Friday, July 28, 2023
When it comes to my never-ending practical jokes, profound embarrassment and finely directed personalized sarcasm, my boys are fair game for me. Delving into what some may call borderline child torture, I try to put them both into scenarios that force them to lash back at me with fervor. Not with disrespect, just fervor. Last weekend, I took them fishing. Yes, “again”. And we’re probably going this weekend as well, if it isn’t pouring rain out.
Once we got the boat into the water and the poles were ready to attack the local species around the Fort Espinar public boat landing on the Colon side, I got to the front of the boat to manipulate the trolling motor. After nearly an hour at the helm, I was gliding our vessel through the tree trunks which protruded more than 5 feet out of the water due to our local drought. Quite confident in my graceful abilities, I wasn’t paying attention as I was simultaneously casting my lure in one direction and moving our boat in another. The boys had been arguing about who the better fisherperson was between them (which is ridiculous because they hadn’t caught anything yet), when I bumped into one of the vertical logs. The boys stumbled but didn’t go into the brink… …”Darn, no splash!”, I said out loud.
Brandon, picking up on the joke, spoke up first, “Oh no, we’re going down!”, he said with a grin. “If you survive, tell you mother that I love her!!”, I yelled out jokingly. “A crew always goes down with their ship.”, Brett Jr stated. “Oh no sir, just the captain goes down with the ship. And you’re the captain.”, I clarified. “I’m not the captain, YOU’RE the captain.”, he said kinda upset that I had given him such a prestigious title. “I clearly heard someone say earlier, `Hey, that’s Brett Mikkelson, the captain… …he’s a cool guy´, and I knew they must’ve been talkin’ about my son!”, I continued to prod. “I’ll accept the title of captain when I start making the big bucks.”, he finalized. Yep, it can truly be a blast when you share your name with your son.
So yesterday, when I got home from work, I was looking for him and yelled out, “Hey Brett, where are you?”. He popped his head from around a corner and clarified, “That’s CAPTAIN Brett, if you don’t mind. Do you have our allowance?” Immediately behind him Brandon spoke up, “And you can call me Sergeant Brandon! Cha-ching!!!” I forgot it was payday.
And that’s how the Queen gained her own military force financed by yours truly. I’ll find out what my rank is this weekend when all 4 of us are in the boat.
TOP NEWS and TIDBITS:
Yoli’s Wisdom
REQUIREMENTS TO TRAVEL TO EUROPEAN COUNTRIES FROM PANAMA
Requirements to travel to European countries from Panama.
Starting from the year 2024, Panamanian citizens will be required to complete an ETIAS permit application before boarding a flight to 23 European countries. For this reason, we are explaining the requirements that you must not forget before purchasing your airplane ticket to Europe.
Firstly, it is important to explain the meaning of ETIAS, which stands for the European Travel Information and Authorization System. Panamanian citizens will be required to apply for this permit to enter the participating European countries for short stays of less than 90 days, for purposes such as tourism, business, transit, or medical reasons.
The ETIAS program is intended to control travelers arriving from abroad in response to the global increase in terrorist activities.
Other requirements necessary to enter Europe from Panama
It is important to take into account that when applying for the ETIAS permit or visa, Panamanian citizens can request it online, and the following points should be considered:
- The ETIAS permit is valid for arrivals in Europe by air, sea, or land.
- Travelers must have a machine-readable electronic passport.
- The ETIAS is for short visits for tourism, business, transit, and medical purposes.
- Applicants under 18 or over 70 years old will receive their ETIAS permit free of charge.
An important piece of information is that ETIAS permit applications submitted by Panamanian citizens will typically be processed and approved within minutes, and the authorizations will be sent via email in the form of a PDF document. It is not necessary to print or present any documents since the ETIAS permit will be electronically linked to the corresponding passport details stored in the European immigration system.
Countries that are part of the ETIAS permit
The 23 countries that are part of the Schengen group and can only be entered with the ETIAS permit are:
- Germany
- Austria
- Belgium
- Denmark
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Estonia
- Spain
- Finland
- France
- Greece
- Hungary
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Czech Republic
- Sweden
It is important to mention that these countries are known as nations that signed the Schengen agreement and, in addition, they do not have internal border controls, allowing for the free movement of people as if it were a single country.
However, this is not the case for all members of the European Union (EU), as the primary focus of this organization lies on economic and political matters.
READ HERE: REQUISITOS PARA VIAJAR A PAÍSES EUROPEOS DESDE PANAMÁ
MINSA WARNS ABOUT FRAUDULENT CHARGES TO MERCHANTS
MINSA warns about fraudulent charges to merchants.
The National Directorate of Food Control and Veterinary Surveillance (DNCAVV) of the Ministry of Health (MINSA) issues a warning to sanitary-interest commercial establishments, system users, and the general population regarding scams involving fraudulent charges by individuals who do not belong to the institution. These scammers make threats of imposing sanctions such as fines, closure of the premises, and fees for processing paperwork.
MINSA informs the public that all officials are always in uniform and carry identification from the competent authority. During inspections, a record of the inspection is left in the form of an inspection report.
Requests for food health registrations for human consumption are made through the Integrated System of Procedures (SIT) of the Panamanian Food Agency (APA). Payments related to this process are made in cash or certified checks payable to the National Treasury at the central treasury cashier of MINSA. A receipt is provided for the payment. Online payments, yappy, credit or debit card payments are not accepted.
MINSA urges affected individuals to file complaints with the competent authorities for appropriate investigations. We emphasize that the public should communicate any doubts to 512-9180 or through the email consultadinacavv@minsa.gob.pa.
READ HERE: MINSA ADVIERTE SOBRE COBROS FRAUDULENTOS A COMERCIANTES
MAYOR OF PANAMA BEGINS THE DELIVERY OF VEHICLE DECALS FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL
Similarly, people have the option of receiving the sticker at their home address.
Panama City Hall announced that the process of delivering vehicle stickers for April 2023 began on Thursday, July 20.
The authorities of the capital district informed that the distribution of the stickers takes place at Francisco Arias Paredes Park, diagonally opposite the Hatillo Building on Cuba Avenue, from Monday to Friday, between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. On Saturdays, the service is available from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Additionally, individuals have the option of receiving the sticker at their home address, and the request can be processed on the website alcaldiadigital.gob.pa.
Panama City Hall reminded that \”to receive the sticker, the circulation tax must have been paid, and the vehicle must have a valid inspection.\”
PANAMA EVALUATES POSSIBLE INCREASE IN ELECTRICITY RATE
Panama evaluates possible increase in the electricity rate.
After experts talked about a possible increase in electricity rates in Panama, alarm bells were raised among the citizens; some point out that the rising electricity prices are considered a blow to the wallets of Panamanians.
It is important to mention that in the country, every four years, authorities along with energy distribution companies review the tariff tables to then be evaluated and decide on the cost to be applied to the sector.
