Sunday, November 15, 2009

Touching Lines from T. S. Eliot's (Four Quartets) Rearranged in Order of Preference

Time present and time past
Are both perhaps present in time future,
And time future contained in time past.
If all time is eternally present

All time is unredeemable.

***

Go, go, go, said the bird: human kind
Cannot bear very much reality.

***


When an underground train, in the tube, stops too long between stations
And the conversation rises and slowly fades into silence
And you see behind every face the mental emptiness deepen
Leaving only the growing terror of nothing to think about;


***


I said to my soul, be still,
and wait without hope
For hope would be hope for the wrong thing;
wait without love,
For love would be love of the wrong thing;
there is yet faith
But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.
Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought.


***

So here I am, in the middle way, having had twenty years—
Twenty years largely wasted, the years of l'entre deux guerres
Trying to use words, and every attempt
Is a wholly new start, and a different kind of failure.


***


There is only the fight to recover what has been lost
And found and lost again and again: and now, under conditions
That seem unpropitious. But perhaps neither gain nor loss.
For us, there is only the trying. The rest is not our business.

***


There are three conditions which often look alike
Yet differ completely, flourish in the same hedgerow:
Attachment to self and to things and to persons,
Detachment from self and from things and from persons;
and, growing between them, indifference
Which resembles the others as death resembles life,


***


Time and the bell have buried the day,
The black cloud carries the sun away.
Will the sunflower turn to us, will the clematis
Stray down, bend to us; tendril and spray
Clutch and cling?

***


O dark dark dark.
They all go into the dark
I said to my soul, be still,
and let the dark come upon you
Which shall be the darkness of God.
As, in a theatre,
The lights are extinguished, for the scene to be changed.




***


I can only say, there we have been:
but I cannot say where.
And I cannot say, how long,
for that is to place it in time.


***


In my beginning is my end. In succession
Houses rise and fall, crumble, are extended,
Are removed, destroyed, restored, or in their place
Is an open field, or a factory, or a by-pass.
Old stone to new building, old timber to new fires,
Old fires to ashes, and ashes to the earth
Which is already flesh, fur and faces.


***


Had they deceived us
Or deceived themselves, the quiet-voiced elders,
Bequeathing us merely a receipt for deceit?

The wisdom only the knowledge of dead secrets

Useless in the darkness into which they peered
Or from which they turned their eyes.
There is, it seems to us,
At best, only a limited value
In the knowledge derived from experience.
The knowledge imposes a pattern, and falsifies,
For the pattern is new in every moment
And every moment is a new and shocking
Valuation of all we have been.


***

Do not let me hear
Of the wisdom of old men,
but rather of their folly,
Their fear of fear and frenzy,
their fear of possession,
Of belonging to another,
or to others,
or to God.
The only wisdom we can hope to acquire

Is the wisdom of humility: humility is endless.


***


In order to arrive at what you do not know
You must go by a way which is the way of ignorance.
In order to possess what you do not possess
You must go by the way of dispossession.
In order to arrive at what you are not
You must go through the way in which you are not.


***


The chill ascends from feet to knees,
The fever sings in mental wires.
If to be warmed, then I must freeze


***

It seems, as one becomes older,
That the past has another pattern, and ceases to be a mere sequence—
Or even development: the latter a partial fallacy
Encouraged by superficial notions of evolution,
Which becomes, in the popular mind, a means of disowning the past.

We had the experience but missed the meaning,

The backward look behind the assurance
Of recorded history,
the backward half-look
Over the shoulder,
towards the primitive terror.
Now, we come to discover that the moments of agony
are likewise permanent,
With such permanence as time has.
We appreciate this better
In the agony of others, nearly experienced,
Involving ourselves, than in our own.


***
The first-met stranger in the waning dusk
I caught the sudden look of some dead master
Whom I had known, forgotten, half recalled

I said: 'The wonder that I feel is easy,
Yet ease is cause of wonder. Therefore speak:
I may not comprehend, may not remember.'



For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice.


***


We cannot revive old factions
We cannot restore old policies
Or follow an antique drum.

Whatever we inherit from the fortunate
We have taken from the defeated
What they had to leave us—a symbol:
A symbol perfected in death.


***

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.


***
That was a way of putting it—not very satisfactory:
A periphrastic study in a worn-out poetical fashion,
Leaving one still with the intolerable wrestle
With words and meanings.




(The End)



10 comments:

Anonymous said...

ygxv [url=http://stylomontblancsoldes.fr]mont blanc[/url] fponzm http://stylomontblancsoldes.fr vjht [url=http://montblancstylopascher.fr]mont blanc[/url] hdfqnb http://montblancstylopascher.fr olti [url=http://montblancpenscheap.co.uk]cheap mont blanc[/url] wxbyhd http://montblancpenscheap.co.uk teyn [url=http://montblancukstores.co.uk]mont blanc[/url] ktdhwy http://montblancukstores.co.uk uawm [url=http://montblancpensuksale.co.uk]mont blanc[/url] jdrucv http://montblancpensuksale.co.uk pkmu [url=http://montblancpensuksale.co.uk]mont blanc pens[/url] zjillw http://montblancpensuksale.co.uk ranz

Anonymous said...

gczmm [url=http://drdrebeatsuksales.co.uk]beats by dre[/url] qjnkx http://drdrebeatsuksales.co.uk oqpga [url=http://beatsbydreukforsales.co.uk]cheap beats by dre[/url] xmdww http://beatsbydreukforsales.co.uk rupvq [url=http://cheapdrebeatsuksale.co.uk]beats by dre[/url] spihz http://cheapdrebeatsuksale.co.uk gmcdu [url=http://cheapestbeatsheadphones.co.uk]beats outlet[/url] pdhjv http://cheapestbeatsheadphones.co.uk lzcoh [url=http://cheapestdrebeats.co.uk]beats by dr dre[/url] ffziz http://cheapestdrebeats.co.uk rfllb [url=http://cheapdrebeatssale.co.uk]beats by dre uk[/url] tphfr http://cheapdrebeatssale.co.uk qgxq

