#moon bridge

[artndetails]

moon bridge

[andallshallbewell]

[chasingrainbowsforever]

Moon Bridge,Taipei, Taiwan

[unholyeldritch]

Washington Fairy Bridge.

[madguydraws]

Moon Bridge, Zhangjiajie, Hunan, China

[inanetitter]

Moon Bridge, Hunan, China

[the-bomb-sammi-morse]

Moon Bridge

[wyrmfedgrave]

Pics:

1 to 3. Supposed scenes from the plot of "Unda."

Yet, only #3 comes close to this 'love' poem.

But, this is Lovecraft.

So, what's love got to do with it?

4. A nice video reading of this poem.

5 & 6. Complete collections of HPL's poetry, where this poem can be found.

Lovecraft: 1915 Output.

Intro: < M. Perez-Campos.

In 1914, Howard found out that M.W. Moe¹ wanted HPL to use other poetic forms - rather than always writing in heroic couplets.

Lovecraft defended his choice of poetic form based on it being a long standing habit of his & because of his personal antiquarian² outlook.

Or, as Howard put it, "As the strength of Antaeus³ depended on his contact with Mother Earth,⁴ so does (the full) merit (of) my verses depend (upon) their execution (in) this regular & time- honored measure."��

It would take another year before HPL composed a new response to Moe's challenge.

"Unda" was first shared with R. Kleiner⁶ - in one of Howard's long letters, on September of 1915.

The Work: "Unda, Bride of the Sea."

Dedication: To M.W. Moe, Esquire.⁷

Quote: "Ego, canus, lunam cuna"⁸ - Maevius Bavianus.⁹

Text: < hplovecraft.com

Black loom the crags of the uplands behind me; Dark are the sands of the far stretching shore.

Dim are the pathways & rocks that remind me, Sadly of years (now) lost evermore.¹⁰

Soft laps the ocean on wave polished boulders; (And) sweet is the sound (so) familiar to me.

Here, with her head gently bent (by) my shoulder, Walked I with Unda, the Bride of the Sea.¹¹

Bright was the morn of my youth when I met her, Sweet as the breeze that blew over the brine.

Swift was I captured in Love's strongest fetter, Glad to be her's & she glad to be mine.

Never a question asked I where she wandered, Never asked she of my birth:¹²

Happy as children, we thought not nor pondered,¹³ Glad with the bounty of ocean & earth.

Once, when... moonlight played soft (among) the billows, High on the cliff over the waters we stood,

Bound was her hair with a garland of willows,¹⁴ Plucked by the fount in the bird haunted wood.

Strangely she gazed on the surges beneath her, Charmed by the sound or entranced by the light.¹⁵

Then did the waves a wild aspect¹⁶ bequeath her, Stern as the ocean & weird as the night.

Coldly she left me, astonished & weeping, Standing alone¹⁷ amid the regions she blessed:

Down, ever downward, half gliding (&) creeping, Stole the sweet Unda in (an) oceanward quest.

Calm grew the sea & tumultuous beating, Turned to a ripple,¹⁸ as Unda the fair,

Trod the wet sands in affectionate greeting, Beckoned to me & no longer was there!¹⁹

Long did I pace by the banks where she vanished:²⁰ High climbed the moon & descended again.

Grey broke the dawn til the sad night was banished, still ached my soul (in) infinite pain.

Footnotes:

1. Maurice Winter Moe was an American amateur journalist & English teacher in Appleton, Wisconsin & also at Milwaukee, same state.

Moe 1st knew of HPL in 1914 & was able to present A. Galpin (an out- standing student of his) to Lovecraft.

As Moe was the pios sort, the 2 men (Moe & Howard) discussed truth & religion frequently.

2. An antiquarian is someone who studies history & collects antiques or rare books.

3. Antaeus ("opponent") was a giant of Libya (North Africa at that ancient time) who got his immense strength from touching the Earth.

A son of the gods (Poseidon & Gaia), Antaeus challenged every traveler that passed by to wrestle him.

And then, killed them all...

Sadly for Antaeus, Hercules lifted him off of the Earth & crushed him to death in midair!!

Strangely enough, the Berbers knew Antaeus as Anti.

And, when Quintus Sertorius (a Ro- man commander) visited Tangier eons later, he was shown Anti's giant bones!

