Poetry, stories, art, and music from the desk of Jezzie G, a writer without a label
Power Junkie
Album: Cyberpunk
Date: 1993
Genre: Alternative/Indie
Artist: Billy Idol
Billy Idol is a singer, songwriter, and musician. He achieved fame in the 1970s as the lead singer of Generation X. His subsequent solo career led to international recognition as a lead artist of the MTV-driven “Second British Invasion” in the USA. During the 1990s Billy Idol focused on his private life out of the public eye. In 2005 he made a comeback with the release of “Devil’s Playground”
We’re Off to See the Wizard
1939
Musicals
Judy Garland
Popular Music
Born: 10 June 1922, Minnesota, USA
Nationality: American
Died: 22 June 1969, London, UK
Judy Garland was an actress and singer who attained international fame in both musical and dramatic roles and as a concert performer and recording artist. She was awarded the Academy Juvenile Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Special Tony Award
Telephone Booths
1968
Photo-Realism
Acrylic on Masonite
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain
‘Telephone Booths’ is occupied and breaks from many of Estes’ earlier urban paintings that often depicted deserted cities. The figures in the booths create a middle ground in the piece. The reflections of the city are fragmented on the booths and compete for space within the ambiguous depth of the composition.
Richard Estes
Photorealism, Contemporary Realism
Born: 14 May 1932, Illinois, USA
Nationality: American
Estes is an artist best known for photorealist paintings. He is regarded as one of the founders of the photorealist movement of the 1960s along with artists such as John Breeder and Chuck Close. Estes’ paintings often consist of reflective, clean, and inanimate cities and landscapes
Hesper
Her eyes are like the evening air,
Her voice is like a rose,
Her lips are like a lovely song,
That ripples as it flows,
And she herself is sweeter than
The sweetest thing she knows.
A slender, haunting, twilight form
Of wonder and surprise,
She seemed a fairy or a child,
Till, deep within her eyes,
I saw the homeward-leading star
Of womanhood arise
Henry Van Dyke
Born: 10 November 1852, Pennsylvania, USA
Nationality: American
Died: 10 April 1933, New Jersey, USA
Van Dyke was an author, educator, diplomat, clergyman, and poet. Various religious themes are often expressed in his poetry, hymns, and essays. Van Dyke composed the lyrics of the hymn ‘Joyful, Joyful! We Adore Thee’
Out on the Hills
Form: Free Verse
A backpacker roaming the English hills
Saw the wind dancing over the peaks
Its tango rhythm catching the trees and then letting go
And the tree nymphs wanted more
So the wind swirled around
Rustling the leaves like flowing gowns
Eager nymphs dance blissfully unaware
Of the changing tempo moving through the wind
Branches stretching and bending too far
SNAP!
And the wind moved away
©JezzieG2024
Inspired by and written for the Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge, my thanks to Gerry and Sue
Form: Contrapuntal Poems
Take-Out
The apps light up offering choices
Which one to choose
Main courses and sides
Ordering drinks too
Work Day
Booting up a computer screen
A click on the work icon reveals even more
Where does one start
And the aroma from the pot calls
Menu
Booting up a computer screen
The apps light up offering choices
A click on the work icon reveals even more
Which one to choose
Where does one start
Main courses and sides
And the aroma from the pot calls
Ordering drinks too
©JezzieG2024
Scylla
1938
Surrealism
Oil on board
Collection of the Tate, United Kingdom
‘Scylla’ is Colquhoun’s most important work. The canvas is dominated by two vertical rocks rising out of clear water. Both phallic and feminine the painting situates Colquhoun’s work within the surrealist movement in its widest sense.
Ithell Colquhoun
Surrealism
Born: 9 October 1906, Shillong, India
Nationality: British
Died: 11 April 1988, Cornwall, England
Colquhoun was a painter, occultist, poet, and author. In the 1930s she was part of the British Surrealist Group but was expelled when she refused to renounce her connection with occult groups
Viola Concerto
1945
Orchestral
Béla Bartók
Classical, Russian Dance
Born: 25 March 1881, Sânnicolau Mare, Romania
Nationality: Hungarian
Died: 26 September 1945, New York, USA
Bartók was a composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist, considered one of the 20th century’s most important composers. His collection and study of folk music and was a founder of comparative musicology, now known as ethnomusicology
Englishman In New York
Album: …Nothing Like the Sun
Date: 1987
Genre: Pop
Artist: Sting
Sting is a musician and actor. He was the former frontman, songwriter, and bassist for the new wave band The Police from 1977 until their breakup in 1986. Sting began his solo career in 1985 and his music includes elements of rock, jazz, reggae, classical, new age, and world music within his compositions
Guadarrama
1969
Guadarrama, is it you, old friend,
mountains white and gray
that I used to see painted against the blue
those afternoons of the old days in Madrid?
