Some Fruits of Solitude By William Penn (1682) Part 18: 159-173 (Right - Timing, Knowledge, Wit)

Some Fruits of Solitude By William Penn (1682) Part 18: 159-173 (Right - Timing, Knowledge, Wit)

 Bonus: 

Fruit of the Mandela Effect

Summary: Judgement is really important.

Commentary: 

159. Do nothing improperly. Some are Witty, Kind, Cold, Angry, Easie, Stiff, Jealous, Careless, Cautious, Confident, Close, Open, but all in the wrong Place.

"If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right" vs "If it's worth doing, it's worth half-assing" is one of the great philosophical questions. I think cooking is one of my favorite examples. If you're really tired, depressed, hungover, sick, whatever, it's more important to eat than to make a beautiful sandwich. But half-assing stuff does tend to cause issues down the line. (And is less rewarding in the present.)

Knowledge is mostly just Judgement>Knowledge rearranged a couple times.

Wit is similar, but does have, "Wit is an happy and striking way of expressing a Thought." which is a good way of putting it. Is it "an" because H is a soft, "vowel-like" sound?

Poetry Takeaways

After a month of doing poetry, here's my big three takeaways.

1. Sturgeon's Law is really pronounced for poetry. Most poetry (same as most prose) is bad. The problem is, bad poetry is obnoxious in a way that's hard (and sometimes unintentionally funny) for bad fiction.

2. Most of the things that make fiction good also apply to poetry. Faust is fun, because it has dramatic characters. Whitman is good, because he has a sense of adventure. THE NIGHTINGALE VS THE LARK VS FLOWERS XXX 9001 is bad, because it's not actually about anything interesting and it's been done a million times.

3. Meter and rhyme are bullshit. Both in that they sometimes force weird lines that would be better without, and because people ignore them. A lot. Good for them, they should.

That's some kind of life lesson by the way. Ignore the rules/customs when it makes doing the thing they're supposed to do harder.

 So, in the end, fan of good poetry, hater of bad poetry, and there's a lot of bad poetry.

I assume they'll be a more formal reflection at some point as part of the challenge. 

Further filler?

 Went back and fixed the two unposts from earlier this month.

 

 

I submitted to an anthology!

 This is my first time submitting anywhere since grad school. Excited, but not hoping for much. No, this isn't filler while I recover from A to Z...

A to Z 2026 Poetry Z: Zeno of Citium’s epitath by Zenodotus

Z: Zeno of Citium’s epitath by Zenodotus  

Bonus: 

Time for Zed 

Summary: Zeno died, but don't be sad.

Commentary:

Not technically in the 5FSOB, but given the amount of Stoicism included, I think a tribute to Zeno (the original Stoic), by another Stoic whose name also beings with Z, is a pretty clean include.

"hoary brow serene" is a heck of a thing to be remembered for. It's a shame that, while, "Who gave to Greece her written books of wisdom." they mostly weren't preserved.

I also like the use of "contentment". Stoicism isn't just "not being mad about stuff" it's about being happy regardless of what's going on, because you focus on the important stuff.  

A to Z 2026 Poetry Y: “Ye Mariners of England” by Thomas Campbell (~1800)

Y: “Ye Mariners of England” by Thomas Campbell (~1800)

Bonus: 

 

Don't you hate when someone wrote a better version of your poem a couple decades earlier?

Summary: WOODEN SHIPS AND IRON MEN!

Commentary: "Hearts of Oak" did it better.  

A to Z 2026 Poetry X: “XXIII” from The Psalms (American Standard Version, 1901)

“XXIII” from The Psalms (American Standard Version, 1901)

Bonus: 

 

Hank Hill was right.

 

 

Summary: The Lord Jehovah is my shepherd.

Commentary:  The American Standard Version is mostly just the KJV with "The Lord" swapped for Jehovah. 

Also, shepherds take care of sheep (partially) so they can kill and eat them. Why do you want a god to be your shepherd? Wouldn't you prefer to remain uneaten?

I am pleased with how little I had to cheat for X this year.