A Litle Poetry Won't Hurt

            The Wanderer's Song

I have had enough of women, and enough of love,
But the land waits, and the sea waits, and day and night is enough;
Give me a long white road, and the grey wide path of the sea.
And the wind's will and the bird's will, and the heart-ache still in me.

Why should I seek out sorrow, and give gold for Strife?
I have loved much and wept much, but tears and love are not life;
The grass calls to my heart, and the foam to my blood cries up,
And the sun shines and the road shines, and the wine's in the cup.

I have had enough of wisdom, and enough of mirth,
For the way's one and the end's one, and it's soon to the ends of the earth;
And it's then good-night and to bed, and if heels or heart ache,
Well, it's sound sleep and long sleep, and sleep too deep to wake.

.....Now you have the privilege of reading one of my most treasured poems.  Why is it in the top 10 ? Because it strikes a rich chord in my heart.  It chills to the bone.  It beckons a tear in the eye. And, my friends, a poem should be read aloud to catch the music in it...and perhaps it will fire an arrow into your loins. Loins??  Oh, yes, I believe I shall share my top 10 for you.  And the next in line to "The Wanderer's Song" is T.S. Eliot's "Love song of J.Alfred Prufrock," which must be read aloud. And the best time to do that is when you are alone. The first line resonates like a symphony and then takes you on a tour of Prufrock's life.  It's sick. There is no joy in his life...And #3 is "Ae Fond Kiss" with a poor guy who is heartsick and broken hearted by Robert Burns. #4 is Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening".  This guy has promises to keep and miles to go before he can sleep...a poem filled with symbols.  Work on it. It's notoriously magic.

.....OK. Now I wonder why I have chosen poetry like this?  Why do I love these poems so much? Read my book, "Memoirs of a Tail Gunner". I believe that one can find the answer(s) to these questions embedded in that book which I wrote eight years ago--when I could remember a lot more than I can summon up now--at 91. I do remember though eating six hot dogs with potato salad atop of them at a nickel apiece every Saturday night--like a religious observance.

.....I know that it's been a long time between blogs.  The reason being that I had a battle in a bout of pneumonia.  I just felt dog sick for a long time.  But not to worry because I plan to emulate Methuselah.  (I don't know too much about him except that he is in the Bible. I think.)