Richard Cory
Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him;
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
“Good-morning,” and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich – yes, richer than a king,
And admirably schooled in every grace;
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.
So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.
-Edwin Arlington Robinson
La Cigale et la Fourmi
La cigale ayant chanté
Tout l’été,
Se trouva fort dépourvue
Quand la bise fut venue :
Pas un seul petit morceau
De mouche ou de vermisseau.
Elle alla crier famine
Chez la fourmi sa voisine,
La priant de lui prêter
Quelque grain pour subsister
Jusqu’à la saison nouvelle.
« Je vous paierai, lui dit-elle,
Avant l’août, foi d’animal,
Intérêt et principal. »
La fourmi n’est pas prêteuse :
C’est là son moindre défaut.
« Que faisiez-vous au temps chaud ?
Dit-elle à cette emprunteuse.
— Nuit et jour à tout venant
Je chantais, ne vous déplaise.
— Vous chantiez ? J’en suis fort aise :
Eh bien ! Dansez maintenant. »
-Jean de La Fontaine
Eldorado
– Edgar Allan Poe
Do not go gentle into that good night
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
-Dylan Thomas
Bill Hastings
Listen to me, college boy, you can
keep your museums and poetry and string quartets
’cause there’s nothing more beautiful than
line work. Clamp your jaws together
and listen:
It’s a windy night, you’re freezing the teeth out
of your zipper in ten below, working stiff
jointed and dreaming of Acapulco, the truck cab.
Can’t keep your footing for the ice, and
even the geese who died to fill your vest
are sorry you answered the call-out tonight.
You drop a connector and curses
take to the air like sparrows who freeze
and fall back dead at your feet.
Finally you slam the SMD fuse home.
Bang! The whole valley lights up below you
where before was unbreathing darkness.
In one of those houses a little girl
stops shivering. Now that’s beautiful,
and it’s all because of you.
-Todd Jailer
Thanks Tootie for sharing this poem with me!
The ash of lives that burned well
I can’t say I’ve ever been a big poetry fan. Often, I find poetry somewhat inscrutable. However, there are poems that I do like, and perhaps I will have a greater appreciation for poetry now that I’m in my middle years.
I’ll try to feature poems that I like from time to time.
A trip around the Bend
I finished up my third McMenamins passport a couple weekends ago in Bend. It was really a very nice weekend. I drove over on Saturday and checked into my room at the Old St. Francis. The room itself was great! And the two new buildings on the property, including several secret rooms, made this terrific property even better. This might have been my favorite overnight at a McMenamins so far.
Mid-afternoon, I went to visit my friend, Angela, and her son, Henry. I’ve known Angela since we were in elementary school. We sat and chatted, took a walk along a scenic river path in town, then had dinner at Jackson’s Corner, a local favorite.
I returned to the hotel and did a bit more wandering around until some other friends were freed up to meet me for drinks. Nori, Nori’s boyfriend, John, Brian, and Amy came out and the five of us enjoyed an evening of conversation, drink, and really just being together. Taking advantage of the fact that I was staying the night at the same location where we were imbibing, I indulged with a White Russian, a beer flight, a pint of cider, and two Old Fashioneds. The Old Fashioneds were made with an apple whiskey which I found to be particularly good.
Sunday morning, I got up to walk across the street for Mass, but I’d gotten my information mixed up and there was not Mass at this location at this time. I returned to the hotel, had breakfast and checked out. I stopped in Sisters on the way home and attended Mass at St Edwards there.
When I got back into my car following Mass, I turned on the Vikings game. Ugh. The trainwreck that would be their first loss of the season was underway. Perhaps mercifully, the trip through the mountains would prevent me from listening to the game.
Finally, that afternoon, I caught a ride with Brit to our gaming session in McMinnville. It was a good session wherein Filibert got to kick much ass and even revivify a fallen comrade.
You know, life after derby might not be so empty after all.
Passport pursuits
My coworker has just one location left to visit for her McMenamin’s passport. In order to attend a Tripster party together, we need to both complete passports around the same time.
Unlike her, I have several locations I still need to collect. Among them, Bend, Roseburg, Eugene, Corvallis, Gearhart, Forest Grove, McMinnville, and Bothel, WA.
I’ll be in the neighborhood of Bothel this weekend, so I plan to stop by the Anderson School.
After that, I might be able to make some big loops to gather the bulk of what is still outstanding for me.
Trip 1 – Bend/Roseburg/Eugene/Corvallis (8+ hours)
Trip 2 – McMinnville/Forest Grove/Gearhart (5+ hours)
This would still leave a number of locations in/around Portland, but it’s theoretically doable over the next few weeks. If it comes to that.
Out of the Abyss – Prisoners of the Drow
As previously mentioned, I’m DMing an online Out of the Abyss game. Last night was our second session, the first where we actually played.
**Be aware. Spoilers for those who may one day play this campaign.**
Players/Characters include:
- Caitlin – Elven mage
- Dante – Elven rogue
- Jason – Human warlock
The above PCs, along with 10 NPCs, begin the adventure as prisoners of the drow. They are all locked in a cell in an underground outpost. They have no weapons, armor, spellbooks, or other equipment.
Between work shifts that include preparing food, cleaning waste buckets, and other menial tasks, the characters take the opportunity to interact with some of the other prisoners. Keeping their eyes open, they do manage to find and acquire some items that may prove useful as improvised weapons. After a few more days of captivity, one of their drow captors surreptitiously approaches the characters and offers to help them escape. The characters agree to his offer, though they are suspicious of his motives. Talking amongst themselves about how to escape, the characters realize that their manacles are just loose enough for the characters to twist and strain to slip out of their restraints.
To be continued…
