Robert Frost3.26.1874 - 1.29.63
Fireflies in the Garden
Here come real stars to fill the upper skies,
And here on earth come emulating flies,
That though they never equal stars in size,
(And they were never really stars at heart)
Achieve at times a very star-like start.
Only, of course, they can't sustain the part.
And here on earth come emulating flies,
That though they never equal stars in size,
(And they were never really stars at heart)
Achieve at times a very star-like start.
Only, of course, they can't sustain the part.
I miss fireflies. They seem to be much rarer than when I was a child. My guess would be that mosquito control kills them, but that's a guess. We would catch them in jars, poke holes in the lid, and use them as night lights.
Of course it is also the birthday of the greatest American playwright, Tennessee Williams.
Of course it is also the birthday of the greatest American playwright, Tennessee Williams.
Original post had typo on date, now corrected thanks to Elizabeth.
5 comments:
I think you need to recheck dates.
Lovely poet, but not as superannuated as the dates below his photo would suggest...
Whoops!!
Thanks, I don't know what happened to my brain there??????
I wonder if some birthdates are more auspicious (for producing writers) than others?
Robert Frost: his lines about "the road not taken" (and that has made all of the difference) occur to me nearly every week.
Fireflies: I have this same childhood memory. I suppose that all Texas children of a certain age do. I also wonder why fireflies are so scarce now . . .
Tennessee Williams: Let's give this great man his due as well! I just looked at The Writer's Almanac, and they had produced these brilliant Williams quotations:
"I have found it easier to identify with the characters who verge upon hysteria, who were frightened of life, who were desperate to reach out to another person. But these seemingly fragile people are the strong people really."
And, "A high station in life is earned by the gallantry with which appalling experiences are survived with grace."
I just love both of those thoughts, and they sum up Williams' characters perfectly. (They also remind me of conversations that we've been having.)
You are a gallant knight, too.
I remember watching fireflies while visiting my grandparents when they lived in Virginia. I never wanted to catch them--I thought that putting them in a jar would make them sad--but I loved to watch them fly around.
Bee, what great lines by Tennessee Williams. I need to read more of his works (as if I didn't already have a large stack of books waiting to be read).
I came to Robert Frost rather late - he is not quite as well known in Europe. "The road not taken" left such an impression on me that I did take the right road at that time in my life.
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