You had me actually sobbing at Robert Frost - one of my favorite poems as a young person (and I'm now 91) Thank you so much for that and for your channel. I. so enjoy it. I'm sure you've been told that you look like Meryl Streepaa??
I’m so glad to meet another admirer of “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” That poem offers a lifetime of nourishment, and I love knowing that it has accompanied you for a long while. Thank you so much for your very kind words. You sound like the kind of person I would love to share a pot of tea and a good long chat with. ❤️
I love to ponder the requirement that the highest grade of poet have three-hundred fifty tales by heart, a portable treasure-house and library. It's also interesting to think of how different poetic voices stead us at different times. I'm thinking of A.E. Housman in "A Shropshire Lad"; he's an old friend but we relate differently now. Thank you. "Loveliest of trees, the cherry now …"
Hayden, what a delight to "see" you here: thank you for visiting! I do know what you mean about the way those relationships with our poetic friends change over time and deliver a necessary ingredient at just the right time. Of all the poems in "A Shropshire Lad," you chosen far and away my favorite.
Well there you are; that's pretty much my own self realised way of memorising poems: read, reread; write the whole thing out, write it again; then learn line by line - adding the lines as memory permits. I've memorisd several of Wordsworth's nature poems. "I wandered lonely..." because it's just delightful and tickles my whimsy. "Clouds extend in solid bars..." for it's epic opening to the stars then deep down to Earth. And the end bit "...Pan himself, low whispering..." gives me shivery goosebumps every time. It seems to me poets, particularly the Romantics(?) were/are rather free with punctuation, casting colons and semi's at whim. Of course the mores and strictures of punctuation and grammar change with the times. Thankyou again for such thoughtful and thought provoking content. 🍀🙏🌹
How wonderful to learn that you are out there, a fellow poetry-lover, devoting yourself to carrying in your mind and heart these lines that mean so much to you, and thank you for sharing your method for memorizing, too. Those "shivery goosebumps" are a powerful inducement to make the effort to remember - and so deeply worth it. Thank you so much for raising your hand for poetry and memory here!
Sonnet 18, Sonnet 73, Sonnet 116 Shakespeare… anything Emily,anything you taught Aisy! All beautiful and profound. What a beautiful challenge you have created! As you can see I’m excited! I am personally dedicating 20 min to each day to memorize poetry that “ sticks” to a part of my soul. This is a beautiful meditation of action! Practice… dedicate to practice! Dedicate to finding PhD level education and understanding online! Kate is a wordsmith, a poet , a multi instrument bard,a writer a thinker on levels extraordinaire! Any who has found her and is willing to put in the time and dedication that she herself utilizes every day, will expand! Kate worked with our dear Aisy! We are sooo excited to find these new lessons! Please immerse yourself in this ancient Bardic wisdom! Much ❤! Brava Kate!
Oh! I am truly grateful for your wonderful words, Deb, and send love to you and Aisy! BRAVO to you for dedicating time to memorizing poetry that lights up your heart and soul. These Bardic ways continue to nourish us, year after year. Such a JOY to see you here: thank you!!!!!!!!!!
This is fantastic, Thanks for the amazing and inspiring video. The one I wish I could keep in my mind would be: The Road goes ever on and on- JRR Tolkien Roads go ever ever on, Over rock and under tree, By caves where never sun has shone, By streams that never find the sea; Over snow by winter sown, And through the merry flowers of June, Over grass and over stone, And under mountains in the moon. Roads go ever ever on Under cloud and under star, Yet feet that wandering have gone Turn at last to home afar. Eyes that fire and sword have seen And horror in the halls of stone Look at last on meadows green And trees and hills they long have known The Road goes ever on and on, Down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the Road has gone, And I must follow, if I can, Pursuing it with eager feet, Until it joins some larger way Where many paths and errands meet. And whither then? I cannot say. The Road goes ever on and on Out from the door where it began. Now far ahead the Road has gone, Let others follow it who can! Let them a journey new begin, But I at last with weary feet Will turn towards the lighted inn, My evening-rest and sleep to meet
Thank you so much for your very kind words, and thank you for bringing us this absolutely beauty of a poem! It's full of music, too, isn't it? Please keep me posted on your effort to memorize it. I'd do one stanza at a time, enjoying the rich imagery and language in each one. I see why you'd wish to carry this in your head. You make me want to, too!
