XXVI: Anterotics
July 6, 2023XXIII: Music
July 6, 2023XXV: Apparition
Thin-legged, thin-chested, slight unspeakably,
Neat-footed and weak-fingered: in his face –
Lean, large-boned, curved of beak, and touched with race,
Bold-lipped, rich-tinted, mutable as the sea,
The brown eyes radiant with vivacity –
There shines a brilliant and romantic grace,
A spirit intense and rare, with trace on trace
Of passion and impudence and energy.
Valiant in velvet, light in ragged luck,
Most vain, most generous, sternly critical,
Buffoon and poet, lover and sensualist:
A deal of Ariel, just a streak of Puck,
Much Antony, of Hamlet most of all,
And something of the Shorter-Catechist.
William Ernest Henley
William Ernest Henley (1849-1903) was an English poet, critic and editor, best known for his poem "Invictus." Henley's poetry often dealt with themes of struggle and adversity, drawing on his own experiences of illness and disability. He was a major figure in the English literary scene of the late 19th century, and his most famous works include "The Song of the Sword" and "London Types."