Wandering Wheel

WEEKEND IN BLACK AND WHITE
http://blackandwhiteweekend.blogspot.com/

WANDERING WHEEL

Old greyhounds are adopted and lead a life of ease,

And here's an ancient wagon-wheel pensioned-off beneath the trees.

How many miles has it trundled, on rough and bumpy tracks?

How many horses has it known; poor disregarded hacks?

How many rainstorms have lashed it; how many storms with thunder?

How many boiling, baking suns has it had to suffer under?

Has it known the Australian Outback, or some dingy city street?

Does it find being an ornament a bore or rather sweet?

Does it miss its fellow wheels, now scattered far and wide?

Is Caroline's garden constricting? Does it miss the countryside?

I'm getting rather maudlin! I hope you're shedding a tear!

Dry your eyes and just enjoy this rustic atmosphere!

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THE SOURCE

Witness the lovely Ophelia, there by the riverside.

We all know how she pined for Hamlet and how, in the river, she died.

We see her planning her drowning, gazing down at the water's flow,

Agonising over Hamlet and destined for water below.

Screed upon screed has been written of her heart-breaking love-affair.

Artists have thrilled to the vision of her flowing still-lovely hair

Floating along in the river, framing her still-calm face,

But Katherine preceded Ophelia, and, of her, there isn't a trace!

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Shakespeare was just a young fellow of sixteen or so it is said,

When a girl from a nearby village was found in the river, dead.

The drowning was seen as a mystery; the girl had a lover, it's true,

And the gossips spoke of a broken heart, as gossips often do.

She was only a humble creature, maybe a lowly maid,

And she was carrying buckets, part of her stock-in-trade.

Finally, it was decided that accidental death

Had caused her to fall in the river, and take her final breath.

Maybe she overbalanced, or tripped on a rock by chance,

But the rumours always persisted as a story of romance.

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Shakespeare was young and dreamy; he thought of the girl, no doubt,

And, as a man, it's rumoured, he let the story out.

'Katherine' became a lady of noble and royal birth,

Far removed from peasantry and the toil of the common earth.

Shakespeare 'created' Ophelia, immortalised her history;

Imbued her with grand yearnings and an air of eternal mystery.

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No-one knows, for certain, that this was Shakespeare's source,

And no-one ever will know at this late stage, of course.

The uncertainty about it must be underlined.

But the girl's name was

KATHERINE HAMLET!

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So make up your own mind!

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PS

Having never been to a Launch before, I've now been to two in quick succession! My friend, Peter, who is the cartoonist on the local paper, has celebrated his 25th anniversary with an exhibition and a book. The launch took place at a newly-built venue in the area and it was a great success.

Here is an early arrival taking a look at the cartoons.

Here we see just a few examples of his celebrity 'portraits'.

Here is Peter himself with his partner, Julie. It's dreadful of them but good of Peter's 'stained-glass' window.

And here are David, Joy and Malcolm among the throng.
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