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LastLiberal in PalmSprings

(13,290 posts)

39. Here's Yeats' "The Second Coming"

Fri Dec 29, 2017, 07:10 PM

Dec 2017

The Second Coming
By William Butler Yeats

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

---------------

Agreed. There's much in this poem that speaks to today's circumstances. Especially, "A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun."

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Highlight:

Pierce: Trumps New York Times Interview Is a Portrait of a Man in Cognitive Decline [View all] babylonsister Dec 2017 OP

People who review dotard's old speeches/interviews mcar Dec 2017 #1

Of course, Schmidt should have challenged Cha Dec 2017 #19

Exactly! They don't have the balls to challenge him on anything. smirkymonkey Dec 2017 #21

Very Well said, smirky! Cha Dec 2017 #22

I'm glad he didn't challenge Trump mgardener Dec 2017 #23

There was a point early on in the Grill Room interview given that Trump "asked" Fred Sanders Dec 2017 #24

By "challenge" I meant he could have Cha Dec 2017 #28

I agree with you. We have the perfect jrthin Dec 2017 #53

Yes, jr.. we have the perfect storm Cha Dec 2017 #54

N/T Cheviteau Dec 2017 #37

I agree.....he let Trump talk...gave him rope to hang himself..... tableturner Dec 2017 #42

Agreed. He let trump ramble on and reveal the extent of his mental deterioration. brush Dec 2017 #51

Yes PatSeg Dec 2017 #63

Mr President, you said many times you and your rich friends mcar Dec 2017 #25

And yet being caught in yet another in a long line of lies seems to make little Eliot Rosewater Dec 2017 #26

Some will never, ever, change their minds mcar Dec 2017 #30

That would be easy to explain. quartz007 Dec 2017 #31

He said it mcar Dec 2017 #35

I call it the trump tax travesty. They hung Obamas name on ACA,and trump should get the notdarkyet Dec 2017 #84

I know, right.. just simple respectful Cha Dec 2017 #34

I have seen Scarsdale Dec 2017 #44

Exactly right, Scarsdale.. That interviewers like Croft would Cha Dec 2017 #48

So sick of their shit thegoose Dec 2017 #29

I know right.. they steno for trump Cha Dec 2017 #38

Blackmail? Scarsdale Dec 2017 #46

Yeah, I forgot about that.. thank you! Cha Dec 2017 #49

You said someone should've asked him if he knows where he is onit2day Dec 2017 #89

Same thing was pointed out with regard to W. Dale Neiburg Dec 2017 #81

K&R Scurrilous Dec 2017 #2

my father had handmade34 Dec 2017 #3

I see the coping mechanisms as well. It's really frightening. nt Hekate Dec 2017 #6

The REALLY frightening thing is the Republican controlled Congress. maddiemom Dec 2017 #27

Here's Yeats' "The Second Coming" LastLiberal in PalmSprings Dec 2017 #39

Yes, the GOP Congress is appalling on so many levels. I'm a Yeats fan from way back... Hekate Dec 2017 #43

Grapsing familiar repetitive speech patterns from his huckster days Saviolo Dec 2017 #14

My mother had Alzheimer's. trump's behavior and speech issues are very familiar. Siwsan Dec 2017 #52

yes heartbreaking handmade34 Dec 2017 #57

My heartfelt sympathies, to you Siwsan Dec 2017 #58

"Paranoid and mean." Trump in a nutshell. maddiemom Dec 2017 #61

Having been through dementia with my parents, I'd say Pierce nails it. enough Dec 2017 #4

Stupid RepubliCONs haven't figured out that 25th'ing Trump is their easiest way out. . . . nt Bernardo de La Paz Dec 2017 #5

Where is the complete transcript, not just the parts that make Trump look good? L. Coyote Dec 2017 #7

Ah, jeez - L. You cut to the chase, again. erronis Dec 2017 #18

The afternoon and evening gang at MSNBC were going over the whole transcript yesterday... Hekate Dec 2017 #69

NYT released excerpts, not the whole thing. L. Coyote Dec 2017 #83

Another bullseye from Charlie Pierce. Required reading, folks. (nt) Paladin Dec 2017 #8

RepubliCON "smash and grab" sums up their actions precisely: CONs judges, deregulation, greed. . nt Bernardo de La Paz Dec 2017 #9

The arteries are hardening by the day bucolic_frolic Dec 2017 #10

Going through the taking away the car keys stage now HipChick Dec 2017 #11

As great a writer............ MyOwnPeace Dec 2017 #12

Compare that to the way Hillary or Obama speaks Auntie Bush Dec 2017 #13

Or even old interviews with Trump get the red out Dec 2017 #41

Will this be addressed when he has his physical in January? onlyadream Dec 2017 #15

There won't be a physical, any more than we'll see his tax returns. It's another lie. nt Hekate Dec 2017 #70

I went through it with both my parents extvbroadcaster Dec 2017 #16

What you went through w/ your parents regarding driving, then the guns in house is something I have Pachamama Dec 2017 #65

This Hekate Dec 2017 #71

He's probably right, but his overt sarcasm and bias erode his credibility. Towlie Dec 2017 #17

Most of this column is quotations from the interview gratuitous Dec 2017 #20

So WHO is really in charge? leftieNanner Dec 2017 #32

+1000 Pachamama Dec 2017 #66

Pence: a modern-day Wormtongue? yonder Dec 2017 #73

Excellent reference leftieNanner Dec 2017 #88

Recommended. H2O Man Dec 2017 #33

'Youre seeing much the same thing with the congressional Republicans. elleng Dec 2017 #36

Serious mistake to underestimate Trump quartz007 Dec 2017 #40

Actually, his enablers have done this in his name. From the start they had an agenda that goes back Hekate Dec 2017 #45

That is entirely believable! eom quartz007 Dec 2017 #47

Trump will sign anything they put on his desk Elwood P Dowd Dec 2017 #68

He is blundering and floundering MFM008 Dec 2017 #76

Thanks Charlie, duforsure Dec 2017 #50

A straight forward analysis of tump and yes FloridaBlues Dec 2017 #55

I'm concerned, yes. Wednesdays Dec 2017 #56

+1000 Pachamama Dec 2017 #67

"Following orders" didn't work in Nuremberg. shanny Dec 2017 #79

As I read the transcript and thought about the reporter's questions and manner summer_in_TX Dec 2017 #59

Is any further cognitive decline even possible? SergeStorms Dec 2017 #60

Critics attack New York Times interview with Trump as weak L. Coyote Dec 2017 #62

I seriously think the "online critics" are missing the point by a mile. This impulsive reach-out ... Hekate Dec 2017 #72

If this is Alzheimer's, then he would be on medication or go down hill real fast. SleeplessinSoCal Dec 2017 #64

Pierce is wrong to offer an unqualified opinion Juliusseizure Dec 2017 #74

I'm prone to agree with you. KY_EnviroGuy Dec 2017 #77

Good points extvbroadcaster Dec 2017 #78

Recommended . . . Journeyman Dec 2017 #75

The repugs have fielded this affable, detached, incompetent, mentally lost Mc Mike Dec 2017 #80

Did you miss the primaries? quartz007 Dec 2017 #90

Interesting take, q. Mc Mike Dec 2017 #92

On point and scary at the same time. SummerSnow Dec 2017 #82

Excellent read! eom Tipperary Dec 2017 #85

Trump has been showing signs of senility for some time Gothmog Dec 2017 #86

Altzheimers makes for a good court room defence amcgrath Dec 2017 #87

... Scurrilous Dec 2017 #91