Monday, November 28, 2011

it is impossible to say just what I mean

And indeed there will be time

There will be time, there will be time

Time for you and time for me

And time yet for a hundred in-decisions

And for a hundred visions and revisions

Before the taking of a toast and tea And indeed there will be time

To wonder

Do I dare?

And do I dare?

Do I dare disturb the universe? And would it have been worth it, after all?

Would it have been worth while

To have bitten off the matter with a smile

It is impossible to say just what I mean


T.S. Eliot
from the Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock 1917 (much pared down)

12 comments:

henrietta (aka ani aka zani) said...

Time present and time past/
Are both perhaps present in time future,/
And time future contained in time past./
If all time is eternally present/
All time is unredeemable./
What might have been is an abstraction/
Remaining a perpetual possibility/
Only in a world of speculation...
TSE - Burnt Norton...
One can always spot Eliot's words...and one can always spot your magic with needle and thread. A beautiful blend. thank you

eb said...

yes
a beautiful blend indeed...

xox - eb.

deanna7trees said...

oh such wonderful words. and...i am so glad you are disturbing the universe. i look forward to more wonderful disruptions.

Judy Martin said...

henrietta

I love that poem too - Burnt Norton. I have it taped to my studio door.

thanks for your comments always

Jacky said...

My favourite T.S. Eliot poem (studied in English Literature in 1975). How lovely to be reminded of it on your blog, of a time way back.
Beautiful stitch and beautiful words.

Jacky xox

April said...

mom, look at you f*in GO!!! excuse my non poetic comment judy lovers, but seriously! look at this stuff! amazing, cannot wait to see it in real life!!! x

Caro said...

I second April on this one. Eliot's fine, but look at that stitching! Wish I could see it in person. Your work is inspiring.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for these lines from my favourite poem. Lines of stitch and lines of poetry really aren't so different.

Heather said...

Wow - I love the interface of the stitching and dyed cloth. It's like remembering a dream, just slightly out of grasp.

henrietta (aka ani aka zani) said...

Judy, hello. I didn't have a reply address for you after you posted your comment on my blog, but I did want to thank you for your comment and reference to the Roni Horn/Emily Dickinson connection. I did a little searching on the subject and found some useful information. I also found a 2005 dissertation written on the very subject! I was able to download a PDF of it and would be happy to share it with you if you would like to skim it to see if there might be something of interest. I located using WorldCatDissertation database. Let me know if you are interested...and please purge this comment as is a bit off subject for your post. Thank you. Cheers, Henrietta.

lotta said...

what a wonderful poem, and your work goes along with it so well. How many times have we not wondered if we are on the right path - and what makes us then go on when we still don't know?

bj said...

I love the simplicity of this piece...but also the boldness...beautiful work.