#inspired by velasquez

[rub-the-rest-with-yellow]

Straight people: oh look, it says she lived with her and helped with her kids, what a good friend

Lesbians: yes, good 'friend'

Information

George W Lambert 1907

Portrait group - the mother

George Lambert is referencing Velasquez and his famous infante with the posture of the older child. And yes, the two women are described as good friends who just spend a lot of time together and with the kids.

[ber-go]

Sharing my piece for @bpfineartzine. Blue Period is close to my heart so I'm very grateful to be able to draw for this zine.

My heartfelt gratitude to the mods, especially @kokapeach for being so supportive even as I was going thru my own lil blue period during the creation phase ; w ;

Click below to see the individual pieces!

Hashida - Fauvism

Yaguchi - Cubism

Yotasuke - Baroque: inspired by Diego Velasquez

Yuka-chan ; ukiyo x fashion sketch

[apoloadonisandnarcissus]

Virgin Mary, Galadriel and Sauron x Galadriel in “Rings of Power”

Understanding the connection between Galadriel and the Virgin Mary in Tolkien lore

The “Virgin Mary = Galadriel” headcanon is around for a very long time in the Tolkien fandom. But this is not what Tolkien wrote nor intended, as he made that distinction in his letters, very clear:

I was particularly interested in your remarks about Galadriel… I think it’s true that I owe much of this character to Christian and Catholic teachings and imagination of Mary, but actually Galadriel was a penitent, in her youth, a leader in the rebellion against the Valar (the angelic guardians). At the end of the First Age she proudly refused forgiveness or permission to return. She was pardoned because of her resistance to the final and overwhelming temptation to take the [One] Ring for herself.

Tolkien, Letter 320

Why are folks missing the mark here? Most likely because they aren’t familiar with the Catholic faith, Tolkien’s faith, nor its complexities. There is no direct Virgin Mary equivalent in Tolkien legendarium. Varda, the “Queen of the Valar”, comes close but not quite; there’s a clear inspiration there, but not a “copy-paste” situation like Eru (Christian God) and Morgoth (Christian Devil).

The mere mention of the Virgin Mary as a “repentant sinner” is not only unthinkable to Catholics, but blasphemous; it goes against everything the Catholics believe, against their religious doctrine. Although, I doubt other branches of Christianity accept this, either.

The “teachings of Mary” is the Marian devotion, the devotion of Virgin Mary; the ultimate Catholic devotion, which separates this Christian branch from all the others. Protestants, Eastern or Oriental Orthodoxy, and others, don’t share this devotion.

In Catholicism (and Tolkien was a very devoted Catholic), Jesus Christ is God, and Mary, being the mother of Jesus, is considered “mother of God”. Mary is considered a “virgin” because she was saved from the Original sin of Adam and Eve. Because, to Catholics, she’s the woman who carried God in her womb, after all. When Jesus died on the cross, Mary, as a mother, suffered alongside him; and from then on, she acts as a advocate for Catholics next to God (Catholics pray to Mary for her to intervene on their behalf next to God). That’s why she’s a saint (and this is the role of all Catholic saints).

Michelangelo, “Pietà” (“Madonna della pietà”), 1498–1499 | Mary, the Lady of Pity | Masaccio, “The Madonna of Humility” (detail), c. 1424

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Glory Be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Catholic prayer “Hail Mary”

Side note: every facet of Mary is devotional to Catholics, and that’s why you’ll find several saints connected to all stages of Mary’s life (the “Madonnas”). Even pregnant Mary is object of devotion (this was very popular in the Middle-ages, then changed after the Council of Trent, in 1545 - 1563, because the Vatican felt it could be heretical, and strip Mary of her divinity).

Indeed, Tolkien took obvious inspiration from Mary’s “Queen of Heaven” facet to create Varda, “Queen of the Stars”, and she’s also the Eldar highest devotion, as Mary is to Catholics. However, the role of “mother of God” is missing from Varda’s character, hence her not being the “stand-in character” for the Virgin Mary in the lore. And Tolkien, being a devoted Catholic would never do this.

