Saturday, December 29, 2007
Pots
All this of Pot and Potter — Tell me, then,
Who is the Potter, pray, and who the Pot?
Edward Fitzgerald, The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám
Who is the Potter, pray, and who the Pot?
Edward Fitzgerald, The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám
Friday, December 28, 2007
Sunset
Swiftly walk over the western wave,
Spirit of Night!
Out of the misty eastern cave
Where, all the long and lone daylight,
Thou wovest dreams of joy and fear,
Which make thee terrible and dear, -
Swift be thy flight!
Percy Bysshe Shelley, To Night
Spirit of Night!
Out of the misty eastern cave
Where, all the long and lone daylight,
Thou wovest dreams of joy and fear,
Which make thee terrible and dear, -
Swift be thy flight!
Percy Bysshe Shelley, To Night
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Garden of Delight
Beloved, gaze in thine own heart,
The holy tree is growing there;
From joy the holy branches start,
And all the trembling flowers they bear.
The changing colours of its fruit
Have dowered the stars with merry light;
The surety of its hidden root
Has planted quiet in the night;
The shaking of its leafy head
Has given the waves their melody,
And made my lips and music wed,
Murmuring a wizard song for thee.
William Butler Yeats, The Two Trees
Illustration: William Morris, Garden of Delight, tapestry
The holy tree is growing there;
From joy the holy branches start,
And all the trembling flowers they bear.
The changing colours of its fruit
Have dowered the stars with merry light;
The surety of its hidden root
Has planted quiet in the night;
The shaking of its leafy head
Has given the waves their melody,
And made my lips and music wed,
Murmuring a wizard song for thee.
William Butler Yeats, The Two Trees
Illustration: William Morris, Garden of Delight, tapestry
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
The Lady of Shallot
Only reapers, reaping early,
In among the bearded barley
Hear a song that echoes cheerly
From the river winding clearly;
Down to tower'd Camelot;
And by the moon the reaper weary,
Piling sheaves in uplands airy,
Listening, whispers, " 'Tis the fairy
The Lady of Shalott."
Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Lady of Shallot
Illustration: The Lady of Shallot, John William Waterhouse
In among the bearded barley
Hear a song that echoes cheerly
From the river winding clearly;
Down to tower'd Camelot;
And by the moon the reaper weary,
Piling sheaves in uplands airy,
Listening, whispers, " 'Tis the fairy
The Lady of Shalott."
Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Lady of Shallot
Illustration: The Lady of Shallot, John William Waterhouse
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Christmas Day
"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year."
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
Monday, December 24, 2007
Winter Scene
Black are my steps on silver sod;
Thick blows my frosty breath abroad;
And tree and house, and hill and lake,
Are frosted like a wedding cake.
Robert Louis Stevenson, Winter-Time
Thick blows my frosty breath abroad;
And tree and house, and hill and lake,
Are frosted like a wedding cake.
Robert Louis Stevenson, Winter-Time
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Starry Night
Starry, starry night.
Paint your palette blue and grey,
Look out on a summer's day,
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.
Shadows on the hills,
Sketch the trees and the daffodils,
Catch the breeze and the winter chills,
In colors on the snowy linen land.
Don McLean, Vincent
Illustration: Starry Night, Vincent Van Gogh
Paint your palette blue and grey,
Look out on a summer's day,
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.
Shadows on the hills,
Sketch the trees and the daffodils,
Catch the breeze and the winter chills,
In colors on the snowy linen land.
Don McLean, Vincent
Illustration: Starry Night, Vincent Van Gogh
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