By Andrew Marvell
Luxurious man, to bring his vice in use,
Did after him the world seduce,
And from the fields the flowers and plants allure,
Where nature was most plain and pure.
He first enclosed within the garden's square
A dead and standing pool of air,
And a more luscious earth for them did knead,
Which stupefied them while it fed.
The pink grew then as double as his mind:
The nutriment did change the kind.
With strange perfumes he did the roses taint,
And flowers themselves were taught to paint.
The tulip, white, did for complexion seek,
And learned to interline its cheek;
Its onion root they then so high did hold,
That one was for a meadow sold.
Another world was searched, through oceans new,
To find the marvel of Peru.
And yet these rarities might be allowed,
To man, that sovereign thing, and proud,
Had he not dealt between the bark and tree,
Forbidden mixtures there to see.
No plant now knew the stock from which it came;
He grafts upon the wild the tame,
That the uncertain and adulterate fruit
Might put the palate in dispute.
His green seraglio has its eunuchs too,
Lest any tyrant him outdo,
And in the cherry he does nature vex,
To procreate without a sex.
'Tis all enforced--the fountain and the grot--
While the sweet fields do lie forgot,
Where willing nature does to all dispense
A wild and fragrant innocence,
And fauns and fairies do the meadows till
More by their presence than their skill.
Their statues, polished by some ancient hand,
May to adorn the gardens stand,
But how so'er the figures do excel,
The gods themselves with us do dwell.
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I spent Tuesday catching up from Saturday, Sunday and Monday -- had a whole bunch of writing to do and a whole bunch of laundry to do, and I only got half of each done. I had promised to take Daniel out for lunch, but by the time we had both gotten enough done to be ready to go, it was nearly 3 p.m. and we decided to eat leftover pizza and go out another day. Adam came home relatively early, since it's his last week of school, and pondered what he can bring to the AP World History class party (he wanted to bring either Hitler or Stalin's favorite food but couldn't get a definitive answer in either case, thank Wiki).
The weather, at least, was gorgeous, and I saw at least three bunnies while out walking (it might have been four but one might have crossed the street). We had molé barbecue for dinner -- I think it's not supposed to have the accent but I'm not risking people thinking I ate a mole -- watched some Arrested Development and Monday's Warehouse 13 (yay Jaime Murray), and celebrated the Orioles' victory vicariously since the game was not on any of our cable channels. Here are some photos from the Washington Folk Festival on Sunday -- I forgot my SD card so I too very few pics, mostly Jennifer Cutting's Ocean Orchestra!
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