CelticStoic 🏴
@celticstoic.bsky.social
Chipping away at literature, history, and other interests,
whilst navigating stormy seas and a lee shore. #TodaysPoem #poetry
Locus: Massachusetts & the abyss of MECFS / FQAD
🌤️Sol Omnibus Lucet
– Petronius
whilst navigating stormy seas and a lee shore. #TodaysPoem #poetry
Locus: Massachusetts & the abyss of MECFS / FQAD
🌤️Sol Omnibus Lucet
– Petronius
Pinned
~November Elegy~
As days grow short and holidays draw near,
Echos of times past return and alight
On a gray restless night.
The knowing smile, the gentle laugh,
A warm embrace not there;
Pale light, an empty chair.
O those souls missed & missing
Ring ever so clear
This time of year.
As days grow short and holidays draw near,
Echos of times past return and alight
On a gray restless night.
The knowing smile, the gentle laugh,
A warm embrace not there;
Pale light, an empty chair.
O those souls missed & missing
Ring ever so clear
This time of year.
November 25, 2025 at 4:43 PM
#MelvilleMonday
"Oh, give me again the rover's life—the joy, the thrill, the whirl! Let me feel thee again, old sea! let me leap into thy saddle once more. […] Let me snuff thee up, sea-breeze! and whinny in thy spray."
- Herman Melville, White-Jacket (Ch. XIX, The Jacket Aloft)
"Oh, give me again the rover's life—the joy, the thrill, the whirl! Let me feel thee again, old sea! let me leap into thy saddle once more. […] Let me snuff thee up, sea-breeze! and whinny in thy spray."
- Herman Melville, White-Jacket (Ch. XIX, The Jacket Aloft)
November 24, 2025 at 10:42 PM
#MelvilleMonday
"Oh, give me again the rover's life—the joy, the thrill, the whirl! Let me feel thee again, old sea! let me leap into thy saddle once more. […] Let me snuff thee up, sea-breeze! and whinny in thy spray."
- Herman Melville, White-Jacket (Ch. XIX, The Jacket Aloft)
"Oh, give me again the rover's life—the joy, the thrill, the whirl! Let me feel thee again, old sea! let me leap into thy saddle once more. […] Let me snuff thee up, sea-breeze! and whinny in thy spray."
- Herman Melville, White-Jacket (Ch. XIX, The Jacket Aloft)
#JosephConrad
"The mind of man is capable of anything—because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future."
"The mind of man is capable of anything—because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future."
November 24, 2025 at 5:08 PM
#JosephConrad
"The mind of man is capable of anything—because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future."
"The mind of man is capable of anything—because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future."
#SundaySentence
A child said, What is the grass? fetching it to me with full
hands;
How could I answer the child?. . . . I do not know what it
is any more than he.
- Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, c. 1855
A child said, What is the grass? fetching it to me with full
hands;
How could I answer the child?. . . . I do not know what it
is any more than he.
- Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, c. 1855
![Frontispiece engraving of Walt Whitman [age 36] by Samuel Hollyer, based on a daguerreotype by Gabriel Harrison, for the first edition of Leaves of Grass, 1855.
Source: Walt Whitman at the Lilly (curated by Christoph Irmscher), Indiana University Library, Bloomington.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:c7ex5lsw6ieo65txcbw7of2r/bafkreigd3a3skopsr6fyoz6afrhomv4vovetrodpszyr3yy4iw2shnovqm@jpeg)
November 23, 2025 at 5:14 PM
#SundaySentence
A child said, What is the grass? fetching it to me with full
hands;
How could I answer the child?. . . . I do not know what it
is any more than he.
- Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, c. 1855
A child said, What is the grass? fetching it to me with full
hands;
How could I answer the child?. . . . I do not know what it
is any more than he.
- Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, c. 1855
#JosephConrad
"I don't like work—no man does—but I like what is in the work,— the chance to find yourself."
