Bliss by Harry Bliss for September 30, 2020

His brow was sad; his eye beneath,

Flashed like a falchion from its sheath,

And like a silver clarion rung the accents of that unknown tongue,

Excelsior!

I like me an educated dog.

I don’t know what the first part of that jibber jabber is, but the last part is, may his soul Rest In Peace, Stan Lee.

You can tell he’s a poet by his feet.

But why a poem about wood shavings?

Thurber illustrated the whole poem, as I recall.

I’m trying to follow the speech balloon but can’t tell who’s quoting the poem… who’s asking about the poet and who’s confirming…

I’ll just say “YUP” !

[Two sublime passages from Evangeline, Longfellow’s Great American Epic.]

This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks,

Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in the twilight,

Stand like Druids of eld, with voices sad and prophetic,

Stand like harpers hoar, with beards that rest on their bosoms.

Loud from its rocky caverns, the deep-voiced neighboring ocean

Speaks, and in accents disconsolate answers the wail of the forest

[And also from Evangeline…]

Meanwhile apart, in the twilight gloom of a window’s embrasure,

Sat the lovers, and whispered together, beholding the moon rise

Over the pallid sea, and the silvery mists of the meadows.

Silently one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven,

Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels

Stan Lee was the last person I knew to use the word excelsior!

They’re from my native State of New York!

“In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in poetry, it’s the exact opposite.” P.A.M Dirac

From the sky, a voice fell……….

Excelsior!! Congrats to the Tampa Bay Lightning for winning the Stan Lee Cup this year.

All I could think was Stan Lee … we miss you!

Oddly enough I just read a review in today’s local paper by a Kevin Duchschere of the Star Tribune (Minneapolis) about a new biography by Nicholas Basbanes about how Longfellow left his mark on the world.

James Thurber did a wonderful illustrated version of the complete poem.

Another reason why I absolutely LOVE this strip. Thank you for this and for so many others, Mr. Bliss! Beautiful, just beautiful.

I liked this version

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDYeav3nQEg

From the voice…a sky fell…