… A Miltonist travels aboard El Al.
Cabin’d about with ultra-Orthodox,
With trembling men made mad by fear of God,
Men rampaging th’aisles in search of seats
Uninfected by the smells of women,
Th’English professor protects the seat
Beside him, which the flight crew had promised
Would remain unoccupied. A frenzied
Searcher after unpolluted places
Is now, alas, upon him, and he must
Assert his right to what has been promised.
“Fleeing the woman seated next to me,”
The searcher says, and gestures to sit down.
“Though short of my making a full-fledged scene,”
The Miltonist later recalls, battle
Did ensue, a most unseemly hubbub
Resolved when the crew found another seat
Equally purified of the She-Stain.
******************************
Justify the ways of God? Milton can.
But who can justify the ways of man?
November 11th, 2014 at 3:32PM
And of course don’t forget the malt, as I’m sure you haven’t. But, as good as that often is,* it can’t pull off a justification of cosmic difficulty.
*I recommend Highland Park 15 for a very partial, but worthwhile, justification..
November 11th, 2014 at 7:37PM
I always thought it would be cool to have a bar named “Malt Does More Than Milton Can,” but I wonder what % of people (even near the campus in a university town) would get the reference.
November 13th, 2014 at 9:57AM
David, I very much like your idea of a Housman-inspired bar. Were it mine, I think it would be called: “For When Milton Fails.”