{"id":51991,"date":"2023-08-18T07:06:07","date_gmt":"2023-08-18T14:06:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991"},"modified":"2023-08-18T07:06:09","modified_gmt":"2023-08-18T14:06:09","slug":"green-thoughts-in-a-green-shade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991","title":{"rendered":"Green thoughts in a green shade."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the prison of his days
Teach the free man how to praise.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Auden’s grave marker, in Kirchstetten, Austria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their Lonely Betters<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I listened from a beach-chair in the shade
To all the noises that my garden made, 
It seemed to me only proper that words
Should be withheld from vegetables and birds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A robin with no Christian name ran through
The Robin-Anthem which was all it knew, 
And rustling flowers for some third party waited
To say which pairs, if any, should get mated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not one of them was capable of lying, 
There was not one which knew that it was dying
Or could have with a rhythm or a rhyme
Assumed responsibility for time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let them leave language to their lonely betters
Who count some days and long for certain letters; 
We, too, make noises when we laugh or weep: 
Words are for those with promises to keep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

by W.H.Auden<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Our cucumbers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

W.H. Auden’s 1951 poem depicts him thinking out loud in the garden shade, less praise and more lament, in my opinion. At first sight, the poem is presumably about language, which makes us “betters” as a sign of evolutionary development, but also introduces lying and consciousness about how much our days are numbered. Is language something that improves our existence or is it a curse, and we would be better off to be like plants and critters, who thrive in the absence of language? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure>
\"\"<\/figure>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our tomatoes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Underneath it is, as so much of Auden’s poetry, about love. The one we wait for, the one which is withheld, the absence of which is felt as loneliness. Words manifesting in broken promises. Auden was known to connect over and over again to Freud’s writings in  \u2018Civilisation and its Discontents\u2019, which posits a negative relationship between how civilized we are and how happy we might be. The rule, Freud claims, is that humanity will show increasing unhappiness the more civilized we become. Human progress, and note I am oversimplifying his claims here, is closely linked to increases in loneliness and depression. So, there is this whiff of sadness lingering around Auden’s words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I, on the other hand, was sitting in my garden chair in the shade, too hot to venture anywhere else, eternally grateful for words. They made it possible to read Auden and noticing the link to words written in the 17th century by another poet, \u00a0Andrew Marvell<\/a>, in his renowned poem, The Garden<\/a>. Here is my favorite line:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“(To) a green thought in a green shade.<\/em>“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Salvia on its way out<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next stanza after this line describes a paradisal state (and he refers indeed to the biblical paradise) until it becomes clear in the stanza after that that a solitary existence won’t do – and things go downhill from there, with Eve’s appearance. But let that wait for another day, for now let the soul glide into the boughs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Zillions of zinnias<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pictures today obviously from my garden, with eternal gratitude to our friend M. who donated all the tomato starts. We now have regular salad nights with homegrown lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes, unless the deer got to the beds first. Speaking of which – one of them, plunked under my plum tree, surely had green thoughts in a green shade, of green plums shifting to a sweeter blue, most likely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

