But little Mouse, you are not alone,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often askew,
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!
Still you are blest, compared with me!
The present only touches you:
But oh! I backward cast my eye,
On prospects dreary!
And forward, though I cannot see,
I guess and fear!
Thanks for this. Caroline and I both love it. One thing, however -- I do think animals (including mice, I'll wager) look backward also, and guess and fear. They just show a lot more dignity than people when they do. Curtis
One thing (since we're still enjoying the Burns and have shown it to Jane, who was assigned Of Mice and Men last year) I remember well is how in college my professors (probably most of them pet-owners) seemed to make the underestimation of animals almost an academic principle, shoehorning their comments on the subject into the oddest, most inappropriate contexts. I've always really loved the final passage of Claude Levi-Strauss's Tristes Tropiques, where he writes: “Farewell to savages, then, farewell to journeying! And instead, during the brief intervals in which humanity can bear to interrupt its hive-like labours, let us grasp the essence of what our species has been and still is, beyond thought and beneath society; an essence that may be vouchsafed to us in a mineral more beautiful than any work of Man: in the scent, more subtly evolved than our books, that lingers in the heart of a lily; or in the wink of an eye, heavy with patience, serenity, and mutual forgiveness, that sometimes, through an involuntary understanding , one can exchange with a cat.” Curtis
The Inner Need
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… we find them in us … This is from ‘Is Life Worth Living?’ found in
William James: Writings 1878-1899 (1992): … is not this duty of neutrality
where only ...
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Peppers, eggplant, and basil planted. Garden watered. Grass mowed. Tulips
deadheaded. The weediest bed weeded. That's as much outdoor work as I could
acc...
5/17: Embracing Wetlands reading in Kent
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From RC Wilson:
Please consider coming out for this poetry reading next Friday. Poets from
around Ohio and beyond. An important event!
Dogs For Biden
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First off, I’m getting emails from nervous dogs owned by Republicans. Hi,
my name is Major, I am a German Shepherd born in 2018. I was owned by
President J...
Human Rights Day Today
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The Nobel Peace Prize this year went to Narges Mohammadi, 51, of Iran. She
was arrested 13 times, convicted for five and sentenced to a total of 31
years ...
Stay away from the pool
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My mother & I were visiting a friend of hers who was living in an apartment
complex that I regarded at the time as positively palatial, what for the
commun...
In Memory of Ed Ochester, Poet & Editor, RIP
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We have asked Ed Ochester (above) to edit our Sunday poetry pages for the
next few months. Here is one of Ed's poems: March of the Penguins The
editor of N...
“In spite of all the learned have said ...”
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Philip Freneau
Philip Freneau (1752-1852) was a journalist and poet in the early years our
country was forming. And, oh, by the way, I once wrote an under...
Jason Tandon
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Born in Hartford, CT in 1975, Jason Tandon is the author of four books of
poetry, including *The Actual World*, *Quality of Life*, and *Give Over the
Hec...
Balance is important in design
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Aenean commodo
ligula eget dolor. Aenean massa. Cum sociis Theme natoque penatibus et
magnis dis ...
Feeding therapy FINALLY!!
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There is so much to catch up on and yet so little. I have noticed that the
last year has felt like an inward journey and so telling a story hasn’t
fe...
One year gone ...
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*Meeting Mark Mothersbaugh*
Today marks one year as editor of *Fresh Water *for me. Man-o-man, what a
ride it has been. Despite the intensity of the job, o...
I'm still here
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Just posting here to let anyone know (whoever is still dropping by from
time to time) that I still haven't disappeared, I've just been spending
time away f...
2015 Mini Gift Guide
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A mini last-minute gift guide...it's been quite some time since I've
posted. But I love the holidays so much and sharing gifts that I think
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In a Landscape - The Playlist
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John Cage, “In a Landscape”
Bob Dylan, “My Back Pages”
Neil Young, “Ambulance Blues”
The Twilight Zone Theme
Babylon 5 Theme
Simon & Garfunkel, “Richard Co...
4 comments:
Thanks for this. Caroline and I both love it. One thing, however -- I do think animals (including mice, I'll wager) look backward also, and guess and fear. They just show a lot more dignity than people when they do. Curtis
Yes, that's a good point. I think you are right. We underestimate animals over and over.
One thing (since we're still enjoying the Burns and have shown it to Jane, who was assigned Of Mice and Men last year) I remember well is how in college my professors (probably most of them pet-owners) seemed to make the underestimation of animals almost an academic principle, shoehorning their comments on the subject into the oddest, most inappropriate contexts. I've always really loved the final passage of Claude Levi-Strauss's Tristes Tropiques, where he writes: “Farewell to savages, then, farewell to journeying! And instead, during the brief intervals in which humanity can bear to interrupt its hive-like labours, let us grasp the essence of what our species has been and still is, beyond thought and beneath society; an essence that may be vouchsafed to us in a mineral more beautiful than any work of Man: in the scent, more subtly evolved than our books, that lingers in the heart of a lily; or in the wink of an eye, heavy with patience, serenity, and mutual forgiveness, that sometimes, through an involuntary understanding , one can exchange with a cat.” Curtis
For my part, I'd just as soon not know where my nuts are hidden.
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