Briars in the Garden

"Both read the Bible day and night; but you read black where I read white."
-- William Blake

I'm a little late to this one.  Checking the analysis of Blake's poem we find that he was protesting the biblical interpretations that the Anglican church was imposing on ordinary people, particularly regarding the repression of human sexuality.  I'm not a believer, but I was brought up in the Catholic church, had 12 years of religion classes, occasionally paid attention, and have some familiarity with the teachings of Jesus.   I find the beliefs and attitudes of American conservative christianity to be anti-scriptural, nihilist, judgmental, hypocritical, hate-based and intellectually offensive.  On the other hand I find the concepts and attitudes of progressive christianity to be enlightening and fulfilling.   If I were a believer, I would find them compelling.

So Blake's 1794 poem resonates with the religious landscape of 2017 America.  I went back to the shadorma again to express my thoughts and feelings.

Wikipedia

Thistle Flowers

Where is love?

Evangelicals

Have grabbed it;

Transformed it

To judgment and damnation

Out of hate.

~:~

Where is God,

That loving father?

Remaining

In Crown thorns?

Does he bind his love for us

In brambles?

~:~

Salvation -

What then does it mean

If they change

All the good

Into the coffers of a 

Mega church?

~~::~~

Oh, no - I exceeded the 12 line limit! 
Lo siento. 
At least they are short.

Awhapery In the Garden

Today we have a list of obsolete English language words to chose from, and an invitation to use others, which I have taken advantage of.

Not feeling up to attempting rhyme, or anything long-form, I've chosen to do another shadorma, as befits my dwindled attention span.  But I'm delighted to finally get to use the word "swyve." which has been sitting idle in my vocabulary for decades.

BEMOANING

Oh Wasteheart!

Coney-caught again:

Awhaped by

Dowsable.

She swyved with a losenger

I’m betrumped!

Here it is translated

LAMENT

Woe is me!

Cheated yet again:

Confounded

By lover.

She screwed a lying rascal.

And tricked me.

Glossary
Awhape -- confound
Betrump -- deceive or cheat
Coney-catch -- cheat or deceive
Dowsable -- sweetheart
Losenger -- false flatterer, cad
Swyve -- copulate
Wasteheart -- expression of grief or dismay

L.A. Times Crossword Wednesday, October 18, 2017 Robin Stears

Theme GUARDS! GUARDS! As we shall soon see, each theme entry is a [more or less] in-the -language two-word phrase that contains two quite different kinds of GUARDS. In all cases, each theme word can be followed by the word GUARD to yield a different in-the-language phrase.

17 A. Eastern seaboard, facetiously : RIGHT COAST.  I can't recall hearing it addressed as such, but it makes sense if you look at a map.  But why facetiously?  RIGHT GUARD is a lineman position on an American football team, and the deodorant brand he might chose after a shower. The COAST GUARD is a branch of the U.S. military that protects life, property and territory along the country's shore lines.

25 A. Unlikely to run : COLOR SAFE.  These colors don't run.  Hence the term.  Also a palette of 256 colors that is consistent on any computer monitor.   A COLOR GUARD is a uniformed group who present or parade an institutional or national flag on formal occasions.   To SAFE GUARD is to take active measures to protect against some undesirable event.

46 A. Secret overseas cash stash site : SWISS BANK.  I think the Cayman Islands and Cyprus give them some competition these days.  The SWISS GUARD is a small force stationed in the Vatican, responsible for the safety of the Pope.  They are famous for their colorful uniforms.

Makes the Pope Color Safe?

A BANK GUARD protects your deposited savings.

58 A. What Aladdin craved and Jasmine wanted to escape, in the Disney film : PALACE LIFE.  Aladdin is a street urchin who longs for wealth and luxury.  Jasmine has it all and finds it profoundly unsatisfying.  So - a match made in heaven, right?  The PALACE GUARD is responsible for keeping the PALACE and its occupants safe from street urchins and other miscreants.   A LIFE GUARD is a certified swimmer and CPR expert whose job is to keep us from drowning at the beach or pool. 

They get along swimmingly

And, at last, the unifier.  37 A. Increase security twofold ... and what 17-, 25-, 46- and 58-Across literally do : DOUBLE THE GUARDS.   Twice as many guards should keep out twice as many urchins. And this is the apt description for the other theme entries, each having two kinds of GUARDS.

 Hi Gang, JazzBumpa on duty to GUARD your way through today's puzzling adventure.  Robin Stears has given us a good one with four clever theme entries and a grid-spanning unifier.  

Carpe Diem #1281 Suzuran (Lilly of the Valley)

Lily of the valley is a classic summer kigo.