Diego Velasquez, “The coronation of the Virgin”, 1599-1660

The “Catholic teachings of Mary” are humility, selflessness, charity and compassion; she teaches her devotees to renounce their pride and selfish ways. Because Mary had the extraordinary role of being Mother of God, and yet remained humble in her ways, and continued to serve the Lord with devotion.

And this is how she’s connected to Galadriel. Her character is not the “Virgin Mary”, but that of a devotee of the Virgin Mary. Which makes sense, because the Marian devotion is very dear to Catholic women, in particular.

Galadriel Sins

We know that Galadriel character arc in Tolkien legendarium is that of a sinner in repentance, and her actions are motivated by her wish to return to Valinor, because the Valar banished her. That’s why she becomes the “Lady of Light” and fights Sauron. But what are her sins, exactly?

Galadriel, in both the lore and in “Rings of Power”, is proud, greedy and lustful (she doesn’t wait to be married to have sex with Celeborn, which goes against the Eldar ways).

In “Rings of Power”, in particular, she’s obsessed and consumed with personal vendetta, she’s selfish, arrogant, power-hungry, and wants to be worshipped as the savior of Middle-earth by destroying Sauron, all by herself (selfishness). She’s also lustful for Sauron himself, as I talked about in these posts: here and here.

The catch is: in Tolkien legendarium, a “sin” isn’t truly a “sin” (a crime against Eru’s law) if it’s not acted upon. We’ve seen Galadriel acting on her pride, and greed, but not on her lust.

In order for her to sin, she will have to succumb to Sauron. And for this she’ll get banished from Valinor.

“A Penitent”

After having sinned, and facing the consequences for her sins (banishment from literal Heaven), Galadriel will start her penitence arc by following the example of the Virgin Mary, and her teachings, embracing the Marian devotion.

Galadriel will use the Virgin Mary as a guide for her actions, her beacon and role model of behavior, in order to repent for her past sins.

This is why Galadriel is a Elven-queen (like Mary is the “Queen of Heaven”) and has to learn the lessons of humility, charity and compassion, to let go of pride and her greed (power-hungry), and wield her power with grace and kindness.

Then there’s the “virgin” aspect, which is not at all appealing to our modern sensibilities of female sexuality, but it is what it is. Tolkien was a man of his time, and extremely religious. What does this mean? Galadriel will have to repress her sexual desires, and embrace temperance and chastity in her repentance. No more sexy times for Galadriel if she wants to be allowed to return to heaven.

[breserker]

Cover reveal for my book coming out by the end of the year! It's a mystery/drama/urban fantasy with magical realism inspired by the poetry of Gloria Anzaldúa. It's also the first in a series so this won't be the last you've seen of Vel!

Private Investigator Jeronimo Velasquez (Vel) is going through a rough time after the brutal killing of his girlfriend by a wild animal. With other murders in the area creating a coincidental timeline, he becomes convinced that the coincidence means something.

His mother's magic is tricky but it hasn't led him astray, yet. And surely wouldn't, ever.

Release date by the end of the year!

[aprilmr]

LEVON FLJYAN 1983, Gyumri Boy + Girl, 2012 paper, graphite, pencil

+ the text that was accompanying the exhibition, because I find it interesting

During the European Renaissance in the 15th century, artists turned towards humanist ideas that made man into the primary subject of Western art. Reviving the philosophical tenets of Greco-Roman antiquity, the leading art schools and academies across Europe positioned the human figure as nature’s most sophisticated creation and hence, the very epitome of beauty and perfection. No longer circumscribed by religious moral codes, the naked form was transformed by artists such as Titian, Velasquez, Rembrandt and Rubens into an object of aesthetic admiration and a marker of artistic excellence. By the 17th century the Nude had evolved into an autonomous genre of fine art, becoming a key cultural signifier of Western modernity. Armenian artists adopted these concepts relatively late, after they gained access to Russian and European art schools in the first half of the 19th century. However, while many of these pioneers excelled at academic studies of the nude figure, few of them turned to the genre itself in their professional practice. For the 19th century Armenian public, representations of nakedness were still cloaked in strict cultural bias of decency and there was little demand for such images from Armenian artists. The fact that classicist aesthetics were defined primarily by European male artists (women were barred from studying the nude until the late 19th century) presented other challenges. Classicism created impossible standards of beauty based on racist conceptions of white man’s superiority and pseudo-scientific notions of physical perfection. Such prejudices let to the idolisation of European bodies as well as the exoticisation and denigration of other ethnicities in Western art. This situation hindered the expression of specifically local, Armenian sensibilities in regards to nudity in visual art well into 20th century. Though the rise of modernist art in the 1900s destabilised classical models of figurative representation, the Renaissance-inspired “flawless” nude has remained remarkably pervasive. Reappearing time and again in both European and Armenian art as a fantasy object of aesthetic admiration, the impossibly idealised body is still one of the most universally-recognized cultural constructions. Perpetuated by cinema, mass media, advertising and pornography, it continues to condition how we view ourselves and evaluate those around us.

