Kári Tulinius ([info]kattullus) wrote,
@ 2005-09-20 15:12:00
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still on hiatus, but composed a poem anyway



Death Holds an Hourglass


Being from the sudden joy somewhat temporarily deranged
we sought company and indulged in fun and hilarity.
I am now the most cheerful man living.
If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family
there would be but one cheerful face on the earth.
Everyone comes in its precise shape or color,
these principles being an eternal antagonism
when brought into collision so fierce;
shocks and throes,
and convulsion must ceaseless follow.
My pace was slow and heavy, and my face gleaming
like a tired child, I threw myself upon a sofa
shading my eyes with my hands.
Our joys will be sanctified and made a blessing to our selves
and by and by
we shall have occasion to say with blended gratitude and rejoicing:
It is good for us to have been so afflicted.

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[info]painsauce
2005-09-20 07:41 pm UTC (link)
I enjoyed this, but I enjoyed the last four lines very much.

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[info]kattullus
2005-09-20 09:15 pm UTC (link)
Hello, I see you've added me to your friendslist. I'll do the same.

It augurs well for you that you enjoyed the last four lines very much, so did Abraham Lincoln (though instead of joys it spoke of sorrows). Well, enjoy is perhaps not quite the right word to use, as the text is from the funeral oration given over Lincoln's son Willie, who died aged eleven in 1862.

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[info]painsauce
2005-09-21 01:20 am UTC (link)
You were under no obligation, as I would have kept you regardless, but it is always appreciated.

I am actually very excited to hear that, I've always been one for merging old, forgotten fact with fiction. Or whatever you would call that sort of thing, I'm not entirely sure. In any case, you could say that I enjoy the whole thing very much, now - it is certainly elevated.

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[info]kattullus
2005-09-21 01:28 am UTC (link)
All the text can be found strewn around the article about Lincoln's depression in the October 2005 edition of Atlantic Monthly. I did alter it from speaking about sorrow to speaking about joy, but mostly the lines are fairly unchanged from the text in the article. It's a very good essay and I highly recommend it.

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[info]painsauce
2005-09-21 02:16 am UTC (link)
I'll probably check it out, then. I do have a soft spot for the Atlantic Monthly.

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