Don't listen to those cursed birds
But Paradisial Angels' words.
But Paradisial Angels' words.
Appoloinaire
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!
Latin mortal dreadful word,
Ibis, Nile's native bird.
The Ox
Lucas and the Ox
'Lucas and the Ox'
Hieronymus Wierix, 1563 - before 1590, The Rijksmuseun
This cherubim sings the praises
Of Paradise where, with Angels,
We'll live once more, dear friends,
When the good God intends.
Apollinaire's Notes to the Bestiary
Admire the vital power
And nobility of line:
It praises the line that forms the images, marvellous ornaments to this poetic entertainment.
It's the voice that the light made us understand here
That Hermes Trismegistus writes of in Pimander.
'Soon' we read in the Pimander, 'they descend into the shadows. .
