I had this sent to me and I love it!
BC-AD
This was the moment when Before
Turned into After, and the future’s
Uninvented timekeepers presented arms.
This was the moment when nothing
Happened. Only dull peace
Sprawled boringly over the earth.
This was the moment when even energetic Romans
Could find nothing better to do
Than counting heads in remote provinces.
And this was the moment
When a few farm workers and three
Members of an obscure Persian sect
Walked haphazard by starlight straight
Into the kingdom of heaven.
by U.A. Fanthorpe
Is it snowing where you are? Oxford looks like it's been dusted with icing sugar, but there's not enough for snowmen or the like. Truly weather for sitting indoors curled up with a good book. I've got A.S.Byatt on the go, but I think a bit of Dickens is called for - Pickwick Papers perhaps?
5 comments:
I love UA Fanthorpe -- she died earlier this year, I think -- and this is a great poem. Yes I rather regret that we don't have more snow here in Oxford. Hope we may meet sometime, by the way!
We should arrange something for the new year!
Oh, that poem is lovely...
My choice of Christmas reading is on the decidedly teenagerish side of things- Eva Ibbotson's A Countess Below Stairs, also published as The Secret Countess (I prefer the former title). It's set during summer, but it never fails to put a big, daft grin on my face.
And there's no snow anywhere in my vicinity. It's so hot I'd be lucky if I could keep my jacket on in the afternoon..
Love the late UA, but for some reason had missed this one - thank you so much for posting it.
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