The veriest school of peace

I made myself post a blessing about the rain, instead of a complaint yesterday, when it did, again, rain. Today it was clouded over in the morning, but then the sun came out all afternoon until it went down. They are predicting mostly cloudy and rainy this week, but sometimes "they" are wrong.

How fascinating is it to read my weather reports, I wonder.

Over supper tonight (second to last helping of left-over stew--one more left now in the fridge), I finished Precious Bane. Such a beautiful book.

This evening I watched a great many videos of a toddler great-niece of mine who lives in another state. I watched her dye Easter eggs and hunt them, and also watched her on a camping trip. Family dogs wandered in and out of the movies. Nice.

My family dog must have known I was thinking about him because he just came over to lie by my feet. A dog is a lovesome thing, God wot. Actually it's a garden that's a lovesome thing. Harriet Wimsey, nee Vane, quotes that line to Lord Peter Wimsey in Busman's Honeymoon. I just googled the line and found the poem, which is so nice, I here reprint it. As it's a 19th century poem, I'm sure it's in the public domain. I found it over at Bartleby.

My Garden

A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot!
Rose plot,
Fringed pool,
Fern'd grot—
The veriest school
Of peace; and yet the fool
Contends that God is not—
Not God! in gardens! when the eve is cool?
Nay, but I have a sign;
'Tis very sure God walks in mine.

Thomas Edward Brown (1830–1897)

The rhyme scheme is a, a, b, a, b, b, a, b, c, c. Allusions to the Psalms ("The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God"--Psalm 14:1 and Psalm 53:1) and to the creation story ("And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day"--Genesis 3:8).

It's an easy poem to read and give expression to, and it has a pleasant meaning. I like it.