Loving these visits Kate -- I began memorizing Dickinson many years ago, I find it has *so* *much* *power* coming out of me that way and often feels like she is speaking -- sometimes when I'm awake at night and unable to get back to sleep I lie awake and recite all that I can remember :) People so often forget about poems coming out of your mouth instead of just on the page -- there's a reason why when you study them they are referred to as having a *speaker* !
Hear, hear! What a glorious "cargo" you carry in the frigate of your mind, my friend. I agree with you entirely: the human voice with all its inflections and music completes the transmission of the poem. Thank you so much for bringing Emily to us here!
🥀Hi Kate: How supportive this can be in daily life, in moments of sadness and helplessness. There is a safe place to turn to when you are in trouble, knowing that it is within you, connected to that soul who wrote and went through all of this... I hadn't thought about it..... Thank you. 🌱
Oh Mish❤! He was such a good hunter, such a great companion. Thank you for this wonderful insight and ancient wisdom ! “Memorizing is mesmerizing!!!!!”
“I don’t watch certain news or movies because I don’t really want that stuff in my mind” -this is exactly why I no longer watch horror movies, particularly the gratuitously gory ones. There is no benefit and it just makes me anxious! Better to focus on art that makes me happy.
Hi! I am 22, and getting more into poetry and reading these last few years. Somehow written language speaks more to me than speaking, and I’ve always loved semicolons, stops, and pauses- the emotions that can be perceived in a single line of thought! Sometimes that overthinking is a curse. Thank you so much for sharing this- and I wrote down “what else is there to do on planet earth?” To remember when I feel guilty for “stopping to smell the roses” (ie- memorize poetry, read, or relax in any way). Thank you again for posting this!! I can’t wait to explore this world further!
Your words fill me with great joy: thank you! I love that you are taking a keen interest in the pleasures of language, and the details and nuances, too. Yes, I agree that this level of awareness can feel at times a little heavy, but it also opens the door to so much fascination, excitement, and a feeling of belonging with others of our tribe who love these things, too. YOU certainly belong in this tribe, and I am happy and grateful that you found your way here. Welcome with all my heart!
Thaiks for doing this, Kate. Before the pandemic I had a memorized song repertoire of about 50 songs. I haven't memorized anything since. I need to get back to it. Oh, and I just wrote an "anti-praise poem": Dán gan focail Amhrán gan nótaí Earrach gan éin Farraige gan báid Saol gan grá A poem without words A song without notes A spring without birds A sea without boats A life without love (The Irish is probably briste.)
That's a true beauty and one we can live with our whole lives. Here's another by Dylan Thomas that you might like (and among last lines, I think this one of the most beautiful I've ever read): "Fern Hill" - poets.org/poem/fern-hill. I hope you enjoy it, and thank you so much for your comment!
Oh my, I've been thinking this for decades...that what we put in our minds is just as important as what we put in our bodies. I just want to say that, after doing daily readings of the i Ching (primarily Richard Wilhelm translation but I've been branching out in recent years), I've managed to memorize most of the hexigrams and very many of the individual lines--I write them out each morning, whatever comes up, and have done this since 2006/ As for a poem I'd like to memorize, it is maybe a prose-poem: Desiderata, by Max Ehrmann, which I found painted as a mural on a BOCES wall when I was 21 years old and I sat before it, copying it down in my notebook like my life depended upon having those words, that comfort.
Your commitment to your studies and your dedication to memorizing the I Ching and Desiderata is inspiring and so valuable for all of us to witness. Thank you, my friend!
For storytelling, the poems I have memorized include the three poems from Amergin (I am wind on sea... I invoke the realm of Ériu... and Sea Full of Fish) as well as the two poems that praise the Bulls in the Contest of the Two Pigkeepers. Two I want to learn are both dialogues; the wordplay between CúChullainn and Emer and the other poem-conversation between CúChullainn and Ferdiad. Maybe soon.
