I don't mean to complain. Well, maybe a little. But I just spent two hours laboring over computer passwords and usernames and updates and multiple authentications back and forth between devices. I know that this kind of effort kind of goes with the territory in this online world, But two hours, really? Contrast that with one delightful moment of discovery when I noticed a nuthatch find a newly placed feeder. This reminds me of that familiar poem by William Wordsworth. This is how he expresses what I felt:
The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers; --
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not. Great God! I'd rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.
I haven't heard Triton blow that horn, but recently I was privileged to hear, see, experience a concert by the amazing Leslie Odom, Jr. This was two hours of joyful music making by a man who clearly loves to share his considerable talents, much to the delight of an adoring crowd.
I've also experienced two hours of powerful live music in a much different style. I attended a performance of Olivier Messian's “Quartet for the End of Time.” I wrote about this composition in a previous post. This performance was part of the Detroit Symphony's summer series of concerts. And I have to give a shout out toe the musicians: Hai-Xin Wu, David Ledoux, Jack Walters, and Zhihua Tang. Their focus and skill performing this challenging work was a treat to behold.
And so, I'm not complaining. When the “world is too much with us,” we can turn to nature and to music. Who knows? We might hear Triton blowing that horn.