"...lonely as a cloud" Come off it Mr. Wordsworth. nb

[celandine]

"I wandered lonely as a cloud..." must surely be the most well known and at the same time the most stupid simile in the English speaking world. When do you ever see just one little cloud all lonely in the sky? I mention this here as boaty people perhaps have more of a weather eye on the weather, and well know that the sad reality in this rainy old country of ours is that clouds rarely if ever come one at a time. They come mob-handed in the massed ranks of the national occluded front; vast armies of cumulus-pissdownonus march endlessly from horizon to horizon menacing any optimist that embarks on an outdoor activity.
Sorry to go a bit literary but I can't let Wordsworth get away with it any longer especially as today we are supposed to be celebrating the 200th aniversary of "Daffodils" Never mind "...dancing in the breeze" where I am, the sky is a mass of cloud; the rain is horizontal, and my daffs are all face-down in the mud.

Mick

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[mikesharp]

Re: Your Daffs

I hope my wife never gets to hear that someone can be involved in both boats AND gardens!


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[claymore]

I wandered lonely as a cloud
On high o'er mossy fields and banks
I put my foot on a mans bare bum
and a womans voice said 'thanks'
Someone once wrote that Wordsworth wasn't a Lakes Poet but a Poet who happened to have a few lines already in his head when he came to the lakes.
personally - I've never been too sure about his relationship with the lovely Dorothy which has tainted my opinion of all women so named. This lead to some difficulty with my Aunt who was not only called Dorothy but had a strange habit of licking her eyebrows.
its been a hard wek and I've just hit the wine -sorry about this.

<hr width=100% size=1>regards
Claymore
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[jimi]

Re: \"...lonely as a cloud\" Come off it Mr. Wordsworth. nb

Presume that's where the expression "Dot the eyes" comes from?

<hr width=100% size=1>I Have The Body Of A God... Buddha

 

[bob_tyler]

Re: \"...lonely as a cloud\" Come off it Mr. Wordsworth. nb

Never looked on you as a Wino. Always thought that you were a sophisticated Malt man.

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[claymore]

Re: \"...lonely as a cloud\" Come off it Mr. Wordsworth. nb

I ended up on the Malt - a quick slurp of wine on an empty head was the begining of the downfall.

<hr width=100% size=1>regards
Claymore
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[celandine]

More on the lovely Dorothy

Claymore,
Many thanks for your alternative beginning; far more in tune with modern taste in verse methinks. As for 'the lovely Dorothy', I have heard it said that what W.W. originally wrote was: "... lonely as a cow" but his sister (who must have been the archetypal SWMBO) argued that it was'nt 'poetic' enough. Seems he may have traded his poetic judgement for a quiet life.

Mick

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[jollyjacktar]

Re: \"...lonely as a cloud\" Come off it Mr. Wordsworth. nb

Personally I prefer "The boy stood on the burning deck.................."

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[Rowana]

Re: \"...lonely as a cloud\" Come off it Mr. Wordsworth. nb

The boy stood on the burning deck,
Whence all but he had fled,
"Oh my" he said, "It's warmer here,
Than in my cauld, cauld bed"

OR

The boy stood on the burning deck,
The fireman tooted his hooter,
Who should come along just then,
But Granny on her scooter!



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[Kristal]

Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink,
But water's boring anyway, so off to the bar, I think.
But the steward said "You can't come in, you look a total wreck,
this club cannot serve anyone with an Albatross round their neck.



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[Aardee]

Re: \"...lonely as a cloud\" Come off it Mr. Wordsworth. nb

The boy stood on the burning deck
His feet all covered in blisters
A jet of flame burnt off his pants
So now he wears his sisters

The boy stood on the burning deck
Whence all but he had fled
Prat!!

<hr width=100% size=1>"I am a bear of very little brain and long words bother me..."

 

[jimi]

Re: \"...lonely as a cloud\" Come off it Mr. Wordsworth. nb

The boy stood on the burning deck,
his body all a quiver.
He gave a cough, his leg flew off
and floated down the river.



<hr width=100% size=1>I Have The Body Of A God... Buddha

 

[ChrisE]

I couldn\'t find the groan emoticon, perhaps...

....you could help me [groan]

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[jhr]

Hard astern

The boy stood on the burning deck
His back was to the mast.
He dared not move a single step
'Til Oscar Wilde had passed.

But Oscar was a wily bird,
He threw the boy a plum
And as he stooped to pick it up
Ti tum ti tum ti tum............

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<hr width=100% size=1>Je suis Marxiste - tendance Groucho

 

[jimi]

Osacar Wilde ..

reminded me of this gem from McGonagall

The Burning Of The Ship "Kent"

Good people of high and low degree,
I pray ye all to list to me,
And I'll relate a harrowing tale of the sea
Concerning the burning of the ship "Kent" in the Bay of Biscay,
Which is the most appalling tale of the present century.