I was on the Forensic Speaking team in High School. My area was Extemporaneous Speaking, but we still had to practice poetry recitation. The one I actually remember is An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog by Oliver Goldsmith. There were others but that is the one I know to this day. How odd 😅
@@katechadbournebard Trí tréithe na Féinne le Osborne Ó hAimhirgín Ceist ag Padraig, grá na nGael Lá ar laoch an liathfhoilt, Caoilte mac Rónáin na scéal, Tráth I Éirinn iathghlais. "Inis dúinn, a scéalaí bhinn, Créad thug daoibhse an tiarnas, Nó créad do choinnibh sibh gan mheath An oiread mhair na Fianna?" "Trí treithe do dhaingnigh sinn" D'fhreagair Caoilte ciallmhar "Glaine ár gcroi 'gus neart ár ngéag, Is beart de réir aŕ mbriathar" ##### This was a poem we read in school in 1983 I only recall the last line... Thank you Kate for the inspiration to learn some poetry, Grma Lúsaí
Early on, I memorized WB Yeat’s THE STOLEN CHILD. The refrain still easily comes to mind when I need it. “Come away, O human child! To the waters and the wild With a faery, hand in hand, For the world’s more full of weeping than you can understand.” (W.B. Yeats ) The news of the day is often so horrific, so out of our control, and more full of weeping than “I” can understand. For me, the refrain reminds me to take respite. It reminds me to be in nature, practice Mindfulness Meditation, share the deep mystery of life with like minded folks, comfort myself by placing my hand on my heart, or pray before I return to the world to help, feeling restored in balanced mind. Observing the world from a place of equanimity and to take right action from that place, would be my hope on my journey. The refrain pointed me in that direction forty plus years ago, even though that might not have been Yeats’ intended message.
Your rich relationship with this poem is deeply inspiring to me. I share your admiration for it and often revisit one part of it myself: "He'll hear no more the lowing Of the calves on the warm hillside Or the kettle on the hob Sing peace into his breast, Or see the brown mice bob Round and round the oatmeal chest." I come back to that part of the poem when I want to remind myself that messy and chaotic as this world can be, it's also creaturely and comforting at times, and because of that, very precious. I pair that with this from Robert Frost: "Earth’s the right place for love: I don’t know where it's likely to go better." And then I settle back in and remember that being alive is a great privilege, and I calm myself and get back to living. May I just tell you how much I appreciate you and your sharing of poetry? It's a joy to meet a poetry-lover and even more to share lines. Thank you, my friend.
Yes I agree, “He’ll hear no more the lowing of the calves on the warm hillside…” images bring me into a present -moment stillness, embodied in life’s comforts. I feel the warmth of the hillside. I even feel love for the brown mouse bobbing around the oatmeal chest. I guess it sounds though, like The Stolen Child never made his way back. There is that risk. Yet, early in my life, I interpreted him being led to a more enlightened state, even beyond creature comforts. But then, I didn’t /don’t really know much about Faery Folklore. Yes, I liked your liked line from The Birches, “Earth’s the right place for love: I don’t know where it's likely to go better.” Yes, also a good line to remember. I can see how that poem came to mind. Thank you for your insights. You gave me something worthy to ponder this weekend.
I'm currently memorizing my own poem Affirmations because it makes me feel really good to say it. Or rather sing it. I turned it into a song and now lines from it pop up automatically in my mind. 😊 You are so right about the thoughts we put in our minds! Question: Was there also a tradition to sing poems or am I misremembering? I find that if I read a poem aloud a few times I sometimes fall into a melody 😊
I love that you're memorizing your poem: bravo! Yes, there is definitely a tradition of "setting" poems to music; I've realized a whole record of settings called "Songs of the Poets." It's a delicious process to pair beloved words with a melody. And Maron, I know YOU know so well about choosing good thoughts!
God bless your beautiful mind, Kate Chadbourne☘️🇺🇸
You are so kind and thank you for your blessing! 🍀
Ahh thank you Kate. At 82, I am so happy to find your site. It is a joy to listen to. You inspire me.
@@lorrainedelehanty6428 Lorraine, I thank you! I’m so glad you’re here with us ❤️
You had me actually sobbing at Robert Frost - one of my favorite poems as a young person (and I'm now 91) Thank you so much for that and for your channel. I. so enjoy it. I'm sure you've been told that you look like Meryl Streepaa??
I’m so glad to meet another admirer of “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” That poem offers a lifetime of nourishment, and I love knowing that it has accompanied you for a long while. Thank you so much for your very kind words. You sound like the kind of person I would love to share a pot of tea and a good long chat with. ❤️
The Road not Taken. Always a favorite. Reminds me of traveling.
Great choice! This is a poem to travel with over a lifetime ❤️
I love to ponder the requirement that the highest grade of poet have three-hundred fifty tales by heart, a portable treasure-house and library. It's also interesting to think of how different poetic voices stead us at different times. I'm thinking of A.E. Housman in "A Shropshire Lad"; he's an old friend but we relate differently now. Thank you. "Loveliest of trees, the cherry now …"
Hayden, what a delight to "see" you here: thank you for visiting! I do know what you mean about the way those relationships with our poetic friends change over time and deliver a necessary ingredient at just the right time. Of all the poems in "A Shropshire Lad," you chosen far and away my favorite.