The potential increase is related to the Tariff Schedules for Distribution and Commercialization of the Electric Distribution Company Metro-Oeste, S.A. (EDEMET) and the Electric Distribution Company Chiriquí, S.A. (EDECHI) for the period from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2026.
Citizens are complaining about the inexplicable increase in electricity bills, and some have filed complaints with the authorities.
The National Authority of Public Services (ASEP) informs that citizens have until Thursday, July 27, to participate in the public consultation No. 007-23-Elec. This consultation has been called to subject the proposal of the Tariff Schedules to the consideration of the public, allowing them to submit comments and observations.
Those interested in participating can access the proposed document through the ASEP website or at the offices of the National Directorate of Electricity, Potable Water, and Sanitary Sewer, located on the first floor of the Office Park Building, on Via España and Via Fernández de Córdoba.
It is important to mention that the Electric Sector in Panama comprises installations related to the conversion of primary energy sources into electrical energy (Generation), the management and voltage elevation of such energy to deliver it to consumption centers (Transmission), and its final delivery to customers for use (Distribution) at various voltage levels.
READ HERE: EVALÚAN EN PANAMÁ POSIBLE AUMENTO EN LA TARIFA DE LUZ ELÉCTRICA
THE COST OF WORK PERMITS FOR MIGRANT WORKERS IS SET
The cost of work permit cards for migrant workers has been set.
The Ministry of Labor and Labor Development (MITRADEL) has set the cost of B/. 100.00 for the issuance of identification cards or permits for Migrant Workers under the status of Temporary Protection Permit in Panama.
This is the cost of the Temporary Protection Permit for Foreigners in Panama (https://www.telemetro.com/nacionales/este-es-el-costo-del-permiso-temporal-proteccion-extranjeros-panama-n5902087).
According to Resolution No. DM-267-2023 of July 19, 2023 (https://www.gacetaoficial.gob.pa/pdfTemp/29831/GacetaNo_29831_20230724.pdf), the validity period of the card is 2 years.
Where can I apply for the temporary work permit for migrants?
On the Mitradel website, under the \”Empleo\” (Employment) section (https://www.mitradel.gob.pa/empleo/), you will find various available virtual processes. Click on the one described as \”Departamento de Migración Laboral: Registro de Mano de Obra Migrantes (Permiso de Trabajo Temporal de Protección)\” (Labor Migration Department: Migrant Labor Registration – Temporary Protection Work Permit) (https://apps.mitradel.gob.pa/Survey/inicial&meth=IrVerificacion&idsurvey=6). Here, you will be asked to complete a form if you have already done the pre-registration and have an appointment with the National Immigration Service to process the Temporary Protection Permit.
The Panamanian Government approved Executive Decree No. 7 on July 13, 2023, which temporarily regulates articles 17 and 18 of the Labor Code (https://www.mitradel.gob.pa/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/c%C3%B3digo-detrabajo.pdf) and establishes the Work Permit for Migrant Workers under the status of Temporary Protection Permit.
READ HERE: FIJAN EL COSTO DE LOS CARNÉS DE TRABAJO PARA TRABAJADORES MIGRANTES
FUEL PRICES: IS GASOLINE GOING UP OR DOWN IN PANAMA?
Panama Fuel.
Starting from this Friday, July 28, new fuel prices will be in effect in Panama, with an increase in diesel and 95 and 91 octane gasoline.
These prices will be valid until August 11, 2023.
95 octane gasoline will increase by B/.0.064 per liter, while 91 octane gasoline will increase by B/.0.063 per liter, and diesel will increase by B/.0.042 per liter.
Prices per Gallon
Per gallon, the prices are as follows:
- 95 octane (B/.4.28),
- 91 octane (B/.3.70), and
- diesel (B/.3.33).
Every fourteen days on the calendar, the gasoline value in Panama is updated based on the variations experienced by the respective average import prices and the estimation of transportation costs and reasonable marketing margins for each type of fuel.
READ HERE: PRECIOS DEL COMBUSTIBLE: ¿SUBE O BAJA LA GASOLINA EN PANAMÁ?
PANAMA CANAL TO MAINTAIN DRAFT DUE TO LACK OF RAINFALL
Water shortage puts the Panama Canal in a complex situation.
Due to the lack of rainfall recorded in this \”winter\” season as a result of the climatic variations caused by the El Niño phenomenon, the Panama Canal has announced that it will maintain a competitive draft of 13.41 meters or 44 feet in the coming months.
This measure will be in effect until the weather conditions normalize and do not affect the current projections of the Panama Canal.
This draft will only allow the passage of approximately 32 vessels per day.
This decision has been taken in view of the forecasted changes in precipitation patterns, which could affect water availability in the region due to a global-scale phenomenon.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States officially declared that the El Niño phenomenon is present and will persist in the coming months.
The Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology of Panama (IMHPA) has repeatedly announced that there is a high probability of entering a dry season in 2024 with rainfall deficit due to its presence.
The Canal has been implementing various strategies to improve water efficiency in its operations and is also conducting studies to identify long-term solutions to cope with climate variability.
However, the severity and current persistence of the situation are unprecedented in the history of the canal.
Water levels of Gatun Lake / Courtesy / Panama Canal.
What is a competitive draft?
The competitive draft of ships refers to the capacity of a vessel to transport a maximum load efficiently and cost-effectively. It specifies the maximum depth to which the ship can be submerged with its full cargo.
If a ship has a draft that is too large for a specific port or route, it could face limitations or additional costs, such as the need to unload part of its cargo to enter the port or encounter navigation restrictions that affect its efficiency and scheduling.
The Panama Canal stated that all its clients have been notified of the measures being implemented to continue providing service to thousands of customers worldwide.
READ HERE: CANAL DE PANAMÁ MANTENDRÁ CALADO DEBIDO A FALTA DE LLUVIAS
LAWYER CONVICTED AND SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR DOCUMENT FORGERY
Prison for Panamanian lawyer.
32 months of imprisonment and 32 months of disqualification have been enforced for a Panamanian lawyer through the condemnatory sentence number 1554 of July 24, 2023, issued by the guarantee judge of the first judicial circuit of Panama.
The sentence is given for the commission of the crime against public faith in the form of document forgery.
Background
The National Migration Service (SNM) filed a complaint with the authorities against the woman after discovering that she had in her possession forged documents, institutional seals, and the signature of the General Director of the SNM, Samira Gozaine.
READ HERE: CONDENAN A PRISIÓN A ABOGADA POR FALSIFICACIÓN DE DOCUMENTOS
THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ELECTRONIC BRACELETS FOR DOMESTIC ABUSERS HAS BEEN APPROVED.
The implementation of electronic bracelets for domestic abusers has been approved.
Through an interinstitutional agreement for the implementation, use, and monitoring of electronic bracelets, they have approved their implementation as a protective measure for victims of domestic violence and other crimes. The Attorney General of the Nation (PGN), Javier Enrique Caraballo Salazar, highlighted that the use of the bracelet is a tool that they hope will protect the physical and psychological integrity of victims of domestic violence.
