Dreamland
by Silas Weir Mitchell
Up anchor! Up anchor!
Set sail and away!
The ventures of dreamland:
Are thine for a day.
Yo, heave ho!
Aloft and alow
Elf sailors are singing,
Yo, heave ho!
The breeze that is blowing
So sturdily strong
Shall fill up thy sail
With the breath of a song...
We had a wedding over Memorial Day weekend and the launching site was beautiful.
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| The ventures of dreamland... |
The celebration was held in a vineyard.
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| ...are thine for a day |
Guests witnessed the couple's vows.
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| Elf sailors are singing, yo, heave ho! |
A host of attendants accompanied them--including great-grandchildren of the bride
and great-nieces and nephews of the groom. Each one wore a sailor outfit.
(The ones in the front are four of our five grandkids.)
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| The breeze that is blowing so sturdily strong... |
Photo ops and toasts, sunshine and breezy blessings abounded.
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| ...shall fill up thy sail with the breath of a song. |
And many opportunities to savor the moment. What a memorable day!
And the poem Dreamland? It was written by one Silas Weir Mitchell in 1890. Mitchell (1829-1914) was a physician during the Civil War specializing in neurological diseases. He later embarked on a serious literary career at age 50, writing poetry and novels. Quite the varied careers, I'd say! And, interestingly enough, his namesake and descendent all these years later, Silas Weir Mitchell, is an actor, best known for his role in the television series Grimm (which, I confess, I've never watched). Wow, the history that flows through one simple poem.
Dreamland continues for several more stanzas and can be found here. But the concluding lines are:
Then up with the anchor!
Set sail and away!
The ventures of loveland
Are thine for a day.
Quite appropriate for the newlyweds, not only on the day of their wedding, but for the fact that they live in...Loveland, Ohio!
Oh, the coincidences.
The excitement is behind us now and word counts beckon. I'm setting my sails back in that direction. In what direction will you aim your sails in the days ahead?
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Great pictures, Kenda. Weddings are fun events.
ReplyDeleteLooks like it was a sweet and lovely event! Thanks so much for sharing the pictures. The children are adorable. :)
ReplyDeleteBest wishes on your word count. Thanks so much for the inspiration!
What a lovely setting! All the pictures are so nice, I can tell you really enjoyed yourself!
ReplyDeleteFun! I love how the wedding and the poem and the images inspired your delightful blog post. In the days ahead, I'm aiming my sails to get some writing work done; this past week didn't allow for much, nor will the coming weekend. But next week the sea of hours looks quite open for sailing a writerly course.
ReplyDeleteRachna, thank you and thanks for stopping by. Hope all your writing plans are going well :-)
ReplyDeleteKaren, sending you happy thoughts, too. Have a great weekend coming up!
Terri--it was a lovely place and wedding, and we were soooo thankful for good weather. It was a special evening and I couldn't help but share a bit of it here :-)
Cathy, I love your play on words :-) And so I wish you smooth waters in your sea of hours next week. May you hit all the word ports you wish to visit as you sail your writerly course. May the sun shine and the sails billow on your way to your destination. Ha! Thanks for coming by...
ReplyDeleteWhat a perfect day! Your grandchildren look so sweet. I love the idea of dressing them alike. My sisters and I once dressed all 7 of our children in the same plaid fabric for our brother's wedding. My Dad didn't notice until after the pictures came out! :-)
ReplyDeleteI must admit, my writing has gone way off course lately -- lots of babysitting, visiting relatives, and attending a granddaughter's first gymnastics program. My goal for the week is to get back on track, maybe even finish my WIP and start some querying.
Happy summer!
Peggy--Happy Summer back to you. So good to hear from you. I'm sure those seven kids looked adorable at your brother's wedding. And to think your dad didn't even notice 'til later! That's too funny...As to getting back on track with our writing, seems like that's always an ongoing goal. Good luck with the querying for sure :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's neat how you connected the poem to the pictures and memories of the event! Tom and Miriam need to see this post. What a great tribute!
ReplyDeleteThanks, supermom--we'll have to tell them about this, right after they get back from their honeymoon!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, supermom--we'll have to tell them about this, right after they get back from their honeymoon!!
ReplyDelete