Tintern Abbey

I first encountered this poem in Brit Lit II...one of the infamous survey classes. In a mass of Romantic poetry, much of which sounded the same to me in the rushed overview, Wordsworth stood out for me, with his passion of a falling down ruin in the English countryside.

For me, images of the English countryside at this time are filled with green grass and railroads being built, black steam, the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution in the UK. Wordsworth suffered from these same images, and from the fear of what would happen if we were to fully leave behind nature in our rush for technology.

This question has not been alleviated since Wordsworth, and the rush for newer, better technology continues at an alarming pace. Living in Montana, we are a little bit spoiled, residing in this much unspoiled landscape. One of my greatest pleasures of growing up here was the fact that with a bit of a car ride, we could be on a trailhead, escaping into the wilderness for a few days.

While Wordsworth wasn't exactly packing it in and packing it all out, boiling water on a JetStream and pitching a tent, he did share this desire to escape the technology, the press of humanity, the pollution, and just let his mind enjoy the simple life.

Simplify, simplify...it sounds so easy to do, but it's hard to let go of technology. Even those true wilderness folks residing in Bozeman miss that hot water, the luxury of the microwave, zoning in front of the TV. For me, it takes a little while to really soak myself into the nature and forget our comforts.

But when I do, when I sit on a rock in the sun and write, I think of Wordsworth and his beloved abbey. Hey--great minds think alike, and all minds benefit from a sojourn with Mama Earth for company.

"Nor wilt thou then forget,
That after many wanderings, many years
Of absence, these steep woods and lofty cliffs,
And this green pastoral landscape, were to me
More dear, both for themselves and for thy sake!" Wordsworth, "Tintern Abbey"