"And Death Shall Have No Dominion"

[Today, Tabitha and Rose and I raided the Book Man, and I came out with the collected poems of Dylan Thomas. So far, this is my favorite.]

And death shall have no dominion.
Dead men naked they shall be one.
With the man in the wind and the west moon;
When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone,
They shall have stars at elbow and foot;
Though they go mad they shall be sane,
Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again;
Though lovers be lost love shall not;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
Under the windings of the sea
They lying long shall not die windily;
Twisting on racks when sinews give way,
Strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break;
Faith in their hands shall snap in two,
And the unicorn evils run them through;
Split all ends up they shan't crack;
And death shall have no dominion.

And death shall have no dominion.
No more may gulls cry at their ears
Or waves break loud on the seashores;
Where blew a flower may a flower no more
Lift its head to the blows of the rain;
Though they be mad and dead as nails,
Heads of the characters hammer through daisies;
Break in the sun till the sun breaks down,
And death shall have no dominion.

- Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)

summer workout & audiobooks!

Here's a fun one that'll still fit into the remainder of your summer: the hundred pushups challenge. Start by assessing your pushup ability (or not) and then proceed accordingly through the six-week program. I'm doing week one right now and loving it... and also doing the two hundred squats challenge, which is proving very (i.e., painfully) effective.

And for while you're working out: download some free audiobooks at Books Should Be Free. They have G. K. Chesterton, Jane Austen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle... tons of great classics. And lots of George Macdonald, too, so of course I'm happy.

Two weeks until Conventiculum. Woohoo!

molasses chocolate chip cookies

(enlarged and adapted from a recipe from Country Living)

Combine:
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. cloves (ground (obviously))

Elsewhere, cream together and beat with an electric mixer for 5 minutes, until fluffy:
- 1 1/4 cups softened butter/margarine
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup dark brown sugar (I used light brown)
Mix in:
- 3 eggs
Mix in:
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 2 tsp. vanilla

Add and mix in the dry ingredients in 2 installments, and finally, mix in the long-awaited, last but not least, and all that:
2 cups chocolate chips

Roll the dough into balls and flatten them slightly on the pan. These hold their shape rather well when they bake. Although, the raw cookie dough is so delicious (it's even delicious-smelling) that I had some ethical qualms about baking it at all. Bake at 350 for 14 minutes; makes 4.5-5 dozen.

O Thou, In Whose Presence

O Thou, in Whose presence my soul takes delight
On Whom in affliction I call
My comfort by day, and my song in the night,
My hope, my salvation, my all.

Where dost Thou, dear Shepherd,
Resort with Thy sheep,
To feed them in pastures of love?
Say, why in the valley of death should I weep,
Or alone in this wilderness rove?

Oh why should I wander, an alien from Thee,
Or cry in the desert for bread?
Thy foes will rejoice when my sorrows they see,
And smile at the tears I have shed.

He looks, and ten thousands of angels rejoice,
And myriads wait for His word;
He speaks and eternity, filled with His voice,
Re-echoes the praise of the Lord.

Dear Shepherd, I hear and will follow Thy call,
I know the sweet sound of Thy voice.
Restore and defend me, for Thou art my all,
And in Thee I will ever rejoice.

(Joseph Swain)