A RESPONSE TO ALEXANDER POPE ( Emmenay )

Pope’s Ode to solitude 

"How happy he, who free from care 

The rage of courts, and noise of towns; 

Contented breaths his native air, 

In his own grounds. 

"Whose herds with milk, whose fields with bread, 

Whose flocks supply him with attire, 

Whose trees in summer yield him shade, 

In winter fire. 

"Blest! who can unconcern'dly find 

Hours, days, and years slide swift away, 

In health of body, peace of mind, 

Quiet by day

"Sound sleep by night; study and ease 

Together mix'd; sweet recreation, 

And innocence, which most does please, 

With meditation. 

"Thus let me live, unheard, unknown; 

Thus unlamented let me die; 

Steal from the world, and not a stone 

Tell where I lie."

(Pope, it is said, wrote this gem of a poem at the age of 12. It is undoubtedly one of the 100 best poems of the English language during the last five hundred years).

My Reply

To be happy how much I try,

From birth to this day but why,

Have I have not been able to,

Succeed in my efforts -- I sigh...

I am not fascinated by this world,

Its temporal gains I don't desire,

I shun the falsehood on which it thrives,

And the vanity of people with fingers curled.

To me contentment is not peace,

The restless mind and heart don't cease,

To keep the soul and body engaged in tasks,

Till the day when my blood will freeze.

For, what if I am lamented or not:

Nothing is mine, aught is naught,

I was better off when I didn't come here,

Does it matter if I am remembered or not?

This was added more than four years later:

To live for others is the greatest good,

Which I found out after years had passed,

And to make our loved ones happy, carefree,

Is all that matters for now, for good.

By

( Emmenay )

Let's make a Difference ( E. George Strasser )

Your children now will never meet, a Carolina Parakeet.

 The passenger pigeon is gone too, the last one died while at the zoo.

 Their flocks at one time blocked the sky, who thought that soon they all would die.

 We have to learn now to protect, and treat animals with more respect.

 The southern swamps seem strangely still. We hear no more the Ivory-bill.

 Is it gone? we can not say,.but hope he will be found some day.

 The list goes on and is too long, it's time to correct what we did wrong.

 To kill our wildlife is insane, who wants to shoot a whooping crane.

 Yet someone will pick up a gun and shoot an animal just for fun.

 and if the shot doesn't leave him dead, he'll no doubt die when he eats the lead

 How many times is oil to spill, and foul our waters and slowly kill?

 We contaminate our very lives, its a wonder anyone survives.

 The time has come from now and hence, for us to use some common sense.

 Lets save this place that we have soiled, Come together and save this world.

 The new year's here, lets start anew. to save the planet is what we'll do.

 If we do wrong the future's dark, because there's no Jurassic park. 

BY

( E. George Strasser )