This poem, especially the first four lines, are never far from my mind in the weeks before Christmas. Whether I'm queueing in shops, or waiting for internet transactions to complete, it's a real boon, providing much comfort and soothing my...
...I was going to say wrinkled brow, but face contorted with bafflement and panic is more like it.
William Wordsworth thought that big cities are at their finest before everyone's woken up, and this poem is for everyone who is currently running around trying to find things to buy for people who really don't want anything.
The world is too much with us.
The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon,
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers,
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not. Great God! I'd rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.
Mind you, the last thing I need is old Triton blowing his wreathèd horn: he'd probably be playing flipping Jingle Bells.
Word To Use Today: boon. The word meaning something beneficial comes from the Old Norse bōn, request, and is related to the Old English bēn, which means prayer. Boon, as in boon companion comes from the French word bon, which means good.
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon,
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers,
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not. Great God! I'd rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.
Mind you, the last thing I need is old Triton blowing his wreathèd horn: he'd probably be playing flipping Jingle Bells.
Word To Use Today: boon. The word meaning something beneficial comes from the Old Norse bōn, request, and is related to the Old English bēn, which means prayer. Boon, as in boon companion comes from the French word bon, which means good.
I often quote this to myself too and yes, this time of year is a good one! I love the thought of Jingle Bells blown on a horn!!
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