In honor of a sad sapling, and his Christmas tree. Hark! the herald angels sing,"Glory to the newborn King:peace on earth, and mercy mild,God and sinners reconciled!"Joyful, all ye nations, rise,join the triumph of the skies;with th'angelic hosts proclaim,"Christ is born in Bethlehem!" Refrain:Hark! the herald angels sing,"Glory to the newborn King" Christ, by highest … Continue reading Charlie Brown Christmas
“But I cannot be satisfied without Fanny Price, without making a small hole in Fanny Price's heart. You do not seem properly aware of her claims to notice. When we talked of her last night, you none of you seemed sensible of the wonderful improvement that has taken place in her looks within the last … Continue reading Fanny Price and Job
two sons of abraham two israelite kingdomsnorth and south one destroyedand then the other two templesboth destroyed two jewish revoltstwo intifadahs two roman empireswest and east one destroyedand then the other two churches in schismtwo islams in contest none destroyed two prophets rejectedtwo religions born to contend two satansgreat and little two world warstwo genocides … Continue reading two sons of abraham
I wrote the meditation below during a yoga teacher-training retreat in October 1999. We had our talent-show night, and I chose to contribute a kind of meditation/poetry reading. I don't know how well it came off as poetry, and it was quite different from the other entries that night, but it was nonetheless well-appreciated. __________________________________________ … Continue reading Orbits of the Soul
In a previous post I made several connections between the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bhagavad Gita. Here I'd like to make a few other connections for the Gita, with the Gospel of John and "The Grapes of Wrath." Compare this passage in the "Gita" – I am the Unborn and Eternal. I am the … Continue reading Krishna, Tom Joad and the Gospel of John
In a previous post I shared what it was like to read David Ferry's version of the Epic of Gilgamesh twenty years ago. I've just read Stephen Mitchell's version, from 2004. Both versions render the Epic as English free verse. They're similar in that sense: they're English poems that read like complete stories, meaning they … Continue reading Gilgamesh, Smaug and Krishna
December 16, 2001* Last night I finished David Ferry’s rendition of Gilgamesh; I read it out loud. It has reminded me of my favorite moment ever in “Star Trek”: the Epic of Gilgamesh as told by Patrick Stewart in “Darmok,” an episode during the fifth season of “The Next Generation” TV series. Captain Jean-Luc Picard … Continue reading Twin Towers at Uruk
Below is the full text of the chapter "This Will Kill That" (Book V, Chapter 2), from "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame", with links and photographs added. When reading "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame," I found myself pausing for long periods to argue with the author, particularly around the middle of the book. Here Hugo has a … Continue reading This Will Kill That
My son recently read a kids' edition of H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine," and our house has been busy with this story in various forms. I read the novel some 15 years ago and it remains a favorite. I've also seen both of the major adaptations, from 1960 and 2002, and my son and I … Continue reading The Time Machine
I picked up “Pilgrim’s Progress” only because I was reading “Little Women,” which I found made constant reference to Bunyan’s earlier novel. So I put down Alcott and started “Pilgrim,” and it was a mixed experience – riveting in many places, but often hard-going. As often happens when I pick up a new author, the … Continue reading Pilgrim’s Progress