[royalty-nobility]

The Five Eldest Children of Charles I

Artist: Anthony van Dyck (Flemish, 1599-1641)

Date: 1637

Medium: OIl on Canvas

Collection: Royal Trust Collection, Queen's Gallery, Windsor Castle

Description

Van Dyck’s masterful painting acknowledges both the youth and the status of its royal subjects, breaking with the earlier tradition of presenting royal children as miniature adults. The picture was commissioned by Charles I but left the Royal Collection twice, during the Commonwealth and under James II, before being repurchased by George III in 1765 and hung (by 1774) in the King’s Apartments at Buckingham House. The synthesis that Van Dyck achieved in the portrait was described by the nineteenth-century artist Sir David Wilkie: ‘the simplicity of inexperience shows them in most engaging contrast with the power of their rank and station, and like the infantas of Velasquez, unite all the demure stateliness of the court, with the perfect artlessness of childhood.

George III’s admiration for the early Stuarts and the aesthetic of Charles I’s court was reflected in this purchase and he hung many of his finest Van Dycks in Buckingham House. However, eighteenth-century attitudes towards childhood, which was increasingly regarded as a distinct, innocent phase of life, are reflected in many of the portraits of George III’s children.

George III’s taste for Van Dyck might have been sparked by that of his father, Frederick, Prince of Wales, who had a high regard for the collection of Charles I and had purchased Van Dyck’s double portrait of Thomas Killigrew and William, Lord Crofts, in 1748. Similarly, George IV’s interest in the later Stuarts, and his attempts to reclaim items associated with the exiled dynasty, may equally have been inspired by his father.

[strangestorytellersims]

What do you think of early to mid 17th century clothing?

In a nutshell - definitely yes, yet very complicated [ if we're talking about European fashion ]. Still thinking about creating something Velasquez inspired since it's one of my favorite eras in general, but tbh - I'm not going to storm that pinnacle right now.

[gunpowder-tim]

so. podcast reccomendations

putting this under a read more it got l o n g

Ones i have listened to -

*Inkwyrm - COMPLETE, My ultimate fav podcast ever -id listen to the original first ep before the first ep redo cause i think it kinda makes more sense idk, Putting up with her boss is hard enough, but with the cutthroat fashion industry, and whatever is trying to kill everyone today, Mella and the gang have their hands full. One part sit-com, one part space opera.

*Kaleidotrope - COMPLETE, the cutest fucking shit ever filled with tropes and gayass idiots, The plot centers around Drew and Harrison, two reluctant college radio co-hosts-turned-accidental-advice-givers who find themselves in the middle of the campus’s oldest mystery: Do happy endings really happen at Sidlesmith? Can you really find your trope?

*Hell or High Rollers - 11 eps so far! dnd podcast but very rp based much less mechanic based /pos,  A table top role play podcast following the adventures of 4 Villains and their attempt to escape eternal damnation. theyre trying to escape hell and they have to get through all nine layers before they can!!

The Beacon - season 3 coming, After surviving a dangerous encounter with a monster, Bee discovers she has the magical ability to control fire. Confused and with no heroic aspirations, she reaches out online to try and find others with impossible powers like hers - but finding them is only half the battle. only listened to a few eps of this but its v enjoyable

Girl in Space - season 2 coming, Nothing fancy here -- just the simple audio diary of a girl in space. Also, there’s this weird and potentially ominous light in the distance that seems to be growing steadily closer. fun space stuff!