Up your deep ravines
and past your bristling peaks
a thousand Guadarramas and a thousand suns
come riding with me, riding to your heart
Antonio Machado
Born: 26 July 1875, Seville, Spain
Nationality: Spanish
Died: 22 February 1939, Collioure, France
Machado was a poet and one of the leading figures of the Spanish literary movement Generation of ’98. His early modernist work evolved into an intimate form of symbolism with a romantic characteristic. Machado’s style engaged with humanity with a Taoist contemplation of existence
Inspired by and written for the Ovi Poetry Challenge, with thanks to Ronovan
Form: Ovi
If life is seen as but a year
Do seasons laugh or shed a tear
Do changing tides bring hope or fear
In spring, summer, fall, or winter
From darkness, we come into life
Without doubts, adult stress, or strife
In this our spring we’re running rife
While learning and growing too fast
Summer comes with pubescent pains
Too young for love we want its gains
Broken hearts sobbing summer’s rains
Soon enough we find that one love
Together hear wedding bells ring
See our children begin their spring
Then feel the chill autumn can bring
Beneath greying hair, time moves on
Our sunset years of growing old
Are graced by colours bright and bold
Until widowhood makes it cold
Then winter must be faced alone
©JezzieG2024
Inspired by and written for the Ragtag Daily Prompt, my thanks to Punam
Form: Acrostic
Creativity breathing
Random lines in pencil and ink
Art in motion carving emotive
Forms and shape that explode from lines
To reveal imagination
©JezzieG2024
Inspired by and written for the Ragtag Daily Prompt, my thanks to Bushboy
Form: Zejel
I found a pebble on the beach
It lay within the tidal reach
Beneath blue skies where seagulls screech
Pebble please will you answer me
How does it feel there in the sea
Rushed by the tides, can you be free
I asked the pebble on the beach
‘It’s a journey’ the pebble said
‘It ends with shore on which I’m laid
Before that, I don’t see ahead’
Now it’s here in the tidal reach
Journey done, tomorrow is closed
From the deep it has been exposed
I pick it up to be transposed
To echoes of a seagull’s screech
Here in the cottage at the lane’s end
Round the corner and past the bend
Upon on a shelf, my stoney friend
That dear pebble from on the beach
©JezzieG2024
Dark Lady
Album: Dark Lady
Date: 1974
Genre: Pop
Artist: Cher
Cher is a singer, actress, and television personality. Referred to by the media as the ‘Goddess of Pop’ she has been described as embodying female autonomy in the male-dominated music industry. With her distinctive contralto voice, Cher has adopted a variety of styles and appearances
Rhythmic Delight
1950-56
Abstract
Oil on canvas
Private Collection
‘Rhythmic Delight’ is an example of Rebay’s non-objective approach. A loosely painted orange circle frames the intersecting lines. A musical and harmonic feel is created by the rhythmic squirls emanating from the centre.
Hilla Rebay
Dada, Expressionism, Orphism, Collage
Born: 14 May 1890, Strasbourg, France
Nationality: French
Died: 27 September 1967, Connecticut, USA
Rebay was an artist, co-founder and first director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. She was key to advising Guggenheim to collect abstract art, a collection that would become the basis of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Modernist collection
Vow of Beltane
Form: Constellation Sonnet
On Beltane’s Eve where fairies come to dance
Between willow trees and the river flow
The air shivers with the breeze of romance
For the spring is high and love is on show
Summoning gods so we can take a chance
Beneath the weeping boughs came love’s advance
As your voice so softly whispered its vow
I made mine as dusk fell into its trance
The magic of spring began to endow
Our joining of love and mystic romance
The cascade of leaves carved a holy space
As the night echoed with eternity
And my hands gently lifted up your face
We kissed beneath the sacred willow tree
©JezzieG2024
The Cunning Little Vixen
1923
Opera
Leoš Janáček
Folk, Opera
Born: 3 July 1854, Hukvsldy, Czechia
Nationality: Czech
Died: 12 August 1928, Ostrava, Czechia
Janáček was a composer, folklorist, musical theorist, teacher, and publicist, inspired by Moravian and other Slavic music to create a modern musical style. He devoted himself to folkloristic research until 1895. Janáček’s early musical works were influenced by his contemporaries such as Antonín Dvořák, however, his later works incorporated his research of national folk music in a modern and original synthesis, such as in the opera Jenůfa (1904). Janáček is considered one of the most important of the Czech composers
For The Future
Planting trees early in spring,
we make a place for birds to sing
in time to come. How do we know?
