Poetry and Art
Going to deviate from actual stories for a while, and focus on poetry.
I don’t tend to read much poetry, but there are some that have stayed with me from the first time I read them. I realised the other day, back when I posted about my altered books and craft stuff, I never posted about this – a blank, spiral-bound book, which I filled with some of my favourite poetry and art. Instead of simply posting it as ‘craft’, I’ve decided to highlight some of the poetry …
But first, the front and back covers …
Art - part of Alma-Tadema's 'Coign of Vantage' (top), and Alfonse Mucha's 'Monaco Monte Carlo'
'A Coign of Vantage' - Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
The first page ... I adore the art of Briton Riviere, and struggle to pick a favourite … this one, like the goddess herself, is too beautiful to find the words that would fittingly describe it.
‘Solitude’ ~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone
For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth,
But has trouble enough of its own.
Sing, and the hills will answer;
Sigh, it is lost on the air;
The echoes bound to a joyful sound,
But shrink from voicing care.
Rejoice, and men will seek you;
Grieve, and they turn and go;
They want full measure of all your pleasure,
But they do not need your woe.
Be glad, and your friends are many;
Be sad, and you lose them all –
There are none to decline your nectared wine,
But alone you must drink life’s gall.
Feast, and your halls are crowded;
Fast, and the world goes by.
Succeed and give, and it helps you live,
But no man can help you die.
There is room in the halls of pleasure
For a large and lordly train,
But one by one we must all file on
Through the narrow aisles of pain.
Art - 'The Prisoner' ~ Evelyn de Morgan