For I myself shall like this decay
Originally published on June 11th, 2017
There is a song by the band Bastille called Poet. I was introduced to this song earlier this year and it instantly reminded me of a poem written by the sixteenth-century poet named Edmund Spenser (British Literature ruined me...) simply entitled Sonnet #75. The poem goes like this:
One day I wrote her name upon the strand,
But came the waves and washed it away:
Again I write it with a second hand,
But came the tide, and made my pains his prey.
Vain man, said she, that doest in vain assay,
A mortal thing so to immortalize,
For I myself shall like to this decay,*
And eek my name be wiped out likewise.
Not so, (quod I) let baser things devise
To die in dust, but you shall live by fame:
My verse, your virtues rare shall eternize,
And in the heavens write your glorious name.
Where whenas death shall all the world subdue,
Our love shall live, and later life renew.
Basically, this guy writes this girl's name in the sand and then the ocean washes it away because that's what the ocean does. He then writes her name again, and she's like "you weirdo, the ocean is always going to wash it away" and then she gets all morbid and is like "also I'm gonna die one day so maybe stop writing my name in the sand." But then Spenser says that because she's dating a poet she should realize that there will be poems about her and that she'll live forever in his writings blah blah blah beautiful stuff.
Anyway, the chorus of Bastille's song goes like this: I have written you down/ you will live forever/ and all the world will read you/ you will live forever. Can you see the similarities? Like I said, when I heard the song I instantly remembered the poem, and promptly sent it to the person who showed me the song. This person didn't find the connection as exciting as I did, but it's possible that I seek these connections out (though it should be noted that I just looked it up, and the song actually was based on the poem, so...)
I love this poem, and I love this song, but for a while it was hard to read and hard to listen to. I really don't want to say too much, but let's just say having Scout (my guinea pig who died a few months ago) around would have been greatly appreciated. Still, this morning when I clicked shuffle on my music and Poet started to play, I didn't skip it. Am I completely okay? Not at all; actually I'm not entirely sure what I am at this point. But I think that's what summer is for. At this point, all of you know that I tend to find things to learn in every experience, and that I chase personal growth. Summer, though it hasn't ever been my favorite season, has always been a time of reflection for me. A time to reflect on the past year, and a time to look ahead to the year in front of me. A time to read poetry and listen to music and to know that whatever happens, I'm okay. I'm happy with where I am, and that is enough.
*I used this as the title because the first time I read it I thought it was the funniest thing. I'm not entirely sure why, but it must have had something to do with the thought of this girl having her name be written in sand, and then saying "nope, I'm going to decay anyways."