Mojo, The Bard, & Me

 

Should I do so, I should belie my thoughts:

Comfort’s in heaven; and we are on earth,

Where nothing lives but crosses, cares, and grief.

 

-Duke of York

 King Richard the Second        Act II, Scene ii, Line 79

 

This is the old Duke’s response when he shows up and the Queen asks him to speak comfortable words. The first part of this scene is the Queen moaning about how heavy sad she is. Then the Duke shows up and just adds to that. Of course, in this case they (as well as the King’s cronies, Bushy, Green, and Bagot who end the scene with a woeful adieu) are rightfully down in the dumps. Why? Because Bolingbroke has shown back up in England, and half the kingdom has gone over to his side. King Richard’s days are numbered.

In any case, that’s a pretty good, albeit a bit on the downer side, three lines, ending with …and we are on earth, where nothing lives but crosses, cares, and grief. Okay, perhaps more than a bit on the downer side.

Here are my two associates standing in front of a bunch of crosses. The bodies lying beneath these crosses are certainly feeling no cares or griefs.