Flow on, ye lays so loved, so fair,
On to Oblivion’s ocean flow!
May no rapt boy recall you e’er,
No maiden in her beauty’s glow!
My love alone was then your theme,
But now she scorns my passion true.
Ye were but written in the stream;
As it flows on, then, flow ye too!Johann Wolfgang von Goethe – By the River
An Easter card arrived this morning from Georg and Maria, some friends we made in Germany last Summer: happier, freer times. The hand-made card wished us a Frohe Ostern and had a seasonal quote from Beethoven. It also included a handwritten message in Welsh, which I thought was really touching. For someone to go to such an effort to connect with a person in another country and from another culture is a reminder that our current need for short-term social distancing does not mean we should turn our backs on the rest of the world.
Picture of River Mosel at Cochem, Germany ©Bobby Seal
Wonderful! Thank you!
Thanks Emily!
ONE DAY
One day everything stopped
But people still shopped
Because they had to
Needing to
And the shopping was disorderly
People needed feeding
But not to that extent
And with illogical intent
They stored it away with their worry
Like hedgehogs hibernating
Prickly with their fear
Afraid to come near
But not like little hogs
Simply getting fat
And going to sleep
And waking up
When it’s all over
We panic at the drop
Of a sneeze or a hat
Humans be gentle
Help each other please
Be sensible but loving
…And don’t panic at a sneeze
Thanks Philip. Lockdown poetry. This is now our universal reality. Our common currency.