Sunday, December 30, 2007

A Farewell Toast


This seemed like an appropriate time to bid 2007 a fond farewell and wish all of you a very, very happy new year.


You know, when I was young I always thought that family was defined solely as blood relatives; however the more I live the more I realize that 'family' extends far beyond this small sphere. Family is the close friends God has brought into our lives, those who share that special bond in our in the hearts. Family enriches life, and I am so grateful to all of these individuals for their support, encouragement, and friendship. I offer a toast of appreciation to my family and friends...Happy 2008!!

Sabrina Fair


Song

Sweet Echo, sweetest nymph
that liv'st unseenWithin thy airy shell
By slow Meander's margent green,
And in the violet-imbroider'd vale
Where the love-lorn nightingale
Nightly to thee her sad song mourneth well:
Canst thou not tell me of a gentle pair
That likest thy Narcissus are?
O if thou have
Hid them in some flow'ry cave,
Tell me but whereSweet Queen of Parley,
Daughter of the Sphere,
So mayst thou be translated to the skies,
And give resounding grace to all heav'ns harmonies.

Sabrina fair
Listen where thou art sitting
Under the glassy, cool, translucent wave,
In twisted braids of lilies knitting
The loose train of thy amber-dropping hair;
Listen for dear honour's sake,
Goddess of the silver lake,
Listen and save.

Listen and appear to us
In name of great Oceanus,
By the earth-shaking Neptune's mace,
And Tethys' grave majestic pace;
By hoary Nereus' wrinkled look,
And the Carpathian wizard's hook;
By scaly Triton's winding shell,
And old soothsaying Glaucus' spell;
By Leucothea's lovely hands,
And her son that rules the strands;
By Thetis' tinsel-slipper'd feet,
And the songs of Sirens sweet;
By dead Parthenope's dear tomb,
And fair Ligea's golden comb,
Wherewith she sits on diamond rocks
Sleeking her soft alluring locks;
By all the nymphs that nightly dance
Upon thy streams with wily glance,
Rise, rise, and heave thy rosy head
From thy coral-pav'n bed,
A
nd bridle in thy headlong wave,
Till thou our summons answer'd have.
Listen and save.

Sabrina rises, attended by water-nymphs, and sings

By the rushy-fringed bank,
Where grows the willow and the osier dank,
My sliding chariot stays,
Thick set with agate, and the azurn sheen
Of turkis blue, and em'rald green
That in the channel strays,
Whilst from off the waters fleet
Thus I set my printless feet
O'er the cowslip's velvet head,
That bends not as I tread;
Gentle swain at thy request
I am here.


-John Milton

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Returning from exile

Well, hello again. I realized it’s been a couple of months since I’ve posted anything truly substantial. In retrospect, I can use this as a gauge to how busy my life has been. Busy!!! Not having time to post means I’ve been in academic exile for what feels like forever. But the hard work has paid off…Last Wednesday I successfully defended my thesis prospectus!!!! A lot of time and energy went into those twelve pages, and even though the real work begins now, I’m still excited it went so well. I was fully prepared to be challenged in certain areas and instead, the entire ordeal lasted less than forty-five minutes. In a way, the defense was invigorating and hopefully, my last one will be too.