tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107758010639847749.post1291277386385705541..comments2022-02-17T21:15:06.985-08:00Comments on The Scant Gold I Bring : OutlandersJeff in Seattlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08096023145399598798noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107758010639847749.post-68812358929049050312020-08-11T07:31:45.646-07:002020-08-11T07:31:45.646-07:00The phrase "the white horses of Polaris"...The phrase "the white horses of Polaris" is rather mysterious! I'm not aware of any mythological references that would associate Polaris with horses. All I can conjecture that since Polaris is currently the northern pole star, CAS might have been envisioning the celestial movement of the multiple stars in that cluster as akin to the galloping of a herd of horses. But that's nothing other than a guess on my part!Jeff in Seattlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08096023145399598798noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1107758010639847749.post-34133232561971480392020-08-10T08:55:47.067-07:002020-08-10T08:55:47.067-07:00"Though these are scorned by human wharf and ..."Though these are scorned by human wharf and mart."<br /><br />I can relate with this sentiment, as one whose imagination was always too strange and wild for any particular in-group, even among those who call themselves weird or outsiders. One of the greatest joys and liberations, for me, is among those distant dark strands described in the poem, with Beauty and the driftage of lost worlds.<br /><br />By the way, what are those "white horses of Polaris" supposed to be? I understand they're another form of intensely strange phantasy, but is the reference derived from myth, or Smith's own imagination?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com