Hurriedly closing up the massive tumulus (burial mound), the Roman made offerings to Anti's spirit & also magnified the tomb's rep!!

4. Mother Earth is the personification of nature in the form of a goddess - with many local Greek names.

The Mycenaean Greeks were the 1st to call her Maka, "Mother Earth."

In English, the 1st use of a Mother Nature (as the "world") was in 1266.

'She' became widely popular during the Middle Ages.

That popularity would resurface in the 1970s, when a TV ad revealed that "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature!"

Many other 'appearances' would follow this margarine ad.

The last that I know of was in 2016's "Moana", where she's known as Te Fiti, "the Mother Island."

5. A measure or meter is the basic rhyming structure of a line of verse.

Many traditional forms follow certain sets of rhymes alternating in specific order.

Lovecraft's preferred poetic form is the heroic couplet, a pair of rhyming lines used for serious themes.

Basically, it's a 10-beat line with alternating 'stressed' & 'unstressed' syllables.

6. Rheinhart Kleiner was an exquisite & sensitive poet, critic & an early correspondent of Howard's.

Kleiner inspired HPL to write poetry & criticized Lovecraft's racist & atheist philosophy.

Their letters covered eroticism, racial prejudice, poetic 'art', their upbring- ing & etc...

7. Esquire was a courtesy title that was added to the last name of all lawyers.

It isn't used, in the U.S., any more.

In Britain, however, an esquire is any property held only by the eldest son of the younger sons of 'peers' & certain other officials.

8. Latin for "I, Canus, cradle the moon."

Julius Canus ("grey-white, aged & wise") was a Stoic Roman philosopher who appeared - in a friend's 'vision' - after he was killed by Caligula's men!

9. These are actually the names of 2 Roman poets in the age of Augustus.

They are only known for bad poems & the malicious criticism of better poets!

Horace (best Roman poet) actually "invited the gods to drown Maevius", while that poet was aboard a ship!!

10. No, not Taylor Swift's 2020 album.

Basically, Howard meant "forever" or "always."

Nowadays, evermore is generally used in church.

11. This is actually a nickname for any coastal city - like Boston, NYC or San Francisco.

But, Venice is officially known by this name!

There's, at least, 2 films , an opera & book - even a shipwreck - all with that name...

12. Strangely enough, here HPL is saying that social status wasn't important - to Unda ("sea waves").

But, Lovecraft's just trying to fit in with Moe's own philosophy...

We know that Howard never really changed his mind on being a racist & white supremacist.

13. The narrator shared a love that was innocent & pure - like a child's ready acceptance of other kids.

14. A garland of willows fits right in, as it's a reminder of being abandoned.

15. Although charmed means "to be influenced as if by an amulet or magic spell."

It also means "to be filled with wonder & delight."

Entrance was originally "to be put under a spell" & "to be mesmerized."

Now, it's a bit more 'positive', "to be charmed" not "cursed."

16. An aspect is usually "a particular part of something else" or "how some- thing is regarded."

But, I think HPL is writing about the aspects of one's self:

A. The physical body.

B. The intellect & consciousness.

C. The emotional/intuitive spirit/soul.

17. I don't think Unda was the only one that was hypnotized.

He stood there, crying, but never did anything to help save his gal-friend!!

18. For a woman who's named after the biggest "waves", Unda sure walked out into a surprisingly calm sea.

Whatever 'force' claimed her, it had control over the oceans...

19 & 20. At no time are we told that Unda drowned in the ocean.

Mythologically speaking, water is seen as a sort of permeable barrier between the living & the dead.

Rather, she "was not there."

Then, a few lines down, she actually "vanished."

Into midair?!!

Next: Part 2.

[lifeinredshades]

Moon Bridge, Zhangjiajie, Hunan, China

[milleemozioniinunistante]

Una delle cose più belle che abbia mai visto... 🥺🥰E meritava di essere repostata qui su Tumblr🌙🌊

[ghostlook]

Moon Bridge, Tapei, Taiwan

[cuteofrp]

Moon Bridge, Hunan, China

[admiralandtea]

Moon Bridge, Beijing, China

[detailedart]

Detail: Moonlight Landscape, 1785, by Joseph Wright of Derby.

[chantasticart]

Moon Bridge, Beijing, China