Summer Bells

sweetly poisonous

with dangling nodding white bells

a lovely vision

appealing to the senses

wisely do not be seduced

~~::~~

Tuesday in the Garden of Weirdness

Here, Rommy tells us:

"You all know the drill.  Share a piece of poetry as the spirit moves you, new or an old favorite. "

So here is an old one, one of my demented sonnets from many years ago.  This pastiche was going to be a humorous parody of a well known sonnet, speaking of a relationship gone cold, but instead took a much darker turn, perhaps in keeping with creepy October.

Enjoy.

Or not.


              THY PALLID LOVELINESS 

Shall I compare thee to a winter's night?
Thou art more lovely in thy pallid chill.
Rough winds shake bare limbs, but thine hold tight,
Ever rigid, rigorous, and still.

Sometimes too cold the evening sky-light glows,
Encircled in a wisp of winter cloud
That with the gray dawn sends the falling snows,
Blankets the earth with its white morning shroud;

But thy eternal winter shall unfold,
Never to thaw thy fast frigidity. 
And rigor shall not lose the mortal hold
That binds thee in frozen rigidity.

Now once again I breathe on thy cold flesh,
And with thy pallid loveliness enmesh.

~~::~~

Some appropriate music

Carpe Diem 1280 - Wheel of Creation

"Haiku is not only the poetry of nature, but it is also a way to find that peace. While strolling through nature we become one with nature, become part of nature (as it was once meant to be) and than we experience the beauty of our Earth. We have to cherish her beauty, Earth is the only source to find peace of mind and heart. Isn't that what we all see as our goal?"

-- Kristjaan  [<-- link]


Perhaps this cartoon is relevant.

you and i

in that tantric moment

we are one

~:~

spiritualism

we are all seekers

in philosophy

~:~

even here on earth

we are made of stardust

one with everything

~:~

even moose and goose

in the darkling forest mist

we breath the same air

~~::~~

Carpe Diem 1279 - Yekaterinberg Aleph

This time we are inspired by an incident in Paolo Coelho's novel, Aleph.

In the Aleph, all things are one, and all of the past, present and future are contained.

in our past lives

were we friends or lovers

now we meet again

~:~

i've always loved you

since the moment i was born

and perhaps before

~:~

our lives intertwined

spanning across space and time

choice or destiny

~:~

now we are old

when we say our last good-bye

know we'll meet again

~~::~~

This reminds me of a sonnet I wrote long ago.


                          THE SUBSTITUTE

There are those whose lives are meant to be entwined,
Lovers thrust together by the force of destiny,
When choice and fate converge, that they may be
Connected at the soul, the heart, the mind.

Within their closed circumference one can find
Two curves in perfect fit -- his yang, her yin,
That in each cycle once again begin
To cluster into love's sweet spiral bind.

But consider -- if in the vast span of infinity
One of them becomes displaced in small degree;
Is born a decade late, perhaps is sent
To the farthest corner of the continent --

The distant echo of an unfelt touch, an unseen face.
Who will be the one who comes to take his place?

~~::~~

Fussy Garden Form

Today we are exposed to a form that is new to me - the shadorma - a 6 line, syllable-counted haiku derivative.  I love haiku/senryu, as you can see by scrolling through this blog, so I like this ideas.  The first one is just playing with the name; the second is how my day is going; the third is today's weather, and the last is in the haiku spirit, reflecting my affection for the amphibians I find in my yard.

Correction, a day later - this form is not a haiku derivative.  It comes to us from Spain.

shadorma

it’s not a shadow

nor gray shade

nor color

standing out in black and white

waiting to be read

~:~

lonely day

i sit by myself

just writing

scribing thoughts

my lovely wife lies in bed

sick and all alone

~:~

falling rain

in early autumn

thick gray clouds

the whole day

night falls and darkness deepens

winter is coming

~:~

slow hopping

under the bushes

mottled tones

blending in

hiding from the hawk’s sharp eyes 

a brown speckled toad

~~::~~

Carpe Diem - Time Glass

Kristjaan offers us two inspirations today, a picture and a verse,  along with a time limit to respond.  In the press of other things, I don't participate every time, but today I have a few moments.  So I'll give a thought to each.  Most of my writing has taken a somewhat dark, sad or lonely turn lately.  Who knows why?

the picture

lonely flower

~~~

walking lonely now

after last night’s adventure

losing her flower

~:~

the verse

a little verse

lighted a fire in my heart 

addicted to love

© Chèvrefeuille 

~~~

that fire in my heart

bursting out in flaming words
my love is scorching

~~::~~

Cruel Imagination in the Garden

“Bodies, can’t you see what everybody wants from you?”

CRUEL - a Quadrille

I didn’t hit her often

Only when she deserved it

How could one so beautiful be so cruel

Not so beautiful with bruises though

And welts

Oh the anger

When she ran away

How that made it worse

Why do I miss her so

~~::~~