Special Report
Old Ironsides Redux
Reflections on life amid another devastating setback.
(Page 3 of 4)
br>
And waves were white below,
br>
No more shall feel the victor’s tread,
br>
Or know the conquered knee; —
br>
The harpies of the shore shall pluck
br>
The eagle of the sea!
/blockquote>
br>
Joe has had to learn a lot from this stanza. What does “knelt”
mean? What does “vanquished” mean? What does the poet mean by “the
flood”? What does it mean when waves are white? What is a “victor”?
What about “conquered knee”? What is a “harpy”?
That’s a lot of intellectual heft for an eight-year-old. It was hard enough teaching him about “ensign” and “banner.”
For me, I think of “no more.” In one of the most disturbing pieces of news from my transplant coordinator, she hinted that my donor perhaps would not work out, that, in effect, I would be untransplantable.
I can have an even worse day than the one I had last week. Sunday found me in the hospital with a bad dose of peritonitis. It will mean at least a three-week further delay in the transplant process, and may spell “no more” to the entire undertaking.
p> WE NOW GET AS FAR AS THE FIRST HALF of the last stanza: br> /p> blockquote>Oh, better that her shattered hulk br> Should sink beneath the wave;
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