Love, Poetry and Revolution - Tuesday 23rd January 2023
Tuesday is my new Monday, which means the start of my working week. There are still a lot of things to fit in today that I didn't manage to organise fully yesterday. This week's poem is by John Keats, and it's an extract from 'Endymion' containing a few well-known lines. A thing of beauty is a joy for ever: Its loveliness increases; it will never Pass into nothingness; but still will keep A bower quiet for us, and a sleep Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing. Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing A flowery band to bind us to the earth, Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth Of noble natures, of the gloomy days, Of all the unhealthy and o`er-darkened ways Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all, Some shape of beauty moves away the pall From our dark spirits. The opening and ending lines are especially powerful. I have a book of poems from both Keats and Shelley, which I always think of as 'Sheets and Kelly'. I wonder what s...