Well there you are; that's pretty much my own self realised way of memorising poems:
read, reread; write the whole thing out, write it again; then learn line by line - adding the lines as memory permits.
I've memorisd several of Wordsworth's nature poems.
"I wandered lonely..." because it's just delightful and tickles my whimsy.
"Clouds extend in solid bars..." for it's epic opening to the stars then deep down to Earth. And the end bit "...Pan himself, low whispering..." gives me shivery goosebumps every time.
It seems to me poets, particularly the Romantics(?) were/are rather free with punctuation, casting colons and semi's at whim. Of course the mores and strictures of punctuation and grammar change with the times.
Thankyou again for such thoughtful and thought provoking content.
🍀🙏🌹
How wonderful to learn that you are out there, a fellow poetry-lover, devoting yourself to carrying in your mind and heart these lines that mean so much to you, and thank you for sharing your method for memorizing, too. Those "shivery goosebumps" are a powerful inducement to make the effort to remember - and so deeply worth it. Thank you so much for raising your hand for poetry and memory here!
Sonnet 18, Sonnet 73, Sonnet 116
Shakespeare… anything Emily,anything you taught Aisy! All beautiful and profound.
What a beautiful challenge you have created! As you can see I’m excited! I am personally dedicating 20 min to each day to memorize poetry that “ sticks” to a part of my soul. This is a beautiful meditation of action!
Practice… dedicate to practice! Dedicate to finding PhD level education and understanding online! Kate is a wordsmith, a poet , a multi instrument bard,a writer a thinker on levels extraordinaire! Any who has found her and is willing to put in the time and dedication that she herself utilizes every day, will expand! Kate worked with our dear Aisy! We are sooo excited to find these new lessons! Please immerse yourself in this ancient Bardic wisdom! Much ❤!
Brava Kate!
Oh! I am truly grateful for your wonderful words, Deb, and send love to you and Aisy! BRAVO to you for dedicating time to memorizing poetry that lights up your heart and soul. These Bardic ways continue to nourish us, year after year. Such a JOY to see you here: thank you!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you, Lovely Kate for producing these video lessons! Absolutely delighted!
Such a JOY to "see" you here! Just the other day, I told someone about your "champagne and hot nuts" life!
This is fantastic, Thanks for the amazing and inspiring video. The one I wish I could keep in my mind would be: The Road goes ever on and on- JRR Tolkien
Roads go ever ever on,
Over rock and under tree,
By caves where never sun has shone,
By streams that never find the sea;
Over snow by winter sown,
And through the merry flowers of June,
Over grass and over stone,
And under mountains in the moon.
Roads go ever ever on
Under cloud and under star,
Yet feet that wandering have gone
Turn at last to home afar.
Eyes that fire and sword have seen
And horror in the halls of stone
Look at last on meadows green
And trees and hills they long have known
The Road goes ever on and on,
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.
The Road goes ever on and on
Out from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
Let others follow it who can!
Let them a journey new begin,
But I at last with weary feet
Will turn towards the lighted inn,
My evening-rest and sleep to meet
Thank you so much for your very kind words, and thank you for bringing us this absolutely beauty of a poem! It's full of music, too, isn't it? Please keep me posted on your effort to memorize it. I'd do one stanza at a time, enjoying the rich imagery and language in each one. I see why you'd wish to carry this in your head. You make me want to, too!
Thank you for the encouragement to memorize poetry. I would like to learn more Seamus Heaney poetry by heart.
I'm a fan of Seamus's, too. So many great poems for you to carry with you.
I Love poems and have wrote a few in my past. I also love this challenge ❤
I'm so glad!!! If you give it a try, feel welcome to come back here and tell us what poem you learned by heart. You'll inspire us. ❤
Loving these visits Kate -- I began memorizing Dickinson many years ago, I find it has *so* *much* *power* coming out of me that way and often feels like she is speaking -- sometimes when I'm awake at night and unable to get back to sleep I lie awake and recite all that I can remember :) People so often forget about poems coming out of your mouth instead of just on the page -- there's a reason why when you study them they are referred to as having a *speaker* !
