The passage of time can be so weird to acknowledge. I was in high school how many decades ago? People my age are grandparents? I'm how close to retirement?* How can I be this old, I don't feel like it.
*Answer: Not close enough
One of those signs is hitting me this month, which is twenty years since I started a blog. How?
My first post started:
And here I am, more than 4500 posts later, boggling at time. And enjoying a good mental wander from pillar to post.
Recently at work, someone was emailing an update on something that didn't get done that day, and wrote casually, "Time's winged chariot and all that." I knew I recognized the quote, but had to look it up. We studied some poetry in I think it was a high school English class, and I remember that I did like the start of To His Coy Mistress, by Andrew Marvell:
Had we but World enough, and Time,
This coyness, Lady, were no crime.
But the phrase my coworker used comes later:
But at my back I always hear
Time's wingèd chariot hurrying near
Quite the thing to throw into an email, though, isn't it?
There's one other quote from this poem that links to something else, in my head:
The Grave's a fine and private place,
But none I think do there embrace.
Has anyone else read A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle? I read it a long time ago (there's time again), and remember it as a good book.
I need to include "Time's winged chariot" in all my responses.
ReplyDelete20 years! That's awesome. I am...at 18! TIME'S WINGED CHARIOT
I just loved how casual he was about it, like of course everyone would get that reference.
DeleteTHANK YOU for reminding me about this wonderful poem. As a BritLit major in college, I remember falling in love with it my freshman year.
ReplyDeleteI like to eliminate that second line and read it this way:
Had we but world enough and time,
We would sit down, and think which way
To walk, and pass our long love’s day.
It becomes so much more meaningful and lovely.
Congratulations on reaching the 20 Year Milestone. This month is 21 for me, and I know exactly how you feel. (Hug Newman for me, please. He's my new favourite orange tabby.)
I like your interpretation!
DeleteI gave the chonker a hug for you this morning. He was not impressed, I'm afraid! Very much how dare I pick him up.
20 years! Amazing! Congrats!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteCongrats on 20 years! I love having a searchable journal of my life to remind me of all the things I've done over the years.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is so handy to have!
DeleteHappy blogiversary! Time's winged chariot indeed: I got word yesterday that one of my great heroes in this life had passed. If you've ever read Dr. Rachel Remen's books, she is in person very much the person she comes across in her writings. My Grandfather's Blessings. Kitchen Table Wisdom. Highly recommended.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on 20 years of writing! I love that you are able to, first of all, recognize a phrase as a literary reference, and then to track down the source. It reminds me of the "Rumpole of the Bailey" books. And maybe P.G. Wodehouse/Bertie Wooster.
ReplyDeleteCertainly in the days of the internet, it's a lot easier to track these things down! Thirty years ago, I would have been muttering, "I know I know that ... what was it from?"
Delete