Thursday, November 1, 2012

Poems at The Blue Lyra




Many thanks to Matthew Silverman, editor at The Blue Lyra for publishing two of my poems.  The fall issue includes work by B.Z. Niditch, Yvette Moreno, and Yehoshua November.  (I don't know the artist who painted Orpheus playing his lyre near the blue-green ocean.  He's all one here before the maenads tore him to pieces.)




Vega, one of the brightest stars in the sky, is in the constellation Lyra.




Orpheus beheaded, by Redon.   

            And as they floated down the gentle current
            The lyre made mournful sounds, and the tongue murmured
            In mournful harmony, and the banks echoed
            The strains of mourning.
                                    — from Metamorphoses, Book 11 (tr. Rolfe Humphries)








7 comments:

  1. Beautiful picture/art of the male nude. It caught my attention for sure.

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  2. achingly lovely poems, mim--and a bonus, a picture of you smiling out at us from under the brim of a wonderful hat! thank you--and congratulations!

    susan

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  3. Thank you, Susan.

    Sunshine here today so I wore that hat.

    Warm regards from Mim

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  4. As Susan says, 'achingly lovely poems, Mim'. In 'Memorial at the Pond', the word 'Dear', - italicized (as too, most poignantly, is its accompanying comma) caught me off-guard and quite pierced my heart. You are a master at timing, Mim - and measure.
    I love the way you've woven the lyre (instrument, artwork, constellation, evocation) through this post. The repetition of 'mourning' in Humphries's (does one add an -s? I never know.) translation of Metamorphosis is essential and haunting.

    You do look wonderful in that hat (and all hats!).

    Love
    Claire xo

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  5. As Orpheus is the second name of our son, this entry surely moved much. Great work. Please have a good weekend ahead.

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  6. I loved both poems. The first one reminded me of the story of Alfonsina Storni. But she was much older when she killed herself. It's a very sad, but beautiful, piece.

    The second one was excellent, especially for this time of the year. It's the realisation that after we're gone there will always be a metaphorical camera carrying on filming.

    Greetings from London.

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  7. Many thanks to friends in London, Athens, New Zealand, Maine, etc. It's good to connect on this chilly morning in New England. Be well.

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