Mi musa triste

 Mi musa triste.

Mi musa triste, Delmira Agustini (1886-1914)

Vagos preludios. En la noche espléndida
su voz de perlas una fuente calla,
Cuelgan las brisas sus celestes pífanos
en el follaje. Las cabezas pardas
de los búhos acechan.

Las flores se abren más, como asombradas.
Los cisnes de marfil tienden los cuellos
en las lagunas pálidas.
Selene mira del azul. Las frondas
tiemblan... y todo, hasta el silencio, calla...

Es que ella pasa con su boca triste
Y el gran misterio de sus ojos de ámbar,
A través de la noche, hacia el olvido,
Como una estrella fugitiva y blanca.
Como una destronada reina exótica
de bellos gestos y palabras raras.

Horizontes violados sus ojeras
Dentro sus ojos (dos estrellas de ámbar)
Se abren cansados y húmedos y tristes
como llagas de luz que quejaran.

Es un dolor que vive y que no espera,
es una aurora gris que se levanta
del gran lecho de sombras de la noche,
cansada ya, sin esplendor, sin ansias
Y sus canciones son como hadas tristes
alhajadas de lágrimas.

*********************

LITERATURE - US LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

I should have done this commentary on this mural from the US Library of Congress as part of last year's fourth centennial events, but, alas, I was kept too busy with other things to do.

Anyway, better late than never, they say...

Literature depicts a varied group of male and female figures sitting or standing. Apollo, the God of Letters, sits in the foreground of a Greek temple surrounded by a company of maidens (the Muses) reading an ancient scroll. On the right, are the muses of Comedy and Tragedy, the former reclining against a printing press. In the foreground a woman instructs two children in the rudiments of learning. On the left a dreamy poet reclines and reads the Homeric epics beside a bust of Homer while his muse hovers above him. Next to him a standing figure of Fame holds out a crown of laurel above the head of a seated poet who is deep in thought. Below are the names of countries notable for their contributions to literature: Greece (furthest on the left, below the Homeric reader and the muse of epic, symbolizing Homeric/classical-era literature), Italy (in the middle, below Apollo and most of the muses, excluding those of epic and the performing arts, symbolizing Renaissance/late medieval literature), and England (furthest on the right, below the muses of the performing arts and the printing press, symbolizing Shakespearean/early modern literature).

The painting is by William de Leftwich Dodge.
Wall plaques, clockwise from the northwest corner, bear the names: LITERATURE, Greece, Italy, England. Their arrangement from left to right mirrors the subjects of the allegories above; a mise-en-scène not left at all to chance.

THE 12 DAYS OF DERMARK CHRISTMAS

THE 12 DAYS OF DERMARK CHRISTMAS

I was supposed to do this for Xmas, but had to delay it 'cause of Shakespearean and Precurean shenanigans, aside from the advent calendar, so voilà...


On the first day of Christmas, Miss Dermark gave to me
a Den of Iniquity.

On the second day of Christmas, Miss Dermark gave to me
two Weasley pranksters
and a Den of Iniquity.

On the third day of Christmas, Miss Dermark gave to me
three Dysdarks,
two Weasley pranksters,
and a Den of Iniquity.

On the fourth day of Christmas, Miss Dermark gave to me
four Hope Kingdom castles,
three Dysdarks,
two Weasley pranksters,
and a Den of Iniquity.

On the fifth day of Christmas, Miss Dermark gave to me
FI--I--VE WARRING KI-I-NGS...
four Hope Kingdom castles,
three Dysdarks,
two Weasley pranksters,
and a Den of Iniquity.

On the sixth day of Christmas, Miss Dermark gave to me

six chicks a-chirping,

FI--I--VE WARRING KI-I-NGS...
four Hope Kingdom castles,
three Dysdarks,
two Weasley pranksters,
and a Den of Iniquity.

On the seventh day of Christmas, Miss Dermark gave to me
seven Tyrells scheming,

six chicks a-chirping,

FI--I--VE WARRING KI-I-NGS...
four Hope Kingdom castles,
three Dysdarks,
two Weasley pranksters,
and a Den of Iniquity.

On the eighth day of Christmas, Miss Dermark gave to me
eight elusive Sand-Snakes,

seven Tyrells scheming,

six chicks a-chirping,

FI--I--VE WARRING KI-I-NGS...
four Hope Kingdom castles,
three Dysdarks,
two Weasley pranksters,
and a Den of Iniquity.

On the ninth day of Christmas, Miss Dermark gave to me
nine Muses singing,

eight elusive Sand-Snakes,

seven Tyrells scheming,

six chicks a-chirping,

FI--I--VE WARRING KI-I-NGS...
four Hope Kingdom castles,
three Dysdarks,
two Weasley pranksters,
and a Den of Iniquity.

On the tenth day of Christmas, Miss Dermark gave to me
ten Amis fighting,
nine Muses singing,

eight elusive Sand-Snakes,

seven Tyrells scheming,

six chicks a-chirping,

FI--I--VE WARRING KI-I-NGS...
four Hope Kingdom castles,
three Dysdarks,
two Weasley pranksters,
and a Den of Iniquity.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, Miss Dermark gave to me
eleven Nargles snatching,
ten Amis fighting,
nine Muses singing,

eight elusive Sand-Snakes,

seven Tyrells scheming,

six chicks a-chirping,

FI--I--VE WARRING KI-I-NGS...
four Hope Kingdom castles,
three Dysdarks,
two Weasley pranksters,
and a Den of Iniquity.

On the Twelfth Night of Christmas, Miss Dermark gave to me
twelve Shakespearean dramas,
eleven Nargles snatching,
ten Amis fighting,
nine Muses singing,

eight elusive Sand-Snakes,

seven Tyrells scheming,

six chicks a-chirping,

FI--I--VE WARRING KI-I-NGS...
four Hope Kingdom castles,
three Dysdarks,
two Weasley pranksters,
and a DE-E-EN OF INI-I-QUITY!!!