Coming
On longer evenings,
Light, shrill and yellow,
Bathes the serene
Foreheads of houses.
A thrush sings,
Laurel-surrounded
In the deep bare garden,
Its fresh peeled voice
Astonishing the brickwork.
It will be spring soon,
It will be spring soon -
And I, whose childhood
Is a forgotten boredom,
Feel like a child
Who comes on a scene
Of adult reconciling,
And can understand nothing
But the unusual laughter,
And starts to be happy.
- Philip Larkin
Evenings in central Mussoorie are long stretches of undulating road lit up by old-fashioned street lamps that form geometric patterns because of shadows. These are from iron grills lining the walkway, little black scissors that cut everything into little yellow shapes. The road, therefore, is a mathematical mosaic. Just though you'd like to know.
First day of study leave and I'm already cracking. It's hot and I need a holiday. And, in case you were wondering, this is the poem that made me fall in love with Larkin, way before This Be The Verse. I shall now go back to playing every song on my computer that has the word "rain" in its title. Feel free to drop suggestions like stones into a lake or egg batter into soup. Thank you for listening.
1 day ago
10 have survived.:
Nice theme. But do change the colour of the comment text. :)
This is better than the maroon background.
Do listen to this song called Hypnotized (by Ani Difranco)
This Be The Verse makes me sad. Sadder still is A Study Of Reading Habits. Tell me we won't end up like that, pinka.
And I just read The Girls of Slender means by Muriel Spark for a class. You HAVE to read it; it's the creepiest book ever.
'Life is sad, and life is a bust. All you can do is do what you must; you do what you must do and do it well...' Bob Dylan (from "Buckets of Rain")
IS it raining in cal finally?
This Be The Verse signified the starting of my love affair with Larkin. Plus, J Ganguly is oddly inspiring :)
Please don't stop the rain.. By James Morisson.
Philip Larkin is one of the reasons that I continue to have faith in modern day poets.
You have a really wonderful blog and it's nice reading it.
@ neelu: comment text?
@ dhruva: heard it a long time back, after you and sarbajaya publicised it at uni :)
@ ana: we won't. we won't. and you'll lend me the book, yes?
@ rorschach: :)
@ pom: you wish. i wish. rain my left foot.
@ shreya: she is, isn't she? and she taught us larkin brilliantly.
@ anti-anty: why thank you :)
People like me, who would like to read the comments but not necessarily post one, click on the post title. Then we read the post and the comments on the same page. The colour of the text has become black and the comments have to be highlighted to be read.
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