-John Keats, December 30, 1816.The poetry of earth is never dead:
When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run
From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead;
That is the Grasshopper's—he takes the lead
In summer luxury,—he has never done
With his delights; for when tired out with fun
He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.
The poetry of earth is ceasing never:
On a lone winter evening, when the frost
Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills
The Cricket's song, in warmth increasing ever,
And seems to one in drowsiness half lost,
The Grasshopper's among some grassy hills.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
*crickets*
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10 comments:
beautiful poem, FJ.
Is it already "wintery" where you are? We are still enjoying our two weeks of Fall. ;-) Yesterday was perfect. I made a fire in the pit, and we roasted hotdogs.
Yes, the weather has turned and it has become quite chilly. It's not below freezing... but its' getting close. I'm wearing oversized wool flannel shirts to keep the chill off. And I suspect I'll be transitioning to sweaters in another week or two.
I love this time of season, but always dread the arrival of winter.
Roasted hot dogs sounds yummy! :)
I've already transitioned to sweaters, and it's in the 50's here. :-) I don't know if I'd survive a winter further north.
I'm not too crazy about the hotdogs, but sitting outside on a chilly night next to a fire is one of my favorite hobbies. The fire has such a soothing effect.
Do you have a wood stove? We have one, but haven't run it for a few years. They're great for really cold sub-zero nights when the heat pump switches over to pure electric resistance coils. Nothing beats a 100 degree room inside and subzero degree temperatures outside. And it's always nice when you can throw a log onto the ashes in the morning, and have a roaring fire half an hour later. ;)
Nope, we have a crummy double-fireplace in the house. It doesn't draw worth a flip, and smokes up the whole house. Our fire pit is just a hole in the back yard, lined with extra landscape briks. It's pretty redneck. ;-)
Your stove sounds amazing. Our winters are so mild here, that I often wonder why builders even bother with fireplaces at all. However, growing up on the High Plains, we saw much colder temps. I think the coldest in my lifetime was -9* F. My mom still keeps a fire going in the winter. I love it. :-)
Our's is a fireplace insert with glass doors. It has a three speed fan that accelerates with rising temperature. It can crank out some real heat if you feed the fire enough oxygen.
When I graduated from college, I had an operator's license for steam and motor vessels of unlimited horsepower. Throwing logs onto the fire was about the only satisfaction I ever got out of my college education. Having followed in my older brother's footsteps, running this was the only use he ever made of his. ;)
...actually, I shouldn't say that. He used to install nuclear reactors in attack subs at Electric Boat.
...running the steamboat over at Mystic Seaport was only his "weekend" job.
Do you ever wish you'd chosen a career that was more fun or exciting?
The thing is, when we choose our career (or our degree), it DOES seem exciting at the time. It's us that change over time.
I suspect that you're right, it's us who change. The lure of the Sea was very exciting to a teenager, but by the time I graduated, there were ever diminishing opportunities to fulfill a maritime career, even in a "supporting role" (ie -shipyard). Eventually I had to change careers just to make a living.
My college roomate still manages. His Dad was a Marine Surveyor in Port Arthur, Tx, who owned his own business. Eventually, my roomate was able to help expand his Dad's business and take over a local shipyard, as well as another in Guam, but he's forever either feasting or experiencing famine. In fact, he came to DC last year to lobby another of my classmates (a Navy Admiral who runs the Military Sealift Command) for work for his Guam operation. It just goes to show how much "government" controls the mere possibility of commercial success in an industry.
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