And so begins one of my favorite sonnets (#30) by The Bard himself. I'm a huge fan of Shakespeare. Not sure I can explain why. I got hooked on him in high school and haven't lost my enthusiasm for reading his plays and poems. It's one of those things, either you love him or you don't. Those of my friends in the "don't" column just look at me and shake their heads.
This particular sonnet is about friendship, lamenting the lost and being grateful for what you have. Here it is in full, just in case you're interested (if you're in the "don't" column, too, then you can just skip it, ok?):
When to the sessions of sweet silent thought,
I summon up remembrance of things past,
I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,
And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:
Then can I drown an eye (unused to flow)
For precious friends hid in death's dateless night,
And weep afresh love's long since cancelled woe,
And moan th' expense of many a vanished sight.
Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,
And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er
The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,
Which I new pay as if not paid before.
But if the while I think on thee (dear friend)
All losses are restored, and sorrows end.
Deep stuff.
The reason I post this today is two-fold. One, I've gotten back in touch with some old friends I haven't seen or talked to in a while. A couple of years ago I learned of the death of a friend I hadn't seen in many years, and it broke my heart because I had actually been trying to get in touch with him and was unsuccessful. It hit me as hard as if there hadn't been a 16-year gap in our friendship. Don't let this happen to you. Are you thinking about someone you've fallen out of touch with? Call him/her, write a letter, email a card, whatever you have to, to tell that person you're thinking about him/her. Just do it.
The second reason is on a bit of a brighter note (sorry I got a little maudlin on you for a minute) - literally.
When I was in high school I had the privilege of being a part of a very good symphonic band. We had an outstanding band director who challenged us to play to our utmost potential, and we played some really great pieces. The CD player birthday present prompted me to start looking for recordings of some of the pieces we did over those four years, and I'm just beside myself tickled because I found one CD from Tower Records that has three of my all-time favorites on it. The same CD! How grand is that? So now I can't wait for it to come in the mail so I can pop it in the boom box and fill the study with music to write by.
Sigh. Remembrances of things past ...
Today is a Classical Thunder day. Lots to do, and nothing gets my blood pumping quite like Sabre Dance.
Do good for you things today: Read a book. Call an old friend. Listen to Khachaturian, if you must.
=) JB
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