Read & Write - Favourite Poem

I've always loved poetry. As a teenager I used to write pretentious, surrealistic poetry. Thankfully none of that exists anymore but it started a lifelong love with rhythm and rhyme.

As a student and later a teacher of English Literature I have read many poems over the years - and yes, I've analysed the heck out of most of them! This is sad in a way as poetry should speak to your soul, it should sing to you and touch your emotions, it shouldn't be subjected to endless analysis. But hey, that's what us literature students and teachers do!

I have many favourite poems, some long like Under Milk Wood, and some short. I enjoy the writing of many different poets such as Yeats, Keats, Wendy Cope, Roger McGough, Christina Rossetti. So choosing just one poem as my favourite was really hard. Depending on my mood I turn to different poems; if I'm feeling romantic I turn to He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven; if I'm feeling sad then Ode On Melancholy is the poem of choice. But if I had to choose one poem to read again and again then there is only one choice.

Ozymandias - Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: `Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear --
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.  

Don't ask me why I love this poem so much. Maybe it's because it's written by Shelley, my favourite Romantic and idol. Yes I know he was a deeply flawed human being and the way he treated women was appalling but I can't help but love him. He was a truly free spirit and lived according to his beliefs. This sonnet isn't typical Shelley but it's the poem of his that I turn to again and again. I love the image it conjures up of the ancient relic in an endless desert, I love the message about the transient nature of human power.

So there it is, my favourite poem. What's yours?
 

The Prompt - Beach

'Is there anything nicer than a picnic on the beach?' Amy asked. 'I'm so glad that the summer finally arrived so we could all meet up, at last.'

At that exact moment a gust of wind blew the picnic blanket up and scattered sand across Mary's plate. Just what she needed, sandwiches covered with a light dusting of sand. Like all her childhood memories of picnics on the beach - too much sun making everyone sleepy, sand all over the food, the wind whipping sand into her eyes - God, Mary hated the beach!

When Amy had phoned and suggested a picnic get together on the beach there were many things that made Mary want to refuse. The fact that it was on a beach was only one of them. If truth be told she had no interest in meeting up with this group of old school friends. As far as Mary was concerned there was a reason they were 'old school friends'. Once they hugged goodbye after the A level results were published she had very little interest in meeting them again. That part of her life was over and she was looking forward, not back.

'So lovely to see you all again!' trilled Beverley, 'We mustn't leave it so long next time.'

Mary fought the urge to snort with laughter. If she never saw most of them again that would be fine; actually it would be more than fine, it would be wonderful. If only she'd got to the phone before Alex she could have saved herself the bother of plastering a fixed smile on her face and brushing sand from her sandwich.

The seconds became minutes which dragged into blocks of time Mary would never get back. Her mind began wandering to all the other dull and excruciating things that were more fun than this - root canal treatment; queueing to return library books; worming the cat. All would be welcome relief from the tedium of these women with whom Mary had nothing in common other than the fact that they all attended the same school.

'So tell us what you've been up to since school, Mary?' Amy enquired. 'No-one has heard a peep out of you since we left and I must say all that mystery is very - what's the word? - '

'You're just nosey, Ames,' Clara laughed 'Can't stand being in the dark, can you?'

Mary took a long glug of her wine, felt it burn the back of her throat.  Damn cheap wine! Trust Amy to get the cheap and nasty stuff, just like her. She'd always been all style and no substance. Wouldn't know quality if it smashed her in the face (gosh! All these violent thoughts; where could they be coming from?)

'I've been busy,' Mary said enigmatically. A brief smile flashed across her lips. How delicious it was to tease them like this.

'Did you go to Uni in the end?' Frances asked. 'You were the only one who hadn't decided, if I remember right.'

' No. No university for me. I started working in an investment bank in the City, spent several years working in Europe, then came back to start my own portfolio. Made some interesting acquisitions as a matter of fact.'

The glazed looks on the assembled faces was as she had expected. They had no real interest in what she'd been up to or the fascinating world of finance and commerce that she had inhabited. The wedding and baby pictures were coming out now and her companions reminded Mary of twittering baby birds - noisy, silly and without a single thought in their stupid heads.

Mary stood up, brushed sand from her slacks and headed across the beach in search of  the public toilets. She could hardly wipe the smile from her face as she washed her hands; if only they knew!

When she returned the picnic was being packed up and plans were being made to meet up again soon. Phone numbers and email addresses were exchanged, cheeks kissed and cards for birthdays promised. Mary hung back, reluctant to be pulled into these plans; she had no intention of seeing any of these silly creatures again.

'Mary! Email address please.' Frances shouted above the general hubbub. 'We mustn't lose touch again.'

There was a pause in all the chatter which gave Mary the perfect opportunity of making her announcement.

'Actually, I think you've all got my contact details. I'm the Managing Director of  Primrose Investments and I own the companies that all your husbands work for. You should have had letters from the company recently, all the details you need are on those.'

'But..  but ...' spluttered Amy, 'Those letters were about redundancies!'

Mary grinned broadly, enjoying the day for the first time.
 'Yes, they were. Now who's the Girl Most Likely To Amount To Nothing?'     

Word of the Week - Menopause

This week has been dominated by thoughts of menopause.

I know being in my 50s means this is an inevitable part of my life now but, boy, does it hit you like a sledgehammer sometimes!

This past week has been full of hot flushes, night sweats, mood changes, generally feeling ill and tired - all rubbish symptoms.

I finally got round to seeing the doctor about all this nonsense and have been prescribed norethisterone to get me back on an even keel. Hopefully this will sort out my problems and I can get back to being my usual sunny self; if not then I may need other treatments which may be more serious and invasive than taking a pill three times a day. So fingers crossed that I'm on the road to recovery/normality and boo hiss to the rotten old menopause! 

Friday Fitness - Positive Progress

Week 3 of Lose & Shape Up at David Lloyd Oxford and things have been going well.

I've lost 0.5 kg ( my scales say more but let's stick with the official ones for now)
I've gained a kilo of muscle, lost 1% body fat and improved my hydration by 1%. All this is positive and very encouraging.

I haven't found the changes to lifestyle too difficult. This week I had to write down what I was eating so Paige could check I was getting the 40:30:30 ratio right and she was happy with my progress so far, even though she recommended increasing the amount of protein a little.

I was the only one to turn up for the session so I had a 1:1 Boxercise session with Paige which was tough but enjoyable. There's something really satisfying about hitting things really hard (although I did end up with a bruise on my knuckle for my trouble!)

Next week's goals are to avoid crisps (hmmm, crisps...), write down how much water I'm drinking and get a gym programme in place.

Here's to more progress next week - bring it on!