WE WERE BORN SAINTS
From our mothers' wombs, we came forth,
Immaculate and impeccable like august shrubs on a
spacious field.From our mothers' wombs, we came forth,
Immaculate and impeccable like august shrubs on a
We were pure, infallible, with genuine smiles
That knew neither friends nor foes
Brothers, we were born saints
We were stainless doves,
The condign replica of the concierge's image -
Amicable, amiable, like summer roses.
We were angels, free from animosity and acerbity
We were the morning ray
The true habiliments of exquisite love.
Sisters, we were born saints.
We were meek, not hamate;
The exemplary simulacrum of perfect beings.
We were the southern wind.
The sacred book of holiness.
We were not vitiated, never, nor sanguinary vampires.
We, like panacea, were the pills of comfort.
Comrades, we were born saints.
Then the earth wooed our consciences and
Raped our innocence with disingenuous philosophies;
He stained our encephalons with rapacious thoughts.
Then we became sanguinary vampires, thieves,
Liars, outlaws, terrorists with temeranous personalities.
This is no longer us!
But comrades, know this for sure, that
From the onset, when we came forth from our mothers' wombs,
We were born saints.
Triumph of the Innocents -- William Holman Hunt
The 8 carpal bones function as a unit to provide a bony superstructure for the hand. The hamate is an irregularly shaped bone found within the distal row of carpal bones, abutting the metacarpals of the ring and little fingers. The hook of hamate (from the Latin "uncus," hook) is found at its proximal, ulnar side and is a curved, hook-like process that projects 1–2 cm distally and radially. Numerous ligaments attach to it. Ossification starts between 1 and 12 months but the hamate does not fully ossify until about the 15th year -- an obvious sign of the loss of youthful "innocence" in Abel's poem. Fracturing it is rather rare among ordinary people (only about 2-6% of carpal fractures) but is more common among athletes who grip on the swing of a club-like object. Players who suffer from this ailment are said to have "Wilson's Wrist," named for The Wilson Sporting Goods Company which is the major manufacturer of tennis rackets but also provides a range of athletic equipment including golf clubs.
ReplyDeleteA south wind originates in the south and blows north. The Iroquois believed it was brought by the Fawn and had a warm, gentle temperament reminiscent of the sweet flowers, babbling brooks, and bird songs of summer, but some of its English synonyms describe the opposite condition, including buster (a violent south gale), friagem (a cold Antarctic wind blowing into Brazil), khamsin (a hot spring wind in Egypt), kona (a stormy southwest wind in Hawaii), and notus (named after the Greek god who brought the storms of late summer and autumn.)
The Australian poet Robert Richardson wrote a poem, "Annette," on the death of his lover. The closing verse:
ReplyDeleteWarm summer sun, shine friendly here
Warm western wind, blow kindly here;
Green sod above, rest light, rest light,
Good-night, Annette!
Sweetheart, good-night!
Mark Twain came across the poem while in India on a grueling world tour to try to recover his finances. During his absence his beloved daughter Susy Clemens died of spinal meningitis at 24, and Twain fell into severe depression for the rest of his life. At 13 she had written a biography of her father, which he later included in his own autobiography. His memories of her as a 17-year-old served as his model for his portrayal of Joan of Arc. He engraved her tombstone with Richardson's verse, which he slightly misremembered, and is thus sometimes credited with its authorship:
Warm summer sun,
Shine kindly here,
Warm southern wind,
Blow softly here.
Green sod above,
Lie light, lie light.
Good night, dear heart,
Good night, good night.