“Learn to dance, so when you get to heaven the angels will know what to do with you.”
- Saint Augustine
When's the last time you heard someone recite a poem from memory, off the cuff? I know, right? Never.
The memorization of poetry in schools, as far as I can tell, is non-existent. As my mother would have said, “It's gone by the wayside.” As with much of what was once considered essential (history and the arts) in forming a well-educated, well-rounded citizen and human, it has slowly gone the way of the rotary phone. It's all STEM now, baby. Memorizing takes more than 30 seconds…Sorry. Things to do!
A dear friend, recently deceased at 93, could recite poetry from memory that she had been required to learn in her childhood. She told me she had to memorize one poem every week and deliver it aloud in class. It was a beautiful thing when I'd be with her and something would spark her memory and she'd reel off a Lord Byron or Yeats poem flawlessly with panache and a smile. It was inspiring. I should be able to do that with at least one poem, I thought. So, years ago, thanks to Eleanor, I committed one to memory. Next time you see me, you can test me if you like.
Tell all the truth but tell it slant
By Emily Dickinson
Tell all the truth but tell it slant -
Success in Circuit lies
Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth's superb surprise
As Lightning to the Children eased
With explanation kind
The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind -
Birthdays in Music: Paul Simon (1941)
Name That Movie: “It ain't got no gas in it.”
Best, RP