Enjoy time while you have it

What I liked about this poem was the imagery. In the beginning the crowds of people were described as “fields of golden wheat”, which really gives you a sense of a city street tightly packed with people. The part with the lover’s speech brought to mind feelings of deep love, and the descriptions of time were really good at conveying a feeling of inevitably and dreadful regret. While I don’t have nearly as depressing views toward time as this poem has, it defiantly gives you something to think about.

W.H. Auden is one of my very favorite poets.  His poem, "As I Walked Out One Evening," is a meditation on the limits and transience of romantic love, written in the form of a ballad. It's a clever irony because ballads, of course, are love songs. But the part I love most in the poem is the two stanzas before the final one.

As I Walked Out One Evening

As I walked out one evening,
Walking down Bristol Street,
The crowds upon the pavement
Were fields of harvest wheat.

And down by the brimming river
I heard a lover sing
Under an arch of the railway:
'Love has no ending.

'I'll love you, dear, I'll love you
Till China and Africa meet,
And the river jumps over the mountain
And the salmon sing in the street,

'I'll love you till the ocean
Is folded and hung up to dry
And the seven stars go squawking
Like geese about the sky.

'The years shall run like rabbits,
For in my arms I hold
The Flower of the Ages,
And the first love of the world.'

But all the clocks in the city
Began to whirr and chime:
'O let not Time deceive you,
You cannot conquer Time.

'In the burrows of the Nightmare
Where Justice naked is,
Time watches from the shadow
And coughs when you would kiss.

'In headaches and in worry
Vaguely life leaks away,
And Time will have his fancy
To-morrow or to-day.

'Into many a green valley
Drifts the appalling snow;
Time breaks the threaded dances
And the diver's brilliant bow.

'O plunge your hands in water,
Plunge them in up to the wrist;
Stare, stare in the basin
And wonder what you've missed.

'The glacier knocks in the cupboard,
The desert sighs in the bed,
And the crack in the tea-cup opens
A lane to the land of the dead.

'Where the beggars raffle the banknotes
And the Giant is enchanting to Jack,
And the Lily-white Boy is a Roarer,
And Jill goes down on her back.

'O look, look in the mirror?
O look in your distress:
Life remains a blessing
Although you cannot bless.

'O stand, stand at the window
As the tears scald and start;
You shall love your crooked neighbour
With your crooked heart.'

It was late, late in the evening,
The lovers they were gone;
The clocks had ceased their chiming,
And the deep river ran on.

 ******************************

"Life remains a blessing/Although you cannot bless." Read those two stanzas again. I think Auden is giving us a way to cope with despair, ennui, disappointment, loneliness, and grief. Life is a gift: at its essence, it's a blessing, even when we don't have the ability to give thanks or see beyond our own sadness.

The next stanza contains a restatement of Jesus' second commandment: "You shall love your crooked neighbour/With your crooked heart." We are all broken and imperfect people, but God intends for us to live in community with other broken and imperfect people. That's the kind of love that won't fade because someone's beauty fades or hair starts to gray. 

For your post, you can respond to the poem overall, my interpretation of the ending, the personification of Time, the cliches of romantic love, the imagery, or your interpretation of any aspect of the poem. You can also take any of the ideas of the poem as a springboard to talk about despair, love, community, or any other idea the poem provokes.

Oh Joy Words

I have a love hate relationship with words  love them because I like to talk a lot and they allow me to express myself. I hate words because I am a terrible speller plus me not so good with that grammer stuff. Probably my favorite things to read are anything written Dr.Seuss because I love how he uses words both really ad fake to put a smile onto peoples faces.

Me crying okay

I was able to make through without crying or really feeling sad. I'm not that emotionally of a person and the only movie that has ever made me cry was old yeller which I watched when I was eight.  The only to emotions I truly feel a lot are happiness and angry.  

yum plums (late)

I think it is a older man talking to his daughter that he lives with, I would say that they have a good relationship good enough for him to take her food. I feel like the plums don't really have that much significance to the poem but the adjectives do by telling the daughter how good they where.



Here's Mine:


I have heard

the songs
that you play
at the church

some which
you have written
others that you have not
all are good

I wish to write
and sing
as you do

Waltzing With Papa (Late)

I don't think people should fear papa I think we are supposes to see him as a hard working man who has a gentle side.  He is waltzing with his kid and the kid is holding on tight to him which kids don't do unless they like you.  The speaker wants to be with papa even though he smells of whisky which makes his attitude complicated. 

Thanksgiving (late: my bad)

Thanksgiving is one of the only holidays that my family has traditions for. Every year we go to my grandparents house and eat our thanksgiving feast. Then all of the grandchildren preform a little concert for all of the family members and we all play card games and bored games. Once it gets dark, we all go to the Lawrenceville square for the annual Christmas tree lighting party. We dancing, sing, drink hot chocolate, watch the tree light, and see Santa arrive. This thanksgiving was the best thanksgiving ever. None of the relatives argued, my brother came home, and my aunt made me gluten free food. :)