OFF TO OUTER SPACE

TOMORROW MORNING
You can start the Count Down, you can take a last look;
You can pass me my helmet from its plastic hook;
You can cross out my name in the telephone book
For Im off to Outer Space tomorrow morning.

There wont be any calendar, there wont be any clock;

Daylight will be on the switch and winter under lock.
Ill doze when Im sleepy and wake without a knock
For Im off to Outer Space tomorrow morning.

Ill be writing no letters; Ill be posting no mail.

For with nobody to visit me and not a friend in hail,
In solitry confinement as complete as any gaol
Ill be off to Outer Space tomorrow morning.

When my capsule door is sealed and my space-flight has begun,

With the teacups circling round me like the planets round the sun,
Ill be centre of my gravity, a universe of one,

Setting off to Outer Space tomorrow morning.

You can watch on television and follow from afar,

Tracking through your telescope my upward shooting star,
But you neednt think Ill give a damn for you or what you are
When Im off to Outer Space tomorrow morning.

And when the rockets thrust me on my trans-galactic hop,

With twenty hundred light-years before the first stop,
Then you and every soul on earth can go and blow your top
For Im off to Outer Space tomorrow morning.
- Norman Nicholson

Glossary and notes:

Count Down : the final moments counted backwards from 10 to 0
before the launch
daylight will be on the switch : there will be a continuous switching
over from day to night
winter under lock : there will not be any changing seasons
Ill doze when Im sleepy : as there are no fixed day/night hours,
Ill sleep when I feel sleepy
in hail : within earshot; within hearing distance

solitry : alone
gaol : prison
teacups circling round me : teacups circling because of lack of
gravitational pull
tracking : following
But you neednt think Ill give a
damn for you or what you are : dont think I will have time to think
about you
trans-galactic : across galaxies
blow your top : to explode in anger

SONNET NO: 116

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandring bark,
Whose worths unknown, although his height be taken.

Loves not Times fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickles compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me provd,
I never writ, nor no man ever lovd.
- William Shakespeare

Glossary and notes:

admit impediments : refers to the Christian marriage service where the
priest asks the peopled gathered if they have any objections to the couple
getting married Impediments means obstacles
ever-fixed mark : a prominent land or sea-mark which guides ships; true
love guides one through the voyage of life
it is the star...height be taken : during Shakespeares time people
believed that the stars influenced mens character; in the journey of life,
to many a wandering bark (a lost boat) the star of genuine love turns
out to be the guiding factor; a stars height (altitude) can be measured
but the extent to which it controls the fate of man (its worth) cannot be
determined; similarly, the depth (worth) of true love cannot be
measured
loves not...compass come : true love cannot be destroyed by
Time;external beauty can be destroyed by time but not true love; note
the destructivepower of time (bending sickle)

edge of doom : day of the last judgement (on the last day of the world)

THE SOLITARY REAPER

Behold her, single in the field,
Yon solitary Highland Lass!
Reaping and singing by herself;
Stop here, or gently pass!
Alone she cuts and binds the grain,
And sings a melancholy strain;
O listen! for the vale profound
Is overflowing with the sound.
No nightingale did ever chaunt
More welcome notes to weary bands
Of travellers in some shady haunt,
Among Arabian sands:
A voice so thrilling neer was heard
In spring-time from the cuckoo-bird,
Breaking the silence of the seas
Among the farthest Hebrides.
Will no one tell me what she sings?

Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow

For old, unhappy, far-off things,
And battles long ago:
Or is it some more humble lay,
Familiar matter of to-day?
Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain,
That has been, and may be again!
Whater the theme, the maiden sang
As if her song could have no ending;
I saw her singing at her work,
And oer the sickle bending
I listend motionless and still;
And, as I mounted up the hill,
The music in my heart I bore
Long after it was heard no more.
- William Wordsworth

IS LIFE, BUT A DREAM?

