I happened upon a quote by W.H. Auden today that I had to read a few times.
If equal affection cannot be, let the more loving one be me.
I suppose that was my philosophy in the last year. It didn’t work out too well, but when I find someone who appreciates that part of me – maybe I’ll be rewarded with the same sentiment.
The full poem is even more fitting, and coincidentally mirrors my long blog entry on Monday:
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.
Fire and Ice
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
Robert Frost
I guess it doesn’t matter how bad things happen, it just matters that they’ve happened, right?