- Joseph Conrad
"I don't like work—no man does—but I like what is in the work,— the chance to find yourself."
- Joseph Conrad
November 22, 2025 at 7:23 PM
#JosephConrad
"I don't like work—no man does—but I like what is in the work,— the chance to find yourself."
- Joseph Conrad
"I don't like work—no man does—but I like what is in the work,— the chance to find yourself."
- Joseph Conrad
~November Elegy~
As days grow short and holidays draw near,
Echos of times past return and alight
On a gray restless night.
The knowing smile, the gentle laugh,
A warm embrace not there;
Pale light, an empty chair.
O those souls missed & missing
Ring ever so clear
This time of year.
As days grow short and holidays draw near,
Echos of times past return and alight
On a gray restless night.
The knowing smile, the gentle laugh,
A warm embrace not there;
Pale light, an empty chair.
O those souls missed & missing
Ring ever so clear
This time of year.
November 22, 2025 at 1:38 AM
~November Elegy~
As days grow short and holidays draw near,
Echos of times past return and alight
On a gray restless night.
The knowing smile, the gentle laugh,
A warm embrace not there;
Pale light, an empty chair.
O those souls missed & missing
Ring ever so clear
This time of year.
As days grow short and holidays draw near,
Echos of times past return and alight
On a gray restless night.
The knowing smile, the gentle laugh,
A warm embrace not there;
Pale light, an empty chair.
O those souls missed & missing
Ring ever so clear
This time of year.
#JosephConrad
"To tear treasure out of the bowels of the land was their desire, with no more moral purpose at the back of it than there is in burglars breaking into a safe."
- Joseph Conrad, 1902
"To tear treasure out of the bowels of the land was their desire, with no more moral purpose at the back of it than there is in burglars breaking into a safe."
- Joseph Conrad, 1902
November 21, 2025 at 4:27 PM
#JosephConrad
"To tear treasure out of the bowels of the land was their desire, with no more moral purpose at the back of it than there is in burglars breaking into a safe."
- Joseph Conrad, 1902
"To tear treasure out of the bowels of the land was their desire, with no more moral purpose at the back of it than there is in burglars breaking into a safe."
- Joseph Conrad, 1902
🕊️
"Blessed by the distant liberty,
Blind to the newer agony!
The earth will be a frozen coal
Before man knows his traitor soul."
- Arthur Davison Ficke, The Birdcage (1915)
"Blessed by the distant liberty,
Blind to the newer agony!
The earth will be a frozen coal
Before man knows his traitor soul."
- Arthur Davison Ficke, The Birdcage (1915)
November 20, 2025 at 7:42 PM
🕊️
"Blessed by the distant liberty,
Blind to the newer agony!
The earth will be a frozen coal
Before man knows his traitor soul."
- Arthur Davison Ficke, The Birdcage (1915)
"Blessed by the distant liberty,
Blind to the newer agony!
The earth will be a frozen coal
Before man knows his traitor soul."
- Arthur Davison Ficke, The Birdcage (1915)
#JosephConrad
"I've seen the devil of violence, and the devil of greed, and the devil of hot desire; but, by all the stars! these were strong, lusty, red-eyed devils, that swayed and drove men—men, I tell you."
- Joseph Conrad, 1902
"I've seen the devil of violence, and the devil of greed, and the devil of hot desire; but, by all the stars! these were strong, lusty, red-eyed devils, that swayed and drove men—men, I tell you."
- Joseph Conrad, 1902
November 20, 2025 at 3:45 PM
#JosephConrad
"I've seen the devil of violence, and the devil of greed, and the devil of hot desire; but, by all the stars! these were strong, lusty, red-eyed devils, that swayed and drove men—men, I tell you."
- Joseph Conrad, 1902
"I've seen the devil of violence, and the devil of greed, and the devil of hot desire; but, by all the stars! these were strong, lusty, red-eyed devils, that swayed and drove men—men, I tell you."
