No More Learning

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.

Don't listen to those cursed birds

But Paradisial Angels' words.

The Sirens

Odysseus and the Sirens

'Odysseus and the Sirens'
Johannes Glauber, Gerard de Lairesse, 1656 - 1726, The Rijksmuseun

Do I know where your ennui's from, Sirens,

When you grieve so widely under the stars?

Sea, I am like you, filled with broken voices,

And my ships, singing, give a name to the years.

The Dove

Angels and Holy Spirit (Annunciation)

'Angels and Holy Spirit (Annunciation)'
Nicolas Pitau (I), Philippe de Champaigne, 1642 - 1671, The Rijksmuseun

Dove, both love and spirit

Who engendered Jesus Christ,

Like you I love a Mary.

And so with her I marry.

The Peacock

Juno and the Peacock

'Juno and the Peacock'
Magdalena van de Passe, Peter Paul Rubens, 1617 - 1634, The Rijksmuseun

In spreading out his fan, this bird,

Whose plumage drags on earth, I fear,

Appears more lovely than before,

But makes his derriere appear.

The Owl

Owls in a Cave

'Owls in a Cave'
Magdalena van de Passe, Peter Paul Rubens, 1617 - 1634, The Rijksmuseun

My poor heart's an owl

One woos, un-woos, re-woos.

Of blood, of ardour, he's the fowl.

I praise those who love me, too.

The Ibis

Storks in a Nest

'Storks in a Nest'
Magdalena van de Passe, Peter Paul Rubens, 1617 - 1634, The Rijksmuseun

Yes, I'll pass fearful shadows

O certain death, let it be so!