Violet Beach - COMPLETE, On New Year's Day, 2018, the lives of seven friends in the town of Violet Beach, Maryland, change forever. As weird sci-fi happenings become less "fi" and more reality every day, they begin keeping record of their experiences. These are those records. dont remember much abt the content (listened to it a long time ago lmao) but i remember enjoying it v much

Overkill - COMPLETE(?), After 19-year-old Aya Velasquez died mysteriously in Harding Park, no one seemed to care. At least not until a preteen medium accidentally summoned Aya herself to solve the mystery. With no memory of her death and no shortage of questions, Aya must make friends with her fellow ghosts and discover the truth behind the nation's most haunted park. v cool ghost shit but not horrory and also gay

Midnight Radio - COMPLETE, Drawing inspiration from 1950s radio serials and ghost stories, Midnight Radio follows two women finding love through an unlikely correspondence about community, leaving your small hometown, our relationship to the past, what it means to be haunted, and what we leave behind when we die. Remember: all ghost stories are love stories.

Death by Dying - season 2 in progress(?) The Obituary Writer of Crestfall, Idaho finds himself deeply in over his head as he investigates a series of strange and mysterious deaths… when he is supposed to simply be writing obituaries. Along the way he encounters murderous farmers, man-eating cats, haunted bicycles, and a healthy dose of ominous shadows. nightvale esque with a weird lil town, fun concept cool characters, the obituary writer is on the podcast tumblr like all the time and is v nice sauifgdsukf

36 Questions - COMPLETE, musical podcast! bit :/ cause its like got real celebs n shit in it but its good!!!!, In a last-ditch attempt to salvage their crumbling marriage, a couple uses the 36 questions—an experiment known for making strangers fall in love—to save their own relationship.

Directive - 2 seasons, when this came out the tumblr for the podcast messaged people to ask them to listen to it skjdfgdsk, listen to all of part 1 all at once, i didnt know there was a season two so idk abt that but this is sad so just bear that in mind , A Sci Fi series about a man stuck alone for 20 years, taking care of sleeping passengers on a ship to colonize a new planet.

*Love and Luck - hiatus since 2020 possibly finished, Love and Luck is a fictional radio play podcast, told via voicemails.  It’s a slice of life queer romance story with a touch of magic. very cute and nice and lighthearted

Dining in The Void - season 3 coming, When six alien celebrities are trapped onboard a space station, they will have to work together to survive--or die at the hands of an unknown monster. pretty sure i was/am mutuals (or sth) w someone who voice acts in this which i didnt know when i started listening, heavy themes i think kinda

Raising the Dead Again - indefinate hiatus, Raising the Dead Again is a triweekly podcast that follows a young, modern-day necromancer - a young man by the name of Quincy Bejanaro - before, during, and after making the biggest mistake of his life: resurrecting long-dead adventurers. really really loved this one sad theres only 9 eps :( and the story is unfinished

some of these do not have great input from me bc i listened to them years ago n my memory is garbage - starred ones are my favourites, pink is my opinion, italics are official descriptions

other ones i love but Do Not Reccomend are king falls am and eos 10 bc the creators r stupid ass losers and also the last season of eos 10 is so fucking stupid lmao

[helloworldepic]

7 People Who Became Famous For Their Unusual Looks

7 People Who Became Famous For Their Unusual Looks | Nikia Phoenix | Lizzie Velasquez| Winnie Harlow | Pixee Fox | Melanie Gaydos | Rick Genest |Stalking Cat

Meet seven individuals who gained fame for their extraordinary and unusual looks. From unique genetic traits to striking physical features, discover how these remarkable people captured the world's attention and turned their distinct appearances into a source of inspiration and pride.

📺 Watch our other popular videos:

7 Celebrities Who Lost Their Partners And Never Remarried : https://youtu.be/8ndYtz5p90Y

10 Famous Parents of Children with Special Needs : https://youtu.be/0MZ0h08hedM

[ohmi-neotheater]

"Let's do this one more time."

A reserved yet out-there girl with a protective and awkward personality, Phoenix is the librarian of the group who's not afraid to take initiative.