- Joseph Conrad, 1902
#TodaysPoem
I am weary of being bitter and weary of being wise,
And the armor and the mask of these fall from me, after
long.
I would go where the islands sleep, or where the sea-dawns
rise,
And lose my bitter wisdom in the wisdom of a song.
- Arthur Davison Ficke, 1915
I am weary of being bitter and weary of being wise,
And the armor and the mask of these fall from me, after
long.
I would go where the islands sleep, or where the sea-dawns
rise,
And lose my bitter wisdom in the wisdom of a song.
- Arthur Davison Ficke, 1915
November 19, 2025 at 11:39 PM
#TodaysPoem
I am weary of being bitter and weary of being wise,
And the armor and the mask of these fall from me, after
long.
I would go where the islands sleep, or where the sea-dawns
rise,
And lose my bitter wisdom in the wisdom of a song.
- Arthur Davison Ficke, 1915
I am weary of being bitter and weary of being wise,
And the armor and the mask of these fall from me, after
long.
I would go where the islands sleep, or where the sea-dawns
rise,
And lose my bitter wisdom in the wisdom of a song.
- Arthur Davison Ficke, 1915
#WhitmanWednesday 🌾
"A heroic person walks at his ease through and out of that custom or precedent or authority that suits him not."
-Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, c. 1855
"A heroic person walks at his ease through and out of that custom or precedent or authority that suits him not."
-Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, c. 1855
November 19, 2025 at 6:28 PM
#WhitmanWednesday 🌾
"A heroic person walks at his ease through and out of that custom or precedent or authority that suits him not."
-Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, c. 1855
"A heroic person walks at his ease through and out of that custom or precedent or authority that suits him not."
-Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, c. 1855
#HeartofDarkness #JosephConrad
"They were going to run an over-sea empire, and make no end of coin by trade."
"They were going to run an over-sea empire, and make no end of coin by trade."
November 19, 2025 at 1:26 PM
#HeartofDarkness #JosephConrad
"They were going to run an over-sea empire, and make no end of coin by trade."
"They were going to run an over-sea empire, and make no end of coin by trade."
#HeartofDarkness #JosephConrad
"The yarns of seamen have a direct simplicity, the whole meaning of which lies within the shell of a cracked nut."
- Joseph Conrad, 1902
"The yarns of seamen have a direct simplicity, the whole meaning of which lies within the shell of a cracked nut."
- Joseph Conrad, 1902
November 18, 2025 at 10:56 PM
#HeartofDarkness #JosephConrad
"The yarns of seamen have a direct simplicity, the whole meaning of which lies within the shell of a cracked nut."
- Joseph Conrad, 1902
"The yarns of seamen have a direct simplicity, the whole meaning of which lies within the shell of a cracked nut."
- Joseph Conrad, 1902
#HeartofDarkness
"It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind—as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness."
- Joseph Conrad, 1902
"It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind—as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness."
- Joseph Conrad, 1902
November 18, 2025 at 4:36 PM
#HeartofDarkness
"It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind—as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness."
- Joseph Conrad, 1902
"It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind—as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness."
- Joseph Conrad, 1902
November 18, 2025 at 3:00 PM
#HeartofDarkness
"It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind—as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness."
- Joseph Conrad, 1902
"It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind—as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness."
- Joseph Conrad, 1902
#MelvilleMonday
"I have a voice that helps to shape eternity; and my volitions stir the orbits of the furthest suns. In two senses, we are precisely what we worship. Ourselves are Fate."
- Melville, White-Jacket (1850)
Arkhyp Kuindzhi. Night. 1908.
"I have a voice that helps to shape eternity; and my volitions stir the orbits of the furthest suns. In two senses, we are precisely what we worship. Ourselves are Fate."
- Melville, White-Jacket (1850)
Arkhyp Kuindzhi. Night. 1908.
