How can I, that moon hanging there,
My attention fix
On American, or Russian,
Or Canadian politics? (With apologies to W.B. Yeats)
This past Saturday found me in a bad mood. I was grumpy, and irritable. And though I recognized that I was part way through the day it did nothing to mitigate it. Every mve the dogs made annoyed me, just being seemed to get on my nerves.
I understand that a huge part of this is the state of the word right now. These are dark times, and the future looks even darker. I've remarked before (not here) that this must be what it felt like to live in Austria in 1936. I'm unsure what the world my children and grandchild will live in. And this mood persisted.
Late that evening I was watching the FireAid concert from Las Angeles, and P!nk was performing. And as I was listening I was thinking what a beautiful powerful voice she had. And that flipped the script. Beauty. I felt the negativity begin to recede. The joy of music.
And then I replayed my trip to the cabin earlier. As short as it was. The cabin was too cold to do the last little bit of painting we had planned, so it was a matter of refilling the generator and making plans to return the next day. The air was cold and still and hanging in a blue sky, rimed with gold on the horizon, was Venus and, below it a thin crescent moon. Two bright lights, existing only for my pleasure in that moment. What a universe we live in.
And thinking back at that moment I thought "how can I?…" how can I be in this mood when, as terrible as it is the world is still filled with beauty. And with "how can I?" Yeats' poem sprung to mind. And I appropriated it.
Yeats' poem "Politics" was written at a time of upheaval in the world as well. The Spanish Civil War was happening, and Hitler was consolidating his hold on power and changing the world. Times that feel not unlike our own right now. Disquieting troubling days.
Politics (by William Butler Yeats)
How can I, that girl standing there,
My attention fix,
On Roman or on Russian
Or on Spanish politics?
Yet here's a travelled man that knows
What he talks about,
And there's a politician
That has read and thought,
And maybe what they say is true
Of war and war's alarms,
But O that I were young again
And held her in my arms!
Comments
2 responses
We are truly living in scary times. And yes, the balance is finding the beauty and peace where and when we can. I am worried all the way down to my rickety old bones, but I still run out in the morning to watch the sun rise.
Enjoy those sun rises Robin. Our first of the year comes in three days, but it looks as though clouds may obscure it.
And keep safe. I fear where the road your country is taking you. All of us.