[Phoenix's Ask/In-Chara Blog]

---

Name: Phoenix Young

Nicknames: Nix, Firebird, Book Girl

Age: 23

Birthday: March 8

Ethnicity: Filipino

Pronouns: Any

Gender: Genderfluid

Orientation: Lesbian

Signature Colors: Purple and Teal



Fun Facts:

-Autistic and has ADHD

-A bad case of acrophobia

-Dad joke galore

-Trivia expert! She loves game shows

-The soles of their boots have a purple pawprint

-In the library, Aviva made her a robot friend that keeps her company. Their name is Keoghan

{Keoghan's Inspiration: Killjoy's Alarmbot from Valorant}

VOICE CLAIM: Vanille Velasquez {Neon from Valorant}

THEME SONG: Vitamin Sea by Owl City

[mentalhealthsuckssssss]

Ang REYNA

Last saturday (February 25,2023)

Exactly 8:17pm narinig ko ang boses ng reyna ng live una kong narinig ang boses nya tumayo ang balahibo ko at iba't-ibang reaction ang nadama ko. Kinilig , nastarstruct , na-mesmerized ako sakanya. Sa bawat kanta nya salita nya hininga nya galaw nya hindi ko mapigilan ang saya nararamdaman ng puso ko.

Isa sya sa iniidolo ko , isa sya sa nakakatanggal ng stress ko sa buhay pag stress ako nanunuod ako ng mga videos nya sa youtube at ang aking stress ay napapawi. Nakakapag bigay sya ng inspirasyon sa akin. Nakakapag bigay sya ng saya sa buhay ko.

Sa loob ng entablado ng gabing yun lahat ay masaya, masayang nakikinig sa mga kanta nya , masaya sa pag kekwento nya. At sa bawat bigkas nya ng letra ng kanta lahat ay humihiyaw. Sa bawat kembot ng bewang nya lahat ay kinilikilig. Minsan nga hindi ko na din alam ang aking kasarian dahil sakanya sa sobrang dyosa nya naiinlove ako sa kanya (Pero babae po ako) hahahaha.

Nagbigay sya ng concert na napaka ganda. May saya may lungkot at sa bawat kanta damang-dama mo kung paano nya ekwento ang kanta sa pamamagitan ng kanta yung emosyon nya madadala ka maiiyak ka. Damang-dama mo bawat lyrico ng kanta dahil napakalinis nya magbigkas.

Ang saya ko lang kasi totoo pala ang sinasabi nila noh? Na Dreams really do come true. (I think in the right time) and that night was the right time for me na makita ang nag-iisang reyna ang reyna ng lahat ng reyna. Sa sobrang excited ko na makita sya hindi ko sya matitigan nung sa meet and greet na. Nakita ko sya ng malapitan wala akong sinabi sa sarili ko kundi ANG DYOSA NYA TALAGA sya yung tao na hindi tumatanda ang bata nya tignan Vampire ka ate? At ang bango bango nya pa at eto pa everytime na tinataas nya kamay nya ang kinis ng kili-kili nya I would like to say na Mas maliwanag pa ang kili-kili ng Reyna kaysa sa kinabukasan ko. Sobrang bait nya dahil alam ko na pagod na ang reyna pero ang haba ng pila ng M&G pero tinapos nya yun lahat , lahat ng taong nakapila dun nakipag picture sya nakipag kwentuhan sya nakikinig sya sa mga kwento ng bawat fans nya. Niyayakap nya ng mahigpit ang bawat isa game na game sya sa lahat ng erequest ng fans nya. Makikita mo sa ngiti nya na napaka genuine totoong totoo ang ngiti nya (tinatanong ko sa sarili ko hindi ba napapagod si reyna sa pag ngiti?)

Nung gabi na yun, Yun ang pinaka Masayang nangyari sa buhay ko yun ang pinaka masayang event na pinuntahan ko yun ang gabi na wala akong inisip kundi masaya ako kinilig ako buong pagkatao ko nung gabi na yun sobrang saya walang mapaglagyan ng saya ko. (Eto ang kauna-unahang concert na napuntahan ko) Thank you Reyna.

To our Queen,

Maraming salamat sa naibibigay mong saya sa akin

Maraming salamat dahil ikaw ang inspiration sa akin

Maraming salamat sa boses mo

Maraming salamat dahil totoo kang tao sa mga humahanga sayo.

Maraming salamat dahil ikaw ang nagpapawi ng depression ko.

