Funereal thoughts

When I rang James to tell him about Mike Ms' death, he told me that he had recently been to the funeral of another friend of ours (from the old days) Aymun El Fatatri... a lovely Egyptian scientist who I'd always liked (despite his views on Israel!!).  He died of pancreatic cancer which changed to liver cancer... We knew him pretty well, James worked with him, we went to his first wedding to his Greek wife Lia

I know that it is the awareness of one's own mortality that gets to one - but the cancer thing is awful: with Strat and David T both in the anteroom I thought I knew enough cancer cases - but with Mike and Aymun they seem to be falling thick and fast.  I suppose this is how it's going to be as one gets older and it won't get any better.

So here is some Gerard Manley Hopkins:

Spring and Fall: To a young child

Margaret, are you grieving
Over Goldengrove unleaving?
Leaves, like the things of man, you
With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?
Ah! as the heart grows older
It will come to such sights colder
By and by, nor spare a sigh
Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie;
And yet you will weep and know why.
Now no matter, child, the name:
Sorrow's springs are the same.
Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed
What heart heard of, ghost guessed:
It is the blight man was born for,
It is Margaret you mourn for.