A Boat, beneath a sunny sky
Lingering onward dreamily
In an evening of July
Children three that nestle near,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Pleased a simple tale to hear
Long has paled that sunny sky:
Echoes fade and memories die:
Autumn frosts have slain July.
Still she haunts me, phantomwise.
Alice moving under skies
Never seen by waking eyes.
Children yet, the tale to hear,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Lovingly shall nestle near.
In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:
Ever drifting down the stream

Lingering in the golden gleam

Life, what is it but a dream?
Is all our Life, then, but a dream
Seen faintly in the golden gleam
Athwart Times dark resistless stream?
Bowed to the earth with bitter woe,
Or laughing at some raree-show,
We flutter idly to and fro.
Mans little Day in haste we spend,
And, from its merry noontide, send
No glance to meet the silent end.
- Lewis Carroll

Glossary and notes:

lingering onward dreamily : going forward slowly, in a dreamy state,
reluctant to leave
nestle near : settle down comfortably
long has paled that sunny sky : long after the sun has lost its glow; late
in the evening (this could also mean that many years have gone by since
the story was told to the little girls)
echoes fade and memories die : this denotes the passage of time,how it
has become very silent and memories have been forgotten

Autumn frosts have slain July : though it is July when the weather is
generally pleasant,Autumn has set in early bringing with it the cold and
frosts
she haunts me phantomwise : being disturbingly present in the mind like
a ghost (though thefairy tale was spun years ago, thecharacter of Alice
still haunts theauthor)
athwart Times dark resistless stream : across Time which is compared
to a powerful stream (Life, here,is compared to a boat-ride acrossTime)
bowed to the earth with bitter woe : bent with troubles or worries;
burdened by great sorrow or distress
raree-show : a form of street entertainment, especially one carried in a
box, such as a peep show
flutter idly to and fro : to go about lazily, without any aim or purpose

O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!
O Captain! My Captain! Our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weatherd every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops o red!
Where on the deck my Captain lies,

Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! My Captain! Rise up and hear the bells;

Rise up - for you the flag is flung - for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribbond wreaths - for you the shores crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here, Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck
Youve fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchord safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult, O shores! and ring, O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
- Walt Whitman

Glossary and notes

bleeding drops of red : captains bleeding wound and the speakers
wounded heart
bells : bells rung in celebration of victory (they also symbolise funeral
bells)
weathered : came safely through
dear father : Lincoln is exalted to the position of father of the postslavery nation
exult : show jubilation (over victory)
tread : walk softly
trill : produce a quavering or warbling sound

WOMENS RIGHTS
You cannot rob us of the rights we cherish,
Nor turn our thoughts away
From the bright picture of a Womans Mission
Our hearts portray.
We claim to dwell, in quiet and seclusion,
Beneath the household roof,
From the great worlds harsh strife, and jarring voices,
To stand aloof;

Not in a dreamy and inane abstraction

To sleep our life away,
But, gathering up the brightness of home sunshine,
To deck our way.
As humble plants by country hedgerows growing,
That treasure up the rain,
And yield in odours, ere the days declining,
The gift again;
So let us, unobtrusive and unnoticed,
But happy none the less,
Be privileged to fill the air around us
With happiness;
To live, unknown beyond the cherished circle,
Which we can bless and aid;
To die, and not a heart that does not love us
Know where were laid.
- Annie Louisa Walker

Glossary:
cherish /'tLerIL/ : love, hold dear
portray /pC:'treI/ : be a representation of

seclusion /sI'klu:Zn/ : being away from others

strife /straIf/ : conflict
jarring /'dZA:rIN/ : unpleasant
aloof /E'lu:f/ : distant in feeling or interest
inane /I'neIn/ : meaningless or stupid
abstraction /Gb'strGkLn/ : being absent-minded; state of not noticing
what is happening
hedgerows /'hedZrEOz/ : rows of bushes or low trees along the side of a
road
unobtrusive /VnEb'tru:sIv/ : not easily seen