They are singing here now.
There is no other guarantee
that singing will ever be.
Wendell Berry
Born: 5 August 1934, Kentucky, USA
Nationality: American
Berry is a novelist, poet, essayist, cultural critic, environmental activist, and farmer. He is closely identified with rural Kentucky and his attention to the culture and economy of rural communities can be seen in the novels and stories of Port William. An elected member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers, Berry is a recipient of the National Humanities Medal
Shine
2002
Classical Crossover
BOND
Classical Pop
Formed: 2000
Nationality: Australian
BOND is a string quartet formed by music producer Mike Batt and promoter Mel Bush in 2000. The current line-up consists of Tania Davis (first violinist), Eos Counsell (second violin), Elspeth Hanson (viola), and Gay-Yee Westerhoff (cello). Hanson replaced original band member Havlie Ecker who left in 2008 to have a child
Never Goodbye
Form: Free Verse
I miss you
but not to grasp threads
of what used to be
for my past is in my reach
they said it’s happening too fast
but it really happened too slowly
the drips of pain
denied before they could be expressed
like picking currants out of a Chelsea bun
the battle within
only we could fight
sugarcoating my thoughts
until we ran out of sugar
and I lost my grip
had enough
we had enough of it
but I knew you understood
that it wasn’t goodbye
never goodbye
©JezzieG2024
Rich Days
Welcome to you rich Autumn days,
Ere comes the cold, leaf-picking wind;
When golden stocks are seen in fields,
All standing arm-in-arm entwined;
And gallons of sweet cider seen
On trees in apples red and green.
With mellow pears that cheat our teeth,
Which melt that tongues may suck them in;
With blue-black damsons, yellow plums,
Now sweet and soft from stone to skin;
And woodnuts rich, to make us go
Into the loneliest lanes we know
William Henry Davies
Born: 3 July 1871, Newport, Wales
Nationality: Welsh
Died: 26 September 1940, Gloucestershire, England
Davis was a poet and writer. He spent much of his life as a tramp or hobo in the UK and the USA yet became one of the most popular poets of his time. His themes included his observations on life’s hardships, the human condition reflected in nature his travels as a tramp, and the characters he met. Davis is classified as a Georgian Poet, however much of his writing is not typical of the group in style and theme
Cartouche
Album: Ghost of a Rose
Date: 2003
Genre: Folk-Rock
Artist: Blackmore’s Night
Blackmore’s Night is a neo-medieval folk -rock band formed in 1997. Consisting of mainly Ritchie Blackmore (acoustic guitar, hurdy-gurdy, mandola, mandolin, nyckelharpa, and electric guitar) and Candice Night (lead vocalists, lyricist, and woodwinds). The band has released eleven studio albums.
