Poem for Thursday

Peace
By Gerard Manley Hopkins

When will you ever, Peace, wild wooddove, shy wings shut,
Your round me roaming end, and under be my boughs?
When, when, Peace, will you, Peace? I’ll not play hypocrite
To own my heart: I yield you do come sometimes; but
That piecemeal peace is poor peace. What pure peace allows
Alarms of wars, the daunting wars, the death of it?

O surely, reaving Peace, my Lord should leave in lieu
Some good! And so he does leave Patience exquisite,
That plumes to Peace thereafter. And when Peace here does house
He comes with work to do, he does not come to coo,
        He comes to brood and sit.


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Gacked from :



The Thursday Thirteen

1 - How many pens do you own? Five really good ones -- two Cross pens that were Bat Mitzvah presents, a Parker that was a present at some point from a friend of my parents', a hand-made wooden fountain pen and a top-of-the-line Papermate that I won in a high school writing contest. Otherwise I have four inexpensive refillable fountain pens and about eight decent ballpoints, and then piles of disposables.

2 - How many notebooks? In the bottom of my nighttable I have perhaps twelve journals kept over the years of quotes, poetry and stuff. I have two looseleaf binders filled with notes on my dreams. And I have uncountable notebooks saved from college classes, grad school, teaching, work, stuff with kids, etc. I'd guess there are about 40.

3 - Do you have any bad habits you want to break? Dozens. Overeating, procrastinating on exercise, procrastinating on work, losing my temper over things I can't control...

4 - Do you keep a personal journal that no one sees? Have you ever? Not at the moment, other than the dreams I write down. I used to keep diaries but have never stuck with it very long. I'm more inclined just to write down things I want to remember and save them in a file.

5 - If there were no obstacles to you living anywhere in the world you wanted, where would it be? Someplace beachfront but not too far from forest and from a major metropolitan area.

6 - What's your favorite color and is there a reason it's your favorite? Green. Always has been. I guess I'm a nature girl.

7 - Is Coca-Cola the real thing? Hell yes. There are no substitutes.

8 - What is your favorite animal and why? In general I love animals. Have two cats to whom I am very attached but I grew up with a dog to whom I was very attached and have had an assortment of gerbils, hamsters and other small rodents. I like snakes and most reptiles, I like birds and have often had parakeets as pets. Have never cared for a big animal like a horse but love them too.

9 - How much sleep a night do you need? Cannot survive with less than seven; I get migraines. Prefer 8+.

10 - Do you know what Blue's Clues is? If yes, are you sad that Steve left? Yes and somewhat, though my kids had outgrown it when Steve left so it didn't make an enormous personal impact.

11 - Is a box of brand new crayons (the big one with 96 colors) and a pad of blank paper an invitation to draw or to write? Absolutely!

12 - Do you eat ice cream in the winter? What is your favorite flavour? Sometimes, though I'm much less likely to stop in Baskin Robbins for the hell of it in the winter. My favorite it mint chip.

13 - Is it cold enough for you? Yes. Don't like it really hot but wouldn't want it much colder.