The Second Coming, by William Butler Yeats
Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand. The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert A shape with lion body and the head of a man, A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds. The darkness drops again;…
Love
WordPress Daily Prompt I Want to Know What Love Is We each have many types of love relationships — parents, children, spouses, friends. And they’re not always with people; you may love an animal or a place. Is there a single idea or definition that runs through all the varieties of “love”? Dedication. Commitment. Affection. Compassionate. Hope. Acknowledgement. Loyalty. If these words scare you… just love. Love yourself, love others. Love whatever makes you strive for more and everything else will fall into place. © Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me, 2011-2013. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given…
What about it?
3.30am. Eye pain and headaches have taken an option on my sleep, wanting to do better than each other. In addition to that, ideas for a blog post keep flying in my head. My mind is busy compartmentalizing thoughts while my eyes are in charge of my sleeping patterns. Nice! And now my hair also hurts. Seriously, it does! The frequent – if not chronic pains – have prevented me from blogging much lately so I am slowly turning into a state of anarchy. Several attempts of writing happened but none were finished because either sleep came knocking on my door, or I have to analyze a few episodes of James Joyce’s Ulysses for the reading group I’m in, or I have other things requiring attention. So if I do…
I am of Ireland (14th century)
Is D’Eirinn Mé “Icham of Irlaunde Ant of the holy londe Of Irlaunde. Gode sire, pray ich the, For of saynte charite, Come ant daunce wyt me In Irlaunde.” (Anonymous in honour of St. Patrick’s Day) (translated from Old English to Modern English): “I am of Ireland And of the holy land Of Ireland. Good sir, I pray thee, for the sake of charity, Come and dance with me In Ireland.” © Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me, 2011-2013. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me with appropriate and specific direction to the original…
Christmas in Dublin
I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. (Charles Dickens)
The Harp That Once Through Tara’s Halls
The soul of music shed, Now hangs as mute on Tara’s walls As if that soul were fled. So sleeps the pride of former days, So glory’s thrill is o’er, And hearts that once beat high for praise, Now feel that pulse no more! No more to chiefs and ladies bright The harp of Tara swells; The chord alone that breaks at night, Its tale of ruin tells. Thus Freedom now so seldom wakes, The only throb she gives Is when some heart indignant breaks, To show that still she lives. (poem by Irish poet Thomas Moore 1779-1852) (for more info: http://www.knowth.com/tara.htm) © Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me, 2011-2012.
Be awesome! Be a book nut!
“In a good bookroom you feel in some mysterious way that you are absorbing the wisdom contained in all the books through your skin, without even opening them.” Mark Twain “There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.” Joseph Brodsky “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” Marcus Tullius Cicero “Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home.” Anna Quindlen © Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me, 2011-2013. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Willeke Van…