This measure will allow monitoring and prevention of violent acts from escalating into regrettable incidents such as homicide and serious injuries, emphasized the Attorney General.
Furthermore, Attorney General Caraballo pointed out that initially, these bracelets will be used as a pilot program for domestic violence cases; however, with their application, they can be used for other crimes when the physical integrity of the victim is at risk.
The signing of this interinstitutional agreement is important for the Public Ministry, as it has the authority to prosecute crimes and offenses of constitutional or legal provisions, as established in Article 220, numeral 4 of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Panama.
Also present at the signing were the President of the Supreme Court of Justice, María Eugenia López Arias, the Minister of Public Security, Juan Manuel Pino, the Minister of Women, Juana Herrera Araúz, and the Minister of Government, Roger Tejada.
Electronic bracelets as a protective measure
The agreement highlights the need to implement a special protective measure that guarantees real and effective security for women victims of domestic violence and other crimes, as there is a perceived increase in the breach of the prohibition of approaching the victim, putting the woman\’s life and integrity at risk.
Through this agreement, the Public Ministry commits to establishing statistical records on cases of domestic violence, gender-based violence, and sexual crimes nationwide, disaggregated by age, ethnicity, migratory status, and location of the incidents.
Additionally, they will maintain coordination with the Judicial Branch, the Monitoring and Location Center, and the prosecutors will request hearings before the Guarantee Judge once they become aware of the breach of protective measures or non-compliance with precautionary measures.
READ HERE: APRUEBAN IMPLEMENTAR BRAZALETES ELECTRÓNICOS PARA AGRESORES DOMÉSTICOS
PARTIAL CLOSURES ON THE CORREDOR NORTE THIS WEEKEND. WHERE WILL THEY TAKE PLACE?
La Empresa Nacional de Autopista ENA.
The National Highway Company (ENA)informs drivers and users of the Corredor Norte that there will be partial closures this weekend due to preventive maintenance works in the following sections:
- Lane closure on the access ramp to Corredor Norte in the direction of Albrook from Los Andes, for concrete slab replacement, starting from Friday, May 26 at 9:00 p.m. until Sunday at 12:00 p.m. During the closure, one lane will be open in the direction towards Albrook.
Drivers should take the detour to Milla 8 to access the corridor via the ramp of ramal 32 Cerro Quemado, in the direction of Tinajitas.
- In the Torrijos Cartes area, specifically in the \’La Fula\’ section in the direction towards Albrook, one lane will be closed from Friday, May 26 at 9:00 p.m. until Sunday, May 28 at 2:00 p.m. also for slab replacement. One lane will be kept open for traffic.
These locations will be properly marked and illuminated during the nighttime hours.
ENA reminds drivers to exercise caution, obey traffic signals, not exceed speed limits, and avoid distractions while driving.
Maintenance works that require temporary road closures are scheduled during nighttime and/or weekends to minimize the impact on users.
READ HERE: ENA, CIERRES PARCIALES EN EL CORREDOR NORTE ESTE FIN DE SEMANA ¿DÓNDE?
PROVISIONAL DETENTION FOR ONE OF THOSE INVOLVED IN THE BANK ROBBERY
Provisional detention.
The Public Ministry, through the Second Section of Crimes against Economic Patrimony, charged and ordered the precautionary measure of provisional detention for a man allegedly linked to the armed robbery at the bank branch located in El Ingenio.
The individual was charged with the alleged commission of the crime of aggravated robbery, and his apprehension was also legalized.
The man was arrested on the same day of the robbery during the night hours in the Curundú district.
During the guarantee hearing, the prosecutor representing the Attorney General presented the evidence that links the Panamanian man to the incident.
The detention occurred after the National Police conducted intense police operations to locate the 4 criminals who committed the robbery.
During the search and seizure proceedings conducted in the parking lots of Multis in Curundú, in addition to the capture of the individual, two vehicles were found, one of them a taxi with $2,850 in cash.
The National Police will continue with search and tracking operations in other areas of the Capital City with the mission of apprehending all those involved in this crime against the bank entity. The financial loss caused amounted to $28,500.
READ HERE: DETENCIÓN PROVISIONAL PARA UNO DE LOS INVOLUCRADOS EN EL ROBO A BANCO
ELECTORAL TRIBUNAL ANNOUNCES DATE AND TIME FOR THE CONCLUSION OF SIGNATURE COLLECTION
The Electoral Tribunal announces the day and time for the conclusion of the signature collection.
The Electoral Tribunal calls on the citizens, especially the candidates running for public office through independent nomination, that on Sunday, July 30, at 5:00 p.m., the process of collecting support signatures throughout the country will conclude, as established in Decree 11 of February 15, 2023, published in the Electoral Bulletin 5280 of the institution.
One of the candidates for the Presidency through independent nomination, Melitón Arrocha, stated, \”Today, we have 345 days of collecting signatures, from my perspective, these are 345 primaries that we have been having during this long year of work. This is a matter that needs to be reviewed in the electoral regulations.\”
Meanwhile, the Electoral Tribunal indicates that, in this regard, the use of signature collection methods through the App, CAU, Kiosks, and TE Offices will be suspended as of that time, as the registration of information in the computer system for the final process and the counting of the support signatures to which each candidate is entitled begins.
Likewise, it is reiterated that all candidates have until 3:30 p.m. on Monday, July 31, to register their alternate candidates at the electoral institution, respecting gender parity. Those who do not comply with this legal requirement will not be recognized.
READ HERE: TRIBUNAL ELECTORAL ANUNCIAN DÍA Y HORA DE CONCLUSIÓN DE RECOLECCIÓN DE FIRMAS
END NOTES:
I love fishing in all bodies of water, but the freshness of natural lakes have a special place in my heart. A calm sensation always hits me head on when we get out in the early morning to fish. It\’s that perfect nature that lures me back as often as work allows me to. In honor of these beautiful geographical features, I decided to look up a few poems on lakes for your reading pleasure.
The Lady of the Lake
by Sir Walter Scott
The Chase.
Harp of the North! that mouldering long hast hung
On the witch-elm that shades Saint Fillan\’s spring
And down the fitful breeze thy numbers flung,
Till envious ivy did around thee cling,
Muffling with verdant ringlet every string,—
O Minstrel Harp, still must thine accents sleep?
Mid rustling leaves and fountains murmuring,
Still must thy sweeter sounds their silence keep,
Nor bid a warrior smile, nor teach a maid to weep?
Not thus, in ancient days of Caledon, 10
Was thy voice mute amid the festal crowd,
When lay of hopeless love, or glory won,
Aroused the fearful or subdued the proud.
At each according pause was heard aloud
Thine ardent symphony sublime and high!
Fair dames and crested chiefs attention bowed;
For still the burden of thy minstrelsy
Was Knighthood\’s dauntless deed, and Beauty\’s matchless eye.