Maraming salamat dahil pinag patuloy mo pa din na kumanta ka kahit nasa point ka before ng buhay mo na ayaw mo na.

Maraming salamat kay Mang Gerry at Mommy V dahil kong hindi dahil sa kanila walang REGINA ENCARNACION ANSONG VELASQUEZ sa buhay namin.

PS: Pasensya na Reyna hindi ako makakapanuod ng repeat concert mo sa april kasi lilipad ako papuntang HK gusto ko sana ecancel yung flight ko kaso para makapanuod ng concert mo ulit. Kaso hindi pwede talaga. Bawi ako sa 35th m, Reyna. (Sana makaduet kita reyna kahit hindi maganda boses ko)

Maraming salamat Reyna. ❤️

[thatsthewrongwallcraig]

Hey i noticed your love for Wagner Moura’s character Dan Velasquez from shining girls. Did you ever write a fic for him?

No problem if you didn’t, just wondering bc I’d very much like to read it if you did lol

Hey there, Anon 🤗

Thank you for taking an interest in my writing. So, I have a second chapter to a multi-chapter fic sitting in my drafts for months now. It's at 3,2k, and not even finished if I remember correctly 😅

I'd love to come back to it at some point but my inspiration for writing in general apparently went into hibernation.

[amberjeans]

I Bid You Good Day

“Dr Velasquez's thaumaturgical discovery has come with not only international fame but a substantial windfall. I understand that both he and his family are quite happy, all things considered. The crew never understood this, talking about their crusade.” A younger child skips rocks on the small pond beside them. So I just saw John Wick 4 and got inspired. Wrote this in a fit of passion, and repressed thoughts. This might turn into something bigger. I’ll keep you all posted. Link to the story: https://archiveofourown.org/works/46568257

Word Count: 2121

Rated: G

[eprobles]

ETERNAL ECHOES

I

Toward dark blue skies, endlessly, Where topaz seas shimmer bright, In your evening, blooms ecstasy - The lilies, pills of pure delight.

In our age where plants must toil, Lilies drink blue distaste divine, From your religious prose, they'll coil, Fleur-de-lys, for bards to twine.

Lilies, lilies, none in view, Yet in your verse, sleeves of sin, Soft-footed women, pure as dew, White flowers shiver within.

Always, dear man, when you bathe, Your shirt with yellow 'neath your arm, Swelling in the breeze, and wave, Above forget-me-nots, the harm.

Love comes to you in lilac's guise, Wild violets too, nymphs' delight, Sugary spittle on lips, belies, Dark passions on a moonlit night.

II

Oh, Poets, imagine you possessed Roses, crimson Roses, blooming bright, Adorning laurel stems, at their best, With thousand octaves swelling in delight!

If Banville could make them snow, Tainted red, swirling, in a frenzy, Blackening the eyes of those who show Ill-disposed interpretations, not friendly!

In your forests and in meadows so calm, Oh, peaceful photographers, Flora thrives, Decanters' stoppers no different in charm, Than varied veggies with cross-grained lives!

Phthisical and absurd, they seem to be, Navigated by basset-hounds at dusk, After frightening drawings we see, Of lotuses or sunflowers blue, so brusque!

Pink prints and holy pictures we behold, For young girls making their communion, Asoka Ode agrees with Loretto's window old, Heavy vivid butterflies dung on daisy's union!

Old greenery and galloons, fancy-flowers, Vegetable biscuits of yore's drawing-rooms, For cockchafers, not rattlesnakes, like powers, Pulling vegetable dolls with colors, like in cartoons!

Grandville would have put them round the margins, To suck in colors from ill-natured stars, Drooling from your shepherd's pipes, in wondrous fashions, Creating priceless glucoses, like fried eggs in hold hats, so bizarre!

Lilies, Asokas, lilacs, and roses, in a pile, Inspirations for poets, like me, all the while!

