The Wall

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“What a dear old wall that is that runs along by the river there! I never pass it without feeling better for the sight of it. Such a mellow, bright, sweet old wall; what a charming picture it would make, with the lichen creeping here, and the moss growing there, a shy young vine peeping over the top at this spot, to see what is going on upon the busy river, and the sober old ivy clustering a little farther down! There are fifty shades and tints and hues in every ten yards of that old wall. . . . It looks so peaceful and so quiet, and it is such a dear old place to ramble round in the early morning before many people are about.” Jerome K. Jerome, “Three Men In A Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)” Ch. 6 (1889)

"Prayer" by Alexander Solzhenitsyn

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credit: travelblog.org
"How easy it is
for me to live with you, Lord.
How easy it is to believe in you
when my mind reels from not understanding,
or when my mind weakens–
when the most intelligent people cannot think
beyond the evening and do not know
what must be done tomorrow.
You convey to me the
lucid assurance that you exist,
that you will see to it that not all paths
toward good will be closed.
At the peak of earthly renown
I look back with amazement at
that road which by no stretch of the imagination
I could have devised–
A remarkable road through despair
which has led me here
where I too have been able
to send mankind
reflections of your rays–
As for what I
won’t have time or ability for–
This means that you have
reserved it for others."

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