Subscribe: by Email | in Reader

An Ancient Gesture -- Edna St Vincent Millay

       
(Poem #1827) An Ancient Gesture
 I thought, as I wiped my eyes on the corner of my apron:
 Penelope did this too.
 And more than once: you can't keep weaving all day
 And undoing it all through the night;
 Your arms get tired, and the back of your neck gets tight;
 And along towards morning, when you think it will never be light,
 And your husband has been gone, and you don't know where, for years,
 Suddenly you burst into tears;
 There is simply nothing else to do.

 And I thought, as I wiped my eyes on the corner of my apron:
 This is an ancient gesture, authentic, Greek;
 Ulysses did this too.
 But only as a gesture - a gesture which implied
 To the assembled throng that he was much too moved to speak.
 He learned it from Penelope...
 Penelope, who really cried.
-- Edna St Vincent Millay
I've been reading a lot of Millay recently, trying to figure out precisely
what it is I find so compelling about her poetry. She's moved, in a
remarkably few years, from someone I'd barely heard of to my favourite poet
after Kipling - indeed, I think my primary wonder nowadays is not that I
like her so much, but that it took me so long to discover her.

Part of it, I think, is that (again, like Kipling), almost all of her work
appeals to me. Contrast this with, say, Keats - at his best he is
unutterably brilliant, but those poems that are *not* among his best give
me very little pleasure; I don't think I could spend an afternoon randomly
dipping into his work. Millay, on the other hand is delightful (I hesitate
to use as objective a word as 'good' here, because this is definitely a
personal thing) all the way through, from deservedly famous gems like her
Sonnet XLIII (Poem #590; I'd rank it up there with anything Shakespeare
wrote) to minor pieces like "Grown Up" (Poem #817).

Today's poem is a good case in point - I wouldn't ever expect to see it in a
"Best Poems" anthology, but I'd be totally unsurprised at its inclusion in
someone's "Favourite Poems" collection[1]. It has that typically Millay
combination of beauty and unexpectedness, combined with such perfect timing
that your breath catches at the end, and such precise imagery that lines
continue to haunt you long after the rest of the poem has faded.

martin

[1] and indeed, a quick google search brings up
    [broken link] http://katebenedict.com/LectioMillay.htm

[Links]

Wikipedia on Millay:
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edna_St._Vincent_Millay

Ulysses and Penelope:
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penelope

An interesting companion piece is Dorothy Parker's "Penelope":
  http://www.poemhunter.com/p/m/poem.asp?poet=6640&poem=52488

36 comments: ( or Leave a comment )

Anonymous said...

Make sure you only use clean balls for playing on indoor simulator.
Even recommended system specs had difficulties
coping with the games demands on first launch when flying over the more substantial town locations.
This game by Hexacto is simple, straightforward, and fun.
If you are using your own clubs, clean it with a wet
cloth at least every 2-3 days. Usually, would need to follow the entire startup sequence to start any of the airplanes, but FSP also has the
auto start feature, to make it easier for newbie’s.

Anonymous said...

If there's no traffic it should take you about 20 or 30 minutes but traffic is pretty common and it could therefore take you at least an hour, a taxi to the airport should cost no more than 30 Egyptian pounds but some people will try to charge you as much as 200. It stands 2nd position in population around the world. The cache of mummies of high priests of Amun at Deir el-Bahri has also yielded a large number of private coffins of the 21st Dynasty (1069 945 BC). Assuming there is a God and assuming that the Bible is God's word and an historical
record of His activities (and you won't hear anything to the contrary in church and from other formal Christian religious organisations) then the standard hype you hear, the standard image projected of God (and son) tends to be 'warm and
fuzzy'. This is standard cat behavior I'm probably
preaching to the choir here.

Also visit my website egyptian newspapers

Anonymous said...

Deciding to buy online can result in a huge cost savings while providing you
the best options for your hair care needs today. s Therapy Treatment line, which is a lightweight
replenishing treatment that protects and maintains hair condition.
Both brands are popular in known hair salons and
spas.

My webpage :: hair products

Anonymous said...

ӏf somе one desires expert view about blogging then і
propose Һim/her to pay a quick vieit this webpage,
Keeρ սp tɦe fastidious ѡork.

Feel free tߋ surf to my site ... gatorade Printable Coupons 2013

Unknown said...

JSolusi yang tepat untuk mengobati penyakit wasir tanpa harus operasi, menggunakan obat wasir  Paling ampuh dari De Nature dan terbaik ada hanya di http://obatwasirme.blogspot.com untuk mendapatkan informasi yang lebih jelas mengenai pengobatan wasir silahkan kontak langsung di nomer 0852 808 77 999 atau 0859 7373 5656 Bagaimana mengobati Ambeien itu sendiri. pengobatan yang terbaik untuk Ambeien adalah dari luar dan dalam sehingga Ambeien benar benar tuntas dan tidak akan kambuh lagi. obat Ambeien terbaik "Ambeclear dari De Nature" Adalah obat Ambeien herbal yang memang terbaik untuk mengobati Ambeien, dan sudah terdaftar di badan obat dan makanan (BPOM) dengan nomer registrasi POM TR: 133 374 041. terbuat dari bahan alami antara lain terdiri Daung Ungu, Mahkota Dewa dan Kunyit Putih.

Anonymous said...

Penyakit ini umumnya muncul karena penderita mengejan terlalu keras pada saat buang air besar. Dengan mengejan terlalu keras, maka pembuluh darah di sekitar anus dapat melebar dan pecah menimbulkan infeksi dan pembengkakan yang berakhir pada masalah wasir atau ambeien tersebut.

