Setting off
The hill was steep leading upto the memorial
at 5 am iI was a time of wonder, stepping up
the hill I floated. I rarely stopped to think in
those long-gone dog days of graduation
born between Belsen & Napalm
I rarely thought of others, had no perspective,
'naturally’ I thought of my friends as permanent,
nothing is, of course, and one day one of the best
would set me up for a theft I did not commit:
I became acquainted with jealousy and envy
those with money and charisma would carve out
'success'. The rest of us would struggle
to take what is offered, being too stoned or cowardly
to realise the sacrifices made by others is no excuse.
It cost me the whole of my connection:caste, culture, class.
I began on that day to recognize, and respect, the enduring
disappointments that make life what it is.
?si=OA1Rp3vOYwikvi1n
John Marks
Sun 7th Apr 2024 00:05
I felt overstuffed and dull and disappointed, the way I always do the day after Christmas, as if whatever it was the pine boughs and the candles and the silver and gilt-ribboned presents and the birch-log fires and the Christmas turkey and the carols at the piano promised never came to pass.
Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar