The Diary Of A Nobody
In the quiet corners of this Age, poetry still weaves its ancient magic. Here gather the whispered verses of time - some penned in distant yesterdays, others born in the dawn of our own days. Let their wisdom and wonder be a light for all who would listen.
- The Diary Of A Nobody
The Diary Of A Nobody
E1: Ash Wednesday - T.S. Eliot - Part One
T.S. Eliot - Ash Wednesday (part one)
Originally published: 1930
Theme: The poem was written by Eliot as a result of his conversion to Anglicanism in 1927.
Poem:
Because I do not hope to turn againBecause I do not hopeBecause I do not hope to turnDesiring this man's gift and that man's scopeI no longer strive to strive towards such things(Why should the agèd eagle stretch its wings?)Why should I mournThe vanished power of the usual reign?Because I do not hope to knowThe infirm glory of the positive hourBecause I do not thinkBecause I know I shall not knowThe one veritable transitory powerBecause I cannot drinkThere, where trees flower, and springs flow, for there isnothing againBecause I know that time is always timeAnd place is always and only placeAnd what is actual is actual only for one timeAnd only for one placeI rejoice that things are as they are andI renounce the blessèd faceAnd renounce the voiceBecause I cannot hope to turn againConsequently I rejoice, having to construct somethingUpon which to rejoiceAnd pray to God to have mercy upon usAnd pray that I may forgetThese matters that with myself I too much discussToo much explainBecause I do not hope to turn againLet these words answerFor what is done, not to be done againMay the judgement not be too heavy upon usBecause these wings are no longer wings to flyBut merely vans to beat the airThe air which is now thoroughly small and drySmaller and dryer than the willTeach us to care and not to care Teach us to sit still.Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our deathPray for us now and at the hour of our death.
Credits: T.S. Eliot (1930)