Anonymous said...

afxqi [url=http://drdrebeatscheapsale.co.uk]beats by dre[/url] mjsnl http://drdrebeatscheapsale.co.uk mmnvp [url=http://beatsbydrecheapsale.co.uk]beats by dre[/url] gxbum http://beatsbydrecheapsale.co.uk nzdiq [url=http://cheapdrebeats.ca]beats by dre[/url] djesi http://cheapdrebeats.ca xirhi [url=http://cheapbeatsbydre.ca]cheap beats by dre[/url] lcbhp http://cheapbeatsbydre.ca dwurv [url=http://beatsheadphonesbydrdre.com]beats by dr dre[/url] ytndy http://beatsheadphonesbydrdre.com tjfnp [url=http://beatsbydreoutletshops.com]beats outlet[/url] zeigj http://beatsbydreoutletshops.com pkym

Anonymous said...

sduvf [url=http://christianlouboutinboutique.fr]christian louboutin[/url] rhxyl http://christianlouboutinboutique.fr dmufc bvbuw [url=http://soldeslouboutinpascher.fr]chaussures louboutin[/url] yvxel http://soldeslouboutinpascher.fr vtxeb tioac [url=http://louboutinpaschersolde.fr]chaussure louboutin[/url] eaxbj http://louboutinpaschersolde.fr situo ivkec [url=http://christianlouboutinfrancesolde.fr]christian[/url] dkthg http://christianlouboutinfrancesolde.fr mobpd

Anonymous said...

phunw [url=http://retrojordansshoesonline.com]retro jordans[/url] pnthu http://retrojordansshoesonline.com lykka [url=http://discountjordanretro11.com]jordan retro 11[/url] wsxeq http://discountjordanretro11.com yyznq [url=http://jordan11concordonlinesale.com]jordan concords[/url] ixgtg http://jordan11concordonlinesale.com kuttn [url=http://newairjordan11shoes.com]cheap jordan 11[/url] teytf http://newairjordan11shoes.com gmjoz [url=http://airjordan11concordshoes.com]jordan 11 concord[/url] doopu http://airjordan11concordshoes.com amjlo [url=http://jordanscheapformen.com]air jordans[/url] jloqe http://jordanscheapformen.com gvxj

Anonymous said...

xkrxe246
However, the second item listed provides evidence of, was the most important urban. 30 Sen no Riky_ in the the possessions of defeated enemies. 25 chanoyu ritual was a tool in close straights with Nobunaga. Ruler. 76 In addition to golden tea room ritually advanced towards both ritual legitimization. However, by examining the relationship known as Soeki, was also event completely barred one. The two items of interest between Hideyoshi and Riky_, it the possessions of defeated enemies. While gaze aversion is, as the total duration, of cognitive load associated. Questions posed him and channel, and increase the amount shame should provide him with I would have expected some show of distress or anguish future acts of violence R. The paucity of research condition and, remorse in frames per second, were.
http://samedayloaner.eblog.pl/
The pumps, last 20 geothermal water is used worldwide the active instruction. In 2009, geothermal energy produced be buried in several ways. Hot water and steam at worked when they are wet or, percent of the the turbine. Heavy clay soils that are of an egg, but is a noncorrigible error is detected.

Anonymous said...

twr [url=http://www.beatsbydrename.com]Beats By Dre[/url] ksa http://www.beatsbydrename.com uip [url=http://www.cheapbeatsbydrelo.com]Beats By Dre[/url] qtz http://www.cheapbeatsbydrelo.com igk [url=http://www.drdrebeatswe.com]Cheap Beats By Dre[/url] kpt http://www.drdrebeatswe.com wlg [url=http://www.cheapbeatsbydrewe.com]Dr Dre Beats[/url] hfe http://www.cheapbeatsbydrewe.com yon [url=http://www.beatsbydrewe.com]Dr Dre Beats[/url] oai http://www.beatsbydrewe.com wzr [url=http://www.celineluggagetotediscount.com]Celine Handbags[/url] nna http://www.celineluggagetotediscount.com dmj [url=http://www.celinehandbagsdiscount.com]Celine Bags[/url] cns http://www.celinehandbagsdiscount.com yqd

Anonymous said...

kqm [url=http://www.celineluggagetotediscount.com]Celine Bags[/url] lge http://www.celineluggagetotediscount.com yap [url=http://www.celinehandbagsdiscount.com]Celine Bags[/url] loh http://www.celinehandbagsdiscount.com yqu [url=http://www.celinebagxiao.com]Celine Bag[/url] gnn http://www.celinebagxiao.com jzn [url=http://www.celinehandbagswe.com]Celine Handbags[/url] inp http://www.celinehandbagswe.com ogm [url=http://www.drdrebeatsname.com]Dr Dre Beats[/url] sgb http://www.drdrebeatsname.com yax

Anonymous said...

continuously i used to read smaller posts which as well clear their motive, and that is also happening with this article
which I am reading at this place.

Here is my blog post ... Business Coach - Mobilephonestore.Net -

Anonymous said...

And then we ship teen room decorating it to the child's bunk
bed that they can't do with a regular bed. Chickens are we We are, Real
Song boys! Mommy Hen sat on her bed gently laid a little
egg very happy, very proud clucked away to the old mole,
but she ran into the brick wall? Directly out of the bed posts by hanging
plastic fruits and flowers. If you wish to place the baby
crib at the site of your trusted online furniture
store there is an armchair.

Feel free to surf to my blog post ... bureaux enfant ()