Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Another bit of Lit...Blue what?

I read this earlier in the year, it is a poem by Wallace Stevens.
I found it, the poem- not the man, in one of my old Lit books "Oxford Book of American Verse".

One section -of a rather long poem he wrote about a man named Crispin- stood out to me, especially the last line I typed below:

Crispin dwelt in the land and dwelling there
Slid from his continent by slow recess
To things within his actual eye, *alert
To the difficulty of rebellious thought
When the sky is blue. The blue infected will.



When I read this I got chill bumps! :)
I have had this illness...felt it coursing throug my bloodstream--induced by the unbearable beauty of a Carolina sky in the Spring, and in the Fall.



The illness came upon me many times in High school. I described it in my journal once as, "the magnetic pull of the earth on the Iron in my blood"...I simply had to go, to be outside, to play, to run...and sometimes drink beer and kiss cute boys :)
The cure, of course, was a "Skipping day", as I so affectionately called it.

Even now I sometimes find myself with this infection, but life is different today.
A mother can not just pick up and run; or she can, but will be called ugly names in the newspaper!



Ever have "A Blue Infected Will", friends?
Want to run off to the park and play on a swing set and the see-saw? Spin me on the Merry-Go-Round!!! Throw the fisbee! Lets take off our shoes and get wet in the river...

Sigh!

Perhaps I should just keep reading my old Lit books! LOL :) A blue infected will can get me into trouble, at least it did in High School :P



*[Note: the last 2 lines can possibly have 2 meanings. 1) Crispin finds it hard to be rebellious when the sky is blue, or 2) he knows rebellious thoughts can bring difficulty into his life, but the blue sky infects his will. #2 is how I interpreted the poem.]

18 comments:

Gnomeself Be True said...

http://betheboy.blostspot.com

I'll have to ask Will if he's ever been "blue infected."

Certainly I have the urge to be elsewhere fairly often.

Mayden' s Voyage said...

:)
Lets hope "Will" has never been blue infected!
Oh...the urge to run and play. Not today, got to go "Krogering"!
Blah!

X. Dell said...

You guys have Kroeger's, huh? I didn't know they extended that far south.

I'm often affected. But I've been fortunate in the sense that my work has been so fulfilling that I haven't been bitten by it much.

Of course, I would have to be writing you this in a point of my life where I'm infected daily:-)

Mayden' s Voyage said...

Me too X~
me too :)

Oh, and yes...Kroger. It's been here for at least 12 years...

How far south have you been?

How far out into the world have you been (out of country?)

Where, of all the places you've traveled, is your favorite?

Where would you like to move to next?

(You are under no obligation to answer any of those questions of course, but I am dreadfully curious! :) lol :)

Ben Harcos said...

Dear Voyager

Let this be my belated Thank You for your comment about "Walking". I really loved the poem by Kierkegaard.

About your "*". I first tended towards interpretation 1. But then, being alert about being, hmm, in peace with circumstances? And they might be dreadful? Maybe it IS number 2, blue sky or not. Food for thought...

..................... said...

I got infected today and left an hour early. shhhhhhhhhh, don't tell anybody.....

X. Dell said...

No problem, Cora.

Lessee, I've pretty much covered the US, except for Alaska and Hawaii; visited eastern Canada and northern Mexico numerous times; traveled to Asia Minor, the Middle East and Northern Africa; studied in England, visted Europed three times.

My favorite place happens to be where I'm sitting: NYC. Other than that, I loved Toulon, mostly because Toulon loved me. It's a very friendly city on the french Riviera, and full of good things to eat and friendly people.

It's nothing like Paris, which is kinda like New York, except that it isn't nearly as forgiving. What's worse: your French can't contain the slightest hint of an American accent if you want the time of day, in Paris.

The US has wonderful places: San Francisco, NYC, Cleveland, Madison, WI. The Twin Cities used to be really cool, but I've heard things have changed there. Souix Falls, SD is an oasis of life; New Orleans is intriguing. Roswell, NM, is, well bizarre--the natives ask you a million and one questions.

I've been as far south as th Everglades, but my family is from Georgia/Alabama, so I've spent quite a bit of time down south. I also had a number of friends in NC and recorded quite a bit in Nashville.

Gary said...

I get those days sometimes, but definately not in the summer. Summers here are hot and muggy.

Mayden' s Voyage said...

Ben, having read the poem...Crispin starts out as a hermit, and then ends up with a "Prismy blonde" (who can be interpreted as a flower or a woman at first read) and eventually he had 4 daughters. SO...I think he got rather infected and "sowed some seeds" if you take my meaning. LOL! :)

X~I had no doubts that you were well traveled and a fascinating person...but you exceeded my expectations with your answers.

I will answer them as well, though you might know some of this:

Been as far north as MI, have not been to NY. As far south as Florida...who hasn't?
Been to CA, once to go to Disneyland, the other time I was just in LAX for a lay over on my way to Asia.
I was in South Africa last spring.
I love Asia. My next trip abroad I'd like to go to the UK...don't have a desire to see France, though you make me feel as if I would be missing something.
I long, deeply, to go to Ireland.
And my latest hankering (soooo southern! lol) is go to Nicaragua...did some reading on it recently and I am itching to go.

I am sure I have not been to my favorite place yet...but if asked to choose~ it would be somewhere along the NC coast at Emerald Isle, or at a lake house owned by my Great Uncle in Georgia.

Thank you...for your answers :) This was fun! :)

Mayden' s Voyage said...

Schaumi...your secret is safe with me! LOL
I have to laugh when I think about you guys longing for a "skip day" (or hour as the case may be) and calling it "a blue infected will", lol! Wallace Stevens would be so proud!!! :)

Lady Prism said...

ey' mayden...guess what?..somebody wants to play outdoors with you too!...cruise by my site and see!

Malinda777 said...

Oh yes, the silent urge to run sometimes.

Perhaps though, you could compromise... you could take the kids, and all of you could agree to play hookie and go somewhere fun. Make a picnic and enjoy the sun. :)

Mayden' s Voyage said...

Prism...(Lux)...what a friend you are! How dear and precious you have become! I knew the very first time I read your blog (what, back in January?) that a piece of you fit in me...funny how that happens, and not so often, and then I thought I had lost you! And, gladly, one day, here you were again! I am so thankful!

Malinda--school is almost out, and I am taking my children to the ocean many times this summer. I need to plan an adventure...like going to an island or something. A blue infected will is not all bad, is it? :)
So glad to see you here :)

Lee,
I can picture it very well in my mind...stretched out in the grass and talking about history, food, and a good many other things. :)

X. Dell said...

I've never been to Ireland, but I've flown over it on my way to the UK. I've never seen a place so green. It's not the ordinary greenery we get in the US. This is like intense green. Almost psychedelic.

You're young yet. I'm sure you have many places yet to go.

Mayden' s Voyage said...

X~
Not sure if you will see this...but I had to laugh at the statement "Your young yet" LOL...you aren't much past me! :)

It's just these braces I have...do you know that I was actually carded about 2 months ago???
LOL!
37 going on 14 :)

Anonymous said...

This site is one of the best I have ever seen, wish I had one like this.
»

Anonymous said...

Interesting website with a lot of resources and detailed explanations.
»

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.