I've memorized a lot of poems. It makes me appreciate their music & meaning, keeps their rhythm in my nerves, and—not least—because I want to be sure that I have something to do in prison. You know, just in case. My dad escaped Nazi Germany & it's never far from my mind that Something Could Happen.
I don't talk about this a lot, but it came up in a casual conversation with a friend. "That's how you're preparing for prison, memorizing poems?" he asked. "Not by learning how to turn a toothbrush into a shiv? Anyway, they probably have internet in prison & you don't even need to know poems by heart."
Oh.
Hmmmm.
Well. I refuse to believe I've wasted my time when I can recite "To His Coy Mistress" and "Ulysses" to sing me to sleep.
I don't talk about this a lot, but it came up in a casual conversation with a friend. "That's how you're preparing for prison, memorizing poems?" he asked. "Not by learning how to turn a toothbrush into a shiv? Anyway, they probably have internet in prison & you don't even need to know poems by heart."
Oh.
Hmmmm.
Well. I refuse to believe I've wasted my time when I can recite "To His Coy Mistress" and "Ulysses" to sing me to sleep.