Status Updates From The Penguin Book of Romanti...

I read the ruined cottage. It was real good, probably going to need to read it again at some point.

I was drawn in by the stillness described in the Shepard's calendar (90-131) by John Clare.

The busy noise of man and brute
Is on a sudden lost and mute;
Even the brook that leaps along
Seems weary of its bubbling song,
And, so soft its waters creep,
Tired silence sinks in sounder sleep.

If only such peace was achievable in my house.

The comeuppance of Ralph on the Inchape Rock was satisfying.

Sir Ralph the Rover tore his hair -
He cursed himself in his despair -
The waves rush in on every side,
The ship is sinking on either side.

Yeah, that's fate, loser.

Eagerly read through the 30 pages (annoyingly, not included in the page count) of historical context and have enjoyed 3 pieces so far. My favourite passage:

Cold blew the bitter-biting north
Upon your early, humble birth;
Yet cheerfully, you glinted forth
Amid the storm.

How empowering, I thought to myself.

I’m going to put this at 5% because I am not reading this conventionally; rather I’m going through and reading poems by random. I have had a knack for reading poetry, as I am taking an interest in writing songs again and these poems have been giving me ideas.