Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Willie Freaking Nile

Man, I'm just having one of those weeks where you can't win for losing. Having a cold, which I have now shared with my husband, doesn't help either.

I know, I know....not all days can be good ones. I kept walking around the house saying that to myself last night and it reminded me of one of my favorite Longfellow poems. I used to be able to recite it but I had to resort to Google last night.

 The Rainy Day

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall,
But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary.

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary; 
It rains, and the wind is never weary; 
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past, 
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast, 
And the days are dark and dreary.

Be still, sad heart! and cease repining; 
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining; 
Thy fate is the common fate of all, 
Into each life some rain must fall, 
Some days must be dark and dreary.

Have I ever told you that I used to be a bit of a Longfellow freak? Yeah, when I was in junior high and high school. I still get excited when we pass his house in Portland, Maine or I see the plaque at the Portland Headlight that says that Longfellow used to walk out there from  Portland to visit the lighthouse keeper. I think I take a picture of that thing every time I see it.

 Somewhere I have a bunch of Victorian books full of his poetry. If I could have afforded the level of the David Olney Kickstarter in which he recorded poetry of your choice, it would have been some Longfellow. The only Longfellow book Ernie could dig up last night when I longingly asked him if he knew where they were was this one:

It made me feel a little better.

Then Ernie played the newest Willie Nile (thanks for lending it to us Steve!) and it blew us away.

That helped too.