A wreathed garland of deserved praise,
Of praise deserved, unto thee I give,
I give to thee, who knowest all my wayes,
My crooked winding wayes, wherein I live,
Wherein I die, not live : for life is straight,
Straight as a line, and ever tends to thee,
To thee, who art more farre above deceit,
Then deceit seems above simplicitie.
Give me simplicitie, that I may live,
So live and like, that I may know thy wayes,
Know them and practise them : then shall I give
For this poore wreath, give thee a crown of praise.
I'm off this afternoon to Cincinnati with Jessina and Em, to browse Madewell and perhaps an art museum and cook and eat things whilst sleeping and chatting and watching nice movies. And, of course, Easter in a real home! Needless to say I am eagerly anticipating my grand exit from campus for the weekend and a little road trip with my girls. I haven't been on a roadtrip with girlfriends since right after graduating high school! Quel horreur!
I've been reading Zora Neale Hurston for our Lit Harlem Renaissance unit and checked out the Great and Terrible Beauty series, which Em and I discussed the other day. We were chatting about the books and, in specific that shaped us and which we devoured as children and adolescents in our reading habits, and I had never read the GaTB trilogy (I had always assumed that they were too racy, based on the corseted girls on the covers and terrible titles - the second and third are Rebel Angels and The Sweet Far Thing. They are not actually very racy at all, I believe that the author just got overly dramatic and Gothic with her covers). It is so nice to discover a childrens/young adult fantasy-gothic-historical series completely new to me to read on benches in the afternoons! I plan to finish the last one this weekend.
Which cannot come soon enough.
Happy Easter!
Of praise deserved, unto thee I give,
I give to thee, who knowest all my wayes,
My crooked winding wayes, wherein I live,
Wherein I die, not live : for life is straight,
Straight as a line, and ever tends to thee,
To thee, who art more farre above deceit,
Then deceit seems above simplicitie.
Give me simplicitie, that I may live,
So live and like, that I may know thy wayes,
Know them and practise them : then shall I give
For this poore wreath, give thee a crown of praise.
- George Herbert "A Wreath"
My Easter weekend poem is (bien sur) George Herbert, who (though I do not love him quiet so dearly as, shall we say, Keats) is the springiest of poets and breaths and sighs green lawns and country parishes, tulips and daisies and church bells and vespers. Also, I like this poem in particular as a sort of prayer for simplicity, directness, and grateful praise.
I'm off this afternoon to Cincinnati with Jessina and Em, to browse Madewell and perhaps an art museum and cook and eat things whilst sleeping and chatting and watching nice movies. And, of course, Easter in a real home! Needless to say I am eagerly anticipating my grand exit from campus for the weekend and a little road trip with my girls. I haven't been on a roadtrip with girlfriends since right after graduating high school! Quel horreur!
I've been reading Zora Neale Hurston for our Lit Harlem Renaissance unit and checked out the Great and Terrible Beauty series, which Em and I discussed the other day. We were chatting about the books and, in specific that shaped us and which we devoured as children and adolescents in our reading habits, and I had never read the GaTB trilogy (I had always assumed that they were too racy, based on the corseted girls on the covers and terrible titles - the second and third are Rebel Angels and The Sweet Far Thing. They are not actually very racy at all, I believe that the author just got overly dramatic and Gothic with her covers). It is so nice to discover a childrens/young adult fantasy-gothic-historical series completely new to me to read on benches in the afternoons! I plan to finish the last one this weekend.
Which cannot come soon enough.
Happy Easter!
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