"It works that loneliness, sometimes, back into love." This made me emotional. Thank you for your beautiful newsletter. The last few have been especially poignant— perhaps tapping into our collective conscious around themes of grief, and longing, and hope, and desire for connection.
"... I would have liked to try those wings myself.
It would have been better than this."
This loneliness. This anger. This waiting.
Thank you for speaking of the anger as well as the loneliness of the one who waits while other shake their heads. I don't recall reading this poem before. It deepens the myth and adds the element of anger and grief with no relief within the poem.
Then I thought of James Joyce's Stephan Dedalus, another son of a Dedalus.
When the soul of a man is born in this country there are nets flung at it to hold it back from flight. You talk to me of nationality, language, religion. I shall try to fly by those nets.
—A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Chapter 5, Stephen Dedalus speaking.
I agree with Jimmy! That was wonderful to read! I just listened to an episode on the Auden poem a few weeks ago on Poetry for All (https://poetryforall.fireside.fm/79) so this has been on my mind. I’ve always been entranced by that Breugal painting and seen it like a Taoist painting a bit, where the pilgrim on the path is small in the painting and surrounded by the mountainous landscape. Both seem to say that so much everyday stuff happens in the midst of the monumental moments. Often with no regard to those monumental moments. I really love this.
This post of yours is spot on in how we make and remake myth and the beautiful poems you selected this week put that on full display. The way we find meaning in myth has fascinated me for so long, and to see the marvelous work the poets (including yourself) make of this story is amazing. Thanks for todays post, and all the posts.
So many ways we can turn this poem inside out - at the moment I am favoring that the dreams of young people, relishing the strength in their bodies and the truth in their hearts, will turn the world around. Only to be melted by the corrosion of the world.
"I turn to poetry because the world has never once made perfect sense to me. I don’t imagine that it ever will. "
"It works that loneliness, sometimes, back into love." This made me emotional. Thank you for your beautiful newsletter. The last few have been especially poignant— perhaps tapping into our collective conscious around themes of grief, and longing, and hope, and desire for connection.
appreciate you, Hannah! thank you so much
"... I would have liked to try those wings myself.
It would have been better than this."
This loneliness. This anger. This waiting.
Thank you for speaking of the anger as well as the loneliness of the one who waits while other shake their heads. I don't recall reading this poem before. It deepens the myth and adds the element of anger and grief with no relief within the poem.
Then I thought of James Joyce's Stephan Dedalus, another son of a Dedalus.
When the soul of a man is born in this country there are nets flung at it to hold it back from flight. You talk to me of nationality, language, religion. I shall try to fly by those nets.
—A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Chapter 5, Stephen Dedalus speaking.
thanks for this, Amanda! appreciate you
this is one of your best
thank you friend
I agree with Jimmy! That was wonderful to read! I just listened to an episode on the Auden poem a few weeks ago on Poetry for All (https://poetryforall.fireside.fm/79) so this has been on my mind. I’ve always been entranced by that Breugal painting and seen it like a Taoist painting a bit, where the pilgrim on the path is small in the painting and surrounded by the mountainous landscape. Both seem to say that so much everyday stuff happens in the midst of the monumental moments. Often with no regard to those monumental moments. I really love this.
This post of yours is spot on in how we make and remake myth and the beautiful poems you selected this week put that on full display. The way we find meaning in myth has fascinated me for so long, and to see the marvelous work the poets (including yourself) make of this story is amazing. Thanks for todays post, and all the posts.
Thank you John! I love that painting and Auden's poem about it...both will always stay with me.
So much fullness and richness and relatability here. As always! Thank you.
thanks, Leanne!
Enjoyed this. Thank you
thanks, Nelly!
So many ways we can turn this poem inside out - at the moment I am favoring that the dreams of young people, relishing the strength in their bodies and the truth in their hearts, will turn the world around. Only to be melted by the corrosion of the world.
"I turn to poetry because the world has never once made perfect sense to me. I don’t imagine that it ever will. "