An August Midnight
I
A shaded lamp and a waving blind,
And the beat of a clock from a distant floor:
On this scene enter—winged, horned, and spined—
A longlegs, a moth, and a dumbledore;
While 'mid my page there idly stands
A sleepy fly, that rubs its hands...
II
Thus meet we five, in this still place,
At this point of time, at this point in space.
—My guests parade my new-penned ink,
Or bang at the lamp-glass, whirl and sink.
"God's humblest, they!" I muse. Yet why?
They know Earth-secrets that know not I.
A shaded lamp and a waving blind,
And the beat of a clock from a distant floor:
On this scene enter—winged, horned, and spined—
A longlegs, a moth, and a dumbledore;
While 'mid my page there idly stands
A sleepy fly, that rubs its hands...
II
Thus meet we five, in this still place,
At this point of time, at this point in space.
—My guests parade my new-penned ink,
Or bang at the lamp-glass, whirl and sink.
"God's humblest, they!" I muse. Yet why?
They know Earth-secrets that know not I.
A dumbledore is either a bumblebee or a beetle. The longlegs must of course be a daddy longlegs. And why does Hardy feel they are in some way more privileged than him, that they know "earth-secrets" that he does not? Could it be because they never fell from perfection as we did? They have had to live in - and adapt to - a fallen world because of what our first parents did, and what we, their damaged children have done since, but none of it is their fault. So I guess they have a quality of innocence that we do not.
But the knowledge Hardy was seeking for was there in the Bible. And I hope that the day will come during the Thousand Years when Jehovah will wake him from the dreamless sleep of death, and he will learn about his loving Creator.
Thomas Hardy loved and praised the beauty of the creation and certainly saw and lamented the sadness and cruelty of the current system of things on the earth. So it will be such a joyful awakening for him - on this lovely earth, with all the sadness, all the cruelty, gone for good.
The moth in the photo is a Box tree.
It seems we are also, finally beginning to understand and accept that insects too have feelings, emotions and fears. They too are living in a tragedy. Will the horrible treatment meted out to insects on I'm a Celebrity, Get Me out of Here now stop? Please, please may it, Ant and Dec, should you be reading this blog.
Col is really enjoying the ladies footie, with the England team doing well. It seems the the Lionesses have made it through to the final, and will play Spain. The match is to be Sunday, so I expect our lunch will be in front of the telly to roars of GET YOUR SPECS ON REF!!!!! plus HOWLS of triumph or rage.
I hope both sides do well and get lots of... er... runs, or whatever it is they may require. I am hoping that if I shout ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY!!!! at the screen every so often that will show willing.
Thursday I had an appointment with the Audiologist at Boots - a nice lady - who has cleaned my hearing aids, turned up the volume, and suggested that I probably need my ears syringed. Indeed. My arm is still very sore from the second shingles jab I had on Tuesday - I feel as I have flu. I reacted badly to the first one, but this one is worse.
Hopefully the medical bulletin ends here, with me reminding myself that, at my age, every day is a bonus for which I should be, and am, very grateful. And that I am also very grateful for the NHS - still functioning, but under severe stress. Rather like me in a way. We are both old now.
I feel we have reached the turn of the year, or what marks it for me. When I came out of the meeting at the Kingdom Hall last night, it was dark - the week before it wasn't. The year turns again when the day arrives I don't have to put my headlights on to drive back from the mid-week meeting. IF I am still around, I must remember to note the day in my blog.
I have a Bible study to go to this afternoon, and must have a look at the material we will be going through: What is God's Purpose for us?
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