I am held captive, wrapped in the beautiful robe of Old English poetry.
This morning I read Doer’s Lament. Doer (“the brave one”) is a court-singer who has been replaced by a new minstrel. He rehearses historic adversities and ends each stanza with the refrain
That evil ended. So also may this!
Here is one section:
He who knows sorrow, despoiled of joys,
Sits heavy of mood; to his heart it seemeth
His measure of misery meeteth no end.
Yet well may he think how oft in this world
The wise Lord varies His ways to men,
Granting wealth and honor to many an eorl,
To others awarding a burden of woe.
Sits heavy of mood; to his heart it seemeth
His measure of misery meeteth no end.
Yet well may he think how oft in this world
The wise Lord varies His ways to men,
Granting wealth and honor to many an eorl,
To others awarding a burden of woe.
Do you like riddles? Here is one for you entitled Book-Moth. It foreshadows Hamlet’s humor.
A moth ate a word. To me it seemed
A marvelous thing when I learned the wonder
That a worm had swallowed, in darkness stolen,
The song of a man, his glorious sayings,
A great man’s strength; and the thieving guest
Was no whit the wiser for the words it ate.
A marvelous thing when I learned the wonder
That a worm had swallowed, in darkness stolen,
The song of a man, his glorious sayings,
A great man’s strength; and the thieving guest
Was no whit the wiser for the words it ate.
A Living Pencil 
Too difficult…and my brain is suffering from a Spring cold 😦
Dana in GA
I’m sorry about the spring cold. The answer is in the title: a book-moth. Hope you feel better soon!
Great info, I came accross Doer’s Lament somewhere in my poetry study , but passed it by due to our class time constraints…perhaps I erred…
this is fun to no end!
B