O, wake once more! how rude soe\’er the hand
That ventures o\’er thy magic maze to stray;
O, wake once more! though scarce my skill command
Some feeble echoing of thine earlier lay:
Though harsh and faint, and soon to die away,
And all unworthy of thy nobler strain,
Yet if one heart throb higher at its sway,
The wizard note has not been touched in vain.
Then silent be no more! Enchantress, wake again!
I.
The stag at eve had drunk his fill,
Where danced the moon on Monan\’s rill,
And deep his midnight lair had made
In lone Glenartney\’s hazel shade;
But when the sun his beacon red
Had kindled on Benvoirlich\’s head,
The deep-mouthed bloodhound\’s heavy bay
Resounded up the rocky way,
And faint, from farther distance borne,
Were heard the clanging hoof and horn.
II.
As Chief, who hears his warder call,
\’To arms! the foemen storm the wall,\’
The antlered monarch of the waste
Sprung from his heathery couch in haste.
But ere his fleet career he took,
The dew-drops from his flanks he shook;
Like crested leader proud and high
Tossed his beamed frontlet to the sky;
A moment gazed adown the dale,
A moment snuffed the tainted gale,
A moment listened to the cry,
That thickened as the chase drew nigh;
Then, as the headmost foes appeared,
With one brave bound the copse he cleared,
And, stretching forward free and far,
Sought the wild heaths of Uam-Var.
III.
Yelled on the view the opening pack;
Rock, glen, and cavern paid them back;
To many a mingled sound at once
The awakened mountain gave response.
A hundred dogs bayed deep and strong,
Clattered a hundred steeds along,
Their peal the merry horns rung out,
A hundred voices joined the shout;
With hark and whoop and wild halloo,
No rest Benvoirlich\’s echoes knew.
Far from the tumult fled the roe,
Close in her covert cowered the doe,
The falcon, from her cairn on high,
Cast on the rout a wondering eye,
Till far beyond her piercing ken
The hurricane had swept the glen.
Faint, and more faint, its failing din
Returned from cavern, cliff, and linn,
And silence settled, wide and still,
On the lone wood and mighty hill.
IV.
Less loud the sounds of sylvan war
Disturbed the heights of Uam-Var,
And roused the cavern where, \’t is told,
A giant made his den of old;
For ere that steep ascent was won,
High in his pathway hung the sun,
And many a gallant, stayed perforce,
Was fain to breathe his faltering horse,
And of the trackers of the deer
Scarce half the lessening pack was near;
So shrewdly on the mountain-side
Had the bold burst their mettle tried.
V.
The noble stag was pausing now
Upon the mountain\’s southern brow,
Where broad extended, far beneath,
The varied realms of fair Menteith.
With anxious eye he wandered o\’er
Mountain and meadow, moss and moor,
And pondered refuge from his toil,
By far Lochard or Aberfoyle.
But nearer was the copsewood gray
That waved and wept on Loch Achray,
And mingled with the pine-trees blue
On the bold cliffs of Benvenue.
Fresh vigor with the hope returned,
With flying foot the heath he spurned,
Held westward with unwearied race,
And left behind the panting chase.
VI.
\’T were long to tell what steeds gave o\’er,
As swept the hunt through Cambusmore;
What reins were tightened in despair,
When rose Benledi\’s ridge in air;
Who flagged upon Bochastle\’s heath,
Who shunned to stem the flooded Teith,—
For twice that day, from shore to shore,
The gallant stag swam stoutly o\’er.
Few were the stragglers, following far,
That reached the lake of Vennachar;
And when the Brigg of Turk was won,
The headmost horseman rode alone.
VII.
Alone, but with unbated zeal,
That horseman plied the scourge and steel;
For jaded now, and spent with toil,
Embossed with foam, and dark with soil,
While every gasp with sobs he drew,
The laboring stag strained full in view.
Two dogs of black Saint Hubert\’s breed,
Unmatched for courage, breath, and speed,
Fast on his flying traces came,
And all but won that desperate game;
For, scarce a spear\’s length from his haunch,
Vindictive toiled the bloodhounds stanch;
Nor nearer might the dogs attain,
Nor farther might the quarry strain
Thus up the margin of the lake,
Between the precipice and brake,
O\’er stock and rock their race they take.
VIII.
The Hunter marked that mountain high,
The lone lake\’s western boundary,
And deemed the stag must turn to bay,
Where that huge rampart barred the way;
Already glorying in the prize,
Measured his antlers with his eyes;
For the death-wound and death-halloo
Mustered his breath, his whinyard drew:—
But thundering as he came prepared,
With ready arm and weapon bared,
The wily quarry shunned the shock,
And turned him from the opposing rock;
Then, dashing down a darksome glen,
Soon lost to hound and Hunter\’s ken,
In the deep Trosachs\’ wildest nook
His solitary refuge took.
There, while close couched the thicket shed
Cold dews and wild flowers on his head,
He heard the baffled dogs in vain
Rave through the hollow pass amain,
Chiding the rocks that yelled again.
IX.
Close on the hounds the Hunter came,
To cheer them on the vanished game;
But, stumbling in the rugged dell,
The gallant horse exhausted fell.
The impatient rider strove in vain
To rouse him with the spur and rein,
For the good steed, his labors o\’er,
Stretched his stiff limbs, to rise no more;
Then, touched with pity and remorse,
He sorrowed o\’er the expiring horse.
\’I little thought, when first thy rein
I slacked upon the banks of Seine,
That Highland eagle e\’er should feed
On thy fleet limbs, my matchless steed!
Woe worth the chase, woe worth the day,
That costs thy life, my gallant gray!\’
X.
Then through the dell his horn resounds,
From vain pursuit to call the hounds.
Back limped, with slow and crippled pace,
The sulky leaders of the chase;
Close to their master\’s side they pressed,
With drooping tail and humbled crest;
But still the dingle\’s hollow throat
Prolonged the swelling bugle-note.
The owlets started from their dream,
The eagles answered with their scream,
Round and around the sounds were cast,
Till echo seemed an answering blast;
And on the Hunter tried his way,
To join some comrades of the day,
Yet often paused, so strange the road,
So wondrous were the scenes it showed.
XI.
The western waves of ebbing day
Rolled o\’er the glen their level way;
Each purple peak, each flinty spire,
Was bathed in floods of living fire.
But not a setting beam could glow
Within the dark ravines below,
Where twined the path in shadow hid,
Round many a rocky pyramid,
Shooting abruptly from the dell
Its thunder-splintered pinnacle;
Round many an insulated mass,
The native bulwarks of the pass,
Huge as the tower which builders vain
Presumptuous piled on Shinar\’s plain.
The rocky summits, split and rent,
Formed turret, dome, or battlement.
Or seemed fantastically set
With cupola or minaret,
Wild crests as pagod ever decked,
Or mosque of Eastern architect.
Nor were these earth-born castles bare,
Nor lacked they many a banner fair;
For, from their shivered brows displayed,
Far o\’er the unfathomable glade,
All twinkling with the dewdrop sheen,
The briar-rose fell in streamers green,
kind creeping shrubs of thousand dyes
Waved in the west-wind\’s summer sighs.
