Be near me when my light is low,
    When the blood creeps, and the nerves prick
    And tingle; and the heart is sick,
 And all the wheels of Being slow.

 Be near me when the sensuous frame
    Is rack'd with pangs that conquer trust;
    And Time, a maniac scattering dust,
 And Life, a Fury slinging flame.

 Be near me when my faith is dry,
    And men the flies of latter spring,
    That lay their eggs, and sting and sing
 And weave their petty cells and die.

 Be near me when I fade away,
    To point the term of human strife,
    And on the low dark verge of life
 The twilight of eternal day.

 - Alfred, Lord Tennyson, In Memoriam A.H.H. L.

Open letter to King Charles

You played at Sasha's wedding and afterwards you went "back stage", a flight of cold, stone steps, put your head in the lap of a girl sitting there and asked her if it had been alright. Possibly, you lit a cigarette; I can't remember. I hope not. Well, was it alright? Are you kidding? It was electrifying! Which, of course, it was always going to be because Sasha doesn't swim in mediocre waters.

For no very good reason, Loveblood reminds me of Love's first album (Love): a beautiful essay in song-writing. Da Capo improved matters and Forever Changes remains to this day one of the seminal albums of the 1960s. So, young Charles, that difficult third album will be your challenge; and the challenge will be the greater because the beautiful first has gone before it. The second we will buy without a thought. The third we will devour, analyse, and compare. In our inadequacy, and our ordinariness, we long for those who rise and rise; we feast on their brilliance and thank our deities for the pleasure they give us. We know what you can give to us; it is less clear what we can give to you, apart from our applause, our loyalty and our love.

Note to readers: here is the link to Loveblood. Do the old-fashioned thing and buy it.