Poem for Thursday

Two Loves
By Lord Alfred Douglas

I dreamed I stood upon a little hill,
And at my feet there lay a ground, that seemed
Like a waste garden, flowering at its will
With buds and blossoms. There were pools that dreamed
Black and unruffled; there were white lilies
A few, and crocuses, and violets
Purple or pale, snake-like fritillaries
Scarce seen for the rank grass, and through green nets
Blue eyes of shy peryenche winked in the sun.
And there were curious flowers, before unknown,
Flowers that were stained with moonlight, or with shades
Of Nature's willful moods; and here a one
That had drunk in the transitory tone
Of one brief moment in a sunset; blades
Of grass that in an hundred springs had been
Slowly but exquisitely nurtured by the stars,
And watered with the scented dew long cupped
In lilies, that for rays of sun had seen
Only God's glory, for never a sunrise mars
The luminous air of Heaven. Beyond, abrupt,
A grey stone wall. o'ergrown with velvet moss
Uprose; and gazing I stood long, all mazed
To see a place so strange, so sweet, so fair.
And as I stood and marvelled, lo! across
The garden came a youth; one hand he raised
To shield him from the sun, his wind-tossed hair
Was twined with flowers, and in his hand he bore
A purple bunch of bursting grapes, his eyes
Were clear as crystal, naked all was he,
White as the snow on pathless mountains frore,
Red were his lips as red wine-spilith that dyes
A marble floor, his brow chalcedony.
And he came near me, with his lips uncurled
And kind, and caught my hand and kissed my mouth,
And gave me grapes to eat, and said, 'Sweet friend,
Come I will show thee shadows of the world
And images of life. See from the South
Comes the pale pageant that hath never an end.'
And lo! within the garden of my dream
I saw two walking on a shining plain
Of golden light. The one did joyous seem
And fair and blooming, and a sweet refrain
Came from his lips; he sang of pretty maids
And joyous love of comely girl and boy,
His eyes were bright, and 'mid the dancing blades
Of golden grass his feet did trip for joy;
And in his hand he held an ivory lute
With strings of gold that were as maidens' hair,
And sang with voice as tuneful as a flute,
And round his neck three chains of roses were.
But he that was his comrade walked aside;
He was full sad and sweet, and his large eyes
Were strange with wondrous brightness, staring wide
With gazing; and he sighed with many sighs
That moved me, and his cheeks were wan and white
Like pallid lilies, and his lips were red
Like poppies, and his hands he clenched tight,
And yet again unclenched, and his head
Was wreathed with moon-flowers pale as lips of death.
A purple robe he wore, o'erwrought in gold
With the device of a great snake, whose breath
Was fiery flame: which when I did behold
I fell a-weeping, and I cried, 'Sweet youth,
Tell me why, sad and sighing, thou dost rove
These pleasent realms? I pray thee speak me sooth
What is thy name?' He said, 'My name is Love.'
Then straight the first did turn himself to me
And cried, 'He lieth, for his name is Shame,
But I am Love, and I was wont to be
Alone in this fair garden, till he came
Unasked by night; I am true Love, I fill
The hearts of boy and girl with mutual flame.'
Then sighing, said the other, 'Have thy will,
I am the love that dare not speak its name.'

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My kids had a half-day of school due to some county teacher thing or other -- why yes, it does seem like we had a lot of those -- so I did not get a heck of a lot done on Wednesday. I managed to get out to CVS (with both kids and a friend, meaning, we brought Peeps home with us as well as shampoo etc.) and I managed to complete a nearly full draft of something I've been trying to get written. Okay, I know I am the last person on the internet to find out about "I'm F@&#ing Matt Damon" and "I'm F@&#ing Ben Affleck" on Jimmy Kimmel Live, but these video clips gave me so many hours of pleasure today that just in case there is someone else on the internet who has not seen them, I must share. I will forgive Ben for any number of Bennifers as long as he remains so willing not only to play gay but to identify himself as Matt's jilted boyfriend. *g*


Here are a bunch of photos taken around the central circle in downtown Gettysburg where six highways come together. This is the Adams County memorial in the heart of the town.


This is the Stoever-Schick Building (formerly the McConaughy-Stoever House) on Baltimore Street. It was built in 1817 and served as John L. Schick's general store during the Civil War. When the battle began in July 1863, Professor Martin Stoever volunteered his rooms here as a hospital for wounded Union soldiers.


Here's a photo of how the building looked nearly a century and a half ago. Attorney David McConaughy, who led the movement to preserve the Gettysburg battlefield, was born here.


This is the site of the original Adams County Courthouse, across the square from the 1797 Gettysburg Hotel (now a Best Western).


This is the present Adams County Courthouse on Baltimore Street, built in 1859 to house the county administration. On June 26th, 1863, Confederate troops occupied the courthouse. Five days later the courthouse served as a hospital.


The controversial Ten Commandments plaque on the courthouse. There are ongoing legal arguments about whether this violates separation of church and state.


And here's a photo of Little Round Top from last July.

Spent the evening catching up a bit on Torchwood, though I am still two episodes behind the UK. The show seems to have taken a huge step up in terms of storytelling in the second season; maybe it's because Jack has come into sharper focus after returning to Doctor Who or maybe it's the casting, but I've really been enjoying it, like the best of X-Files but with an entirely unique sensibility and characters. 'Adam' and 'Reset' spoilers: I liked the backstory we got on Gwen and Rhys as well as on Jack in "Adam," though overall it wasn't my favorite episode of the season mostly because Jack was so Doctor Who at the end, first being everyone on the team's daddy-savior, then assuming that he alone is strong enough to take what Adam offers and come out unscathed. I really felt like he got what he deserved, as sad as it was (and I'm a bit sick of it always being male family member bonding, too -- doesn't anyone in the future have a sister or mother who matters to them?)

What made the episode for me was seeing Tosh so confident, Rhys so charming and Ianto so amazing -- first fighting Adam, then believing that he was a serial killer and despising himself, and then letting Jack show him the truth. I'm liking him in particular so much better this season, and not just because he can joke with Martha about "dabbling" with Jack and how avant-garde it is. Oh, I was so happy to see her again, out of the Doctor's orbit and not suffering from misplaced adoration for Jack the way Gwen is (and all the rest of them, according to "Adam"). "Reset" doesn't have quite as creative a story, very Alien merged with The Fly and a bit of typical Evil Doctor, but it's well-paced and so nice to see Jack let someone, particularly a woman, get a risk without getting overly paternalistic. I love the scene where Martha and Gwen are comparing notes on how they're not dating Jack.