XII.
Boon nature scattered, free and wild,
Each plant or flower, the mountain\’s child.
Here eglantine embalmed the air,
Hawthorn and hazel mingled there;
The primrose pale and violet flower
Found in each cliff a narrow bower;
Foxglove and nightshade, side by side,
Emblems of punishment and pride,
Grouped their dark hues with every stain
The weather-beaten crags retain.
With boughs that quaked at every breath,
Gray birch and aspen wept beneath;
Aloft, the ash and warrior oak
Cast anchor in the rifted rock;
And, higher yet, the pine-tree hung
His shattered trunk, and frequent flung,
Where seemed the cliffs to meet on high,
His boughs athwart the narrowed sky.
Highest of all, where white peaks glanced,
Where glistening streamers waved and danced,
The wanderer\’s eye could barely view
The summer heaven\’s delicious blue;
So wondrous wild, the whole might seem
The scenery of a fairy dream.
XIII.
Onward, amid the copse \’gan peep
A narrow inlet, still and deep,
Affording scarce such breadth of brim
As served the wild duck\’s brood to swim.
Lost for a space, through thickets veering,
But broader when again appearing,
Tall rocks and tufted knolls their face
Could on the dark-blue mirror trace;
And farther as the Hunter strayed,
Still broader sweep its channels made.
The shaggy mounds no longer stood,
Emerging from entangled wood,
But, wave-encircled, seemed to float,
Like castle girdled with its moat;
Yet broader floods extending still
Divide them from their parent hill,
Till each, retiring, claims to be
An islet in an inland sea.
XIV.
And now, to issue from the glen,
No pathway meets the wanderer\’s ken,
Unless he climb with footing nice
A far-projecting precipice.
The broom\’s tough roots his ladder made,
The hazel saplings lent their aid;
And thus an airy point he won,
Where, gleaming with the setting sun,
One burnished sheet of living gold,
Loch Katrine lay beneath him rolled,
In all her length far winding lay,
With promontory, creek, and bay,
And islands that, empurpled bright,
Floated amid the livelier light,
And mountains that like giants stand
To sentinel enchanted land.
High on the south, huge Benvenue
Down to the lake in masses threw
Crags, knolls, and mounds, confusedly hurled,
The fragments of an earlier world;
A wildering forest feathered o\’er
His ruined sides and summit hoar,
While on the north, through middle air,
Ben-an heaved high his forehead bare.
XV.
From the steep promontory gazed
The stranger, raptured and amazed,
And, \’What a scene were here,\’ he cried,
\’For princely pomp or churchman\’s pride!
On this bold brow, a lordly tower;
In that soft vale, a lady\’s bower;
On yonder meadow far away,
The turrets of a cloister gray;
How blithely might the bugle-horn
Chide on the lake the lingering morn!
How sweet at eve the lover\’s lute
Chime when the groves were still and mute!
And when the midnight moon should lave
Her forehead in the silver wave,
How solemn on the ear would come
The holy matins\’ distant hum,
While the deep peal\’s commanding tone
Should wake, in yonder islet lone,
A sainted hermit from his cell,
To drop a bead with every knell!
And bugle, lute, and bell, and all,
Should each bewildered stranger call
To friendly feast and lighted hall.
XVI.
\’Blithe were it then to wander here!
But now—beshrew yon nimble deer—
Like that same hermit\’s, thin and spare,
The copse must give my evening fare;
Some mossy bank my couch must be,
Some rustling oak my canopy.
Yet pass we that; the war and chase
Give little choice of resting-place;—
A summer night in greenwood spent
Were but to-morrow\’s merriment:
But hosts may in these wilds abound,
Such as are better missed than found;
To meet with Highland plunderers here
Were worse than loss of steed or deer.—
I am alone;—my bugle-strain
May call some straggler of the train;
Or, fall the worst that may betide,
Ere now this falchion has been tried.\’
XVII.
But scarce again his horn he wound,
When lo! forth starting at the sound,
From underneath an aged oak
That slanted from the islet rock,
A damsel guider of its way,
A little skiff shot to the bay,
That round the promontory steep
Led its deep line in graceful sweep,
Eddying, in almost viewless wave,
The weeping willow twig to rave,
And kiss, with whispering sound and slow,
The beach of pebbles bright as snow.
The boat had touched this silver strand
Just as the Hunter left his stand,
And stood concealed amid the brake,
To view this Lady of the Lake.
The maiden paused, as if again
She thought to catch the distant strain.
With head upraised, and look intent,
And eye and ear attentive bent,
And locks flung back, and lips apart,
Like monument of Grecian art,
In listening mood, she seemed to stand,
The guardian Naiad of the strand.
XVIII.
And ne\’er did Grecian chisel trace
A Nymph, a Naiad, or a Grace,
Of finer form or lovelier face!
What though the sun, with ardent frown,
Had slightly tinged her cheek with brown,—
The sportive toil, which, short and light
Had dyed her glowing hue so bright,
Served too in hastier swell to show
Short glimpses of a breast of snow:
What though no rule of courtly grace
To measured mood had trained her pace,—
A foot more light, a step more true,
Ne\’er from the heath-flower dashed the dew;
E\’en the slight harebell raised its head,
Elastic from her airy tread:
What though upon her speech there hung
The accents of the mountain tongue,—-
Those silver sounds, so soft, so dear,
The listener held his breath to hear!
XIX.
A chieftain\’s daughter seemed the maid;
Her satin snood, her silken plaid,
Her golden brooch, such birth betrayed.
And seldom was a snood amid
Such wild luxuriant ringlets hid,
Whose glossy black to shame might bring
The plumage of the raven\’s wing;
And seldom o\’er a breast so fair
Mantled a plaid with modest care,
And never brooch the folds combined
Above a heart more good and kind.
Her kindness and her worth to spy,
You need but gaze on Ellen\’s eye;
Not Katrine in her mirror blue
Gives back the shaggy banks more true,
Than every free-born glance confessed
The guileless movements of her breast;
Whether joy danced in her dark eye,
Or woe or pity claimed a sigh,
Or filial love was glowing there,
Or meek devotion poured a prayer,
Or tale of injury called forth
The indignant spirit of the North.
One only passion unrevealed
With maiden pride the maid concealed,
Yet not less purely felt the flame;—
O, need I tell that passion\’s name?
XX.
Impatient of the silent horn,
Now on the gale her voice was borne:—
\’Father!\’ she cried; the rocks around
Loved to prolong the gentle sound.
Awhile she paused, no answer came;—
\’Malcolm, was thine the blast?\’ the name
Less resolutely uttered fell,
The echoes could not catch the swell.
\’A stranger I,\’ the Huntsman said,
Advancing from the hazel shade.
The maid, alarmed, with hasty oar
Pushed her light shallop from the shore,
And when a space was gained between,
Closer she drew her bosom\’s screen;—
So forth the startled swan would swing,
So turn to prune his ruffled wing.
