Dover Beach
by Matthew Arnold

The sea is calm tonight.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!
Only, from the long line of spray
Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,
Listen! you hear the grating roar
Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,
At their return, up the high strand,
Begin, and cease, and then again begin,
With tremulous cadence slow, and bring
The eternal note of sadness in.

Sophocles long ago
Heard it on the Ægean, and it brought
Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow
Of human misery; we
Find also in the sound a thought,
Hearing it by this distant northern sea.

The Sea of Faith
Was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.
But now I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
Retreating, to the breath
Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear
And naked shingles of the world.

Ah, love, let us be true
To one another! for the world, which seems
To lie before us like a land of dreams,
So various, so beautiful, so new,
Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,
Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;
And we are here as on a darkling plain
Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.

Your thoughts?

Originally posted by @fmf
...
Your thoughts?

Poetry sucks. Just actually ask a real question.

Originally posted by @fmf
Dover Beach
by Matthew Arnold

The sea is calm tonight.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!
Only, from the long line of spray
Where the sea meets the ...[text shortened]... alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.

Your thoughts?

Hey Kiddo,

Is that the poem you chose for your report in Miss Alawat’s class? tiger mentioned you were going the free-form, morose route. tiger picked “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.”

Originally posted by @fmf
Dover Beach
by Matthew Arnold

Your thoughts?

A beautiful and sad melancholy which speaks to me about the losss of faith through the relentless tides of human suffering and loss. But recognises the deep intrinsic value of love and peace and time itself as it trickles away for each of the passing generations of mankind.

Originally posted by @divegeester
A beautiful and sad melancholy which speaks to me about the losss of faith through the relentless tides of human suffering and loss. But recognises the deep intrinsic value of love and peace and time itself as it trickles away for each of the passing generations of mankind.

That was absolutely lovely, tiger. But please mind the poem you selected for your report and let Kiddo do his own homework.

Originally posted by @fmf
Dover Beach
by Matthew Arnold

The sea is calm tonight.
The tide is full, the moon lies fair
Upon the straits; on the French coast the light
Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,
Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.
Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!
Only, from the long line of spray
Where the sea meets the ...[text shortened]... alarms of struggle and flight,
Where ignorant armies clash by night.

Your thoughts?

"The eternal note of sadness..."

Wish I had written that.

Originally posted by @fmf

.....The Sea of Faith .....

Your thoughts?[/b]

Don Cupitt?

Originally posted by @apathist
Poetry sucks. Just actually ask a real question.

You suck, and like a Harlem whore pulling a golf ball through a hosepipe.

Originally posted by @divegeester
You suck, and like a Harlem whore pulling a golf ball through a hosepipe.

Low class.

Actually, no class.

Originally posted by @divegeester
You suck, and like a Harlem whore pulling a golf ball through a hosepipe.

One wonders why you included “Harlem” in your comment, especially since Harlem historically has been inhabited predominantly by African Americans.

And you accuse philo of racism? Got a reason for appending “Harlem” to your pejorative, or can we conclude you’re a racist?

Originally posted by @divegeester
You suck, and like a Harlem whore pulling a golf ball through a hosepipe.

Why did you use the word “Harlem” in this post. Everyone knows Harlem is an area in the United States mostly inhabited by black people. Are you a racist, dive?