Pentimento
1973
Photography
Gelatin silver print
‘Pentimento’ brings the satisfying sense of a career coming full circle. The subject is the painter Morris Graves, who frequently sat for Cunnigham. He appears in a part fantasy, part natural setting and is seen only from his unclothed torso upwards. A contemplative gaze tilt in the direction of his extended right arm suggests he is in a silent forest pool
Imogen Cunningham
Pictorialism, Straight Photography, Group f/64
Born: 12 April 1883, Oregon, USA
Nationality: American
Died: 23. June 1976, California, USA
Cunningham was a photographer known for her botanical photography, nudes, and industrial landscapes. She was a member of Group f/64 dedicated to sharp-focus renditions of simple subjects
Basket Case
Album: Dookie
Date: 1994
Genre: Alternative/Indie
Artist: Green Day
Green Day are a rock band formed in California in 1987 by Billie Joe Armstrong (lead vocalist and guitarist) and Mike Dirnt (bassist and backing vocalist), with Tré Cool (drummer) joining in 1990. The bad is credited with bringing punk rock to the mainstream in the USA
Eloquent Dream
Form: Cross Sonnet 2
Thy picture in mute, lifeless art
Reflects my soul in its despair
Yet love declares we’ll never part
I whisper thy name like a prayer
Not with laughter and not with tears
But with love’s air to where thou waits
That eloquent dream holds no fears
As time and distance dissipates
Thine hand my guide through all of time
These times alone I feel it most
In the language of love and rhyme
Just like waves rolling on the coast
I feel thy presence over me
Too real to be a memory
©JezzieG2024
The Oath of the Horatii
1784
Neoclassicism
Oil on canvas
Musée du Louvre, Paris, France
‘The Oath of the Horatii’ is a narrative depiction of early Roman history. The Horatii brothers, seen as young soldiers reach to their father as they pledge to fight for their homeland. Every muscle of their bodies is engaged and described in David’s painting as if confirming their bravery. They are prepared to fight to the death for home and family.
Jacques Louis David
Neoclassicism
Born: 30 August 1748, Paris, France
Nationality: French
Died: 29 December 1825, Brussels, Belgium
David was a Neoclassical painter and was considered the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s his brand of historical painting marked a change from Rococo frivolity towards classical austerity, severity, and feeling harmonized with the moral climate of the last years of the Ancien Régime
Deuces Sonnet Notes
Created by: Mary Lou Healy
Structure: Three quatrains and a couplet
Meter: Decasyllabic or Pentameter
Rhyme Scheme: abba abba baab aa
Example
And So It Began by JezzieG
In those days past so very long ago
When magic was shared on gossamer wing
With old stories told by the bards that sing
And fairies danced amid the moonlight’s glow
While sprinkling their magic dust where they go
To refrains plucked out on the bardic string
Soon to the song the fairies learned to bring
Their own voices to the musical flow
Around the world we could hear them all sing
Enchanting songs only magic can know
Mankind heard it too where the spring winds blow
To the choir early man’s voices did ring
Of when the world was young with all to show
In those days past so very long ago
Romanian Rhapsody 1
1901
Classical Fusion
George Enescu
Classical, Opera
Born: 19 August 1881, Romania
Nationality: Romanian
Died: 4 May 1955, Paris, France
Enescu was a composer, violinist, conductor, and teacher. He is regarded as one of the greatest Romanian musicians in history
People Who Live
1973
People who live by the sea
understand eternity.
They copy the curves of the waves,
their hearts beat with the tides,
& the saltiness of their blood
corresponds with the sea.
They know that the house of flesh
is only a sandcastle
built on the shore,
that skin breaks
under the waves
like sand under the soles
of the first walker on the beach
when the tide recedes.
Each of us walks there once,
watching the bubbles
rise up through the sand
like ascending souls,
tracing the line of the foam,
drawing our index fingers
along the horizon
pointing home
Erica Jong
Born: 26 March 1942, New York, USA
Nationality: American
Jong is a novelist, satirist, and poet particularly known for her novel “Fear of Flying” (1973). The book was famously controversial for its attitudes on female sexuality and became prominent in the development of second-wave feminism
Piano Concerto in G
1931
Classical Jazz
Maurice Ravel
Impressionism
Born: 7 March 1875, Ciboure, France
Nationality: French
Died: 28 December 1937, Paris, France
Ravel was a composer, conductor, and pianist. Although he rejected the term he is often associated with Impressionism. During the 1920s and 1930s, Ravel was regarded internationally as France’s greatest living composer
A Whiter Shade of Pale
Album: Procol Harum
Date: 1967
Genre: Rock
Artist: Procol Harum
Procol Harum were a rock band formed in Essex, UK in 1967. Known for the hit single ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ (1967) that is one of the few singles to have sold over 10 million copies. Procol Harum are noted for their baroque and classical influence, however, they are described as psychedelic rock and proto-prog with touches of R&B, blues, and soul
Brief Moments
Form: 3 Reverse Haiku
Daylight creeps through the window
The moon takes her rest
So that her lover may shine
Golden rays cosset the earth
As life awakens
Born again from its slumber
At dusk, the sun wakes his bride
Briefly, they are one
She rises into the night
©JezzieG2024
Marc (April)
2003
Drawing
Coloured pencil on paper
MoMA
Marc Jacobs, a fashion designer and close friend of the artist, is a subject for many of Peyton’s drawings and paintings. This portrait exemplifies the mutual admiration between Peyton and Jacobs; he is her favourite designer whilst her work features in his art collection.