Unknown said...

Kutil pada alat kelamin luar bisa diangkat melalui laser, krioterapi (pembekuan) atau pembedahan dengan bius lokal. Pengobatan kimiawi, seperti podofilum resin atau racun yang dimurnikan atau asam trikloroasetat, bisa dioleskan langsung pada kutil. Tetapi pengobatan ini memerlukan waktu beberapa minggu sampai beberapa bulan, bisa melukai kulit di sekelilingnya dan sering gatal.

Unknown said...

Kutil dalam istilah medis disebut Papilloma. Papilloma itu sebenarnya
sejenis tumor jinak pada kulit, berasal dari penebalan lapisan luar
kulit yang berlebihan. Bentuk kutil ini bisa bermacam-macam.

Anonymous said...

good
Cara Alami Mengobati Wasir Tanpa Operasi
Cara Alami Mengobati Wasir
Mengobati Wasir Tanpa Operasi
Cara Mengobati ambeyen
Cara Alami Mengobati sakit Wasir Tanpa Operasi
Cara Tradisional Mengobati Wasir Tanpa Operasi
Cara Tradisional Mengobati Wasir
Cara Mengobati Wasir
Mengobati Wasir Tanpa Operasi
Cara Tradisional Mengobati sakit Wasir Tanpa Operasi
Cara Ampuh Mengobati Wasir Tanpa Operasi
Cara Ampuh Mengobati Wasir
Cara Ampuh Mengobati sakit Wasir Tanpa Operasi
Mengobati Wasir Tanpa Operasi
Cara Ampuh Mengobati penyakit Wasir Tanpa Operasi
Mengobati Wasir Stadium 1 Tanpa Operasi
Mengobati Wasir Stadium 1
Mengobati Wasir Stadium 2
Mengobati Wasir Stadium 3
Mengobati Wasir Stadium 4
Mengobati Wasir Stadium 2 Tanpa Operasi
Mengobati Wasir Stadium 2
Mengobati Wasir Stadium 1
Mengobati Wasir Stadium 3
Mengobati Wasir Stadium 4 yg ampuh
Mengobati Wasir Stadium 3 Tanpa Operasi
Mengobati Wasir Stadium 3
Mengobati Wasir Stadium 1 Tanpa Operasi
Mengobati Wasir Stadium 2
Mengobati Wasir Stadium 1
Mengobati Wasir Stadium 4 Tanpa Operasi
Mengobati Wasir Stadium 1 Tanpa Operasi
Mengobati Wasir Stadium 2 Tanpa Operasi
Mengobati Wasir Stadium 3
Mengobati Wasir Stadium 3 Tanpa Operasi
Mengobati Kutil yang Ada di Kemaluan Secara Alami
Mengobati Kutil Kemaluan Secara Alami
Mengobati Kutil yang Ada di Kemaluan
Mengobati Kutil Secara Alami
Mengobati sakit Kutil yang Ada di Kemaluan Secara Alami
Mengobati Kutil yang Ada di Kemaluan Secara Tradisional
Mengobati sakit Kutil yang Ada di Kemaluan Secara Tradisional
Mengobati penyakit Kutil yang Ada di Kemaluan Secara Tradisional
Mengobati Kutil yang Ada di Kemaluan
Mengobati Kutil yang Ada di Kemaluan Secara alami

denbagus said...

good
Jual Obat Wasir Paling Manjur
Jual Obat Wasir Stadium 2 Paling Manjur
Jual Obat Wasir Berdarah Paling Manjur
Jual Obat Gejala Wasir Paling Manjur
Jual Obat Wasir Yang Paling Manjur
Artikel Obat Wasir Paling Manjur
Artikel Obat Salep Wasir Paling Manjur
Artikel Obat Wasir Terbukti Paling Manjur
Artikel Resep Obat Wasir Paling Manjur
Artikel Obat Sakit Wasir Paling Manjur
Kumpulan Obat Wasir Paling Manjur
Kumpulan Obat Wasir Ambeien Paling Manjur
Kumpulan Obat Wasir Parah Paling Manjur
Kumpulan Obat Wasir Paling Manjur Murah
Kumpulan Cara Mengobati Wasir Paling Manjur
Beli Obat Wasir Paling Manjur
Beli Obat Wasir Ibu Menyusui Paling Manjur
Beli Obat Kapsul Wasir Paling Manjur
Beli Obat Herbal Wasir Paling Manjur
Beli Obat Tradisional Wasir Paling Manjur
Cari Obat Wasir Paling Manjur
Cari Obat Wasir Akut Paling Manjur
Cari Obat Ambeien Wasir Paling Manjur
Cari Obat Benjolan Wasir Paling Manjur
Cari Obat Ambejoss Wasir Paling Manjur
Makalah Obat Wasir Paling Manjur
Makalah Obat Wasir Herbal Paling Manjur
Makalah Obat Wasir Denature Paling Manjur
Makalah Obat Penghilang Wasir Paling Manjur
Makalah Obat Tuntaskan Wasir Paling Manjur
Obat Wasir Ampuh Pada Pria
Obat Penyakit Wasir Ampuh Pada Pria
Harga Obat Wasir Ampuh Pada Pria
Jual Obat Wasir Ampuh Pada Pria
Mencari Obat Wasir Ampuh Pada Pria
Jual Obat Wasir Ampuh Pada Pria
Jual Obat Benjolan Wasir Ampuh Pada Pria
Jual Obat Wasir Hemoroid Ampuh Pada Pria
Jual Obat Wasir Paling Ampuh Pada Pria
Jual Obat Alternatif Wasir Ampuh Pada Pria

Post a Comment