I am the clock without hands
the murky water of the River Lethe
the suspension bridge that has
neither beginning nor end
yesterday
I will be
tomorrow
I was
in very truth
I am not
for I am
the Unreality of Time
~
illustration: Black Marble Clock (detail)
(Cézanne, c1870)
In a place of peace
I buried Hope with my own hands
I looked for heather in bloom
but could not find any flowers I like.
So I made a cross from twigs and ivy,
and my soul stood there,
naked in the wind, under onyx stars,
till the break of Dawn.
My sweetest Dream has gone,
I will not live on!
The truth has been left untold
and the sunlight looks so cold!
~
illustration: The Cemetery Entrance
(Caspar David Friedrich, 1825)
She breathes
and sailors smile or worry,
She sings
and mermaids dream or cry.
She poses,
and painters do their best.
Then she disappears after
she sprinkled stardust in their eyes.
She sometimes wears
a wedding veil
but every man knows
she will never marry
for she is
the King’s mistress.
The Sea.
Princess of the seeking Souls.
~
illustration: Sketch For A Mermaid
(John William Waterhouse, 1892)
Un soir d’été,
peut-être en juillet,
quand la lumière faiblissante
apaise tout,
après avoir touché la terre
et les arbres,
et senti la brise
s’élever jusqu’aux étoiles,
dans ce fin brouillard bleu,
qui fait la beauté
d’un jardin avant la Nuit,
paisiblement,
j’aimerais quitter le monde.
~
On a Summer evening
maybe in July
when the dimming Light
heals everything
after I touched
trees and soil
and felt the breeze
rising up to the stars
in the blue mist that makes
a garden before the Night
such a peaceful place
I would like to leave
the world behind.
~
illustration: Garden of Dreams
(Eyvind Earle, 1990)
Instead of watching tv
I could have gone to your garden.
There you had grown sunflowers
and planted a walnut tree.
But I did not care at all
and didn’t try to cross the wall.
The walnut tree was cut down,
sunflowers turned all to dust,
and now, you’re so far away.
Unsaid words weighs heavy
on my heart. Yet I still dare
to hope it’s not too late.
Daddy! What a wonderful garden!
~
illustration: the Gardener
Georges Seurat (1884-83)
In a world like this twin shadows
were waiting for Death to come.
At daybreak they kneeled under a tree
then tried to whisper a prayer.
The blue Dawn took pity on them
and turned the curse into a blessing.
The sun rose and the two lovers
left no trace after they saw
the Beauty of Light.
~
illustration: Dawn in the Hills
Robert Julian Onderdonk (1918)
a tear in the sky
a rip in a canvas painting
Nevermore Lake
hurt by wars and years
and the blue ripples of time
and the song without words
willow trees used to sing
after Summer had gone
and a lover on the jetty
phantom waiting mutely
for the Night to reveal where
birds of yesterday found
a haven of peace
~
Illustration: jetty on the lake (restoration)
(Johan Jacobsen 1883-1953)
private collection © 2017 – F.G.M.