Then safe, though fluttered and amazed,
She paused, and on the stranger gazed.
Not his the form, nor his the eye,
That youthful maidens wont to fly.
XXI.
On his bold visage middle age
Had slightly pressed its signet sage,
Yet had not quenched the open truth
And fiery vehemence of youth;
Forward and frolic glee was there,
The will to do, the soul to dare,
The sparkling glance, soon blown to fire,
Of hasty love or headlong ire.
His limbs were cast in manly could
For hardy sports or contest bold;
And though in peaceful garb arrayed,
And weaponless except his blade,
His stately mien as well implied
A high-born heart, a martial pride,
As if a baron\’s crest he wore,
And sheathed in armor bode the shore.
Slighting the petty need he showed,
He told of his benighted road;
His ready speech flowed fair and free,
In phrase of gentlest courtesy,
Yet seemed that tone and gesture bland
Less used to sue than to command.
XXII.
Awhile the maid the stranger eyed,
And, reassured, at length replied,
That Highland halls were open still
To wildered wanderers of the hill.
\’Nor think you unexpected come
To yon lone isle, our desert home;
Before the heath had lost the dew,
This morn, a couch was pulled for you;
On yonder mountain\’s purple head
Have ptarmigan and heath-cock bled,
And our broad nets have swept the mere,
To furnish forth your evening cheer.\’—
\’Now, by the rood, my lovely maid,
Your courtesy has erred,\’ he said;
\’No right have I to claim, misplaced,
The welcome of expected guest.
A wanderer, here by fortune toss,
My way, my friends, my courser lost,
I ne\’er before, believe me, fair,
Have ever drawn your mountain air,
Till on this lake\’s romantic strand
I found a fey in fairy land!\’—
XXIII.
\’I well believe,\’ the maid replied,
As her light skiff approached the side,—
\’I well believe, that ne\’er before
Your foot has trod Loch Katrine\’s shore
But yet, as far as yesternight,
Old Allan-bane foretold your plight,—
A gray-haired sire, whose eye intent
Was on the visioned future bent.
He saw your steed, a dappled gray,
Lie dead beneath the birchen way;
Painted exact your form and mien,
Your hunting-suit of Lincoln green,
That tasselled horn so gayly gilt,
That falchion\’s crooked blade and hilt,
That cap with heron plumage trim,
And yon two hounds so dark and grim.
He bade that all should ready be
To grace a guest of fair degree;
But light I held his prophecy,
And deemed it was my father\’s horn
Whose echoes o\’er the lake were borne.\’
XXIV.
The stranger smiled:—\’Since to your home
A destined errant-knight I come,
Announced by prophet sooth and old,
Doomed, doubtless, for achievement bold,
I \’ll lightly front each high emprise
For one kind glance of those bright eyes.
Permit me first the task to guide
Your fairy frigate o\’er the tide.\’
The maid, with smile suppressed and sly,
The toil unwonted saw him try;
For seldom, sure, if e\’er before,
His noble hand had grasped an oar:
Yet with main strength his strokes he drew,
And o\’er the lake the shallop flew;
With heads erect and whimpering cry,
The hounds behind their passage ply.
Nor frequent does the bright oar break
The darkening mirror of the lake,
Until the rocky isle they reach,
And moor their shallop on the beach.
XXV.
The stranger viewed the shore around;
\’T was all so close with copsewood bound,
Nor track nor pathway might declare
That human foot frequented there,
Until the mountain maiden showed
A clambering unsuspected road,
That winded through the tangled screen,
And opened on a narrow green,
Where weeping birch and willow round
With their long fibres swept the ground.
Here, for retreat in dangerous hour,
Some chief had framed a rustic bower.
XXVI.
It was a lodge of ample size,
But strange of structure and device;
Of such materials as around
The workman\’s hand had readiest found.
Lopped of their boughs, their hoar trunks bared,
And by the hatchet rudely squared,
To give the walls their destined height,
The sturdy oak and ash unite;
While moss and clay and leaves combined
To fence each crevice from the wind.
The lighter pine-trees overhead
Their slender length for rafters spread,
And withered heath and rushes dry
Supplied a russet canopy.
Due westward, fronting to the green,
A rural portico was seen,
Aloft on native pillars borne,
Of mountain fir with bark unshorn
Where Ellen\’s hand had taught to twine
The ivy and Idaean vine,
The clematis, the favored flower
Which boasts the name of virgin-bower,
And every hardy plant could bear
Loch Katrine\’s keen and searching air.
An instant in this porch she stayed,
And gayly to the stranger said:
\’On heaven and on thy lady call,
And enter the enchanted hall!\’
XXVII.
\’My hope, my heaven, my trust must be,
My gentle guide, in following thee!\’—
He crossed the threshold,—and a clang
Of angry steel that instant rang.
To his bold brow his spirit rushed,
But soon for vain alarm he blushed
When on the floor he saw displayed,
Cause of the din, a naked blade
Dropped from the sheath, that careless flung
Upon a stag\’s huge antlers swung;
For all around, the walls to grace,
Hung trophies of the fight or chase:
A target there, a bugle here,
A battle-axe, a hunting-spear,
And broadswords, bows, and arrows store,
With the tusked trophies of the boar.
Here grins the wolf as when he died,
And there the wild-cat\’s brindled hide
The frontlet of the elk adorns,
Or mantles o\’er the bison\’s horns;
Pennons and flags defaced and stained,
That blackening streaks of blood retained,
And deer-skins, dappled, dun, and white,
With otter\’s fur and seal\’s unite,
In rude and uncouth tapestry all,
To garnish forth the sylvan hall.
XXVIII.
The wondering stranger round him gazed,
And next the fallen weapon raised:—
Few were the arms whose sinewy strength
Sufficed to stretch it forth at length.
And as the brand he poised and swayed,
\’I never knew but one,\’ he said,
\’Whose stalwart arm might brook to wield
A blade like this in battle-field.\’
She sighed, then smiled and took the word:
\’You see the guardian champion\’s sword;
As light it trembles in his hand
As in my grasp a hazel wand:
My sire\’s tall form might grace the part
Of Ferragus or Ascabart,
But in the absent giant\’s hold
Are women now, and menials old.\’
XXIX.
The mistress of the mansion came,
Mature of age, a graceful dame,
Whose easy step and stately port
Had well become a princely court,
To whom, though more than kindred knew,
Young Ellen gave a mother\’s due.
Meet welcome to her guest she made,
And every courteous rite was paid
That hospitality could claim,
Though all unasked his birth and name.
Such then the reverence to a guest,
That fellest foe might join the feast,
And from his deadliest foeman\’s door
Unquestioned turn the banquet o\’er
At length his rank the stranger names,
\’The Knight of Snowdoun, James Fitz-James;
Lord of a barren heritage,
Which his brave sires, from age to age,
By their good swords had held with toil;
His sire had fallen in such turmoil,
And he, God wot, was forced to stand
Oft for his right with blade in hand.
