Poem for Tuesday, Afternoon in DC, Crooked House

Songs of Innocence: Laughing Song
By William Blake

When the trees do laugh with our merry wit,
And the green hill laughs with the noise of it;
When the meadows laugh with lively green,
And the grasshopper laughs in the merry scene;
 
When the greenwood laughs with the voice of joy,
And the dimpling stream runs laughing by,
When Edessa and Lyca and Emilie
With their sweet round mouths sing 'Ha, Ha, He!'

When the painted birds laugh in the shade,
Where our table with cherries and nuts is spread,
Come live, and be merry, and join with me,
To sing the sweet chorus of 'Ha, Ha, He!'

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On Monday Paul and I went downtown with Alice and Jeremy and their son, starting at the US Botanical Garden which is glorious with flowers in this winter season, then stopping at the Air and Space Museum before crossing the mall for lunch at the National Gallery of Art -- where, truth be told we spent more time trading Pokemon and looking in the gift shop than admiring art -- but it was great to spend an afternoon with all of them, which none of our schedules has permitted in a while!











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We stopped at Giant for toilet paper, laundry detergent, and fresh crusty bread on the way home, so we could have hollandaise chick'n with crusty bread and butter for dinner while doing laundry. We have too much Valentine's Day candy still in the house! After dinner we watched Crooked House, which I knew nothing about besides Agatha Christie and Gillian Anderson, so there were a lot of fun casting surprises, but the ending was much darker than I was expecting. At least there are flowers outside!