The Elephant
Two Elephants
'Two Elephants'
Nicolaes de Bruyn, 1594, The Rijksmuseun
I carry treasure in my mouth,
As an elephant his ivory.
Two Elephants
'Two Elephants'
Nicolaes de Bruyn, 1594, The Rijksmuseun
I carry treasure in my mouth,
As an elephant his ivory.
Appoloinaire
1558 - c.
1570, The Rijksmuseun
You set yourself against beauty.
And how many women have been
victims of your cruelty!
Eve, Eurydice, Cleopatra:
I know three or four more after.
The Cat
The Large Cat
'The Large Cat'
Cornelis Visscher (II), 1657, The Rijksmuseun
I wish there to be in my house:
A woman possessing reason,
A cat among books passing by,
Friends for every season
Lacking whom I'm barely alive.
The Lion
Wild Animals
'Wild Animals'
Caspar Luyken, Christoph Weigel, 1695 - 1705, The Rijksmuseun
O lion, miserable image
Of kings lamentably chosen,
Now you're only born in a cage
In Hamburg, among the Germans.
The Hare
River Landscape with Hare
'River Landscape with Hare'
Abraham Genoels, Adam Frans van der Meulen, Lodewijk XIV, 1650 - 1690, The Rijksmuseun
Don't be fearful and lascivious
Like the hare and the amorous.
But always let your brain weave
The full form that conceives.
The Rabbit
Rabbits
'Rabbits'
Frederick Bloemaert, Abraham Bloemaert, Nicolaes Visscher (I), after 1635 - 1670, The Rijksmuseun
There's another cony I remember
That I'd so like to take alive.
Its haunt is there among the thyme
In the valleys of the Land of Tender.
The Dromedary
Four Dromedaries
'Four Dromedaries'
Nicolaes de Bruyn, 1594, The Rijksmuseun
With his four dromedaries
Don Pedro of Alfaroubeira
Travels the world and admires her.
He does what I would rather
If I'd those four dromedaries.
The Mouse
Flowers and a Mouse on an Apple
'Flowers and a Mouse on an Apple'
Assuerus van Londerseel, 1594, The Rijksmuseun
Sweet days, the mice of time,
You gnaw my life, moon by moon.
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.
You set yourself against beauty.
And how many women have been
victims of your cruelty!
Eve, Eurydice, Cleopatra:
I know three or four more after.
The Cat
The Large Cat
'The Large Cat'
Cornelis Visscher (II), 1657, The Rijksmuseun
I wish there to be in my house:
A woman possessing reason,
A cat among books passing by,
Friends for every season
Lacking whom I'm barely alive.
The Lion
Wild Animals
'Wild Animals'
Caspar Luyken, Christoph Weigel, 1695 - 1705, The Rijksmuseun
O lion, miserable image
Of kings lamentably chosen,
Now you're only born in a cage
In Hamburg, among the Germans.
The Hare
River Landscape with Hare
'River Landscape with Hare'
Abraham Genoels, Adam Frans van der Meulen, Lodewijk XIV, 1650 - 1690, The Rijksmuseun
Don't be fearful and lascivious
Like the hare and the amorous.
But always let your brain weave
The full form that conceives.
The Rabbit
Rabbits
'Rabbits'
Frederick Bloemaert, Abraham Bloemaert, Nicolaes Visscher (I), after 1635 - 1670, The Rijksmuseun
There's another cony I remember
That I'd so like to take alive.
Its haunt is there among the thyme
In the valleys of the Land of Tender.
The Dromedary
Four Dromedaries
'Four Dromedaries'
Nicolaes de Bruyn, 1594, The Rijksmuseun
With his four dromedaries
Don Pedro of Alfaroubeira
Travels the world and admires her.
He does what I would rather
If I'd those four dromedaries.
The Mouse
Flowers and a Mouse on an Apple
'Flowers and a Mouse on an Apple'
Assuerus van Londerseel, 1594, The Rijksmuseun
Sweet days, the mice of time,
You gnaw my life, moon by moon.
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.
