Recent Episodes
March 29, 2026
"When You Are Old" by William Butler Yeats
When you are old and grey and full of sleep, And nodding by the fire, take down this book, And slowly read, and dream of the soft look Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep; How many loved your moments of glad grace, ...
March 22, 2026
"Love" Quatrain by Ralph Waldo Emerson
Love on his errand bound to go Can swim the flood and wade through snow, Where way is none, ’t will creep and wind And eat through Alps its home to find.
March 15, 2026
"The Scorpion" by Hilaire Belloc
The Scorpion is as black as soot, He dearly loves to bite; He is a most unpleasant brute To find in bed, at night.
March 8, 2026
"The World" (Excerpt) by George Herbert
Love built a stately house, where Fortune came, And spinning fancies, she was heard to say That her fine cobwebs did support the frame, Whereas they were supported by the same; But Wisdom quickly swept them all away.
March 1, 2026
"The Half-Moon Westers Low, My Love" by A. E. Housman
The half-moon westers low, my love, And the wind brings up the rain; And wide apart lie we, my love, And seas between the twain. I know not if it rains, my love, In the land where you do lie; And oh, so sound you sleep, my lo...
Feb. 22, 2026
"The Violet" by Jane Taylor
Down in a green and shady bed, A modest violet grew, Its stalk was bent, it hung its head, As if to hide from view. And yet it was a lovely flower, Its colours bright and fair; It might have graced a rosy bower, Instead of hi...
Recent Blog Posts
March 29, 2026
The Pilgrim Soul: William Butler Yeats's "When You Are Old"
Published in his 1893 collection The Rose, "When You Are Old" is one of the most poignant works of William Butler Yeats, a titan of 20th-century Irish literature. Written during his intense and often unrequited pursuit of the Irish revolutionary Mau…
March 22, 2026
The Relentless Journey: Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Love" Quatrain
First published in his 1867 collection May-Day and Other Pieces, this concise quatrain highlights the transcendentalist philosophy of Ralph Waldo Emerson. As a central figure in the 19th-century American Transcendentalist movement, Emerson’s w…
March 15, 2026
The Wit of the Wild: Hilaire Belloc’s "The Scorpion"
First published in 1897 as a standout piece in More Beasts for Worse Children, "The Scorpion" is a masterclass in Hilaire Belloc’s signature sardonic wit. This collection served as the popular follow-up to his earlier Bad Child&rsquo…