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what ship plays with icebergs
and plays soft music as it sinks into the ocean?
what ship on the throw of a dice
feeds a prophet to his fishy destination?
what ship breaks its spine on the rocks
and turns the waves black with lubrication?
a ship of fools
but there are fools and
those who seem to be
what ship is built on a dry highland
is launched by a downpour
and flies on watery wings to the peak of a mountain?
what ship has a crew
of taxmen thieves and fishermen
who decide in the howling storm
to make a small sleeping carpenter
their captain?
yes
a ship of fools
but there are fools and
those who only appear to be
Simon Jenkins, 1977
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"THE ROAD TO CRANBROOK" (Andrew Hegarty 2016).
There were open fields that you hope
A blind man could see;
But light, shade or dark did not seem
to apply that winter's day.
In friendly conversation with a man and his dog
I posed a question great in my eyes;
"Do dogs get colds? No they don't" he said
As the station slipped by.
I alighted at the next stop;
The new stop one had leisurely heard about
In recent times; after diggers did sterling work
Turning sods of turf into a future vision.
The Platform greets me with an introduction
to cycle racks, fences and railings;
And an apology too; "the car park would be late arriving!"
I had no choice but to mind its absence.
For Mist was to be my guide that evening
through this site of shapeless black:
"Please don't hesitate to ask me any questions
And by the way, I hope you had a pleasant journey!"
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Well, you two, you've got me now ... this early in the morning my brain's gone amok! I have never hear of Jenkins or Hegarty but that may be because they are modern poets of whom I know very little.
Rollo, with your piece, after thinking of Titanic then the Ark, I came to the conclusion that SJ is writing about Christians (although you may not have posted it here in quite that context). Let me know, please.
Dermot, after thinking of the capacity of governments to launch projects before the small print has been worked out, I reached the conclusion that perhaps Hegarty is writing about heaven? Probably not. Again, enlighten me please.
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JoyLouise - Andrew, an only off-spring & erstwhile work colleague, is an ordinary currently unemployed/unemployable single fellow burdened with ADHD/Depression.
The theme of his little ditty (one of many) concerns the lovely semi-countrified outlook from his home being, in his words, defiled by town house expansion coupled with the usual facilities needed. He has lost whatever little faith his now deceased parents imparted to him. Heaven means nothing to him.
All in all, a sad situation being managed a little by a range of prescribed pills.
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Thank you Dermot. I have only just googled the people mentioned by you and Rollo.
Is AH the Southport-born guy? From what you've written about him it seems as though he is having a rotten time and I hope things improve for him.
As far as Rollo's piece is concerned, I think I was right about the Christian theory although was Rollo connecting these lines to politics? ;-)
Although it's easy to find about things and people from googling, I tend to mostly rely on things I've learned over the last ...... too many years that I care to mention. It's a sign of my age group I think.
The secret, of course, is to look as though you're intelligent and well-educated by googling before you write. :-S
The expression 'You can't teach an old dog new tricks' springs to mind - but I'll try. :-D
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hi JL you seem pretty sharp to me not all that much of an old dog at all.
Yes, shipoffools.com is a Christian site though not the reason why I chose Simon Jenkins piece which I have known by heart for yonks. I first read it chalked on the wall of a Harrogate pub.
I hold a Masters degree from a world top 10 uni. and on the basis of that some would claim to be educated. Au contraire you just become painfully aware of your own failings and lack of knowledge.
None of us is of much use as an island we are part and parcel with the next man or women. The same goes for countries.
"I'm the King of the Castle, get down you dirty rascal" is a silly way to start negotiations.
Defining EU but not UK citizens as "bargaining chips" and starting a tax war are examples of this kind of thinking.
It is a feature of true democracies.that the wishes of minorities are respected. That should include the 48% ( prob more now ) who did not support the Leave claims. If it does not there will be endless trouble. The Norway model does at least offer a compromise solution.
Of course you may say "oi, his son and wife are not British" so I would be an unlikely leaver. True enough. But people have built family relationships and serious businesses over two generations based on the EU as eternal. There can be no winners from the current imbroglio.
Googling is futile if you cannot ask the right question and of even less use if you cannot weed out the bright shining jewel of truth from all the dross that Google delivers. That is why some people find it so time consuming.
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Chalked on the Harrogate pub wall, wow, someone had a lot of time (unless it was an ad man/pr person drawing attention to Jenkins - see what a cynic I am).
I agree with you about that feature of democracy, Rollo, although I do wish that other features were adhered to as well. I also agree that none of us is an island.
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