And given that we prefaced this today with an exhortation to praise: I am so eternally grateful for a tree- lined place in the heat, and my heart goes out to the houseless who fight this on asphalted streets and dusty roads. We are so privileged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>
\"\"<\/figure>
\"\"<\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The three dahlia plants that survived<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And here is some jazz<\/a> in the garden… <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Japanese Anemone just starting to bloom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the prison of his daysTeach the free man how to praise. On Auden’s grave marker, in Kirchstetten, Austria. *** Their Lonely Betters As I listened from a beach-chair in the shadeTo all the noises that my garden made, It seemed to me only proper that wordsShould be withheld from vegetables and birds. A robin with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52049,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,197],"tags":[1326,1325],"class_list":["post-51991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-poetry","tag-andrew-marvell","tag-w-h-auden"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGreen thoughts in a green shade. - YDP - your daily picture<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Green thoughts in a green shade.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the prison of his daysTeach the free man how to praise. On Auden’s grave marker, in Kirchstetten, Austria. *** Their Lonely Betters As I listened from a beach-chair in the shadeTo all the noises that my garden made, It seemed to me only proper that wordsShould be withheld from vegetables and birds. A robin with […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"YDP - your daily picture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-08-18T14:06:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-08-18T14:06:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.heuermontage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/DSC_0061.jpg?fit=1424%2C1200&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1424\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"friderikeheuer@gmail.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"friderikeheuer@gmail.com\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"friderikeheuer@gmail.com\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/#\/schema\/person\/07f5e2e1a464989019d5d8f7e126dd80\"},\"headline\":\"Green thoughts in a green shade.\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-18T14:06:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-18T14:06:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991\"},\"wordCount\":629,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.heuermontage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/DSC_0061.jpg?fit=1424%2C1200&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"Andrew Marvell\",\"W.H.Auden\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Nature\",\"Poetry\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991\",\"name\":\"Green thoughts in a green shade. - YDP - your daily picture\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.heuermontage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/DSC_0061.jpg?fit=1424%2C1200&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-18T14:06:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-18T14:06:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/#\/schema\/person\/07f5e2e1a464989019d5d8f7e126dd80\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.heuermontage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/DSC_0061.jpg?fit=1424%2C1200&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.heuermontage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/DSC_0061.jpg?fit=1424%2C1200&ssl=1\",\"width\":1424,\"height\":1200},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Green thoughts in a green shade.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/\",\"name\":\"YDP - your daily picture\",\"description\":\"your daily picture\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/#\/schema\/person\/07f5e2e1a464989019d5d8f7e126dd80\",\"name\":\"friderikeheuer@gmail.com\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/44fa0fb05b030d7e5d5622a6018f585b45be32c599a49759dfabc96679686aec?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/44fa0fb05b030d7e5d5622a6018f585b45be32c599a49759dfabc96679686aec?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/44fa0fb05b030d7e5d5622a6018f585b45be32c599a49759dfabc96679686aec?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"friderikeheuer@gmail.com\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Green thoughts in a green shade. - YDP - your daily picture","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Green thoughts in a green shade.","og_description":"In the prison of his daysTeach the free man how to praise. On Auden’s grave marker, in Kirchstetten, Austria. *** Their Lonely Betters As I listened from a beach-chair in the shadeTo all the noises that my garden made, It seemed to me only proper that wordsShould be withheld from vegetables and birds. A robin with […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991","og_site_name":"YDP - your daily picture","article_published_time":"2023-08-18T14:06:07+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-08-18T14:06:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1424,"height":1200,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.heuermontage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/DSC_0061.jpg?fit=1424%2C1200&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"friderikeheuer@gmail.com","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"friderikeheuer@gmail.com","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991"},"author":{"name":"friderikeheuer@gmail.com","@id":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/#\/schema\/person\/07f5e2e1a464989019d5d8f7e126dd80"},"headline":"Green thoughts in a green shade.","datePublished":"2023-08-18T14:06:07+00:00","dateModified":"2023-08-18T14:06:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991"},"wordCount":629,"commentCount":1,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.heuermontage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/DSC_0061.jpg?fit=1424%2C1200&ssl=1","keywords":["Andrew Marvell","W.H.Auden"],"articleSection":["Nature","Poetry"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991","url":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991","name":"Green thoughts in a green shade. - YDP - your daily picture","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.heuermontage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/DSC_0061.jpg?fit=1424%2C1200&ssl=1","datePublished":"2023-08-18T14:06:07+00:00","dateModified":"2023-08-18T14:06:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/#\/schema\/person\/07f5e2e1a464989019d5d8f7e126dd80"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.heuermontage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/DSC_0061.jpg?fit=1424%2C1200&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.heuermontage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/DSC_0061.jpg?fit=1424%2C1200&ssl=1","width":1424,"height":1200},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?p=51991#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Green thoughts in a green shade."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/","name":"YDP - your daily picture","description":"your daily picture","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/#\/schema\/person\/07f5e2e1a464989019d5d8f7e126dd80","name":"friderikeheuer@gmail.com","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/44fa0fb05b030d7e5d5622a6018f585b45be32c599a49759dfabc96679686aec?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/44fa0fb05b030d7e5d5622a6018f585b45be32c599a49759dfabc96679686aec?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/44fa0fb05b030d7e5d5622a6018f585b45be32c599a49759dfabc96679686aec?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"friderikeheuer@gmail.com"},"url":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/?author=1"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.heuermontage.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/DSC_0061.jpg?fit=1424%2C1200&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7tJUX-dwz","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=51991"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52060,"href":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51991\/revisions\/52060"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/52049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=51991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=51991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.heuermontage.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=51991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}