Russian Poems

While perusing my sister's "History of Russia" booklet, I came across a poem that fascinated me. "Three things Enchanted Him...." was written in 1911, and the author is unknown.

Three things enchated him:
white peacocks, evensong,
and faded maps of America.
He couldn't stand bawling brats,
or rasberry jam with his tea,
or womanish hysteria.
...And he was tied to me.

My Last Duchess

"My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning is an exquisit poem. It's based upon Duke Alfonso II of Ferrara.

In the poem, the Duke is decribing a painting of his late wife to a visitor. His late wife, Lucrezia di Cosimo de' Medici, was a flirtatious girl of 16 when they were married. The Duke then goes on to decribed how he had her killed (history speculates that she was poisned) to the visitor, who turns out to be the man arraging his next marriage to another teen girl.

Don't you just love the irony?

The greatest disease

In 1995, Mother Teresa stated, "The greatest disease in the West today is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love."

Audrey's words of wisdom

Here are some words of wisdom from the fabulous Audrey Hepburn:

Pick the day. Enjoy it - to the hilt. The day as it comes. People as they come... The past, I think, has helped me appreciate the present - and I don't want to spoil any of it by fretting about the future.