Elizabeth Peyton
Realism
Born: 1965, Connecticut, USA
Nationality: American
Peyton is a contemporary artist, painter, and printmaker. She is known for her depictions of figures from her life and those beyond it, including friends, historical personae, and contemporary icons such as artists, writers, actors, and musicians
Day 125
Prompt: What is your signature dish?
Hi Nigel,
‘Hiya! And you can take that smirk off your face?’
All I know is you don’t bake cakes, but you love eating them
‘I can make spaghetti’
I hope you don’t mean out of a can on toast
‘No, I do not. I make proper spaghetti, the sauce as well’
Cool.
‘And I don’t use any packets or jars’
I am glad about that; I might just come to yours for dinner
‘I’ll be honest I did use jars then I watched you doing it – and it was just as easy and tastes better. So there are bonuses of hanging around in your head’
I will take that as a compliment
‘Now I just need to time it right for when you are making a curry’
You want to play with spices, huh?
‘I figure, going by your Bolognese, it’s going to taste better than a jar sauce’
So you will be about on a Saturday
‘Why a Saturday?’
Curries take time and really are not a fast fix on a working day
‘Ahh! This could be complicated’
Not really. Just takes prep, and making sure you have all the ingredients
‘Like spices’
Especially the right spices. That will be cool I know my curry spices are there.
‘What curry are we making?’
What curry do you want to make?
‘Chicken’
Chicken what?
‘Does that affect what you need?’
Umm, yeah.
‘I get chicken jalfrezi from the take-out. Can we make that?’
I don’t see why not.
‘Can we make a side too?’
Such as?
‘Onion bhaji’
Not a problem, and some naan if you like
‘Cool, I can’t wait’
Yeah, I can see you drooling. See you tomorrow, Nige
©JezzieG2024
Inspired by and written for the Ragtag Daily Prompt, my thanks to CuriousCat
Form: Zejel
It sways gently on the night breeze
Offering protection and ease
As in its web, the nightmares freeze
To bad dreams a no-entry sign
That are captured in strands of twine
While the good dreams pass through just fine
Closing down the bad memories
Each night as my eyes slowly close
The dark thoughts no longer compose
I am safe in sleeping repose
As I dream where my senses please
©JezzieG2024
Inspired by and for One-Liner Wednesday, my thanks to Linda
Form: One-Liner
The quote:
she was such a special cat and Grumpy Cat still is my calendar girl. Cats rock!!!
The song:
Inspired by and written for Simply 6 Minutes, my thanks to Christine
Form: Italian Sonnet 3
He emerged in the glade lit by the moon
A wolf, wild and beautiful but fearsome
As through the woods echoes the spirit drum
Enchanting sounds like a magical rune
The primal force of nature coming soon
The ancient ways through the night air now hum
As with his blazing eyes, the wolf must come
For in this hunt, his voice calls out the tune
He opens his tail displaying his pride
So his beauty fills the quiet moonglade
Such beauty surely, he must come in peace
Alone he stands, at man’s hand his pack died
Revenge is now his calling and his trade
The lives of men are now at his caprice
Time: 8 minutes
Word Count: 114
©JezzieG2024
Mortal Question
Form: Ivorian Sonnet 116
Think on this, mortals of the human race
You’re born with a destiny to embrace
The world’s newest member, future unknown
And of the past, you have no memory
Your parents influence until you’re grown
They’ll manipulate what you know of things
Sometimes guiding you to grow in their way
And other times they’ll be pulling your strings
But once you’ve grown, you’ll live life your own way
And maybe you too will be parents one day
If that is what your destiny so brings
Creating a world for your kids to face
Will it be a world where a bird still sings
Or a dying place where nothing is free?
