His spirit grew robust;
He knew no more that he was poor,
Not that his frame was dust.
He danced along the dingy days,
And this bequest of wings
Was but a book. What liberty
A loosened spirit brings!
- Emily Dickinson
I just love discovering new words (or phrases) that are quirky and interesting. I have the condition scriblomania, as Charlotte Brontë calls it in her journals, or the compulsion to write, and in that need, I want to incorporate new words that I discover from the past. Oh, I can't help myself. This passage stopped me as I flipped through my Oxford Book of English Usage.
What are you doing in your salad days? The wit of the entry made me laugh, and also made me ponder its description and comical ending that it is a phrase more suited for a parrot rather than a person. Thanks, Shakespeare, for the phrase.
Alas, it made me think: if these are my salad days, raw and highly flavoured, how am I making the most of each day? How am I ensuring that my days do not wilt? I still feel like I am a youth in my raw days because I have so much to learn. So many adventures to go on. So many experiences to be a part of. It is only the beginning. Ah, yes. I shall enjoy my salad days.
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