Good things
Thursday, July 6th, 2006 07:00 pm"...And so I dare to hope,
Though changed, no doubt, from what I was when first
I came among these hills; when like a roe
I bounded o'er the mountains, by the sides
Of the deep rivers, and the lonely streams,
wherever nature led: more like a man
Flying from something that he dreads, than one
Who sought the thing he loved. For nature then
(the coarser pleasures of my boyish days,
And their glad animal movements all gone by)
To me was all in all.--I cannot paint
What then I was. The sounding cataract
Haunted me like a passion: the tall rock,
The mountain, and the deep and gloomy wood,
Their colours and their forms, were then to me
An appetite; a feeling and a love,
That had no need of a remoter charm,
By thought supplied, nor any interest
Unborrowed from the eye.--That time is past,
And all its aching joys are now no more,
And all its dizzy raptures. Not for this
Faint I, nor mourn nor murmur, other gifts
Have followed; for such loss, I would believe,
Abundant recompence. For I have learned
To look on nature, not as in the hour
Of thoughtless youth; but hearing oftentimes
The still, sad music of humanity,
Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power
To chasten and subdue..."
I could not get this passage out of my head, it's been stuck in my head the whole day, crept into my mind whenever I was not thinking of anything in particular and filled my mind with images which are not my own. I know that when I first read the poem, I did not like it. In hindsight, I cannot see how that is possible. Back then, I resented the report I had to write about it, resented having to read it, even. Now, I love it. Well, the magic of Wordsworth.
Apart form that: we're going on a trip to the Highlands!! Whee! Well, not only Highlands, there is also a good deal of the Lowlands involved, but AWAY!! Countryside! Whee! We have received a confirmation from nearly all of the hostels, the train tickets are organised, now only the hostels on Skye have to get in touch and everything's settled. We'll be gone from the 15th to the 20th, and that is all due to my amazing, lovely girlfriend who organised it all while I ... sat there, feeling vaguely useless.
And our transfer has come in. Phew, I was really getting worried about having to live on stale rye bread and tap water for the rest of the month. It also means we can go and see Pirates of the Caribbean if the posters are not lying and it's really out today. Wheeee!!!
Too bad that Julez cannot be with us.
We've seen the first one with her, and all three of us believed it was going to be a tacky, sickly sweet teeny movie. Well, no, it wasn't, and that day turned into an unforgettably great time spent with Crocky and Julez the Mighty.
Though changed, no doubt, from what I was when first
I came among these hills; when like a roe
I bounded o'er the mountains, by the sides
Of the deep rivers, and the lonely streams,
wherever nature led: more like a man
Flying from something that he dreads, than one
Who sought the thing he loved. For nature then
(the coarser pleasures of my boyish days,
And their glad animal movements all gone by)
To me was all in all.--I cannot paint
What then I was. The sounding cataract
Haunted me like a passion: the tall rock,
The mountain, and the deep and gloomy wood,
Their colours and their forms, were then to me
An appetite; a feeling and a love,
That had no need of a remoter charm,
By thought supplied, nor any interest
Unborrowed from the eye.--That time is past,
And all its aching joys are now no more,
And all its dizzy raptures. Not for this
Faint I, nor mourn nor murmur, other gifts
Have followed; for such loss, I would believe,
Abundant recompence. For I have learned
To look on nature, not as in the hour
Of thoughtless youth; but hearing oftentimes
The still, sad music of humanity,
Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power
To chasten and subdue..."
I could not get this passage out of my head, it's been stuck in my head the whole day, crept into my mind whenever I was not thinking of anything in particular and filled my mind with images which are not my own. I know that when I first read the poem, I did not like it. In hindsight, I cannot see how that is possible. Back then, I resented the report I had to write about it, resented having to read it, even. Now, I love it. Well, the magic of Wordsworth.
Apart form that: we're going on a trip to the Highlands!! Whee! Well, not only Highlands, there is also a good deal of the Lowlands involved, but AWAY!! Countryside! Whee! We have received a confirmation from nearly all of the hostels, the train tickets are organised, now only the hostels on Skye have to get in touch and everything's settled. We'll be gone from the 15th to the 20th, and that is all due to my amazing, lovely girlfriend who organised it all while I ... sat there, feeling vaguely useless.
And our transfer has come in. Phew, I was really getting worried about having to live on stale rye bread and tap water for the rest of the month. It also means we can go and see Pirates of the Caribbean if the posters are not lying and it's really out today. Wheeee!!!
Too bad that Julez cannot be with us.
We've seen the first one with her, and all three of us believed it was going to be a tacky, sickly sweet teeny movie. Well, no, it wasn't, and that day turned into an unforgettably great time spent with Crocky and Julez the Mighty.