K. Morris's Blog, page 517

The Dismal Science

(“Hard Times” by Charles Dickens, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/786/786-h/786-h.htm).

A Short Analysis of A. E. Housman’s ‘How Clear, How Lovely Bright’

Housman is, as those of you who follow this blog will know, one of my favourite poets. As Interesting Literature points out, Colin Dexter’s final Inspector Morse novel is entitled “The Remorseful Day”. Indeed Morse quotes lines from the poem close to the end of the novel. I am, incidentally also a fan of Dexter’s Inspector Morse novels.

Interesting Literature

On Housman’s great ‘remorseful day’ poem

The poet and classical scholar A. E. Housman (1859-1936) is best-known for his 1896 volume A...

Comments Are Closed

Several days ago, I did something which I have never done before.
I closed comments on this post, https://newauthoronline.com/2018/02/15/should-only-black-teachers-teach-black-children-about-slavery/.

I welcome comments on newauthoronline.com and did not take the above action lightly. My reasons for closing comments are as follows:

1. The post had attracted many comments (the majority of which emanated from one individual. I had, I believe engaged with the commenter extensively and answered t...

There Was A Young Man Named Guy

There was a young man named Guy
Who said “all flesh must die”.
His girlfriend Holly
Was far from Jolly,
Which is not like you or I.

—

There was a young man named Guy
Who said “all flesh must die”.
His girlfriend Holly
Was far from Jolly
But she made a really good pie!

A Flower Found Within A Book

Shall I compose a poem about a blood red
Poppy that I discovered in a book,
And how I took
It dead
From within the grieving leaves?

Shall I say
How, yesterday
I placed that flower
In a carved
Box where it will languish, love starved
For countless hour?

The book I had when we met.
I forget
Why the flower (paper thin)
Was there with it’s sharp pin
Still intact.

I remember the fact
Of you and me
Buying part
Of a once living tree.
Each heart
Is dying or dead

Those Who Wear Their Conscience Upon Their Sleve

Those who wear their conscience upon their sleve
Are men and women as upright
As the medieval knight
Who would never deceive.
They see the world in black and white
And always do
What is just, true,
And right.

There are (they say)
No shades of gray,
And when the roof falls in
On their sanctimony and sin
I sigh
Shrug, and grin

Lucre

The girl who was not
(In the orthodox sense)
A lover, got
Some recompense
From Lucre (her master).

They moved ever faster.
There was music and laughter,
But when Lucre ended
Disaster
Descended

I Am Overly Introspective

“I am very proud, revengeful, ambitious, with more offences at my beck than I have thoughts to put them in, imagination to give them shape, or time to act them in. What should such fellows as I do crawling between earth and heaven? We are arrant knaves, all. Believe none of us”.
(“Hamlet”, Act 3, Scene 1).

I Heard A Rumour Today

I heard a rumour today
That yet another part
Of England’s heart
Is about to pass away.

Wilt
More flats be built
Where once there stood
A pub?

Shall beer and wine
Be replaced by the bottom line?
The drunkards now sing
But profit is king.

I see the open fire as I write
The coals all alight
And almost feel it’s blaze.
Shall profit’s craze
Erase all?

Let us raise a pint to the identikit
World into which we all must fit,
Where the suited and booted
Discuss the bottom line
While sipping their o...

There Was A Young Milkmaid Named Howe

There was a young milkmaid named Howe
Who owned an extremely large cow.
A young man called Mike
Said “come ride on my bike”.
But the poor girl didn’t know how!