THE NATION UNITED

A Noiseless, Patient Spider
A NOISELESS, patient spider,
I markd where on a little promontory it stood isolated,
Markd how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,
It launchd forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself,
Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.
And you O my soul where you stand,
Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres

to connect them,
Till the bridge you will need be formd, till the ductile anchor
hold,
Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my
soul.
- Walt Whitman

Glossary:
promontory /'prBmEntrI/ : high point of land standing out from the
coastline
launchd / ' lC:ntLt/ : sent out
ceaselessly / ' si:slEslI/ : endlessly
musing /'mju:zIN/ : contemplating
venturing /'ventLErIN/ : entering
fling /flIN/ : throw

ENGLISH WORDS
Speech that came like leech-craft
And killed us almost, bleeding us white!
You bleached our souls soiled with impurities.

You bathed our hearts amid tempestuous seas

Of a purer, drearier, delight.
O tongues of fire! You came devouring
Forests of nightshade, creepers that enmesh,
Trees that never remembered to grow,
And shrubs that were but thornmills in our flesh.
You were the dawn, and sunlight filled the spaces
Where owls were hovering.
O winged seeds! You crossed the furrowed seas
To nestle in the warm and silent earth.
Like a golden swarm of fireflies you came
Pining for a new agony, a new birth.
You blossomed into a nascent loveliness.
You ripened into nectar in fruit-jars
That hung like clustered stars.
O winging words! Like homing bees you borrow
Grown murmurous, the honey of delight,
Pollened within our hearts the coming morrow,
Sweetened within our souls for aeons bright:
You kindle in the far corners of the earth
The music of an ever-deepening chant:

The burthen of a waneless, winterless spring,

The gospel of an endless blossoming.
Fathomless words, with Indo-Aryan blood
Tingling in your veins.
The spoils of ages, global merchandise
Mingling in your strains!
You pose the cosmic riddles:
In the beginning was the Word
And the Word was God.
The Word is in the middle
And the Word is Man.
In the end will be the Word
And the Word will be God in Man.
- V K Gokak

Glossary
leech craft : ancient medical remedy of using leeches to remove the
impure blood
bleached : made white, (here) cleaned
tempestuous : violent
drearier : gloomier

devouring : consuming large quantities

enmesh : to catch, as if, in a net
furrowed : deep and wavy
nestle : settle comfortably
nascent /'n{snt/ : beginning to develop
homing /'h@UmIN/ : of the ability to find ones way
home
aeons /'i:@ns/ : ages, infinitely long periods
burthen /'b@: Dn/ : burden
gospel /'gQspl/ : good news
waneless /'weInlIs/ : not growing smaller
fathomless /'f{D@mlIs/ : too deep to be measured or understood
Indo-Aryan /Ind@U 'e@rI@n/ : referring to the branch of the Aryans
who came to India through Iran (English belongs to Germanic, an IndoAryan language)

SNAKE
A snake came to my water-trough
On a hot, hot day, and I in pyjamas for the heat,
To drink there.
In the deep, strange-scented shade of the great dark carob-tree

I came down the steps with my pitcher

And must wait, must stand and wait; for there he was at the trough
before me.
He reached down from a fissure in the earth-wall in the gloom
And trailed his yellow-brown slackness soft-bellied down,
over the edge of the stone trough,
And rested his throat upon the stone bottom,
And where the water had dripped from the tap, in a small clearness,
He sipped with his straight mouth,
Softly drank through his straight gums, into his slack long body,
Silently.
Someone was before me at my water-trough,
And I, like a second comer, waiting.
He lifted his head from his drinking, as cattle do,
And looked at me vaguely, as drinking cattle do,
And flickered his two-forked tongue from his lips, and mused a
moment,
And stooped and drank a little more,
Being earth-brown, earth-golden from the burning bowels of the
earth,
On the day of Sicilian July, with Etna smoking.

