Heart (Vikram Seth) : I wish I knew

I wake at three, in some slight pain.

I hear no sound of clock or rain, 

No chorus of the stars, no gong, 

Mosquito, siren, horn or plane.

Only my heart beats slow and strong. 

I listen to its certain song.

It does not sympathize but strives

To beat all night and all day long.

Whether my spirit soars or dives,

My blood, at its compulsion, drives 

Through its elastic chambers, through 

My arteries, my veins, my lives.

Above all, to my heart I’m true. 

It does not tell me what to do. 

It beats, I live, it beats again. 

For what? I wish I knew it knew.

Beautiful poem, set in music by Alec Roth and sung by the excellent Mark Padmore, whose fine, light, aerial tenor makes it sound contemporary and timeless. I couldn't find it on YouTube, you have to buy the album... Or pay for Amazon Prime. But every note and every word are worth it. 

Joseph Brodsky, A Song

This poem is on the tip of my tongue for a couple of days. Sharing just to get rid of it, if not of the underlying condition. 

I wish you were here, dear,
I wish you were here.
I wish you sat on the sofa
and I sat near.
The handkerchief could be yours,
the tear could be mine, chin bound.
Though it could be, of course,
the other way around.


I wish you were here, dear,
I wish you were here.
I wish we were in my car,
and you'd shift the gear.
We'd find ourselves elsewhere,
on an unknown shore.
Or else we'd repair
to where we've been before.


I wish you were here, dear,
I wish you were here.
I wish I knew no astronomy
when stars appear,
when the moon skims the water
that sighs and shifts in its slumber.
I wish it were still a quarter
to dial your number.


I wish you were here, dear,
in this hemisphere,
as I sit on the porch
sipping a beer.
It's evening; the sun is setting,
boys shout and gulls are crying.
What's the point of forgetting
if it's followed by dying?

On Resurrection

All I know is that before Edward's death, I didn't believe in resurrection, at least not in an individual, personal resurrection (I could imagine being “dissolved in the divine”, in a very intellectual way), let alone resurrection of the body. And now I find that I do believe that the specific glory of the individual human being*, body and soul undivided, will be restored and raised to a fuller life in Christ Jesus. I cannot tell what exactly makes me believe, and I have no idea how come I know this now; but I do, not just as a theory, but as a fact of experience. 

*for God will show your splendour everywhere under heaven. 
4 For God will give you evermore the name,
‘Righteous Peace, Godly Glory’. (Baruch)