Madame Sosostris, famous clairvoyant,
Had a bad cold, nevertheless
Is known to be the wisest woman in Europe,
With a wicked pack of cards. Here, said she,
Is your card, the drowned Phoenician Sailor,
(Those are pearls that were his eyes. Look!)
Here is Belladonna, the Lady of the Rocks,
The lady of situations.
Here is the man with three staves, and here the Wheel,
And here is the one-eyed merchant, and this card,
Which is blank, is something he carries on his back,
Which I am forbidden to see. I do not find
The Hanged Man. Fear death by water.
I see crowds of people, walking round in a ring.
Thank you. If you see dear Mrs. Equitone,
Tell her I bring the horoscope myself:
One must be so careful these days.
From The Waste Land, by T.S. Eliot
I love the lady of situations. I'm memorizing The Waste Land and am delighted at how memorization improves understanding and appreciation. I've never been a big poetry memorizer before, at least not since I was seven and my best friend Naomi convinced me to join in memorizing Shakespeare soliloquies on the verandah of the Far Cottage at Petawawa Lake.
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