Poetry, stories, art, and music from the desk of Jezzie G, a writer without a label
Paradise Lost
1978
Opera
Krzysztof Penderecki
Classical, Opera
Born: 23 November 1933, Dębica, Poland
Nationality: Polish
Died: 29 March 2020, Kraków, Poland
Penderecki was a composer and conductor. His best-known compositions include ‘Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima,’ ‘Polish Requiem,’ and Symphony No. 3.’ Penderecki’s oeuvre includes four operas, eight symphonies, and various orchestral pieces
Here Follow Several Occasional Meditations
c. 1657
By night when others soundly slept,
And had at once both case and rest,
My waking eyes were open kept
And so to lie I found it best.
I sought Him whom my soul did love,
With tears I sought Him earnestly;
He bowed His ear down from above.
In vain I did not seek or cry.
My hungry soul He filled with good,
He in His bottle put my tears,
My smarting wounds washed in His blood,
And banished thence my doubts and fears.
What to my Savior shall I give,
Who freely hath done this for me?
I’ll serve Him here whilst I shall live
And love Him to eternity
Anne Bradstreet
Born: 8 March 1612, Northampton, UK
Nationality: English
Died: 16 September 1672, Massachusetts, USA
Bradstreet was a poet, and the most prominent of the early English poets of North America, and the first writer in England’s North American colonies. Bradstreet is the first Puritan figure in American Literature and is renowned for her large body of poetry and personal writings, mostly published posthumously
You Could’ve Been a Lady
Album: Cicero Park
Date: 1974
Genre: R&B/Soul
Artist: Hot Chocolate
Hot Chocolate are a soul band formed by Errol Brown and Tony Wilson. At the height of their popularity during the 1970s and 1980s, the group had at least one hit song on the UKL charts every year, including “You Sexy Thing” and “It Started with a Kiss”. Errol Brown was awarded the Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music in 2004
John F. Kennedy
1963
Portraiture
Oil on canvas
The National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D. C., USA
In December 1962, De Kooning travelled to West Palm Beach to paint this portrait of Kennedy. The viewer is presented with a lean and vertical likeness of the young president with De Kooning’s gestural rhythms evoking the sense of restlessness of her subject.
Elaine De Kooning
Abstract Expressionism
Born: 12 March 1918, New York, USA
Nationality: American
Died: 1 February 1989, New York, USA
De Kooning was a painter of the Abstract Expressionism and Figurative Expressionism movements during the post-WW2 era. She also wrote extensively on the art of the time and was an editorial associate for Art News Magazine
Moonlit Revelations
Form: Epistle Sonnet 41
Tonight the moon hides behind the night clouds
She has no desire to show face; she knows
What will happen if she lifts up those shrouds
And to our eyes all her secrets expose
That love has no mystery but secrets
Show the decisions we should not have made
Oft to fit in with the social crowds
Whilst ignoring all that we should hold true
When we thought we were wise and now we rue
The moon has revealed all of our regrets
That seemingly continues to accrue
In the moonlight, the heart never forgets
Tonight once more we would willingly trade
Light for darkness as into sleep thoughts fade
©JezzieG2024
Day 104
Prompt: What would you do if you won the lottery
Hi Nigel,
‘Hiya! Apart from how as I don’t do it, I guess’
Well yeah, I suggest for this prompt we can assume you thought what the hell, and had a go
‘And I assume it means a big win and not peanuts’
I guess, now I am wondering what you would do if you won a whole load of peanuts
‘Haha! Make a barrel load of peanut butter, as I like peanut butter’
Nice one. I’ll bring the toast
‘If it was money, I’d buy some land to turn into a wildlife sanctuary.’
There’s a surprise
‘It really isn’t, is it’
No, mate. What about something for yourself?
‘Helping wildlife would be for me, though’
Yes, I know, but something more luxurious that you wouldn’t normally consider
‘A house in the Lakes.’
Now that’s more like it.
‘I would like to live there. Maybe a rare breed farm that is in tune with nature’
That would probably be a cattle farm then
‘I am not a beefburger maniac’
I know that. The Lakes has some interesting breeds of cattle that don’t live elsewhere’
Oh cool
‘I was thinking more sheep’
Herdwicks
‘If they are grey ones with white faces, yes’
Yes, they are Herdwick sheep
‘A Herdwick sheep farm then’
That’s cool
‘Seriously they look as if they are smiling’
I know, a sheep that is beyond cute. And their fleece goes from black to blue-grey as they grow up
‘So gorgeous. Yes, that’s what I’d do if I won a lot of money’
Nigel the shepherd. See you tomorrow
©JezzieG2024
Jezzie G 