November 17, 2025 at 9:50 PM
#MelvilleMonday
"I have a voice that helps to shape eternity; and my volitions stir the orbits of the furthest suns. In two senses, we are precisely what we worship. Ourselves are Fate."
- Melville, White-Jacket (1850)
Arkhyp Kuindzhi. Night. 1908.
"I have a voice that helps to shape eternity; and my volitions stir the orbits of the furthest suns. In two senses, we are precisely what we worship. Ourselves are Fate."
- Melville, White-Jacket (1850)
Arkhyp Kuindzhi. Night. 1908.
#HeartofDarkness
"The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much."
- Joseph Conrad, 1902
"The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much."
- Joseph Conrad, 1902
November 17, 2025 at 3:55 PM
#HeartofDarkness
"The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much."
- Joseph Conrad, 1902
"The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much."
- Joseph Conrad, 1902
#SundaySentence
"Others lead a vagabond and precarious existence in the corners of newspapers; or have changed their names and run away to seek their fortunes beyond the sea."
- Longfellow (on the life of his earlier poems)
"Others lead a vagabond and precarious existence in the corners of newspapers; or have changed their names and run away to seek their fortunes beyond the sea."
- Longfellow (on the life of his earlier poems)
![Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, circa 1850 [age 43]; daguerreotype by Southworth & Hawes.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:c7ex5lsw6ieo65txcbw7of2r/bafkreiec2l6s557yhlqdxjl7k6au4mxxgt6wjmdkgxjpksdah7x4bdhosm@jpeg)
November 16, 2025 at 4:41 PM
#SundaySentence
"Others lead a vagabond and precarious existence in the corners of newspapers; or have changed their names and run away to seek their fortunes beyond the sea."
- Longfellow (on the life of his earlier poems)
"Others lead a vagabond and precarious existence in the corners of newspapers; or have changed their names and run away to seek their fortunes beyond the sea."
- Longfellow (on the life of his earlier poems)
🍂
"Then read from the treasured volume
The poem of thy choice,
And lend to the rhyme of the poet
The beauty of thy voice."
- Longfellow, The Day is Done (1845)
"Then read from the treasured volume
The poem of thy choice,
And lend to the rhyme of the poet
The beauty of thy voice."
- Longfellow, The Day is Done (1845)
![Longfellow circa 1850 [age 47], daguerreotype by Southworth & Hawes.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:c7ex5lsw6ieo65txcbw7of2r/bafkreighlu4wqwbnxe3o3nav3z4n2u56rzvdglzut6rzdu7vmgumv4gykq@jpeg)
November 15, 2025 at 11:16 PM
🍂
"Then read from the treasured volume
The poem of thy choice,
And lend to the rhyme of the poet
The beauty of thy voice."
- Longfellow, The Day is Done (1845)
"Then read from the treasured volume
The poem of thy choice,
And lend to the rhyme of the poet
The beauty of thy voice."
- Longfellow, The Day is Done (1845)
A recent addition, from a library book sale...
"They walked not under the lindens,
They played not in the hall;
But shadow, and silence, and sadness
Were hanging over all."
- Longfellow, 1849
"They walked not under the lindens,
They played not in the hall;
But shadow, and silence, and sadness
Were hanging over all."
- Longfellow, 1849
November 15, 2025 at 9:09 PM
A recent addition, from a library book sale...
"They walked not under the lindens,
They played not in the hall;
But shadow, and silence, and sadness
Were hanging over all."
- Longfellow, 1849
"They walked not under the lindens,
They played not in the hall;
But shadow, and silence, and sadness
Were hanging over all."
