The Ogre does what ogres can, Deeds quite impossible for Man, But one prize is beyond his reach, The Ogre cannot master Speech: About a subjugated plain, Among its desperate and slain, The Ogre stalks with hands on hips, While drivel gushes from his lips.
W H Auden
The poem responds to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia on August 20, 1968. The invasion by 500,000 Warsaw Pact troops toppled the reformist regime of Alexander Dubcek, which had ended censorship earlier that year.
In sharing this, I found that I had no categories or tags that adequately covered the content. I am not surprised!
Tomorrow is Armistice Day and, at this time of year, I always get to thinking about those I have known, and those I never knew, who died, or were affected in any way by war, or in the service of their country and humanity. Service has always included not just military men and women but also the myriad folk who contributed, and continue to contribute, in any way whatsoever. The basic concept of Armistice Day is “Never Again”. The world should not forget that. The sentiment should not be Never Forget, but Always Remember. We have that responsibility.
I tend to get a little maudlin, each year, for a few days over this period and, I suppose, that is what prompted this poem!
§
Content!
Love sustains me beyond the fears, the insecurity, and the pain;
The very fundamentals of life…and death;
The in between that’s never seen;
The basic structures of existence:
And yet…here I am, uncertain, a little fearful, the beginnings of trepidation
For what?
I know not!
Perhaps it’s always been there. The insecurity, the uncertainty, the pain!
Nevertheless…I like that word…nevertheless I am what I am;
What’s a weekend without a challenge. Over at SueW and GC’s site you can find out how to have a go and can find the links to read all the entries. Click on this to go there.
I pondered on comparing children’s play in years gone by to that of today and have written a sorta sonnet.
Jim Adams’ Song Lyric Sunday gives us the chance to share familiar, and sometimes not so familiar, songs. Jim has given us Musical/Opera this week rather than a choice of words to be included in the title or lyrics.
If you fancy sharing one of your favourite songs you can find out how to participate, and also listen to all the great entries, here.
I’m opting for a not so familiar song this week, from a musical that is normally performed by schoolchildren. I was lucky enough to attend a performance, probably 25 years ago now. It was very moving. The children had obviously spent a huge amount of time in learning, rehearsing, and performing the 90 minute work. Afterwards I bought a cassette tape (remember those) of the performance and played it often in the car whilst travelling to and from work.
Peter Anthony Rose MBE (music) and Anne Conlon MBE (words) are British writers best known for their environmental musicals for children. They were both teachers in Lancashire, England, for the majority of their creative achievements and most of their works have been written specially for St Augustine’s RC High School, Billington. At the time Peter Rose was their head of music. They wrote with a view to expanding the children’s knowledge of the world and the environment, perhaps hoping that their seeds would fall on fertile minds and help to make the world a better place.
In 1988 the US-based World Wildlife Fund (WWF) funded the musical Yanomamo, by Rose and Conlon, to convey what is happening to the people and their natural environment in the Amazon rainforest. It tells of Yanomami tribesmen/ tribeswomen living in the Amazon and has been performed by many drama groups around the world. Sadly, lessons were not learned and the Yanomami continue to endure massacres, disease, and a loss of more and more of their environment. What appeared to be a positive awakening of their plight was very short lived. The rest of the world calls it progress!
Yanomamo is a 90-minute work for chorus, soloists, narrator and stage band, and the original production, performed by the choir and musicians of St Augustine’s RC High School, was narrated by Sir David Attenborough and premiered at the Royal Institute, London, before appearing at the Edinburgh Festival. They later performed Yanomamo in America, narrated by Sting, which production was recorded for television and later broadcast (on Easter Sunday, 1989) on Channel 4 under the title of Song of the Forest. The TV version was commercially released by WWF. Since its publication the musical has seen performances by thousands of children throughout the world.
The lyrics are on the video which, unfortunately, is not very good quality. I hope you enjoy “Song of the Forest”
Limericks are normally light hearted, mildly humorous, often tongue in cheek, and slightly risqué. This one is not any of those. For whatever reason, this came to mind and it makes me rather sad. I shall not analyse, or explain, any more than that!
Oh the smell, and the whiff, and the pong as the world goes terribly wrong it’s all just erupted with earth much corrupted hold your nose and join in with a song!
Thank you to Jim Adams, who tirelessly hosts Song Lyric Sunday and gives us the chance to share lots of favourite songs.
There are always some songs that turn up that I am not familiar with, and it’s good to hear new music. Sometimes these become new favourites too.
If you fancy sharing one of your favourite songs you can find out how to participate, and also listen to all the great entries, here.
From the themes this week I’ve chosen to go with “Hurt”.
There is far too much hurt in the world. Sometimes we hurt people deliberately, sometimes we hurt unintentionally. Sometimes we even hurt others without realising we have done so.
Some people suffer hurt through illness, some through loss of loved ones, others because they feel hopeless, or neglected, or useless.
Some are hurt physically, many are hurt mentally.
We all will, at some time in our lives, hurt someone in some way. For any that I have hurt, I am truly sorry. For those that are hurting now, and for those who can see no end to their hurt, I offer love, and hugs, unconditionally.
Sadly, there is no doubt that at times Everybody hurts. Here is REM to sing the song. The final words are what matters: “You are not alone”.
When your day is long And the night The night is yours alone When you’re sure you’ve had enough Of this life Well hang on Don’t let yourself go ‘Cause everybody cries And everybody hurts sometimes
Sometimes everything is wrong Now it’s time to sing along When your day is night alone (hold on) (Hold on) if you feel like letting go (hold on) If you think you’ve had too much Of this life Well, hang on
‘Cause everybody hurts Take comfort in your friends Everybody hurts Don’t throw your hand Oh, no Don’t throw your hand If you feel like you’re alone No, no, no, you’re not alone
If you’re on your own In this life The days and nights are long When you think you’ve had too much Of this life To hang on
Well, everybody hurts sometimes Everybody cries And everybody hurts sometimes And everybody hurts sometimes So, hold on, hold on Hold on, hold on Hold on, hold on Hold on, hold on
Everybody hurts
You are not alone
Songwriters: Bill Berry / Michael Stipe / Peter Buck / Michael Mills
Peter's pondering 
