Hi FLiss,
I like poem, photo, and the news the sheep are safe. Here meanwhile is a musical poem of mine, based on a dream I had in which Shakespeare's "It Was a Lover and His Lass" somehow melded with Robinson Crusoe.
Here's the poem:
It Was a Lover and His Lass
Was it a dream, where Robinson in tears
sings Shakespeare on the beach – while Friday stands
as if the palm trees and the shifting sands
are of his essence? For it has been years
since shipwreck on this island. As he sings,
he carols, dancing in the rags that still
mark him as English. In the ding-a-dings,
the nonny-nos, as if a windowsill
looked out upon a garden, he can see
the life now taken from him. And the salt
tears run down his tan cheeks. Progressively
his bare feet print the sand, in an assault
like the salt waves that mark this barren shore.
Now, it is very bitter to look back
on what is lost forever. Nevermore
will he dance with his fellows. There’s no track
across the sea to Albion. A man
can only dream, as I have. It may be
that he might sing and dance. For in God’s plan
stands happiness. And green fields. The salt sea.
And here's the madrigal sung by Peter Pears:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K2iC4zHyys
CHeers,
John