Serendipity

Greetings,

Here are two poems that I discovered while slowly working my way through a collection of poetry. In fact the two are on the same page.

The first poem is not really that memorable, except for its title and one line. It's a lament for what we lose as the years pass by. If someone wishes to provide a translation for the title, I will add it to the post and, of course, credit the source.



Vitae Summa Brevis Spem Nos Vetat Incohare Longam*

They are not long, the weeping and the laughter,
Love and desire and hate:
I think they have no portion in us after
We pass the gate.

They are not long, the days of wine and roses:
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for awhile, and then closes
Within a dream.

-- Ernest Dowson --
(1867-1900)

After rereading it, several times, I think I may take back what I said above. This seems to be one of those quiet poems that slowly and subtly work their magic. That magic line, of course, became the title of a very decent film, and if I'm not mistaken, the theme song from the film was high on the pop charts at that time. It's been a long time since I watched the film, but I feel that the film did capture the poem--that sense of loss--but conveying that ironically by referring to two symbols not usually associated with loss: wine and roses.

The second stanza would be my favorite.

*The following translation of the title and comment are from Steven Pentz, who is the author and owner of the very classy blog First Known When Lost, the address of which is posted following his comment. You can also log on directly by going to the blog list in the column on the right side of this page.

"Fred: the title of Dowson's poem comes from Horace's Odes (I,iv,15). One translation is: "the short span of our life forbids us to indulge in long-term hope." Disclaimer: I did NOT figure this out for myself -- I found it in the edition of Dowson's Collected Poems edited by R.K.R. Thornton (pages 224-225).

http://firstknownwhenlost.blogspot.com/
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A contemporary bit of wisdom, which unfortunately by now has become a time-worn and hackneyed cliche, has something to do with taking time to smell the roses. Here's a poem which presents the same idea, but adds something to it.


Leisure

What is this life, if full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like stars at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

-- William Henry Davis --
(1871-1940)


Today we are more likely to be staring at the lifeless flat screen of a TV set, or a computer monitor, or a mobile phone. Our life is filled with electronic bits and not with our organic brothers and sisters, or even with granite or marble (unless shaved and smoothed).


Both poems are from The World's Best Poems
Mark Van Doren and Garibaldi M. Lapolla, ed.