hence in a season
of calm weather, see children
sport upon the shore
Adapted from this small part of Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood By William Wordsworth as printed in Poems: In two volumes, Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme in 1807.
Nor all that is at enmity with joy,
Can utterly abolish or destroy!
Hence in a season of calm weather
Though inland far we be,
Our Souls have sight of that immortal sea
Which brought us hither,
Can in a moment travel thither,
And see the Children sport upon the shore,
And hear the mighty waters rolling evermore.
There are those who might figure I am looking to associate this passage and the the line Nor all that is at enmity with joy, and the following line Can utterly abolish or destroy! with one of the two current Presidential campaigns that, some say, are hoping to return joy to the American way of life.
Joy not grumpyness.
Joy, not meanness.
Joy, not accusatory oratory.
Joy with the understanding that Nor all that is at enmity with joy, Can utterly abolish or destroy!
The joy of the ocean.
The joy of watching children sport upon the shore.
Joy.
Well, if there are those who figure that … I will not dispute it.
No Haiku For You 