Here's to a Mouse
Tonight is Burns Night, in honour of the 2nd greatest poet in my books, Rabbie Burns, or as some people know him as Robert Burns, the greatest Scottish poet to date. But before I can get to enjoying a whisky in honour of Rabbie, I had to get a sewerage blockage sorted out. Och the joys of living in a modern home without the niceties of having an outside long drop toilet.
Once as Rabbie was working his fields he accidentally overturned a mouse nest which lead to one of my favourite poems, Tae a Mouse. This poem ends off with Rabbie saying how blessed the mouse actually is.
But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men
Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promis’d joy!
Still, thou art blest, compar’d wi’ me!
The present only toucheth thee:
But Och! I backward cast my e’e,
On prospects drear!
An’ forward tho’ I canna see,
I guess an’ fear!
In summary, these last 2 verses says, well that's life. Whether you a mouse or a man, your plans, however well made, often get messed up. After all mice are blessed compared to us humans as mice live in the present moment while us humans look to the past with regret and to the future with fear. It is that last lines, But Och! I backward cast my e’e, on prospects drear! An’ forward tho’ I canna see, I guess an’ fear! Yes we keep looking to the past with regret and to the future with fear.
So I poured meself a wee whisky, to drink to Rabbie. So who holds the number 1 spot in my heart dare you ask? Well that my dear goes to Yeats, and my most favourite poem of all, The Stolen Child. And of course following up on Rabbie Burns is Pushkin but tonight it is all Rabbie. Have a blest Burns Night.
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