III

white Hunter, running sockingless Across the panic Pastures, Can you not, ought you not To know your botany a little? I'm afraid you'd make succeed, To russet Crickets, Cantharides, And Rio golds to blues of Rhine, - In short, to Norways, Floridas: But, My dear Chap, Art does not consist now, - it's the truth, - in allowing To the astonishing Eucalyptus boa-constrictors a hexameter long; There now!... As if Mahogany Served only, even in our Guianas, As helter-skelters for monkeys, Among the heavy vertigo of the lianas! - In short, is a Flower, Rosemary Or Lily, dead or alive, worth The excrement of one sea-bird? Is it worth a solitary candle-drip? - And I mean what I say! You, even sitting over there, in a Bamboo hut, - with the shutters Closed, and brown Persian rugs for hangings, - You would scrawl blossoms Worthy of extravagant Oise!... - Poet ! these are reasonnings No less absurd than arrogant!...

IV

Speak not of pampas in the spring, Black with terrible revolts and strife, But of tobacco, cotton trees that sing, Exotic harvests, a fruitful life.

Say, white face, tanned by Phoebus' rays, How many dollars Pedro Velasquez earns, Of Habana, a city that displays, Excrement covering Sorrento's seas in turns.

Where swans go in thousands to roam, Let your lines campaign, oh poet bold, For clearing mangrove swamps, a home To pools and water-snakes so cold.

Your quatrain plunges into bloody thickets, And returns with subjects great and grand, White sugar, bronchial lozenges, and rubbers, tickets To the land of plenty, a fruitful land.

Tell us, oh hunter, if the yellownesses Of snow peaks near the tropics, hide Insects that lay many eggs or microscopic lichens, And scented madder plants, two or three, provide.

Nature in trousers may cause them to bloom, For our armies, strong and brave, On the outskirts of the Sleeping Wood, assume Flowers, with snouts, drip golden pomades on buffaloes' cave.

Find in wild meadows, where the bluegrass shivers, The silver of downy growths, Calyxes full of fiery eggs, livers Cooking among the essential oils.

Find downy thistles whose wool, Ten asses with glaring eyes, labor to spin, Flowers that are chairs, a beautiful tool, And gem-like tonsils close to pale ovaries within.

Find flowers in coal-black seams, Almost like stones, so marvelous and bright, Close to their hard pale ovaries in dreams, Bearing gemlike tonsils, shining in light.

Serve us, oh stuffer, on a vermilion plate, Stews of syrupy lilies, a delicacy divine, To corrode our German-silver spoons, a fate Worthy of kings, in a color so fine.

:: 03.06.2023 ::

Poet's Notes:

Firstly, analyzing the poem from the perspective of a poet, I would observe that it is a complex piece with vibrant language and a robust structure. The thematic clusters around nature, colors, and the exploration of human passions are presented with a combination of ordinary and extraordinary imagery. The author makes use of creative metaphorical devices, intertwining nature and human experiences in a unique way.

The piece exhibits a considerable degree of intertextuality, referencing multiple literary figures and creations, which enriches the reading experience by providing additional layers of meaning. The poem also appears to take a critical look at artistic endeavors and societal expectations, seen in lines like "Phthisical and absurd, they seem to be."

Furthermore, the author creates juxtapositions between beautiful, appealing images and harsh, distasteful ones. This could be interpreted as a commentary on the paradoxes of life, with its mixture of pleasure and pain, beauty and ugliness.

From a Jungian perspective, this poem could be analyzed using the concepts of the collective unconscious and archetypes. Many of the images used - like lilies, roses, the evening, moonlit night, hunters - can be seen as archetypal symbols that resonate with universal human experiences.

The poem explores the interplay between the conscious and the unconscious mind. For instance, the verse "Dark passions on a moonlit night" could be read as an acknowledgment of the shadow archetype, the darker, unconscious aspects of the personality that are often repressed.

Moreover, the poem explores the dichotomy between order and chaos, symbolized by the cultivated flowers and the wild forest. This dichotomy could be seen as a representation of the tension between the ego and the unconscious.

The use of botanical metaphors throughout the poem might be seen as a manifestation of the Anima/Animus archetype, representing the feminine principle within the masculine unconscious, or vice versa. The presence of female figures such as nymphs and "Soft-footed women, pure as dew" would support this interpretation.

Finally, the closing lines of the poem, with the "corrode our German-silver spoons," suggests an ultimate dissolution or transformation, akin to the Jungian process of individuation, where one achieves a harmonious balance between all aspects of the psyche.

[ncisladaily]

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