I Heard a Bit of Poetry

Today I heard A.E. Housman's A Shropshire Lad, part XL quoted. It was very... heartfelt.

Into my heart an air that kills
From yon far country blows:
What are those blue remembered hills,
What spires, what farms are those?

That is the land of lost content,
I see it shining plain,
The happy highways where I went
And cannot come again.

I really like Housman's work. (Photograph, right, by E.O. Hoppe.)
I'm familiar with it because of high school. We read To An Athlete Dying Young, which I really loved, partially because of the imagery that Housman used and partially because of how sad it is:

Today, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.


It's funny those things that you remember from your youth. I can see my teacher clearly, especially this little dance that he used to do. Mr. John. He was a short guy with a white beard and yellow nails from his cigarette smoking. He was one of my favorite teachers in high school. He's probably retired at least, if not passed away (from the smoking). But I wish I could have told him that. That he made an impact. I loved his passion for his craft. And how we analyzed the poetry and how he urged us to think more deeply.

Here's some links about Housman:

The Housman Society, in Bromsgrove, Worcs, England
Article about Housman by the Poetry Foundation
Synopsis by the Academy of American Poets
An article in the Guardian
Literary Criticism articles