Oblivion. Death. The rites we practise to farewell the dead. What better themes to end 2020? This afternoon I have begun a reading plan for 2020 that incorporates listening to audio books, and in one afternoon I have completed, while talking a lunchtime walk and doing the pre-dinner dishes, the magnificent sentences of Thomas Browne's … Continue reading My last words on 2020 from Thomas Browne’s Urn Burial
death
What I am reading… the death of Pope Alexander VI (Rodrígo Borgia)
From Christopher Hibbert, The Borgias and their enemies, 1431-1519, two anecdotes from the death of the great Borgia pope, so superbly played by Jeremy Irons: 1. After the Pope's death, Cesare Borgia sent his military black operations man, Miguel de Corella, into the Pope's apartment with information on where his valuable treasures were stored. "He … Continue reading What I am reading… the death of Pope Alexander VI (Rodrígo Borgia)
Elegy
A little under two weeks ago my mother died. I gave the eulogy at her funeral, and have composed this elegy as a way of working through the grief. Elegy There is no world but this one, Yet we are incomplete; Left stranded and voiceless When the anima disappears in the sea. Helplessly, we cry … Continue reading Elegy