©JezzieG2024
Old Age Gets Up
1979
Stirs its ashes and embers, its burnt sticks
An eye powdered over, half melted and solid again
Ponders
Ideas that collapse
At the first touch of attention
The light at the window, so square and so same
So full-strong as ever, the window frame
A scaffold in space, for eyes to lean on
Supporting the body, shaped to its old work
Making small movements in gray air
Numbed from the blurred accident
Of having lived, the fatal, real injury
Under the amnesia
Something tries to save itself-searches
For defenses-but words evade
Like flies with their own notions
Old age slowly gets dressed
Heavily dosed with death’s night
Sits on the bed’s edge
Pulls its pieces together
Loosely tucks in its shirt
Ted Hughes
Born: 17 August 1930, West Yorkshire, UK
Nationality: English
Died: 28 October 1998, London, UK
Hughes was a poet, translator, and children’s writer. He is considered one of the best poets of his generation and one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. Appointed Poet Laureate in 1984 he held the office until his death. Hughes was married to the American poet Sylvia Plath. Some Plath admirers blamed Hughes for her death by suicide and his last poetic work, Birthday Letters, addresses their relationship and whilst referencing her suicide, they do not address the circumstances. Last Letter, a poem discovered in 2010 describes Hughes’s version of the three days before her death
One (reprise) / Finale
1975
Musicals
Marvin Hamlisch
Film and Tv
Born: 2 June 1944, New York, USA
Nationality: American
Died: 6 August 2012, California, USA
Hamlisch was a composer and conductor. He is one of two people to receive a Pulitzer Prize and win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards, the other is Richard Rodgers
You Really Got Me
Album: Van Halen
Date: 1978
Genre: Rock
Artist: Van Halen
Van Halen was a rock band formed in California in 1972. They are credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the rock scene and were known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their lead guitarist Eddie Van Halen. The band consisted of Eddie Van Halen, his brother Alex Van Halen (drummer), vocalist David Lee Roth, and bassist/vocalist Michael Antony. Toth left the band in 1985 and was replaced by Sammy Hagar, formerly of Montrose. In 2001 Eddie was diagnosed with cancer and died of the disease in 2020
Laura V
1988
Photography
Gelatin silver print
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California, USA
‘Laura V,’ from Aguilar’s ‘Latina Lesbians’ series (1986-1990), which was inspired by the self-possessed women she had met working at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. The subject is shown in a confident stance of self-assured expression. The handwritten statement beneath the photograph discusses the subject’s own journey to self-acceptance
Laura Aguilar
Queer Art, Identity Art and Identity Politics, Documentary Photography, LGBT Artists
Born: 26 October 1959, California, USA
Nationality: Mexican-American
Died: 25 April 2018, California, USA
Aguilar was a photographer. Born with auditory dyslexia she attributed her start in photography to her brother, who taught her how to develop in dark rooms. Mainly self-taught Aguilar was well-known for her portraits, mostly of herself, and her focus on marginalized communities including LGBT+ and Latino subjects, self-love, and the stigma of obesity in society
Inspired by and written for the Ragtag Daily Prompt, my thanks to Martha Kennedy
Form: Zejel
Initial thoughts are written down
On paper as images drown
In odd lines of ink; verbs and nouns
A draft appears upon the page
Now a poet must earn his wage
Crafting rough lines as thoughts engage
Rough ideas into a poem sown
Meeting rhymes both perfect and eye
Reading aloud to see its lie
Meticulous work so say I
From the rough words I’d written down
The editing eye makes its mark
Careful red lines begin to spark
This writing game isn’t a lark
Rewrite, rewrite, it makes me frown
Attentive thoughts that once were coy
Now there for the mind to employ
Until lines and verse bring me joy
From the page, a poem has flown
©JezzieG2024
Inspired by and written for the Word of the Day Challenge, my thanks to Cyranny
Form: Zejel
I walked too fast; I walked too slow
I didn’t know where I should go
Instincts said just go with the flow
The way was long and I was tired
My senses numb were once hot-wired
Even the path is muddy mired
Emotions sinking far below
Along the way, I met a man
Who said be still to hear the plan
It sprinkles through you if it can
You must hold hope, not let it go
I stood there silent for a while
And then I felt it with a smile
