“They saw their injured country's woe;
The flaming town, the wasted field;
Then rushed to meet the insulting foe;
They took the spear, - but left the shield.”
―Philip Freneau
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And by a prudent flight and cunning save A life which valour could not, from the grave. A better buckler I can soon regain, But who can get another life again?
Archilochus
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Hamartia
All of old. Nothing else ever. Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
- Samuel Beckett, "Worstward Ho" (1983)
You humble in. It's just as you remember:
The sallow walls, formica counter top,
The circular argument of time beneath
Fluorescent flickering—doubt, faith, and doubt.
She knows you've been to see the gilded girl
Who's always promising and walking out
With someone else. She knew that you'd return,
With nothing in your pockets but your fists.
Why do you resist? When will you learn
That this is what your weary dreams are of—
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