A Vision of Your Own: William Wordsworth

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     The Solitary Reaper" is one of my favorite poems. Today I found out it's part of a collection of 16 of Wordsworth's poems inspired by his trip to Scotland in 1803. In that collection I discovered "Yarrow Unvisited," an interesting reflection on the difference between imagination and reality. In it, the speaker and his friends are traveling all over Scotland, and one of them wants to see the famous River Yarrow. But the speaker says toward the end of the poem:

"Let beeves and home-bred kine* partake

The sweets of Burn-mill meadow;

The swan on still St. Mary's Lake

Float double, swan and shadow!

We will not see them; will not go,

To-day, nor yet to-morrow,

Enough if in our hearts we know

There's such a place as Yarrow.

"Be Yarrow stream unseen, unknown!

It must, or we shall rue it:

We have a vision of our own;

Ah! why should we undo it?

The treasured dreams of times long past,

We'll keep them, winsome Marrow!

For when we're there, although 'tis fair,

'Twill be another Yarrow!"

What's  your Yarrow?

*beeves and kine/beef (pl) and cows

Poetry: Many Are the Master of the Beasts

     It almost seems like a trademark of the British romantic poets to have radical theological and philosophical views. I was rather shocked when I met them at the beginning of the semester. And as an English major I feel bad to say so, but most of their work is gibberish to me. I think Wordsworth's in "Preface to Lyrical Ballads" and Shelley in his "Defense of Poetry," are digging too deep and being too analytical.

     Despite my muddled response to 17th century British literature, I hope I will end up taking something meaningful or useful away from it. I did sort of connect with one of Blake's ideas in his poem "London," to which I make an intertextual reference in my latest poem "XX."

     "XX" is posted below. I know it is rather pensive, and I hope to someday be inspired to write the more uplifting counterpart, but until then it stands alone. I ask you to read, reflect, and (in the actual sense of the words) RSVP, répondez s'il vous plaît, answer or respond, if you please. I'm turning this in to the university creative writing contest on the 15th and appreciate your criticism!

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This Time It's a No

     October is here! And the campus-wide literature conference is coming up, which means the deadline for the creative writing contest looms near. Why do I only have one new poem and a mini-story/scene? Not knowing what to write is part of it, but mostly I haven't had time. Really! I think of my homework as a train that picks me up on Monday and rockets through the week to Friday, letting me off at Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday just long enough to go to class and a couple of events like cultural coffeehouse and creative writing club. I could use a little bit less homework and a little more time management.

✥ four of my lovely birthday presents ✥

      In her book I Dare You: Embrace Life With Passion, Joyce Myer says that being busy isn't always the same as being productive. We have to learn to focus our energy on the things that really matter and learn to say no to the things that may be good in and of themselves but, with the time and resources that we have, will weigh us down.

Spreading Vines: Bloglovin

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     The Well is sending out its vines--I'm now on Bloglovin.com. As you probably guessed, it's a site dedicated to browsing for and following your favorite blogs. If you're the blogohog type, check it out!




Please excuse this reference--it's linking the Well to bloglovin.
<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/10860963/?claim=xuepac9yrkt">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Come Fount: Songwriting

     Here is the first out of three hymn arrangements I've written. It's a minor key spin on one of my favorite hymns, Come Thou Fount. I wrote it spring semester and recorded it during the summer but never got around to posting it. Enjoy!

Come Fount

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An Arsenal of Good

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     Future assignments, the approach of work later in the week, deadlines for homework, words or silence I wish I could take back...some days I feel like I'm buried in gray clouds. I get long-faced and glum, even though--despite the little bumps along the road--I have so many reasons to smile. I just forget about them. So I started a list of 14 good things I can remember and draw upon to help me "when the bee stings" or the "dog bites."

1-peaches so ripe the juice drips down my chin

2-shady spots on my walk home

3-blueberry muffin for breakfast

4-the bigness of the blue sky when I look at it lying on my back

5-anything delivered by snail mail

6-good dreams

August Bookshelf

     Hope you had a good Labor Day weekend + Cherokee National Holiday! Can you believe August is over? I'm glad. I've always liked September better than August.

     Last month I finished three good books. Let me tell you why they're worth reading.

Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys

   This young adult historical fiction novel reminded me that writing is more than entertainment or escape.
     We all know of the genocide of the Jews during World War II, but through this novel Ruta exposes the little-known story of the extermination of millions of Lithuanians.
    Between Shades of Gray is told from 15-year-old Lina's point of view. Her family, like many others whose fathers are professors, musicians, and doctors, are torn from their homeland and forced to labor under horrifying conditions. On her nightmarish journey, Lina finds expression through a series of carvings and sketches that leave a record of the truth.
     Why read? This is overall a testament to the power of love, although Ms. Sepetys doesn't gloss over the grim facts in this meticulously researched novel.