enjoy the firework display?
rsf--If you've a mind to crunch the numbers, the CPSC has reports online from 1997 through 2010 over here. (How you'd correlate that with state and local laws I have no idea, sorry!)
Yes! And I have to go to bed now but there are still fireworks and Lestrade says if he catches me watching them out of the window he'll put me in a sack and make me sleep in it but I think that's illegal.
Yes, fireworks are the best!!
What's Danger for if not warming you up Greg ;-)
Danger is a hottie and no mistake.
I am going to put you in a sack in a minute, Sherlock, and carry you up to bed. GO! John and I will come and tuck you in.
I'm happy you had a good time, Sherlock. Night night!
N'night, Sherlock, I'm glad you had fun watching the fireworks. Sleep well.
Isn't your sleeping bag like a sack, Sherlock? Anyway, I hope you can sleep despite the fireworks.
Goodnight!
Thanks for the link, RR, I may play with it a bit when I'm feeling better.
rsf
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