Hear, hear! What a glorious "cargo" you carry in the frigate of your mind, my friend. I agree with you entirely: the human voice with all its inflections and music completes the transmission of the poem. Thank you so much for bringing Emily to us here!
🥀Hi Kate: How supportive this can be in daily life, in moments of sadness and helplessness. There is a safe place to turn to when you are in trouble, knowing that it is within you, connected to that soul who wrote and went through all of this...
I hadn't thought about it..... Thank you. 🌱
Oh Mish❤! He was such a good hunter, such a great companion. Thank you for this wonderful insight and ancient wisdom ! “Memorizing is mesmerizing!!!!!”
Thank you for remembering my beloved Mishy so fondly. He really was a marvelous creature on this earth. Much missed and always loved.
❤
Thank you very much ❤❤❤
You’re very welcome! ❤️
Love the poetry , as a child , it cured my stuttering
That's marvelous! Sounds like poetry has been a good friend to you.
This first poem really hits as I listen the morning after the US election. TY
It's a beauty, isn't it? Though much is taken, much abides... Words worth keeping close.
so good for these times
I agree - comforting and grounding
“I don’t watch certain news or movies because I don’t really want that stuff in my mind” -this is exactly why I no longer watch horror movies, particularly the gratuitously gory ones. There is no benefit and it just makes me anxious! Better to focus on art that makes me happy.
Hear, hear. Let's turn our minds to what we love and what nourishes us. ❤
Hi! I am 22, and getting more into poetry and reading these last few years. Somehow written language speaks more to me than speaking, and I’ve always loved semicolons, stops, and pauses- the emotions that can be perceived in a single line of thought! Sometimes that overthinking is a curse. Thank you so much for sharing this- and I wrote down “what else is there to do on planet earth?” To remember when I feel guilty for “stopping to smell the roses” (ie- memorize poetry, read, or relax in any way).
Thank you again for posting this!! I can’t wait to explore this world further!
Your words fill me with great joy: thank you! I love that you are taking a keen interest in the pleasures of language, and the details and nuances, too. Yes, I agree that this level of awareness can feel at times a little heavy, but it also opens the door to so much fascination, excitement, and a feeling of belonging with others of our tribe who love these things, too. YOU certainly belong in this tribe, and I am happy and grateful that you found your way here. Welcome with all my heart!
This channel is cool!!❤
Thank you so much!
The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost or If by Rudyard Kipling ❤
Two TREASURES to have in your mind and heart!
Thaiks for doing this, Kate. Before the pandemic I had a memorized song repertoire of about 50 songs. I haven't memorized anything since. I need to get back to it. Oh, and I just wrote an "anti-praise poem":
Dán gan focail
Amhrán gan nótaí
Earrach gan éin
Farraige gan báid
Saol gan grá
A poem without words
A song without notes
A spring without birds
A sea without boats
A life without love
(The Irish is probably briste.)
A Mhícheáil a chara, maith thú ar fad: tá sin go hiontach, agus tá Gaeilge chruinn fhoirfe ann! WOW!!!
I haven't read much of poems but I like this one that I heard in the movie "Interstellar" ... "Do not go gentle into the good night"
Wouldn’t that be amazing? 350 it is! Onward bard!
That's a true beauty and one we can live with our whole lives. Here's another by Dylan Thomas that you might like (and among last lines, I think this one of the most beautiful I've ever read): "Fern Hill" - poets.org/poem/fern-hill. I hope you enjoy it, and thank you so much for your comment!
Yes: let's keep going. More treasures to enjoy!
Oh my, I've been thinking this for decades...that what we put in our minds is just as important as what we put in our bodies. I just want to say that, after doing daily readings of the i Ching (primarily Richard Wilhelm translation but I've been branching out in recent years), I've managed to memorize most of the hexigrams and very many of the individual lines--I write them out each morning, whatever comes up, and have done this since 2006/
As for a poem I'd like to memorize, it is maybe a prose-poem: Desiderata, by Max Ehrmann, which I found painted as a mural on a BOCES wall when I was 21 years old and I sat before it, copying it down in my notebook like my life depended upon having those words, that comfort.
Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
by Max Ehrmann ©1927
Your commitment to your studies and your dedication to memorizing the I Ching and Desiderata is inspiring and so valuable for all of us to witness. Thank you, my friend!
Every line of that is GOLD. I have read it before but am so grateful to read it again here. Thank you for the great gift of this. ❤
For storytelling, the poems I have memorized include the three poems from Amergin (I am wind on sea... I invoke the realm of Ériu... and Sea Full of Fish) as well as the two poems that praise the Bulls in the Contest of the Two Pigkeepers.
