Saturday, June 17, 2006

Poem for Saturday


On the Beach At Night Alone
By Walt Whitman


On the beach at night alone,
As the old mother sways her to and fro singing her husky song,
As I watch the bright stars shining, I think a thought of the clef of the universes and of the future.

A vast similitude interlocks all,
All spheres, grown, ungrown, small, large, suns, moons, planets,
All distances of place however wide,
All distances of time, all inanimate forms,
All souls, all living bodies though they be ever so different, or in different worlds,
All gaseous, watery, vegetable, mineral processes, the fishes, the brutes,
All nations, colors, barbarisms, civilizations, languages,
All identities that have existed or may exist on this globe, or any globe,
All lives and deaths, all of the past, present, future,
This vast similitude spans them, and always has spann'd,
And shall forever span them and compactly hold and enclose them.

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I don't think I've posted this since my birthday in 2002, and since it is one of my favorite poems, it is overdue for another outing.


When does school start again? Oops. Today I had my first full day at home with my kids -- in theory we were supposed to go bathing suit shopping for younger son and things like that, but younger son's best friend's mother asked whether I could possibly watch her child for a few hours while she went to take an assessment for her return to college, so of course I agreed, and ended up with three VERY loud boys destroying the basement for most of the afternoon. This after a morning during which we all watched "Bread and Circuses", which, when it comes down to it, is not as good an episode as I remember it as being: there is an awful lot of macho shithead stuff, Kirk is really not very impressive, and the myth of benevolent Roman-era Christian proselytizing irritated me more than it has previously, but McCoy's snark with Spock so easily makes up for it...that scene in the prison is still one of my favorites ever, and McCoy announcing that just once he wants to beam down and pretend to be an archangel. Lovely.

: Dude
Name your favorite...
1. Candy:
Wilson's chocolate covered Kendal Mint Cake. If I can't get that, Nestle Aero Mint. And if I have no hope of getting British candy, Lindt milk chocolate.
2. Cookie: My husband's chocolate chip cookies. Would not turn down Mrs. Fields' chocolate chocolate chip.
3. Donut: Not my favorite thing, would rather waste the calories on Cinnabon. If I am having one it's generally got chocolate icing.
4. Cold drink: SoBe Liz Blizz.
5. Hot beverage: Chai latte.

: Money
1. What’s the most embarrassing thing/job you’ve had to do to earn money?
I worked in a local puppet theater in high school and was paid $150 for the six-weekend run. In one of the shows I had to sit on the shoulders of a really skanky actor, be picked up and tossed by half the company and make woo-woo noises. It was great.
2. What’s the easiest and quickest way you have earned a buck? Did an interview for a fan club, was offered $250 by a magazine for reprint rights.
3. If you could set your own salary, according to your skills and worth, how much would you earn? I have no idea! I've generally worked for very little money in exchange for flexibility and have nearly always felt outrageously underpaid for my work. It would be nice to make $50,000 in a year.
4. Are you a good saver? No.
5. What’s the most expensive and useless thing you have ever bought? A digital rectal thermometer, used once, resulting in tears for mother and child.


So I noticed on Yahoo that Google has a new Shakespeare site, perhaps not as comprehensive as the Internet Public Library's or Online Literature's but still quite useful; it's here.


A blue-faced honeyeater, which I believe is Australian.


A black-naped oriole -- the Asian variety of the bird, as opposed to the local variety, the Baltimore Oriole. Photo taken through glass; sorry about the blur.


Here is another view of what assures me is, in fact, the lilac-breasted roller! Such beautiful colors!


A female wood duck and her ducklings. The male has a lovely green head.


And a colorfully dressed Mennonite family watching waterfowl like those ducklings outside the bird house.


Have not been able to get brain in gear all day, so shall put it to bed. Have a lovely weekend!

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