I can see,
birds sitting in a tree, by the sea, and I can see, seagulls flying with glee, why do birds fly, and what do they see, those birds, are not, lllllooookking at ...me! by Max, 2019
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THE MORE LOVING ONE
by W.H. Auden Looking up at the stars, I know quite well That, for all they care, I can go to hell, But on earth indifference is the least We have to dread from man or beast. How should we like it were stars to burn With a passion for us we could not return? If equal affection cannot be, Let the more loving one be me. Admirer as I think I am Of stars that do not give a damn, I cannot, now I see them, say I missed one terribly all day. Were all stars to disappear or die, I should learn to look at an empty sky And feel its total dark sublime, Though this might take me a little time. A Private Fortune: Simonides, that extraordinary author of lyric poems, found an excellent remedy for his straitened circumstances by travelling around the most famous cities of the Asia, singing the praises of victorious athletes in exchange for a fee. When he had grown wealthy in this venture, he was ready to take a sea voyage and go back to his native land (he was born, so they say, on the island of Ceos). He boarded a ship, but a terrible storm (plus the sheer age of the ship) caused it to sink in the middle of the sea. Some of the passengers grabbed their money belts, while others held onto their valuables and any possible means of subsistence. A passenger who was more curious than the rest asked the poet, ‘Simonides, why aren’t you taking along any of your own stuff?’ He replied, ‘All that is mine is right here with me.’ It turned out that only a few were able to swim ashore, while the majority drowned, weighed down by what they were carrying. Then bandits arrived and took from the survivors whatever they had brought ashore, stripping them naked. As it happened, the ancient city of Clazomenae was not far off, which is where the shipwrecked people then turned. In this city there lived a man inclined to literary pursuits who had often read Simonides’s compositions and who was his great admirer from afar. He recognized Simonides simply from his manner of speaking and eagerly invited him to his house, regaling him with clothes and money and servants. Meanwhile, the rest of the survivors carried around placards, begging for food. When Simonides happened to run into them, he took one look and exclaimed, ‘Just as I said: all that is mine is right here with me, but everything that you took with you has now vanished.’
— Phaedrus (translated by Laura Gibbs) www.futilitycloset.com/2018/10/09/a-private-fortune/ Maxi came home from school today, sat down, and wrote a book for Mrs. Gelson, his teacher. It was so unexpected and it turned out so exciting. He did the whole thing from scratch. Told us he needs 10 sheets of paper and a stapler. Wrote the tile of the book and that it was made by Max on the first page and then proceeded with writing it and drawing pictures for it. We would spell the words for him but they were his words and his story. It ended up into a second story at which point he proceeded to add a table of contents. He got tired but did not give up really. He made the story open. He said that whoever reads the second story they need to make up there own stories where the question marks are : ) He added a section for notes, A lesson on numbers, A game or two with dots, A calendar... And some scribbles at the very last page. It was cool watching him work. He wanted to give it to Mrs. Gelson the very next day, Friday, but we wanted to make copies. It felt special to us. Max finally agreed, and he was still working on some of the coloring of the pages. [Nevertheless he did talk to Mrs. Gelson about it and even 'secured' a photocopy service at the school with Mrs Gelson if we could not copy it ourselves : )]. It is all done now. I have a pdf version of it. We made few copies because we want to send it to Max's grandparents for Christmas. The copies are slightly shifted, the original is covered with stapler holes but it is going to be a well-loved book of ours no matter what! Hope you enjoy it, I will post a copy here too in the next few days.
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