Many Years Ago ..

I was so lucky to have been able to find and purchase a collection of antique paper writings. I found them stuffed into a all but pretty cardboard box, in the back of a thrift store. As I started sifting through a few of the documents, the silverfish fell out of them. I was already intrigued by the obviously old, neglected, and handwritten material, so I quickly snatched them up and payed for them. $2.75 was the price and the entertainment I would receive from them in the years to come, more than payed for itself. As soon as I got them home, I carefully took my time to rid them of the paper destroying Silverfish and dust. I do not think there is much worth to them, but anything historical is captivating to me. Which leads me to the first piece I remember reading.

A Simple Poem Sometimes Delivers A Complex Thought ..

'Yours And I Composition', is it's title (I think), and it was in fact the first item I pulled from the dusty and musty box of old writings and documents. The first time I read it, I read it wrong; nothing made much sense. The handwriting is somewhat neat yet a bit sloppy and even faded. I knew right away that this was a poem. Even though the cursive pen marks had me perplexed a bit, trying to figure out what the words actually were, I had a pretty good idea of the meaning.. or so I thought. A few of the words eluded me, until I scanned the document and was able to blow it up on a monitor. I read it over and over again. This was a simple poem, yet the more I read it the more my thoughts were running this way and that. Was this person who wrote it a true poet, or did they have an armature, sloppy style of writing poetry? Either way, my amateur intellect when reading poetry, was holding me back and I couldn't quite figure out. That's the one cool thing about poems.. You can sometimes walk away from it formulating your own meanings. This is exactly what I ended up doing, and exactly what I think the poem is about in the first place.

'Yours And I Composition' ..

Below you will find a scan of the poem, in color since that adds to the atmosphere of the piece. There is no date on the poem, but given the type of paper and others it was with that are similar, I dated it in the 1800's, somewhere between 1850 and 1875 [I am no historical expert.. just gave it my best shot].I also tried my best to transcribe it word for word. A few of the words, I am still unsure of, but think I did a pretty good job while taking a stab at it!

My Transcription:

It is with sorrow and regret,
I think of days in barning spent;
While going through the different branches,
I think I’ve made but poor advancement.
And therefore now I will try to give,
A short description how to live;
Employ your time to every study,
Which makes you graceful, happy, and lovely.
I’ve often heard some people say,
Their younger days were spent in play;
And therefore would confine my mind,
Your studies of some useful kind.
But knowledge it will never rest,
Unconscious in the thinking best;
And there now I do consider it gain,
To call you by name Miss Emma Jane.

Yours and I Composition

This Is The Back Side With A Signature Of The Author (I Imagine)

Emma J Morris

Now Here It Gets Tricky ..

Or at least in my mind it does. I read the poem, like I said, many, many times. After about the 20th time reading it, I began to realize that this poem ends with the author, Miss Emma Jane, writing in the second person to herself, and even in the third person. These last few lines ...

...And therefore would confine my mind,
Your studies of some useful kind.
But knowledge it will never rest,
Unconscious in the thinking best;
And there now I do consider it gain,
To call you by name Miss Emma Jane.

...are written as if she is telling herself she has a voice. I feel she is trying to convince herself that her thoughts are meaningful, even though they many not be logical to those around her and also given what she has been taught thus far in her life. This is where me inexperienced mind wanders a bit. I don't have any clue what I am doing or saying when trying to interpret poetry, but I am a believer that one does not need a degree to do this. It's fun to do and share these kind of thoughts. However, I do think it is wise to listen to others interpretations. I hope I have a few readers, of this post, that will give me some feedback and possible their own interpretation of the poetry.

Food For Thought ..

A wise person once said, "I think, therefore I am." This statement resonates with my thoughts when trying to interpret it. After reading and pondering that simple statement, I was reminded of another (or actually many others). I started reading a few chapters of an online book of sorts called "The Book Of Life". Here is an excerpt from the introduction of a chapter titled "The Meaning Of Life". How often have any of us contemplated this very question? How many of us have actually answered it?

'THE BOOK OF LIFE'
CHAPTER 3.SELF-KNOWLEDGE: FULFILMENT
The Meaning of Life
i: Introduction:

To wonder too openly, or intensely, about the meaning of life sounds like a peculiar, ill-fated and unintentionally comedic pastime. It isn’t anything an ordinary mortal should be doing – or would get very far by doing. A select few might be equipped to take on the task and discover the answer in their own lives, but such ambition isn’t for most of us. Meaningful lives are for extraordinary people: great saints, artists, scholars, scientists, doctors, activists, explorers, national leaders…. If ever we did discover the meaning, it would – we suspect – in any case be incomprehensible, perhaps written in Latin or in computer code. It wouldn’t be anything that could orient or illuminate our activities. Without always acknowledging it, we are – in the background – operating with a remarkably ungenerous perspective on the meaning of life...The question of what makes life meaningful has to be answered personally (even if our conclusions are marked by no particular idiosyncrasy). Others cannot be relied upon to determine what will be meaningful to us. What we call ‘crises of meaning’ are generally moments when someone else’s – perhaps very well intentioned – interpretation of what might be meaningful to us runs up against a growing realization of our divergent tastes and interests. Source

I for one have not, although the way I go about finding the 'Answer' to it, changes with time; As I learn more about myself and those I chose to surround me in my life journey.

I ask you..

Was Miss Emma J Morris contemplating the meaning of life, while writing this poem?? I for one think so :-)

I Would Love To Hear From Those More Experienced In Poem Interpretation!!

Some Additional Photos ..

In case your interested in a look at a few other goodies. I won't include everything I found in the box. I'll save something for another post if anyone finds this kind of thing interesting.

This is a secretary, in pretty good condition, that I bought in Strasburg PA area a few years ago. I Love it and store a few in cool antiques or mementos in her drawers.

What do we have here? Why it's a drawer full of old documents, deeds and letters from that crappy box I bought in a thrift store. The thrift store was in Cape May NJ and has since moved or gone out of business.

'Yours And I Composition' that I have placed in the drawer until I can frame some of them or figure out the best way of preserving them. For now they are out of the sun, safe and dry!

What other cool things do I have? A deed or deed transfer written in February 1804. That's 216 years ago this month!! It's for the Salem area of New Jersey.

264 Years ago yesterday, February 17th, 1756 .. This document was drawn up. Looks like a survey made for the sale/transfer of property. It's pretty neat because of the small survey drawing included on the very top left. Neat Find!!

Last for today, I have an old book in Latin. Anyone read Latin?? It was printed in MDLIII or 1553. 467 Years ago! Wow. What was going on in 1553? Don't spoil it for me you History geeks! I'll research it later and have something cool to post about.

That's It For Now..

I am still thinking about that poem, and would love to hear some thoughts from the experienced writers and poets out there. Please drop your thoughts in the comments section if you so desire. If not, that's okay too.. I appreciate the read, support and engagement! Have An Awesome Day!!!

Thank you for swinging by my blog and checking out the post. Have a great day!

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My art work incorporates a wide variety of subject matter, including landscape, seascape, cityscape, and still life images. My works are the product of a continuing process of exploration through which I seek to portray personal and visionary interpretations of my surroundings. My paintings are impressions of places and events from everyday life, an interpretation of my imagination, and personal responses to what I see and feel on a daily basis. More recently I have invested generous amounts of time into my landscape painting. I am surrounded by natural and man made beauty, which inherently presents itself in the tri-state area, and almost demands that I paint it.

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