A Little Frost...

Read some last night and this morning in an attempt to complete my book of Robert Frost poetry.  Had a great moment when I came across this poem:

The Gift Outright

The land was ours before we were the land's.

She was our land more than a hundred years

Before we were her people.  She was ours

In Massachusetts, in Virginia,

But we were England's, still colonials,

Possessing what we still were unpossessed by,

Possessed by what we now no more possessed.

Something we were withholding made us weak

Until we found out that it was ourselves

We were withholding from our land of living.

And forthwith found salvation in surrender.

Such as we were we gave ourselves outright

(The deed a gift was many deeds of war)

To the land vaguely realizing westward,

But still unstoried, artless, unenhanced,

Such as she was, such as she would become.

Something about this poem struck me as beautiful.  Something I needed to understand.  I picked up my cell phone and Googled the title of the poem.  Then I remembered.  This is the poem Robert Frost recited at John F. Kennedy's inauguration.  I read an article on the poets.org webpage about this event.  He is some of the article.

On March 26, 1959, prior to a gala to celebrate his 85th birthday, Robert Frost gave a press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City. When asked about the alleged decline of New England, he responded: "The next President of the united States will be from Boston. Does that sound as if New England is decaying?"  He was pressed for the name and Robert Frost replied: "He's a Puritan named Kennedy. The only Puritans left these days are the Roman Catholics.  There. I guess I wear my politics on my sleeve." 

Frost repeated this prediction through the coming months as he endorsed Kennedy for President.  Kennedy, in return, quoted the last two lines of another Frost poem 'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening': "But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep." 

When Frost learned of Kennedy winning the election he said, "a triumph of Protestantism over itself."

At the suggestion of Stewart Udall, President Kennedy's Secretary of Interior, Robert Frost was asked to recite a poem at the Inauguration.  Kennedy asked Frost to recite a new poem or 'The Gift Outright'.  Robert Frost composed a new poem titled 'Dedication' (later the name was changed to 'For John F. Kennedy His Inauguration').  It was typed on a typewriter at the hotel.  Frost's intent was to read the new poem as a prelude to the poem Kennedy requested.  The light was too bright to read from the hotel stationery so Frost recited 'The Gift Outright' from memory.  The website even has a recording of Frost saying this poem.  Neat little bit of history there.  

I was surprised as I listened to the recording that Robert Frost did not pause as I did when I read the poem in my head.  I was taught while in school to recognize commas and periods when reading to get the full effect and meaning.  It has really helped me when I read to better understand what was written.  It was very interesting to hear Frost quote in run on sentences.  I shall continue to read as I have as I do understand things better that way.

I found two poems I shall send to my son, Jacob.  He loves things to do with space.  Frost wrote one poem titled 'A Loose Mountain' and talks about the Leonid's.  I think Jake will like that one.  Jacob is also an English major.  Another little poem titled 'Iota Subscript'  I believe he will also find interesting.

In my reading this morning I found lines in two other poems that I just chuckled at.

The first was from a poem titled 'The Ingenuities of Debt'.  The two lines that cracked me up were:  

Take care to sell your horse before he dies
The art of life is passing losses on.

The second was from a poem titled 'Away!'.  They are: 

Don't think I leave

For the outer dark

Like Adam and Eve

Put out of the Park.

I still have about 100 pages of poems left to read.  You could say I have enjoyed this book.  I truly don't get all of it.  Sometimes I'm well into a poem before I understand where he is going with it.  Sometimes I just don't get it at all.  But there are truly enjoy nuggets of wisdom or amusement to keep me very interested.  I'm sure if I understood some of the historical and political references that would help.  But I'm really enjoying this book and the change of pace from fiction or history.  Who knows, something else may even be found worthy for me to include in this Blog!!