By William Blake
My Spectre around me night and day
Like a wild beast guards my way;
My Emanation far within
Weeps incessantly for my sin.
'A fathomless and boundless deep,
There we wander, there we weep;
On the hungry craving wind
My Spectre follows thee behind.
'He scents thy footsteps in the snow
Wheresoever thou dost go,
Thro' the wintry hail and rain.
When wilt thou return again?
'Dost thou not in pride and scorn
Fill with tempests all my morn,
And with jealousies and fears
Fill my pleasant nights with tears?
'Seven of my sweet loves thy knife
Has bereavèd of their life.
Their marble tombs I built with tears,
And with cold and shuddering fears.
'Seven more loves weep night and day
Round the tombs where my loves lay,
And seven more loves attend each night
Around my couch with torches bright.
'And seven more loves in my bed
Crown with wine my mournful head,
Pitying and forgiving all
Thy transgressions great and small.
'When wilt thou return and view
My loves, and them to life renew?
When wilt thou return and live?
When wilt thou pity as I forgive?'
'O'er my sins thou sit and moan:
Hast thou no sins of thy own?
O'er my sins thou sit and weep,
And lull thy own sins fast asleep.
'What transgressions I commit
Are for thy transgressions fit.
They thy harlots, thou their slave;
And my bed becomes their grave.
'Never, never, I return:
Still for victory I burn.
Living, thee alone I'll have;
And when dead I'll be thy grave.
'Thro' the Heaven and Earth and Hell
Thou shalt never, quell:
I will fly and thou pursue:
Night and morn the flight renew.'
'Poor, pale, pitiable form
That I follow in a storm;
Iron tears and groans of lead
Bind around my aching head.
'Till I turn from Female love
And root up the Infernal Grove,
I shall never worthy be
To step into Eternity.
'And, to end thy cruel mocks,
Annihilate thee on the rocks,
And another form create
To be subservient to my fate.
'Let us agree to give up love,
And root up the Infernal Grove;
Then shall we return and see
The worlds of happy Eternity.
'And throughout all Eternity
I forgive you, you forgive me.
As our dear Redeemer said:
"This the Wine, and this the Bread."'
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I don't have a lot of excitement to report from my Friday. I dragged Daniel out with me on a couple of shopping errands and took him for frappuccinos to make it up to him, then I finished a review of the incredibly awful animated Star Trek episode "The Magicks of Megas-tu", which may actually be the single worst episode of the entire franchise ever produced -- about the best thing I can say about it is that it makes me laugh too hard to be offended the way I am with, say, Voyager's "Retrospect" which implies that women's repressed memories of sexual abuse should not be trusted...all right, that is still the worst episode ever, but "The Magicks of Megas-tu" still sucks.
I took a walk in the late afternoon since the weather was rather lovely, and we had dinner with my parents, where my kids gave my mother lessons on the use of Droid phones (she has an older Motorola phone but apparently Adam had no trouble navigating it). In the evening we watched The Heart of Me, which I'd been meaning to rewatch ever since I heard David Seidler's first choice to play George VI in The King's Speech had been Paul Bettany; he and Helena Bonham Carter have nice chemistry in The Heart of Me, but I still don't love the storyline (typical Victorian passion-leads-to-misery in an era when world conflict was making the marital woes of aristocrats a somewhat secondary concern), and I still want to throttle certain characters.
A nobleman walks a baby goat at the Virginia Renfaire last weekend.
Neidfyre plays the fiddle on one of the stages.
The greyhounds prepare for a short race to raise awareness about the need for support for retired racing dogs.
Kids (and adults, if they wish) learn archery skills.
Sheep stay out of the sun in a pen near one of the craft vendors.
Faire visitors could try their hand at carding and spinning.
Fortunetellers set up tents near the maypole and labyrinth.
And knights on horseback have finally come to the Faire!
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