Hope within without my denial
As something new began to grow
Pouring forth into the fresh light
Sparkling dreams gushed into my sight
My future hope was burning bright
It’s flowing beauty mine to know
©JezzieG2024
The Nightingale
1914
Opera
Igor Stravinsky
Classical
Born: 17 June 1882, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Nationality: Russian
Died: 6 April 1971, New York, USA
Stravinsky was a composer and conductor. He is known as one of the most influential and important composers of the 20th century and as a pivotal figure in modernist music
Demonic Dominoes
Form: Chueh-chu
Flickering flame burns
Twine twisting it turns
The domino falls
And destiny churns
One by one they fall
Another flame burns
This the destruction
And the night returns
©JezzieGFarmer2024
Happy Birthday
Album: Hotter than July
Date: 1981
Genre: Pop
Artist: Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder is a singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is a pioneer and influence across a range of genres including R&B, pop, soul, funk, and jazz. Virtually a one-man band Stevie Wonder’s use of synthesizers and other electronic instruments during the 1970s reshaped the conventions of R&B. He has been blind since shortly after his birth and was a child prodigy signed by Motown when he was 11 and given the stage name Little Stevie Wonder
Nevertheless
1944
you’ve seen a strawberry
that’s had a struggle; yet
was, where the fragments met,
a hedgehog or a star-
fish for the multitude
of seeds. What better food
than apple seeds – the fruit
within the fruit – locked in
like counter-curved twin
hazelnuts? Frost that kills
the little rubber-plant –
leaves of kok-sagyyz-stalks, can’t
harm the roots; they still grow
in frozen ground. Once where
there was a prickley-pear –
leaf clinging to a barbed wire,
a root shot down to grow
in earth two feet below;
as carrots from mandrakes
or a ram’s-horn root some-
times. Victory won’t come
to me unless I go
to it; a grape tendril
ties a knot in knots till
knotted thirty times – so
the bound twig that’s under-
gone and over-gone, can’t stir.
The weak overcomes its
menace, the strong over-
comes itself. What is there
like fortitude! What sap
went through that little thread
to make the cherry red!
Marianne Moore
Born: 15 November 1887, Missouri, USA
Nationality: American
Died: 5 February 1972, New York, USA
Moore was a modernist poet, critic, editor, and translator. Her poetry is best known for its formal innovation, precise diction, wit, and irony. Moore was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968
Interior with Young Man Reading
1898
Symbolism
Oil on canvas
The Hirschsprung Collection, Copenhagen, Denmark
‘Interior with Young Man Reading’ is a depiction of Hammershoi’s older brother Svend reading in the artist’s apartment in Copenhagen. The arrangement of the scene creates a mood of quiet calmness and suggests it is wholly incidental.
Vilhelm Hammershøi
Symbolism
Born: 15 May 1864, Copenhagen, Denmark
Nationality: Danish
Died: 13 February 1916, Copenhagen, Denmark
Hammershøi was a painter best known for his poetic and subdued portraits and interiors. His early works in their simplicity recorded the banality of everyday life and received critical acclaim. Hammershøi was sought out by both artists and literary figures of the time, including Rainer Maria Rilke who noted the artist’s retiring manner and reluctance to talk
Day 124
Prompt: If your life were a TV show, what would be the theme song?
Hi Nigel,
‘Hiya! Is there a song for artists?’
Off the top of my head while half awake the only one, I can think of is ‘Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs’ which is Lowry. You are not just an artist so could use something else.
‘Is that even a song?’
‘That’s a yes, wow!!’
1978 – now I feel well old
‘No comment’
Thank you so much, kid
‘This prompt isn’t as easy as it looks’
I wouldn’t take it too seriously
‘I’m not. I’d want some animals in there’
Oh hell, I feel an earworm coming on
‘Show me’
You asked for it
Nige?
‘I can’t unhear that!’
Haha! That’s why I called it an earworm. It will fade out
‘How long will it play in my head’
Haha! Until I max out some Metallica
‘Do it’
Haha! Yeah, at 530am I don’t think so
‘There has to be better than that, even for fun’
Shall we try some classics, that might be, umm, safer
‘That makes it tough, but I like that one that has penguins’
What? Happy Feet?
‘No, it’s not a movie. Have I got you stuck?’
Possibly, is it on my playlist?
‘Yeah’
Then if it’s not Happy Feet it has to be Oxygene
‘Show me’
‘Yes, that one. And the grin on your face is worth it’
Pengwings, but of course. See you tomorrow, Nige
©JezzieG2024
Jezzie G 