This morning with Lord Moray\’s train
He chased a stalwart stag in vain,
Outstripped his comrades, missed the deer,
Lost his good steed, and wandered here.\’
XXX.
Fain would the Knight in turn require
The name and state of Ellen\’s sire.
Well showed the elder lady\’s mien
That courts and cities she had seen;
Ellen, though more her looks displayed
The simple grace of sylvan maid,
In speech and gesture, form and face,
Showed she was come of gentle race.
\’T were strange in ruder rank to find
Such looks, such manners, and such mind.
Each hint the Knight of Snowdoun gave,
Dame Margaret heard with silence grave;
Or Ellen, innocently gay,
Turned all inquiry light away:—
\’Weird women we! by dale and down
We dwell, afar from tower and town.
We stem the flood, we ride the blast,
On wandering knights our spells we cast;
While viewless minstrels touch the string,
\’Tis thus our charmed rhymes we sing.\’
She sung, and still a harp unseen
Filled up the symphony between.
XXXI.
Song.
Soldier, rest! thy warfare o\’er,
Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking;
Dream of battled fields no more,
Days of danger, nights of waking.
In our isle\’s enchanted hall,
Hands unseen thy couch are strewing,
Fairy strains of music fall,
Every sense in slumber dewing.
Soldier, rest! thy warfare o\’er,
Dream of fighting fields no more;
Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking,
Morn of toil, nor night of waking.
\’No rude sound shall reach thine ear,
Armor\’s clang or war-steed champing
Trump nor pibroch summon here
Mustering clan or squadron tramping.
Yet the lark\’s shrill fife may come
At the daybreak from the fallow,
And the bittern sound his drum
Booming from the sedgy shallow.
Ruder sounds shall none be near,
Guards nor warders challenge here,
Here\’s no war-steed\’s neigh and champing,
Shouting clans or squadrons stamping.\’
XXXII.
She paused,—then, blushing, led the lay,
To grace the stranger of the day.
Her mellow notes awhile prolong
The cadence of the flowing song,
Till to her lips in measured frame
The minstrel verse spontaneous came.
Song Continued.
\’Huntsman, rest! thy chase is done;
While our slumbrous spells assail ye,
Dream not, with the rising sun,
Bugles here shall sound reveille.
Sleep! the deer is in his den;
Sleep! thy hounds are by thee lying;
Sleep! nor dream in yonder glen
How thy gallant steed lay dying.
Huntsman, rest! thy chase is done;
Think not of the rising sun,
For at dawning to assail ye
Here no bugles sound reveille.\’
XXXIII.
The hall was cleared,—the stranger\’s bed,
Was there of mountain heather spread,
Where oft a hundred guests had lain,
And dreamed their forest sports again.
But vainly did the heath-flower shed
Its moorland fragrance round his head;
Not Ellen\’s spell had lulled to rest
The fever of his troubled breast.
In broken dreams the image rose
Of varied perils, pains, and woes:
His steed now flounders in the brake,
Now sinks his barge upon the lake;
Now leader of a broken host,
His standard falls, his honor\’s lost.
Then,—from my couch may heavenly might
Chase that worst phantom of the night!—
Again returned the scenes of youth,
Of confident, undoubting truth;
Again his soul he interchanged
With friends whose hearts were long estranged.
They come, in dim procession led,
The cold, the faithless, and the dead;
As warm each hand, each brow as gay,
As if they parted yesterday.
And doubt distracts him at the view,—
O were his senses false or true?
Dreamed he of death or broken vow,
Or is it all a vision now?
XXXIV.
At length, with Ellen in a grove
He seemed to walk and speak of love;
She listened with a blush and sigh,
His suit was warm, his hopes were high.
He sought her yielded hand to clasp,
And a cold gauntlet met his grasp:
The phantom\’s sex was changed and gone,
Upon its head a helmet shone;
Slowly enlarged to giant size,
With darkened cheek and threatening eyes,
The grisly visage, stern and hoar,
To Ellen still a likeness bore.—
He woke, and, panting with affright,
Recalled the vision of the night.
The hearth\’s decaying brands were red
And deep and dusky lustre shed,
Half showing, half concealing, all
The uncouth trophies of the hall.
Mid those the stranger fixed his eye
Where that huge falchion hung on high,
And thoughts on thoughts, a countless throng,
Rushed, chasing countless thoughts along,
Until, the giddy whirl to cure,
He rose and sought the moonshine pure.
XXXV.
The wild rose, eglantine, and broom
Wasted around their rich perfume;
The birch-trees wept in fragrant balm;
The aspens slept beneath the calm;
The silver light, with quivering glance,
Played on the water\’s still expanse,—
Wild were the heart whose passion\’s sway
Could rage beneath the sober ray!
He felt its calm, that warrior guest,
While thus he communed with his breast:—
\’Why is it, at each turn I trace
Some memory of that exiled race?
Can I not mountain maiden spy,
But she must bear the Douglas eye?
Can I not view a Highland brand,
But it must match the Douglas hand?
Can I not frame a fevered dream,
But still the Douglas is the theme?
I\’ll dream no more,—by manly mind
Not even in sleep is will resigned.
My midnight orisons said o\’er,
I\’ll turn to rest, and dream no more.\’
His midnight orisons he told,
A prayer with every bead of gold,
Consigned to heaven his cares and woes,
And sunk in undisturbed repose,
Until the heath-cock shrilly crew,
And morning dawned on Benvenue.
Frost at Midnight
by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The Frost performs its secret ministry,
Unhelped by any wind.
The owlet\’s cry
Came loud—and hark, again! loud as before.
The inmates of my cottage, all at rest,
Have left me to that solitude, which suits
Abstruser musings: save that at my side
My cradled infant slumbers peacefully.
`Tis calm indeed! so calm, that it disturbs
And vexes meditation with its strange
And extreme silentness.
Sea, hill, and wood,
This populous village! Sea, and hill, and wood,
With all the numberless goings-on of life,
Inaudible as dreams! the thin blue flame
Lies on my low-burnt fire, and quivers not;
Only that film, which fluttered on the grate,
Still flutters there, the sole unquiet thing.
Methinks, its motion in this hush of nature
Gives it dim sympathies with me who live,
Making it a companionable form,
Whose puny flaps and freaks the idling Spirit
By its own moods interprets, every where
Echo or mirror seeking of itself,
And makes a toy of Thought.
But O! how oft,
How oft, at school, with most believing mind,
Presageful, have I gazed upon the bars,
To watch that fluttering stranger! and as oft
With unclosed lids, already had I dreamt
Of my sweet birth-place, and the old church-tower,
Whose bells, the poor man\’s only music, rang
>From morn to evening, all the hot Fair-day,
So sweetly, that they stirred and haunted me
With a wild pleasure, falling on mine ear
Most like articulate sounds of things to come!
So gazed I, till the soothing things, I dreamt,
Lulled me to sleep, and sleep prolonged my dreams!