- Longfellow, 1849
🕊️
O Beauty Infinite, that in all things
Implicit and discoverable lies—
That glimmers, flows, emerges, hovers, sings,
Sleeps in the rock, and in the bird-note cries—
- Arthur Davison Ficke
1/
From my wife's walk:
O Beauty Infinite, that in all things
Implicit and discoverable lies—
That glimmers, flows, emerges, hovers, sings,
Sleeps in the rock, and in the bird-note cries—
- Arthur Davison Ficke
1/
From my wife's walk:
!["Arthur Davison Ficke (1883-1945) was born in Davenport, Iowa. He received an undergraduate degree from Harvard University, traveled around the world, and returned to Iowa. While working as an English teacher, he entered the University of Iowa to study law. After completing his studies, he joined his father's law firm. The young lawyer was also a budding poet. Two collections of his poetry were published in 1907. According to Dictionary of Literary Biography contributor Paula L. Hart, these volumes display Ficke's 'fondness for romantic themes, the influence of his extensive travel, and his partiality for the lyric form.'"
[Source: Poetry Foundation]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:c7ex5lsw6ieo65txcbw7of2r/bafkreidtextholdni3q5wkvcund2zsv7kda3xtxzybnfha4cdhgz6bwspe@jpeg)
November 14, 2025 at 7:08 PM
🕊️
O Beauty Infinite, that in all things
Implicit and discoverable lies—
That glimmers, flows, emerges, hovers, sings,
Sleeps in the rock, and in the bird-note cries—
- Arthur Davison Ficke
1/
From my wife's walk:
O Beauty Infinite, that in all things
Implicit and discoverable lies—
That glimmers, flows, emerges, hovers, sings,
Sleeps in the rock, and in the bird-note cries—
- Arthur Davison Ficke
1/
From my wife's walk:
"Hence it came that this soft harp so long hath
been known
To mingle love's language with sorrow's sad tone;"
- Thomas Moore, The Origin of the Harp
been known
To mingle love's language with sorrow's sad tone;"
- Thomas Moore, The Origin of the Harp
November 13, 2025 at 9:05 PM
"Hence it came that this soft harp so long hath
been known
To mingle love's language with sorrow's sad tone;"
- Thomas Moore, The Origin of the Harp
been known
To mingle love's language with sorrow's sad tone;"
- Thomas Moore, The Origin of the Harp
#WhitmanWednesday 🌾
"The greatest poet does not moralize or make applications of morals. . . he knows the soul."
- Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, c. 1855
"The greatest poet does not moralize or make applications of morals. . . he knows the soul."
- Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, c. 1855
November 13, 2025 at 12:24 AM
#WhitmanWednesday 🌾
"The greatest poet does not moralize or make applications of morals. . . he knows the soul."
- Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, c. 1855
"The greatest poet does not moralize or make applications of morals. . . he knows the soul."
- Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, c. 1855
🌾
"The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters is simplicity. Nothing is better than simplicity. . ."
- Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, c. 1855
From my wife's walk today:
"The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters is simplicity. Nothing is better than simplicity. . ."
- Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, c. 1855
From my wife's walk today:
November 12, 2025 at 10:09 PM
🌾
"The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters is simplicity. Nothing is better than simplicity. . ."
- Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, c. 1855
From my wife's walk today:
"The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters is simplicity. Nothing is better than simplicity. . ."
- Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, c. 1855
From my wife's walk today:
Veterans Day🕊️
I know the solemn monotone
Of waters calling unto me;
I know from whence the airs have blown
That whisper of the Eternal Sea.
- John Greenleaf Whittier, Burning Drift-Wood, c. 1890
I know the solemn monotone
Of waters calling unto me;
I know from whence the airs have blown
That whisper of the Eternal Sea.
- John Greenleaf Whittier, Burning Drift-Wood, c. 1890
November 11, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Veterans Day🕊️
I know the solemn monotone
Of waters calling unto me;
I know from whence the airs have blown
That whisper of the Eternal Sea.
- John Greenleaf Whittier, Burning Drift-Wood, c. 1890
I know the solemn monotone
Of waters calling unto me;
I know from whence the airs have blown
That whisper of the Eternal Sea.
- John Greenleaf Whittier, Burning Drift-Wood, c. 1890