Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon,
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers,
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not. --Great God! I'd rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.
William Wordsworth
This poem came to me today as I was thinking of how busy I have been this week and seeing everyone rush about on a busy Friday. Our walks at Stone Mountain and Arabia Mountain are good for us physically but they are also good for our spiritual health. Perhaps by noticing all that Nature provides, it does keep us in tune, much as the English poet, William Wordsworth, expressed it.Of course, "Too Much" is also one of the big hits from 1957 (a very good year) from Elvis Presley! The song uses "too much" in a very different way. I love this song, the way Elvis sings it and the great guitar by Scotty Moore! Now, do you see that this post has a poem from a famous English poet and then a song from a famous American from the Deep South? Well, I am Georgia Girl With An English Heart!
I am sorry that I have not had much time to post this week or to visit all the blogs that I like to visit and to leave comments. Oh, and I just read that in the Superman Comic Books, Clark Kent is giving up his reporter job and starting a blog. Superman's blog...what would he call it? Please tell me, you guys are always so funny and clever, you are just TOO MUCH! (And I mean that in a good way.) Must go to bed now, I am cream crackered or plumb tuckered out...they mean the same thing.
Ah Wordsworth.. indeed, the world is too much with us.. that is a beautiful picture (of the lake, not Elvis). Clark Kent's blog? I don't know -- "Behind the Glasses" or "Kiss Curls and Capes"? Sorry, I just woke up haha
ReplyDeleteWell, hey, I think it is a pretty nice photo of Elvis too! Hope you were able to click on it and listen to the song!
DeleteWould Superman follow your blog? I bet he would!
I wonder what William Wordsworth would make of Elvis Presley?
ReplyDeleteSuperman's blog? I vote for "Welcome to my Fortress of Solitude. Solitude and LOLcats"
William Wordsworth and Elvis Presley. I like them both, so I think they would equally like each other.
DeleteSuperman has cats? :-)
Can't play the Youtube video because I'm in Germany and there are legal restrictions as to ownership of the song... *sigh* It was so much easier finding and playing songs on Youtube until about two years ago when they started to restrict almost each and every one! That is really TOO MUCH in the negative sense... too much regulation!
ReplyDeleteI have the same problem in New Zealand, Meike, and it really sucks sometimes when I want to catch up with a BBC programme for example.
DeleteHey Meike,
DeleteTry to look it up and see if you can hear it. It's a good song.
Too much regulation, indeed!
p.s. Yes yes! I remember you writing about that room -- lucky you! And yes, I know what you mean; I guess the main thing is, as parents we do our responsible best, and be as loving, nurturing and accessible as possible, not just shrug it all off saying, "Well it's all in the genes!"
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment here and once again, I do appreciate your well written post. You know, all those so called "experts" must be taken with a grain of salt, that is what I believe anyway!
DeleteIn 1967 I bought a book published in 1869 about 20 years after Wordsworth died if I recall it correctly (I chickened out at that point and Googled it - 1850 - not a bad recollection) and it contains 650 pages of close typed poems (plus lots of appendices etc). I used to enjoy Wordsworth style of poetry although I've not read any for many years. You have made me take the book from my bookshelves and I've just spent time browsing through it. Thank you. It never ceases to amaze me where blogs lead one.
ReplyDeleteAh, I have sent you to a book of poetry. That does make me happy.
DeleteYour book was published in 1869, lucky you!
There is a poem that he wrote after viewing the Westminster Bridge I believe, that his sister wrote something at the exact same time. I would love to find that, I think her name is Dorothy Wordsworth. I can't quote it exactly, it is just that she wrote of what she saw in a much more ordinary way but still beautifully written. Any chance that you know what I am talking about?
Yes, Kay, Dorothy Wordsworth (she never married) was his sister and wrote a Journal which was published and has been republished several times since I think. So far as I can recall (I've never read it) it dealt with her life in the Lake District which I seem to recall was after the Westminster Bridge poem of 1802. I may be wrong but I'm sure Google will help.
DeleteI know that if you go to http://howlandpowpak.neomin.org/powpak/cgi-bin/article_display_page.pl?id=thomas.williams/british&ar=15 you will find a quote from her writings on the subject and you may be able to trace more from there.
I hope this is of some help.
I have been trying to find it, but so far, no luck, but that does not mean I will stop trying! Thanks for your reply. If you think you see it somewhere, let me know! What does this matter in the world, not much really, but it would please me greatly! :-)
DeleteThat is a beautiful image of the lake, Kay. Nature is good food for the soul. I think we all need to be in touch with the great outdoors now and then, especially when we're feeling a little overwhelmed with life and its daily rush. I read about Superman joining the blogging world. Hey, why not? Everyone else is doing it, right? As for a name, my brain is a little fuzzy this morning. The only thing I can come up with is "Daily Krypto-Write" I know...lame...LOL... Maybe after 2 or 3 cups of coffee, my imagination will get going.
