REVERIE
Sophia Scott

The Campsie Fells lay dreaming in the soft sweet summer light,

Little breezes played and whispered round her knees,

She dreamed of days we knew not when the waters lapped her feet

And the glaciers slithered steeply from her sides -

Days when mammoths roamed the valley through the sand dunes weird and high,

And our coal was mosses, ferns and tropic trees.

The long low line of hills was swept by western winds,

And the bracken’s green was long since turned to brown,

Her dreams were sore and troubled, for she heard the tramp of feet

As the Romans marched to Cadder o’er the down;

Till they pitched their tents and sheltered from the winter’s wildest wrath,

And beneath her flanks they built for them a town.

All these days are long since over, long ago and far away,

Changeless still the Campsies lie in summer sheen;

We discover Roman forts and we dig up mammoth bones

In our age of petrol, aeroplanes and steam;

And we build our little houses and we live our little lives,

But the great hills hug their secrets still - and dream.

[The Campsie Fells lie to the north of Kirkintilloch where the late Mrs Scott lived for many years.]

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DESIDERATA (Desired Things)  pub.1927

Max Ehrmann 1872-1945

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,

be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly,

and listen to others,

even the dull and the ignorant;

they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons;

they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,

you may become vain or bitter;

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;

it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,

for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals,

and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.

Especially do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love;

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment

it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,

gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings;

many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,

be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,

no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,

whatever you conceive Him to be,

and whatever your labours and aspirations,

in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams,

it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

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NEUTRAL TONES
Thomas Hardy

We stood by a pond that winter day,
And the sun was white, as though chidden of God,
And a few leaves lay on the starving sod;
         – They had fallen from an ash, and were grey.

Your eyes on me were as eyes that rove
Over tedious riddles of years ago;
And some words played between us to and fro
         On which lost the more by our love.

The smile on your mouth was the deadest thing
Alive enough to have strength to die;
And a grin of bitterness swept thereby
         Like an ominous bird a-wing . . .

Since then, keen lessons that love deceives,
And wrings with wrong, have shaped to me
Your face, and the God curst sun, and a tree,
And a pond edged with greyish leaves.

      -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A PERSONAL SCRAPBLOG has a new look and a new name

BLOGGING IS SUCH FUN
begins on Sunday 8th June
http://bloggingissuchfun.blogspot.com

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