Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
I found this poem by W.B, Yeats recited by Sir Ken Robinson in a TED speech; "Bring on the learning revolution!" (youtube)
It had some great - and one would thing really quite self-evident titbits of wisdom like -
"A three year old is not half a six year old." And while one would think that is self evident, sometimes - not so much.
But most enthralling was the way he wove this poem into the end of his narrative about how schools should - and I think they (very) gradually are - becoming places that are less interested in the factory model and more interested in growing individuals. The problem is as he points out earlier in the speech -
"It's very hard to know what it is you take for granted - and the reason is...that you take it for granted."
In science it's called questioning your assumptions. So while his speech was about the learning of children - perhaps it is the learning revolution of adults that most urgently needs to take place in this fast paced modern environment.
Anyway that's more than enough philosophising and speechifying when more poetry awaits with wonders and adventure for all those who dare to travel the 'verse. Travelling the Verse portal is just a click away! ;)
A.J. Ponder's books are available through Rona Gallery, Amazon, Paper Plus and good Wellington bookstores.