The voice of my education said to me:

He must be killed,
For in Sicily the black, black snakes are innocent, the gold are
venomous.
And voices in me said: If you were a man
You would take a stick and break him now, and finish him off.
But must I confess how I liked him,
How glad I was he had come like a guest in quiet, to drink at my
water-trough
And depart peaceful, pacified, and thankless,
Into the burning bowels of this earth?
Was it cowardice, that I dared not kill him?
Was it perversity, that I longed to talk to him?
Was it humility, to feel so honoured?
I felt so honoured.
And yet those voices:
If you were not afraid, you would kill him.
And truly I was afraid, I was most afraid;
But even so, honoured still more
That he should seek my hospitality
From out the dark door of the secret earth.

He drank enough
And lifted his head, dreamily, as one who has drunken,
And flickered his tongue like a forked night on the air, so
black,
Seeming to lick his lips,
And looked around like a god, unseeing, into the air,
And slowly turned his head,
And slowly, very slowly, as if thrice adream,
Proceeded to draw his slow length curving round
And climb again the broken bank of my wall-face.
And as he put his head into that dreadful hole,
And as he slowly drew up, snake-easing his shoulders, and
entered farther,
A sort of horror, a sort of protest against his withdrawing
into that horrid black hole,
Deliberately going into the blackness, and slowly drawing
himself after,
Overcame me now his back was turned.
I looked round, I put down my pitcher,
I picked up a clumsy log
And threw it at the water trough with a clatter.

I think it did not hit him,

But suddenly that part of him that was left behind

convulsed in undignified haste,
Writhed like lightning, and was gone
Into the black hole, the earth-lipped fissure in the wall-front,
At which, in the intense still noon, I stared with fascination.
And immediately I regretted it.
I thought how paltry, how vulgar, what a mean act!
I despised myself and the voices of my accursed human education.
And I thought of the albatross,
And I wished he would come back, my snake.
For he seemed to me again like a king,
Like a king in exile, uncrowned in the underworld,
Now due to be crowned again.
And so, I missed my chance with one of the lords
Of life.
And I have something to expiate;
A pettiness.
- D.H. Lawrence

pitcher /'pItLE/ : large earthenware container for liquids

trough /trBf/ : long narrow open container for animals
to feed or drink from
fissure / 'fILE/ : a long deep crack in rock or in the earth
Etna /'etnE/ : a volcanic mountain in Sicily
perversity /pE'vE:sEtI/ : unacceptable behaviour
convulsed /kEn'vVlst/ : caused sudden violent, uncontrollable
movements
paltry /'pC:ltrI/ : unimportant
expiate /'ekspIeIt/ : accept punishment for a wrong and do
something to show one is sorry; make
amends for, atone for
albatross /'GlbEtrBs/: a sea-bird common in the Pacific and
Southern Oceans. Here, the reference
is to Samuel T Coleridges The Rime
of the Ancient Mariner. The mariner
shoots the albatross, a traditional
symbol of good luck.

THE MAN HE KILLED

Had he and I but met
By some old ancient inn,
We should have sat us down to wet
Right many a nipperkin!
But ranged as infantry,
And staring face to face,
I shot at him as he at me,
And killed him in his place.
I shot him dead because Because he was my foe,
Just so: my foe of course he was;
Thats clear enough; although.
He thought hed list, perhaps,
Off-hand like just as I
Was out of work had sold his traps
No other reason why.
Yes; quaint and curious war is!
You shoot a fellow down

Youd treat if met where any bar is

Or help to half-a-crown.

- Thomas Hardy

Glossary
nipperkin /'nIpEkIn/ : a small glass for beer or wine
list /lIst/ : enlist
traps /trGps/ : two-wheeled horse carriage reference to this is to indicate
that there is perhaps no justifiable reason for joining the army)
quaint /kweInt/ : strange
half-a-crown /hA:fE'kraOn/ : former British coin. A crown was worth
five shillings (twenty five pence)