Dead White Men
The dawn is almost here, and in my tense
and troubled sleep, I’ve come through to the morning.
It was no easy night. A cough awoke me
in bed and armchair and would not shake off.
I sit among my books, but reading seems
quite out of reach at present. Still, I cough,
but now, it does not wake me. My head aches,
my throat aches, my whole upper body’s tired.
I do not relish this. I left my wife
asleep and traveled to my study at
some godless hour and slept here: Seneca
and Sallust, Freud and Schopenhauer – all
these dead white men, a number I will join
when illness takes me, or old age. The cancer
that stole my prostate seems departed now –
the madness of my middle years is gone.
A cough, a man can deal with. Just an hour
or so till dawn. I’m glad the night is done.
Dead White Men
Greetings, John,
The Coo-mmunity appreciates this poem, particularly for having endured a difficult night of late. Sleep is such a blessing, when it comes. But to feel tense and troubled through it is a challenge indeed. We are sorry for the cough; we keep a roll of Polo mints (the non-sugar variety) in Mr. Quackers' pocket for such occasions. The description throughout S1 is engaging; we feel the discomfort. And the loneliness too (*v*)
S2 continues the lonely theme, to our minds. Yes indeedy, in the company of so many men who have passed on. These are sobering night thoughts; next time, please consider the Book of Coo. We are sorry for your suffering, also well described here. Ooh yes, and we also like Ricola sweets for the cough, preferable cranberry flavour (^v^)
Cheerie,
F & (^v^)
The Coo-mmunity appreciates this poem, particularly for having endured a difficult night of late. Sleep is such a blessing, when it comes. But to feel tense and troubled through it is a challenge indeed. We are sorry for the cough; we keep a roll of Polo mints (the non-sugar variety) in Mr. Quackers' pocket for such occasions. The description throughout S1 is engaging; we feel the discomfort. And the loneliness too (*v*)
S2 continues the lonely theme, to our minds. Yes indeedy, in the company of so many men who have passed on. These are sobering night thoughts; next time, please consider the Book of Coo. We are sorry for your suffering, also well described here. Ooh yes, and we also like Ricola sweets for the cough, preferable cranberry flavour (^v^)
Cheerie,
F & (^v^)
Greetings, Fliss and Coo,
Thank you for the kind words, and for the recommendations! I have lately come to favor Fisherman's Friends, which I think are zero calorie and seem to work, and a friend pointed out that for post-nasal drip, an antihistamine can work wonders, so i take Claritin sometimes. Lately I've been doing better at not being woken by a cough.
You are quite right, the middle of the night is a lonely time. Here i am before dawn as usual, typing away! But I am used to it. I like your suggestion of the Book of Coo, who is in no way a dead white man. Far from it! And I am sorry to hear about your recent sleepless night. I've been there and I sympathize.
Cheerie,
John
Thank you for the kind words, and for the recommendations! I have lately come to favor Fisherman's Friends, which I think are zero calorie and seem to work, and a friend pointed out that for post-nasal drip, an antihistamine can work wonders, so i take Claritin sometimes. Lately I've been doing better at not being woken by a cough.
You are quite right, the middle of the night is a lonely time. Here i am before dawn as usual, typing away! But I am used to it. I like your suggestion of the Book of Coo, who is in no way a dead white man. Far from it! And I am sorry to hear about your recent sleepless night. I've been there and I sympathize.
Cheerie,
John
Greetings, John,
You're welcome, hooray. Now, Fisherman's Friends; I don't think we're familiar with these at Coo & Co. Do you have a favourite flavour? We're glad they seem to work for you. Have you considered sleeping with your head raised slightly, to overcome the post-nasal drip? I was woken early this morning by the sound of my own heart in my ears, as I'd had to put my earphones in during the night, unfortunately. It might be necessary to email the upstairs neighbours soon (*v*)
Do you ever listen to the radio during the night? Mrs T has never slept particularly well from 1am through to 6 or so and likes listening to the World Service through earphones. Irish Granny liked the WS too. Hooray for the Book of Coo! It continues to do well with folks in hospitals, people who like their poetry to provide some comfort. Thank-coos for your kind words; we'll be off to bed soon and hope to have peaceful slumbers (^v^)
Cheerie,
F & ( v )
You're welcome, hooray. Now, Fisherman's Friends; I don't think we're familiar with these at Coo & Co. Do you have a favourite flavour? We're glad they seem to work for you. Have you considered sleeping with your head raised slightly, to overcome the post-nasal drip? I was woken early this morning by the sound of my own heart in my ears, as I'd had to put my earphones in during the night, unfortunately. It might be necessary to email the upstairs neighbours soon (*v*)
Do you ever listen to the radio during the night? Mrs T has never slept particularly well from 1am through to 6 or so and likes listening to the World Service through earphones. Irish Granny liked the WS too. Hooray for the Book of Coo! It continues to do well with folks in hospitals, people who like their poetry to provide some comfort. Thank-coos for your kind words; we'll be off to bed soon and hope to have peaceful slumbers (^v^)
Cheerie,
F & ( v )
Hi Fliss and Coo,
I think Fisherman's Friends can be bought in the Uk. THere are no flavors, just overpowering freshness. EMailing your upstairs neighbors makes sense, i think. No, I don't listen to the radio during the night, but the radio is pleasant as the telly is not, I am a supporter of its services. Good to hear about the Book of Coo's hospital success. Plenty of sleepless people in hsopitals.