She carried a crew, including officers, of 148 men,
And twenty lady passengers along with them;
Besides 344 men of the 31st Regiment,
And twenty officers with them, all seemingly content.

Also the soldiers' wives, which numbered forty-three,
And sixty-six children, a most beautiful sight to see;
And in the year of 1825, and on the 19th of February,
The ship "Kent" sailed from the Downs right speedily,
While the passengers' hearts felt light with glee.

And the beautiful ship proceeded on her way to Bengal,
While the passengers were cheerful one and all;
And the sun shone out in brilliant array,
And on the evening of the 28th they entered the Bay of Biscay.

But a gale from the south-west sprang up that night,
Which filled the passengers' hearts with fright;
And it continued to increase in violence as the night wore on,
Whilst the lady passengers looked very woe-begone.

Part of the cargo in the hold consisted of shot and shell,
And the vessel rolled heavily as the big billows rose and fell;
Then two sailors descended the forehold carrying a light,
To see if all below was safe and right.

And they discovered a spirit cask and the contents oozing rapidly,
And the man with the light stooped to examine it immediately;
And in doing so he dropped the lamp while in a state of amaze,
And, oh horror! in a minute the forehold was in a blaze.

It was two o'clock in the morning when the accident took place,
And, alas! horror and fear was depicted in each face;
And the sailors tried hard to extinguish the flame,
But, oh Heaven! all their exertions proved in vain.

The inflammable matter rendered their efforts of no avail,
And the brave sailors with over-exertion looked very pale;
And for hours in the darkness they tried to check the fire,
But the flames still mounted higher and higher.

But Captain Cobb resolved on a last desperate experiment,
Because he saw the ship was doomed, and he felt discontent;
Then he raised the alarm that the ship was on fire,
Then the passengers quickly from their beds did retire.

And women and children rushed to the deck in wild despair,
And, paralysed with terror, many women tore their hair;
And some prayed to God for help, and wildly did screech,
But, alas ! poor souls, help was not within their reach.

Still the gale blew hard, and the waves ran mountains high,
While men, women, and children bitterly did cry
To God to save them from the merciless fire;
But the flames rose higher and higher.

And when the passengers had lost all hope, and in great dismay,
The look-out man shouted, " Ho! a sail coming this way ";
Then every heart felt light and gay,
And signals of distress were hoisted without delay.

Then the vessel came to their rescue, commanded by Captain Cook,
And he gazed upon the burning ship with a pitiful look;
She proved to be the brig " Cambria," bound for Vera Cruz,
Then the captain cried, " Men, save all ye can, there's no time to lose."

Then the sailors of the "Cambria" wrought with might and main,
While the sea spray fell on them like heavy rain;
First the women and children were transferred from the "Kent"
By boats, ropes, and tackle without a single accident.

But, alas ! the fire had reached the powder magazine,
Then followed an explosion, oh! what a fearful scene;
But the explosion was witnessed by Captain Babby of the ship " Carline,"
Who most fortunately arrived in the nick of time.

And fourteen additional human beings were saved from the " Kent,"
And they thanked Captain Babby and God, who to them succour sent,
And had saved them from being burnt, and drowned in the briny deep;
And they felt so overjoyed that some of them did weep;
And in the first port in England they landed without delay,
And when their feet touched English soil their hearts felt gay


<hr width=100% size=1>I Have The Body Of A God... Buddha

 

[jhr]

Re: Osacar Wilde ..

Excellent! I presume the reference to Oscar Wilde is in the last line:

"And when their feet touched English soil their hearts felt gay"

There have been many awful poets who have abused the English language over the years, but no one can beat the great MacGonagall /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif

<hr width=100% size=1>Je suis Marxiste - tendance Groucho

 

[Twister_Ken]

It\'s the way he tells them! nm

`

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[Twister_Ken]

A pyschiatrist speaks.

Dear Mr Mariner,

In your fortunate state of grace you ignore the plight of others. For many poor souls, friendless, forgotten, it is only too possible to be alone in a crowd. One such as this was perhaps the lonely cloud of Mr Wordsworth. For although the sky may have been crowded with other clouds this one wandered alone, perpetually dark and unsmiling, steering its own course, shunned by others.

It might help you visualise the situaton of the cloud is we put it in another context. Let's call the cloud 'Tony', and the sky 'The Labour Party'. Does that help?

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[celandine]

Re: A pyschiatrist speaks.

Dear Mr. Ken,

As for my "fortunate state", I think you meant to type "... of grease", but how did you know?

And speaking of Tony, I think the cloud to which you refer must be cloud-cuckoo-land, and as for the source of his foreign policy - that place where the people from cloud-cuckoo-land go to get away from reality.

Mick




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