By On this auspicious date in July:
Richard the Lionheart was crowned; Thomas Cook
ran his first railway excursion, Leicester
to Peterborough and back; Thomas More
was beheaded; Horlicks went on sale; Newton
published his ‘Principia’; John Lennon
met Paul McCartney; Pasteur cured rabies;
the first full length talkie was premiered…
From that date in ‘61 – a blind date
(you with the black spot to avenge a friend
and, after, changing your mind and your heart,
and me, innocently of course, longing
for sex and romance) – justice, being blind,
has sentenced us to our just deserts,
locked us up in half a century of love
with all its longing, its hurt, and its joy.
black spotblind dateHorlickshurtJohn Lennonjoyjust dessertsjusticeLeicesterlongingNewtonPasteurPaul McCartneyPeterboroughpremieredrabiesRichard the Lionheartsex and romancetalkieThomas CookThomas More‘Principia’’61
John Huddart
August 11, 2011There was something in this poem that brought a tear to my eye. Something must happen somewhere or elsewhere every day of the year, but your selection is a masterful salute to significance, and brings to life the writer and his lover. Inspiring, as ever!