Defeated

She   went back to her cottage, and sat there,

no   light   lit,

and stared at the floor.

-- James Michener, Poland (1983), p. 510

And   I   too   soon

found  I   had   cause,

for greater

and deeper

grief .  .   .    .     .      .

-- Richardson, Pamela (1740)

If I were to sit under a tree

and tell you the sadness we have to suffer,

the leaves of that tree

would fall like tears.

-- Indian sex-worker, profiled in “Serving the Goddess”, The New Yorker, 4 Aug 2008

Welcome to Kashmir

At the Line of Control:

I peered through binoculars

at men peering through binoculars
at me …

-- Isabel Hilton, “Between the Mountains”, 11 Mar 2002 The New Yorker

Enjoy your stay in Srinagar !

In the deserted lobby,

Muzak was playing

to empty armchairs.

-- Isabel Hilton, “Between the Mountains”, 11 Mar 2002 The New Yorker

Bits / about / Bats

The  bat     flit-

ted   a      bout

in the   uncert-
ain       light,

and the frog    croaked

from the fish-pond.

-- Washington Irving ,“The Legend of the Two Discreet Statues”, in The Alhambra (1832)

~

the twi-light-loving                         bats

began  to flit-about

-- Washington Irving ,“The Legend of the Enchanted Soldier”, in The Alhambra (1832)

PS:  Bats Are Our Friends:
https://laughingsquid.com/bat-makes-noises-when-head-scratched/

The Westbound Tanker puts in at New Orleans (1942)

It was the sort of day  we had had off Florida,

chilly but bright;

and the city looked good   in the sunlight.

-- A. J. Liebling