Candy Rant

"I killed a rat with a stick once."

Monday, October 06, 2008

A Poem I Really Like

I would rather be ashes than dust!
I would rather that my spark should burn out
in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom
of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
The function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time.

Jack London

posted by Candy Rant @ 8:57 PM  

13 Comments:

  • At 7:22 AM, Blogger eb said…

    That made me think of this quote from the fantastic film Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium:

    Your life is an occasion. Rise to it.

     

  • At 7:24 AM, Blogger eb said…

    And I don't know who that elizabeth person is, but she has fantastic taste in films. ;)

     

  • At 7:56 AM, Blogger Jenni said…

    Reminds me of this poem by Milton Berle:

    "I'd like to be a could-be
    if I could not be an are.
    For a could-be is a maybe
    who is reaching for a star.

    I'd rather be a has-been
    than a might-have-been, by far
    for a might-have-been has never been
    but a has-been was an are."

    Or something like that.

     

  • At 12:06 PM, Blogger Candy Rant said…

    eb, I don't know that movie! Must put it on my list. We are SO behind in our moving watching here.
    For example: I bought the "Finding Nemo" DVD when it first came out. We just watched the first half of it Saturday night.

    I still have not ever seen "It's a Wonderful Life."

     

  • At 12:08 PM, Blogger Candy Rant said…

    Jenni, that's a keeper. And it sounds like old Miltie, too. Thanks for posting it!

    Nobody was ever funnier dressed like a woman. His face suddenly took on the look of a camel.

     

  • At 12:32 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    You would cry buckets if you saw It's a Wonderful Life. I always watch it when the C-mas season is depressing me. It gives me my spirit back. It is corny but has a great message.

    We will need some spirit this year. I have already informed my girls that Christmas may be like Little House on the Prairie with each of them receving an orange and some mittens!

    Loved this poem. Call of the Wild guy, right? I was never into his book but like his poem.

     

  • At 12:39 PM, Blogger Candy Rant said…

    Well I happen to like mittens.

    I may watch "It's a Wonderful Life" this year.

    I'm ashamed to say that I've never read "Call of the Wild." But I have my dad's copy from when he was in grade school. It was his favorite book.

     

  • At 1:23 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I think that I could live with animals,
    they are so placid and self-contained.
    I stand and look at them long and long.
    They do not whine about their condition,
    They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,
    Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.

    - Walt Whitman

     

  • At 1:45 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Nothing wrong with mittens but would you be happy to get only mittens for C-mas?

    You have a few movies to watch and report to me about !!!!!!! I want to hear your opinions of Wonderful Life and 5 People!!!!

     

  • At 1:48 PM, Blogger Candy Rant said…

    Ooooh, thank you, anonymous, for the Whitman. I forgot all about that poem. So true.

    Belle, your movies are up next! You're my own personal cross-country NetFlix! We have watched exactly 2 movies in the past 6 months. Pitiful.

    And, on the mittens, if they were REALLY COOL mittens, then yes, just mittens for Christmas would be OK.

     

  • At 1:51 PM, Blogger Candy Rant said…

    Here's a poem that goes well with the Whitman. I've posted this before. It really hit me.



    Self-pity

    I never saw a wild thing
    sorry for itself.
    A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
    without ever having felt sorry for itself.

    D.H. Lawrence

     

  • At 2:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I don't want anything for C-mas except my credit card bill to be paid.

    Get watching those movies! Right now!

    Did you recommend The Center of Everything to me? I'm reading it now. I tried 13th Tale but I couldn't get it started.

    Sorry to turn your poetry post into a personal conversation.

     

  • At 2:01 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I am sitting here at work, typing up residents' Christmas lists. This nursing home resident wants playing cards and a baseball cap.

     

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