Poem for Saturday and Prospect Park Zoo Sea Lions

Pan
By Oscar Wilde

1.

O goat-foot God of Arcady!
This modern world is grey and old,
And what remains to us of thee?

No more the shepherd lads in glee
Throw apples at thy wattled fold,
O goat-foot God of Arcady!

Nor through the laurels can one see
Thy soft brown limbs, thy beard of gold,
And what remains to us of thee?

And dull and dead our Thames would be,
For here the winds are chill and cold,
O goat-foot God of Arcady!

Then keep the tomb of Helice,
Thine olive-woods, thy vine-clad wold,
And what remains to us of thee?

Though many an unsung elegy
Sleeps in the reeds our rivers hold,
O goat-foot God of Arcady!
Ah, what remains to us of thee?

2.

Ah, leave the hills of Arcady,
Thy satyrs and their wanton play,
This modern world hath need of thee.

No nymph of Faun indeed have we,
For Faun and nymph are old and grey,
Ah, leave the hills of Arcady!

This is the land where liberty
Lit grave-browed Milton on his way,
This modern world hath need of thee!

A land of ancient chivalry
Where gentle Sidney saw the day,
Ah, leave the hills of Arcady.

This fierce sea-lion of the sea,
This England lacks some stronger lay,
This modern world hath need of thee!

Then blow some trumpet loud and free,
And give thine oaten pipe away,
Ah, leave the hills of Arcady!
This modern world hath need of thee!

--------

For the first time in my memory, nearly everything in the DC area was closed for high winds unaccompanied by rain, snow, or hurricane-related complications. Given that we saw downed trees and power lines all over the 5-mile radius that was as far as we ventured, this was probably a good idea. Paul worked from home, so we both did computer-related chores while watching the Big 10 basketball tournaments (yay Maryland women, woe Wisconsin, and now I have to listen to lots of Michigan people over the weekend).

We had dinner with my parents, though getting home proved complicated because there were police keeping people from driving past downed electrical wires so we had to take a long way around. We watched the return of Blindspot, which was quite good, and Agents of SHIELD, which was less so until the end of the episode, though that was too gory for my tastes. Here from last fall are the sea lions at Prospect Park Zoo in Brooklyn, getting some exercise with trainers and socializing when not lounging in their pool: