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Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Ode to the sea

 

Still California dreaming. But back here tomorrow.

In the meantime, here's a Robert Frost poem about the Pacific Ocean, full of late-1930s portents. (Hat tip to my friend Peter Landry.) If you're not into poetry, no need to tarry.

The shattered water made a misty din. 
Great waves looked over others coming in, 
And thought of doing something to the shore 
That water never did to land before. 
The clouds were low and hairy in the skies, 
Like locks blown forward in the gleam of eyes. 
You could not tell, and yet it looked as if 
The shore was lucky in being backed by cliff, 
The cliff in being backed by continent; 
It looked as if a night of dark intent 
Was coming, and not only a night, an age. 
Someone had better be prepared for rage. 
There would be more than ocean-water broken 
Before God's last 'Put out the Light' was spoken.

 
Posted by Dick Polman @ 11:06 AM  Permalink | 73 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:34 AM, 07/28/2009
    Obama is a crook, he and the dems want to take all your loot. Pelosi is dumb, but the girl gone wild just wants to have fun.
    — CD75
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:38 AM, 07/28/2009
    Bush was the brightest man ever. Cheney the most honest, Rumsfeld the most humble, Rush Limbaugh the most balanced, Mitch McConnell the most patriotic, Pailn the most promising to succeed despite all odds, Frist the best doctor ever, Gringrich the most faithful and Craig the straightest arrow (hey, get your hands off CD75's pants).
    — Tony_From_PA
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:42 AM, 07/28/2009
    Pelosi is a MENSA member when compared to the likes of Palin. Her resignation speech was a string of dumb cliches that didn't make sense. Actually, regarding the LBJ reference from the other day, Pelosi certainly subscribes to his backroom "pork distribution" more than anyone since Tom Delay.
    — yobill626
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:44 AM, 07/28/2009
    Somebody needs to put CD75 back on his meds.
    — AHiredGun
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:02 PM, 07/28/2009
    I'm not overly into poetry, but I do enjoy the sea, so I read it.
    — HandNik
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:07 PM, 07/28/2009
    Wow DP, you seem really relaxed. Liberals in California are like Muslims in Mecca. It's spiritual, man.
    — jmc
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:07 PM, 07/28/2009
    Or like conservatives in...Utah? Each in a pair of magical underpants that protects them from...liberals? reason? ever listening to a viewpoint they don't already agree with? Hard to say.
    — CutterMcCool
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:10 PM, 07/28/2009
    By the way, the poem's title is "Once by the Pacific." Wonder how he would have written if it were "Once by Salt Lake"? "The shattered wingnuts made a misty din./ Great waves looked over others crying in,/ And thought of doing something to the shore / That abstinence advocates never did before."
    — CutterMcCool
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:37 PM, 07/28/2009
    I can't believe the birthers didn't make an appearance today..... Oh, wait, the birth listings from the Honolulu Adviser Aug. 13, 1961 must've finally shut them up.............for a minute or at least until the next wingnut theory they want to join catches on....
    — 77volks
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:01 PM, 07/28/2009
    Hey jmc - Is hating Muslims the norm in the Republican party?
    — p-diddy
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:09 PM, 07/28/2009
    A "night of dark intent" and "not only a night, an age" * sign * Yes, Polman, but right now is not the time to wait around in despair for those waves. Yes, the tipping points may be inevitable; the rage may be coming no matter what we do; but this summer we MUST put up a fight because it may be the last time a fight will have any effect. We MUST because we owe it to those who will be broken by it. The forces of darkness must be opposed, no matter the outcome.
    — Simone
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:11 PM, 07/28/2009
    A "night of dark intent" and "not only a night, an age" * sign * Yes, Polman, but right now is not the time to wait around in despair for those waves. Yes, the tipping points may be inevitable; the rage may be coming no matter what we do; but this summer we MUST put up a fight because it may be the last time a fight will have any effect. We MUST because we owe it to those who will be broken by it. The forces of darkness must be opposed, no matter the outcome.
    — Simone
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:43 PM, 07/28/2009
    From the prior blog...

    Posted by tom - wilmington, de 09:58 AM, 07/28/2009

    phrossty...I would postulate that sales taxes should be unconstitutional, but I am glad you live such a patriotic life....you must always drive 55 MPH on the freeway, [Not hardly, but thanks for thinking of me....] help old ladies cross the street, [If I happen to see one and she consents to my offer of aid...] vote in EVERY election, [Nope again, particularly primaries where I have no idea who is who....], support people's right to own guns, [Absolutely...] cross only at intersections on green lights, [Usually, but that comes from being a kid in SoCal many moons ago. I jaywalk ocassionally thanks to my West Philly roots now....] never litter, [Actually, I pick up litter - much to the chagrin of the missus. (See SoCal roots)...] and always pay all your income and sales taxes. [As noted previously, I overpay because I'm too lame to save on my own, so Uncle Sam gets an interest free loan from yours truly...] I am honored to have you on this site as a one who posts... [You're welcome. Glad to be of service. I dig your civil disobedience. Save some of your overtly partisan views, I find you to be one of the more reasoned GOP backers. You have urged me to rethink a position or two. Plus, I believe you're willing to debate, not simply eradicate, opposing viewpoints. It's a viewpoint extremists on the Left & Right could use more of.]

    P.S. I think you lost the "grandfathered" round with still_independent, but I could be wrong.

    — Phrossty
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:49 PM, 07/28/2009
    Phrossty: tom will agree with the "p.s." portion of your post :)
    — still_independent


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About Dick Polman

Cited by the Columbia Journalism Review as one of the nation's top political reporters, and lauded by the ABC News political website as "one of the finest political journalists of his generation," Dick Polman is a national political columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is on the full-time faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, as "writer in residence." Dick has been a frequent guest on C-Span, MSNBC, CNN, NPR and the BBC. He covered the 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 presidential campaigns.

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All commentaries posted before April 18, 2008, can be accessed at www.dickpolman.blogspot.com.

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