And so I brooded all the following morn,
Awed by the stern preceptor\’s face, mine eye
Fixed with mock study on my swimming book:
Save if the door half opened, and I snatched
A hasty glance, and still my heart leaped up,
For still I hoped to see the stranger\’s face,
Townsman, or aunt, or sister more beloved,
My play-mate when we both were clothed alike!
Dear Babe, that sleepest cradled by my side,
Whose gentle breathings, heard in this deep calm,
Fill up the interspersed vacancies
And momentary pauses of the thought!
My babe so beautiful! it thrills my heart
With tender gladness, thus to look at thee,
And think that thou shall learn far other lore,
And in far other scenes! For I was reared
In the great city, pent \’mid cloisters dim,
And saw nought lovely but the sky and stars.
But thou, my babe! shalt wander like a breeze
By lakes and sandy shores, beneath the crags
Of ancient mountain, and beneath the clouds,
Which image in their bulk both lakes and shores
And mountain crags: so shalt thou see and hear
The lovely shapes and sounds intelligible
Of that eternal language, which thy God
Utters, who from eternity doth teach
Himself in all, and all things in himself.
Great universal Teacher! he shall mould
Thy spirit, and by giving make it ask.
Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee,
Whether the summer clothe the general earth
With greenness, or the redbreast sit and sing
Betwixt the tufts of snow on the bare branch
Of mossy apple-tree, while the nigh thatch
Smokes in the sun-thaw; whether the eave-drops fall
Heard only in the trances of the blast,
Or if the secret ministry of frost
Shall hang them up in silent icicles,
Quietly shining to the quiet Moon.
The Broken Balance
by Robinson Jeffers
I.
Reference to a Passage in Plutarch\’s Life of Sulla
The people buying and selling, consuming pleasures, talking in the archways,
Were all suddenly struck quiet
And ran from under stone to look up at the sky: so shrill and mournful,
So fierce and final, a brazen
Pealing of trumpets high up in the air, in the summer blue over Tuscany.
They marvelled; the soothsayers answered:
\”Although the Gods are little troubled toward men, at the end of each period
A sign is declared in heaven
Indicating new times, new customs, a changed people; the Romans
Rule, and Etruria is finished;
A wise mariner will trim the sails to the wind.
\”
I heard yesterday
So shrill and mournful a trumpet-blast,
It was hard to be wise.
.
.
.
You must eat change and endure; not be much troubled
For the people; they will have their happiness.
When the republic grows too heavy to endure, then Caesar will carry It;
When life grows hateful, there\’s power .
.
.
II.
To the Children
Power\’s good; life is not always good but power\’s good.
So you must think when abundance
Makes pawns of people and all the loaves are one dough.
The steep singleness of passion
Dies; they will say, \”What was that?\” but the power triumphs.
Loveliness will live under glass
And beauty will go savage in the secret mountains.
There is beauty in power also.
You children must widen your minds\’ eyes to take mountains
Instead of faces, and millions
Instead of persons; not to hate life; and massed power
After the lone hawk\’s dead.
III
That light blood-loving weasel, a tongue of yellow
Fire licking the sides of the gray stones,
Has a more passionate and more pure heart
In the snake-slender flanks than man can imagine;
But he is betrayed by his own courage,
The man who kills him is like a cloud hiding a star.
Then praise the jewel-eyed hawk and the tall blue heron;
The black cormorants that fatten their sea-rock
With shining slime; even that ruiner of anthills
The red-shafted woodpecker flying,
A white star between blood-color wing-clouds,
Across the glades of the wood and the green lakes of shade.
These live their felt natures; they know their norm
And live it to the brim; they understand life.
While men moulding themselves to the anthill have choked
Their natures until the souls the in them;
They have sold themselves for toys and protection:
No, but consider awhile: what else? Men sold for toys.
Uneasy and fractional people, having no center
But in the eyes and mouths that surround them,
Having no function but to serve and support
Civilization, the enemy of man,
No wonder they live insanely, and desire
With their tongues, progress; with their eyes, pleasure; with their hearts, death.
Their ancestors were good hunters, good herdsmen and swordsman,
But now the world is turned upside down;
The good do evil, the hope\’s in criminals; in vice
That dissolves the cities and war to destroy them.
Through wars and corruptions the house will fall.
Mourn whom it falls on.
Be glad: the house is mined, it will fall.
IV
Rain, hail and brutal sun, the plow in the roots,
The pitiless pruning-iron in the branches,
Strengthen the vines, they are all feeding friends
Or powerless foes until the grapes purple.
But when you have ripened your berries it is time to begin to perish.
The world sickens with change, rain becomes poison,
The earth is a pit, it Is time to perish.
The vines are fey, the very kindness of nature
Corrupts what her cruelty before strengthened.
When you stand on the peak of time it is time to begin to perish.
Reach down the long morbid roots that forget the plow,
Discover the depths; let the long pale tendrils
Spend all to discover the sky, now nothing is good
But only the steel mirrors of discovery .
.
.
And the beautiful enormous dawns of time, after we perish.
V
Mourning the broken balance, the hopeless prostration of the earth
Under men\’s hands and their minds,
The beautiful places killed like rabbits to make a city,
The spreading fungus, the slime-threads
And spores; my own coast\’s obscene future: I remember the farther
Future, and the last man dying
Without succession under the confident eyes of the stars.
It was only a moment\’s accident,
The race that plagued us; the world resumes the old lonely immortal
Splendor; from here I can even
Perceive that that snuffed candle had something .
.
.
a fantastic virtue,
A faint and unshapely pathos .
.
.
So death will flatter them at last: what, even the bald ape\’s by-shot
Was moderately admirable?
VI.
Palinode
All summer neither rain nor wave washes the cormorants\’
Perch, and their droppings have painted it shining white.
If the excrement of fish-eaters makes the brown rock a snow-mountain
At noon, a rose in the morning, a beacon at moonrise
On the black water: it is barely possible that even men\’s present
Lives are something; their arts and sciences (by moonlight)
Not wholly ridiculous, nor their cities merely an offense.
VII
Under my windows, between the road and the sea-cliff, bitter wild grass
Stands narrowed between the people and the storm.
The ocean winter after winter gnaws at its earth, the wheels and the feet
Summer after summer encroach and destroy.
Stubborn green life, for the cliff-eater I cannot comfort you, ignorant which color,
Gray-blue or pale-green, will please the late stars;
But laugh at the other, your seed shall enjoy wonderful vengeances and suck
The arteries and walk in triumph on the faces.
Brett Mikkelson, CII, CPE
Director, B.M. Investigations| M1 Consultants Inc
Mobile (+507) 6674-1183
brett@bminvestigations.com/www.bminvestigations.com
Proud Member of: Council of International Investigators (CII – Past President 2018-2019; Executive Regional Director 2021-Present), World Association of Detectives (WAD), The Fraternal Order of Investigators (Founding Member), Victory Services Club (London), Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA – Isthmian Chapter), Association of Certified Anti-money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS), American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS), Association of Fraud Examiners (AEF – Panama), Business Security Alliance (ASE – Panama).
