The Sunday Paws: #11

W. H. Auden's "A Shilling Life"

Happy November, a month that will see excitement in multiple ways.

I am writing a post on the third and fourth positions of Dongshan Liangjie’s “Gatha of the Five Positions of Ruler and Minister.” Before too long, it will appear in your inbox. Thank you for your patience; thank you, perhaps, for returning to the road apart from the dust.

In the meantime, here is an overdue photo of the boys: Ozni and Wilbur. As temperatures drop in Wisconsin, they are competing for dominance of the chair. It is their favorite place to pause and stay warm (other than our laps).

Ozni (the Little) and Wilbur (the Big)

This Sunday, I decided to share a poem by W. H. Auden titled “A Shilling Life.” The poem is divided into two parts, and as I read it, I felt I understood both of them intimately. Perhaps you will find some of yourself in these words, too.

Enjoy.

A shilling life will give you all the facts:
How Father beat him, how he ran away,
What were the struggles of his youth, what acts
Made him the greatest figure of his day:
Of how he fought, fished, hunted, worked all night,
Though giddy, climbed new mountains; named a sea:
Some of the last researchers even write
Love made him weep his pints like you and me.

With all his honours on, he sighed for one
Who, say astonished critics, lived at home;
Did little jobs about the house with skill
And nothing else; could whistle; would sit still
Or potter round the garden; answered some
Of his long marvellous letters but kept none.

Previous installments of the Sunday Paws include:

The Sunday Paws: #10

The Sunday Paws: #9

The Sunday Paws: #8