Secret Songs of Silence

the importance of wearing a mask

The Old Lie - 100 Years On

Dulce et Decorum Est

Wilfred Owen

 

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.

 

Gas! GAS! Quick, boys! - An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime ...
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under I green sea, I saw him drowning.

 

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

 

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues, --
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.

 

cartoon

 

 

Secret Songs of Silence?

The English folk singer Martin Carthy sings a song called "The Devil and the Feathery Wife" from a collection of folksongs collected in the NorthEast of Scotland called Secret Songs of Silence. The collection dates from 1832 and, although the title sounds quite vanilla, apparently many of the songs are rather naughty. The song that I heard Martin Carthy sing describes a drunken man's deal with the devil and his wife's ingenuity in thwarting it.

This blog won't be about naughty songs but I like the title because it has several shades of meaning that hint at how I think this blog might evolve.

First, silence. Well, this is my way to break my silence on being gay, so it will deal with my thoughts and other inner struggles. I am not coming out, however, not here. Yet, I will admit that I often wish that I could demolish the damn closet for good. I also want to to sound off about things that annoy me or get under my skin. I want to be able to shout about situations and stresses at work. But those must remain anonymous - so there will be secret songs and silent shouts from me.