Two I want to learn are both dialogues; the wordplay between CúChullainn and Emer and the other poem-conversation between CúChullainn and Ferdiad. Maybe soon.
You’ve chosen some powerful pieces! BRAVO!
I was on the Forensic Speaking team in High School. My area was Extemporaneous Speaking, but we still had to practice poetry recitation. The one I actually remember is An Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog by Oliver Goldsmith. There were others but that is the one I know to this day. How odd 😅
It must have touched a chord in you - something important to you. Very cool to learn of your experience as a speaker and reciter of poetry!
Im going in search of a poem anois....grma Kate, slán agat
Go hiontach ar fad!!! Excited about this quest of yours!
@@katechadbournebard
Trí tréithe na Féinne le Osborne Ó hAimhirgín
Ceist ag Padraig, grá na nGael
Lá ar laoch an liathfhoilt,
Caoilte mac Rónáin na scéal,
Tráth I Éirinn iathghlais.
"Inis dúinn, a scéalaí bhinn,
Créad thug daoibhse an tiarnas,
Nó créad do choinnibh sibh gan mheath
An oiread mhair na Fianna?"
"Trí treithe do dhaingnigh sinn"
D'fhreagair Caoilte ciallmhar
"Glaine ár gcroi 'gus neart ár ngéag,
Is beart de réir aŕ mbriathar"
#####
This was a poem we read in school in 1983
I only recall the last line...
Thank you Kate for the inspiration to learn some poetry,
Grma
Lúsaí
Early on, I memorized WB Yeat’s THE STOLEN CHILD.
The refrain still easily comes to mind when I need it.
“Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world’s more full of weeping than you can understand.” (W.B. Yeats )
The news of the day is often so horrific, so out of our control, and more full of weeping than “I” can understand.
For me, the refrain reminds me to take respite. It reminds me to be in nature, practice Mindfulness Meditation, share the deep mystery of life with like minded folks, comfort myself by placing my hand on my heart, or pray before I return to the world to help, feeling restored in balanced mind.
Observing the world from a place of equanimity and to take right action from that place, would be my hope on my journey.
The refrain pointed me in that direction forty plus years ago, even though that might not have been Yeats’ intended message.
Your rich relationship with this poem is deeply inspiring to me. I share your admiration for it and often revisit one part of it myself:
"He'll hear no more the lowing
Of the calves on the warm hillside
Or the kettle on the hob
Sing peace into his breast,
Or see the brown mice bob
Round and round the oatmeal chest."
I come back to that part of the poem when I want to remind myself that messy and chaotic as this world can be, it's also creaturely and comforting at times, and because of that, very precious.
I pair that with this from Robert Frost:
"Earth’s the right place for love:
I don’t know where it's likely to go better."
And then I settle back in and remember that being alive is a great privilege, and I calm myself and get back to living.
May I just tell you how much I appreciate you and your sharing of poetry? It's a joy to meet a poetry-lover and even more to share lines. Thank you, my friend.
Yes I agree, “He’ll hear no more the lowing of the calves on the warm hillside…” images bring me into a present -moment stillness, embodied in life’s comforts. I feel the warmth of the hillside. I even feel love for the brown mouse bobbing around the oatmeal chest.
I guess it sounds though, like The Stolen Child never made his way back.
There is that risk.
Yet, early in my life, I interpreted him being led to a more enlightened state, even beyond creature comforts. But then, I didn’t /don’t really know much about Faery Folklore.
Yes, I liked your liked line from The Birches, “Earth’s the right place for love:
I don’t know where it's likely to go better.”
Yes, also a good line to remember. I can see how that poem came to mind.
Thank you for your insights. You gave me something worthy to ponder this weekend.
I'm currently memorizing my own poem Affirmations because it makes me feel really good to say it. Or rather sing it. I turned it into a song and now lines from it pop up automatically in my mind. 😊 You are so right about the thoughts we put in our minds!
Question: Was there also a tradition to sing poems or am I misremembering? I find that if I read a poem aloud a few times I sometimes fall into a melody 😊
I love that you're memorizing your poem: bravo! Yes, there is definitely a tradition of "setting" poems to music; I've realized a whole record of settings called "Songs of the Poets." It's a delicious process to pair beloved words with a melody. And Maron, I know YOU know so well about choosing good thoughts!