Hi Kris,
While you are visiting, as you obviously have been, feel free to provide a useful comment in this workshop, as Fliss and Coo have. It would be most welcome! ANd nobody would prevent you from providing one.
Cheerie all,
John
I think Fisherman's Friends can be bought in the Uk. THere are no flavors, just overpowering freshness. EMailing your upstairs neighbors makes sense, i think. No, I don't listen to the radio during the night, but the radio is pleasant as the telly is not, I am a supporter of its services. Good to hear about the Book of Coo's hospital success. Plenty of sleepless people in hsopitals.
Hi Kris,
While you are visiting, as you obviously have been, feel free to provide a useful comment in this workshop, as Fliss and Coo have. It would be most welcome! ANd nobody would prevent you from providing one.
Cheerie all,
John
Morning John,
Yes, we had a little look at the website last night and are confident we could purchase FFs from our local grocers (^v^)
Happy to report there was less noise last night and we woke at about 6 feeling better slept, hooray. There are certainly a lot of sleepless people in hospitals; Gill, for example, a lady I met in hospital last year, who says reading the Book of Coo is soothing for her. I felt happy about that (^v^)
We might see you in our 'room' later, aka Poetry Park, where poets are allowed to be friends
Cheerie,
F & (^v^)
Yes, we had a little look at the website last night and are confident we could purchase FFs from our local grocers (^v^)
Happy to report there was less noise last night and we woke at about 6 feeling better slept, hooray. There are certainly a lot of sleepless people in hospitals; Gill, for example, a lady I met in hospital last year, who says reading the Book of Coo is soothing for her. I felt happy about that (^v^)
We might see you in our 'room' later, aka Poetry Park, where poets are allowed to be friends
Cheerie,
F & (^v^)
Morning Fliss!
And what a splendid morning it is. Good to see you up and about, bright eyed and bushy tailed, I shouldn't wonder. FFs are certainly an experience, and I recommend giving them a try if you see them, they are not typically expensive and they do clear the sinuses.
Back to the topic of sleep and sleeplessness - which we've not left, after all, as it has guided our chat - your hospital experience dovetails with mine. Noises during the night. I am glad to hear of Gill and her liking for the Book of Coo, comforting the suffering seems a worthy undertaking. I myself believe language is well used when it is doing that noble thing, there are few better uses for it.
On that note, I shall certainly pop in to PP later. Conversation is a definitional human occupation.
Cheerie,
John
And what a splendid morning it is. Good to see you up and about, bright eyed and bushy tailed, I shouldn't wonder. FFs are certainly an experience, and I recommend giving them a try if you see them, they are not typically expensive and they do clear the sinuses.
Back to the topic of sleep and sleeplessness - which we've not left, after all, as it has guided our chat - your hospital experience dovetails with mine. Noises during the night. I am glad to hear of Gill and her liking for the Book of Coo, comforting the suffering seems a worthy undertaking. I myself believe language is well used when it is doing that noble thing, there are few better uses for it.
On that note, I shall certainly pop in to PP later. Conversation is a definitional human occupation.
Cheerie,
John
Greetings, John!
The morning was splendid indeedy, the better for our having had a good night's sleep. I do have sinus problems sometimes (caused by meds), so we'll look into the FFs, thank-coos (^o^)
There's probably a lot of poetry to be written about night noises on the wards. Gill wasn't in for long, but we bonded during a difficult time and she was ever so kind about my writing. To write to comfort feels right to me (^v^)
We've just come from PP, hooray. And we continue to enjoy this poem also. It feels very atmospheric; I think anyone who has known the loneliness of night will appreciate it (^v^)
Cheerie,
F & (^v^)
The morning was splendid indeedy, the better for our having had a good night's sleep. I do have sinus problems sometimes (caused by meds), so we'll look into the FFs, thank-coos (^o^)
There's probably a lot of poetry to be written about night noises on the wards. Gill wasn't in for long, but we bonded during a difficult time and she was ever so kind about my writing. To write to comfort feels right to me (^v^)
We've just come from PP, hooray. And we continue to enjoy this poem also. It feels very atmospheric; I think anyone who has known the loneliness of night will appreciate it (^v^)
Cheerie,
F & (^v^)
Glad to mention FFs for sinus clearing! They do that. It is also good to hear of hospital encounters, they make the place that much more human.
I agree about hte loneliness of night. it is a desolate time, 3 a.m. or so. Good to hear you got a good night's rest.
Cheerie,
John
I agree about hte loneliness of night. it is a desolate time, 3 a.m. or so. Good to hear you got a good night's rest.
Cheerie,
John
(^v^)