ReplyDeleteHey Martha!
DeleteAnd I just bet that Superman will love your blog!
Me and you both with the coffee, bring it on!
Kay - I think Superman's blog will have to be "Krypton Man With An American Heart".
ReplyDeleteLove this Wordsworth poem. I often think of life as being simple in Wordsworth's time, but I guess they got just as stressed out as we do today.
Have a great weekend,
Mairead
Hey Mairead!
DeleteWhy didn't I think of that name? It's perfect!!
Superman really knows what it is like to have a dual nature, just like us, eh?
We forget that we are all just people-same the world over, the past, the present and the future- we need to remember it!
Hope you have a great weekend too, my friend!
Wonderful post..powerful poem! And such a gorgeous image!
ReplyDeleteVictoria
Dear Victoria,
DeleteThank you! And my husband took these photos, I just hand the camera over to him and I am free to enjoy all that I see and then, I get to enjoy his photos later. I am lucky!
Thanks so much for your comment! xx
I have been reading Dorothy Wordsworth's Journal, she really was a slave to William! That photo is just beautiful. It's wonderful just being able to enjoy the great outdoors.
ReplyDeleteOh, do you think you have might read what I mentioned to GB above? It seems as if the journal was written in the Lake District, but I really do remember her writing about the Westminster Bridge too, which was earlier...mmmm...I will find it sometime! :-)
DeleteWhen you are so busy you don't know whether to scratch your watch or wind your ear, poetry takes a back seat. So i appreciate every time some gets sneaked into my day!
ReplyDeleteThat's why I love the internet! A bit of poetry gets stuck in my brain, I type it in...and presto, there it is! Scratch your watch or wind your ear...you are so funny!
DeleteWhat a gorgeous photograph!
ReplyDeleteSuperman's blog? I'll have fun thinking something up.
Thank, Terry! Richard, of course!
DeleteAnd Superman's blog, don't you just know he would have one, such a nice guy!!
Wordsworth is my favorite poet. You mention a poem written by Dorothy about Westminster Bridge. I wonder if this is the one you are thinking about, only it was actually written by Wordsworth himself. It's called "Upon Westminster Bridge"
ReplyDeleteEarth has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This city now doth like a garment wear
The beauty of the morning: silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky,
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour valley, rock or hill;
Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! The very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still.
Hope this is it, because I've taken up so much comment space. Let me know if this is it.
Yes, Chris! That is the poem by William Wordsworth, and I did know it although I can never remember the title of anything and can never look it up as I am typing, since I am always afraid my slow computer won't get me back. After seeing the same view, Dorothy wrote just her impression of what they had seen, it isn't a poem, just her writing about it.
DeleteAnd by the way, I am grateful that you have this poem here for me and for others to read. I appreciate you!
Hi Kay, it's Ok to fall behind with blogging and/or blog reading cause we all have other things (or should have) in our lives. I was out of state this past week visiting my mom in NJ so know how easy falling behind can be. Your trip to Stone Mountain was lovely. We have visited in late Nov when most of the colors were gone, so nice to see them here. And, nature does give us time to reflect.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your comment! We hope to be able to get to Stone Mountain again soon, the leaves last year were at their peak on Nov. 11th, but we think that was a bit later than usual!
DeleteI hope that hurricane dwindles down before it gets to you or to your loved ones!
I do love that Westminster Bridge poem. It perfectly sums up what I have felt when flying low over the Thames on the way to Heathrow in the dawn hours - passing over the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben - "This city doth now like a garment wear the beauty of the morning .... and all that mighty heart is lying still." Oh, I've been missing England lately and now even more so! :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with you about the healing influence of nature and its ability to soothe our frayed nerves. Also the handiness of the internet for tracking down quotations!
A Superman blog. Hmmmm. (Mr. M suggests "Superblog".) I'm thinking maybe Off Planet?
Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, I cannot tell you how much I love those buildings! Monet did too, but then, I look at the world in much the same way as Monet, I just don't have his talent!
DeleteWe had the chance to fly into Heathrow instead of Gatwick on our last visit, you have given me reason for Heathrow next time!
And Mairead suggested "KryptonMan With An American Heart", that's the one I hope he goes for! :-)
Too busy to stand and stare indeed.
ReplyDeleteWe are all guilty of the busyness of life!
Delete