Poem for Sunday

Letter to the Front, Part VII
By Muriel Rukeyser

To be a Jew in the twentieth century
Is to be offered a gift. If you refuse,
Wishing to be invisible, you choose
Death of the spirit, the stone insanity.
Accepting, take full life. Full agonies:
Your evening deep in labyrinthine blood
Of those who resist, fail, and resist; and God
Reduced to a hostage among hostages.

The gift is torment. Not alone the still
Torture, isolation; or torture of the flesh.
That may come also. But the accepting wish,
The whole and fertile spirit as guarantee
For every human freedom, suffering to be free,
Daring to live for the impossible.

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From Poet's Choice by Edward Hirsch in this morning's Washington Post Book World on Rukeyser, whom he describes as "one of the most engaged and engaging modern American poets." Hirsch believes that there have been few American poets "with such a deep moral compass, such a keen historical sensibility and such a committed social consciousness," making note of her self-identification as a woman, an American and a Jew and saying her way of blending the personal and the political "looks backward to Walt Whitman and forward to Grace Paley, Jane Cooper and Adrienne Rich." I reviewed her wonderful book on Puck Fair in Killorglin, County Kerry in Ireland and this reminds me of everything I loved about it.

As anticipated, we did a Borders run to get one son a Redwall book, the other son some manga, and me (with a 25% off coupon that expired today and credit from an exchanged book burning a hole in my pocket) the two-disc edition of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, which has three long inserted scenes that are all Alan Rickman chewing scenery like no one has ever chewed before -- though this film is shockingly anti-pagan, extended edition even worse than the original, I expect many people to be offended as hell by it. After Borders we went to pick pumpkins at Phillips Farm, where we also got cider, went to a hay maze and walked through the petting zoo. Animal photos tomorrow (including the goats named Clark and Kent). Pumpkin pictures today.

But first I must report that has killed me. I had asked her where she found vid clips of Jason Isaacs' West Wing episodes, and she led me to The JIF Page, which has this clip from the shoot of Divorcing Jack in which Jason plays the harmonica while David Thewlis watches and giggles. Now don't expect me to write any Lucius/Remus conflict in the next few days because all Lucius and Remus want to do in my head is giggle and shag. (Also, , note this amusing blooper in which Jason gets The Snakehead stuck in Daniel Radcliffe's costume.) And I haven't even looked at the "Gaza" clips yet!

Love and adoration to and for St. Paul and vitamin C and sage respectively. Yay Red Sox! And one more *squee* to for reasons of which she is all too aware.


Phillips Farm has a hayride out to the pumpkin patch, which is actually mostly overgrown with vines at this point and appears to have had pumpkins artfully placed there in the morning so animals don't get at them at night.


Thus there is a lot of beautiful fall color on the ground, and little mud.


I love how phallic the stems are. *g*


For those who don't want to trek out to the pumpkin patch, there are large piles of pumpkins at the farm store, as well as cider, barbecue and caramel apples.


There are also a variety of other squash, plus potatoes, green peppers, gourds and the rest of the fall fare.


The corn has been harvested, but the stalks remain.