The well-beloved are
wretched
then.
Appoloinaire
God! I've twenty eight years soon,
and badly spent ones I imagine.
The Elephant
Two Elephants
'Two Elephants'
Nicolaes de Bruyn, 1594, The Rijksmuseun
I carry treasure in my mouth,
As an elephant his ivory.
At the price of flowing words,
Purple death! . . . I buy my glory.
Orpheus
Orpheus and Eurydice
'Orpheus and Eurydice'
Etienne Baudet, Nicolas Poussin, 1648 - 1711, The Rijksmuseun
Look at this pestilential tribe
Its thousand feet, its hundred eyes:
Beetles, insects, lice
And microbes more amazing
Than the world's seventh wonder
And the palace of Rosamunde!
The Caterpillar
Plants, Caterpillars and Insects
'Plants, Caterpillars and Insects'
Jacob l' Admiral (II), Johannes Sluyter, 1710 - 1770, The Rijksmuseun
Work leads us to riches.
Poor poets, work on!
The caterpillar's endless sigh
Becomes the lovely butterfly.
The Fly
The Fable of the Ant and the Fly
'The Fable of the Ant and the Fly'
Aegidius Sadeler, Marcus Gheeraerts (I), Marcus Gheeraerts (I), 1608, The Rijksmuseun
The songs that our flies know
Were taught to them in Norway
By flies who are they say
Divinities of snow.
The Flea
Old Woman Picking Flea's from a Child's Head
'Old Woman Picking Flea's from a Child's Head'
Jan Miel, 1599 - 1664, The Rijksmuseun
Fleas, friends, lovers too,
How cruel are those who love us!
All our blood pours out for them.
The well-beloved are wretched then.
The Grasshopper
The Plagues of Locusts and Water Turned to Blood
'The Plagues of Locusts and Water Turned to Blood'
Jan Miel, 1599 - 1664, The Rijksmuseun
Here's the slender grasshopper
The food that fed Saint John.
May my verse be similar,
A treat for the best of men.
Orpheus
Orpheus
'Orpheus'
Pierre -Cecile Puvis de Chavannes, French, 1824 - 1898, Yale University Art Gallery
His heart was the bait: the heavens were the pond!
For, fisherman, what fresh or seawater catch
equals him, either in form or savour,
that lovely divine fish, Jesus, My Saviour?
The Dolphin
Arion on the Dolphin
'Arion on the Dolphin'
Jan Harmensz. Muller, Harmen Jansz Muller, 1589, The Rijksmuseun
Dolphins, playing in the sea
The wave is bitter gruel.
Does my joy sometimes erupt?
Yet life is still so cruel.
The Octopus
Sea Monster
'Sea Monster'
Anonymous, 1661, The Rijksmuseun
Hurling his ink at skies above,
Sucking the blood of what he loves
And finding it delicious,
Is myself the monster, vicious.
The Jellyfish
Medusae
'Medusae'
Descriptive Catalogue of the Medusae of the Australian Seas, Lendenfeld, R. von (Robert), p39 1887, Internet Book Archive Images
Medusas, miserable heads
With hairs of violet
You enjoy the hurricane
And I enjoy the very same.
The Lobster
Lobster on the Beach
'Lobster on the Beach'
Albert Flamen, 1664, The Rijksmuseun
Uncertainty, O my delights
You and I we go
As lobsters travel onwards, quite
Backwards, Backwards, O.
The Carp
Three Carp on a Shore
'Three Carp on a Shore'
Adriaen Collaert, after 1598 - 1618, The Rijksmuseun
In your pools, and in your ponds,
Carp, you indeed live long!
Is it that death forgets to free
You fishes of melancholy?
Orpheus
The Death of Orpheus
'The Death of Orpheus'
Nicolaes de Bruyn, 1594, The Rijksmuseun
The female of the Halcyon,
Love, the seductive Sirens,
All know the fatal songs
Dangerous and inhuman.
