On Watchfulness

Come back to bed, beloved;
Thy rest has been ruptured and brief.
Come back to bed, beloved,
For time is asleep like a thief.
Come back to bed, beloved,
For who keeps thy slumbers but me?
Come back to bed, beloved—
That I may get up and leave thee.

I am just sayin'

I do not, of course, believe in divine Providence: but some things still seem preordained.

But since, my soul, we cannot fly
To Saturn nor to Mercury

- why on Earth*, pray tell, would Housman have chosen those particular two examples of planets they could not fly to, unless they actually could fly to other planets, eg Mars and Venus? It's right there, I tell you, it's textual.

Also his brother Laurence wrote a series of one-act plays about Queen Victoria, collected as Victoria Regina - so he would totally have written a play about Victoria Cocoon'd. What, I wonder, is the Latin for Cocoon'd...?

And in other news, other news may have swamped the announcement today, but I am entirely delighted to point out that a centenarian killer whale is running for election as mayor of a village on Orcas Island. And I really really hope she wins. (Karen asked about her policies, but I was unable to assist.)


*Heh, d'you see what I did there?

More information

So after the First World War, A E Housman's brother Laurence acted as director of the Glastonbury Festival - though I suspect not this one.

In earlier news, before the war, "[George Bernard] Shaw took round the hat and the proceeds were given to [Laurence] Housman (as the youngest) with instructions to go to Paris and find Wilde, pay his rent and outstanding debt ... give no cash to Wilde, and report back to the Cafe Royal. Several times he made this journey before Wilde's death."

Fortunately, as we now know, Wilde didn't actually die. And some little time after, A E Housman followed him to Mars - but Laurence, I fear, remained below