Friday, April 25, 2008

"Since There's No Help," by Michael Drayton

Since there's no help, come, let us kiss and part,
Nay, I have done, you get no more of me,
And I am glad, yea, glad with all my heart,
That thus so cleanly I myself can free.
Shake hands for ever, cancel all our vows,
And when we meet at any time again
Be it not seen in either of our brows
That we one jot of former love retain.
Now at the last gasp of Love's latest breath,
When, his pulse failing, Passion speechless lies,
When Faith is kneeling by his bed of death,
And Innocence is closing up his eyes,
Now, if thou wouldst, when all have giv'n him over,
From death to life thou might'st him yet recover.

3 comments:

  1. "Shake hands for ever, cancel all our vows,
    And when we meet at any time again
    Be it not seen in either of our brows"

    *sighs*

    That's just BEAUTIFUL.It reminded me of Lyra and Will.

    Thank you for posting this, Cheryl.

    ps-I started reading more of Walt Whitman after I read the poem you posted by him some weeks back. And in this book I'm reading right now, called "Writing New York", I read this poem by him called "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry".. and I loved it. If you haven't read it already (I doubt that!) you can read it here- http://bartelby.org/142/86.html

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  2. this is very sad ...

    were it not for the last stanza, wholly irredeemably sad.

    You know what's worse? It make me think of Barack Obama. I'm worried, Ms. Klein. I'm worried that America is simply not going to vote a person of color into the Oval Office, no matter what. I'm worried that the people from my Midwest state and too many other states would never say it out loud, but in their hearts, they can't pull a level for Obama.

    Sigh. Perhaps the hope can be brought back from near death, giv'n life again.

    Jon

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  3. Dear Jon, I've been worried and depressed this week too, wondering if he can't close the deal, feeling like "Fine, let her have it, I'm sick of this damn election" -- all things the Clinton campaign wants me to feel, I suspect. But some things for us to keep in mind:

    1. This map (http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.
    com/the_daily_dish/2008/04/the-
    clinton-oba.html). Sure, he didn't pick up any of the big states besides Texas, but look what else Obama won: the Midwest and the Deep South. The Democrats (and their superdelegates) will want those usual Republican strongholds in play in the general election. And while Ohio and Florida are always a question, the Dems generally pick up CA and NY in the general, so I think they're good bets for Obama once we're down to one candidate.

    2. He is still ahead in the delegate count, and picking up great endorsements and superdelegate pledges on the way.

    3. David Plouffe of the Obama campaign called all of this, including the fight through to June. See: http://www.tnr.com/politics/
    story.html?id=f746721e-74d7-4313-
    9231-7e75e5d56fbb . So while this endless fight is regrettable, it is also part of the Obama plan.

    4. Hilary's negatives are at their highest ever. I'd like to see more fight in Obama, definitely, for him to be a strong positive force rather than the tired defensive man we saw in the PA debate. But if he can get back to that, then Hillary (and Bill) are fully capable of hoisting themselves with their own petard here.

    4. It does not seem likely that anything will change for the better economy or Iraq-wise by the election in November, and as McCain is running as Bush redux, the Democrats should be able to play off the voter desire for change and pick up some votes. The Dems' overall numbers are still much better than the Republicans right now.

    Yes We Can -- a message so powerful Hillary had to steal it. :-) Let's keep our eyes on that!

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