Categories
art fiction poetry

Requiem for a Throne

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(i) Tower

 

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(ii) Descent

 

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(iii) Ascent

 

 ＿|￣|○  Requiem for a Throne  ＿|￣|○

When Mercy trumpets her light
to anoint our mortal flesh,
shall we drink the last
red drops from this
holiest of Holy Grails?

When the wisest flake of snow
floats down upon the Lord,
astound me with the hope
we will rule all men as one

May Perpetua guide you, Love,
to sit on this gilded Throne
May she raise her sacred hand
and bless us all the World

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･*:*

 [ – Requiem for a Tower -]
Escala, from the album Escala

Author’s notes: The recommended soundtrack is Escala’s “Requiem for a Tower”, which is a reorchestrated version of “Lux Aeterna” from the film, Requiem for a Dream. This poem, Requiem for a Throne, draws from the Requiem Mass. I took the photos in a glass tower on October 14. Thank you for visiting.

By ΠιCΘLΞ

Life is short, so let’s be decent.

97 replies on “Requiem for a Throne”

Thanks for that description. I’m glad you like it. I love your blog. Any blog that loves “Iceland” is friendly, as far as I’m concerned. There are so few of them out there, that I’ve seen. x

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Thanks very much, Steph. And Happy Halloween. The comments are my favourite feature of a post, too. The questions provided a welcome opportunity to explain what I was doing. It would take all the joy and mystery out of the composition if I wrote a technical report. Besides, everyone likes something different. I trust the viewer to notice or discover things they want, in their own way. Thank you for taking the time to enjoy my interactions. x

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Wow! I was caught by the photos first – I love the point of view and perspective in each of them. I like their abstract lines. The poem is exceptional. It goes well beyond its inspiration. And I’ve always loved Lux Aeturna, so was thrilled to hear it again in a version I’d not heard before. I want more!!

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Safar, I’m thrilled to hear we have similar tastes. First of all, thank you for appreciating the photos. A similar sounding song is “West with the Night” by Bond. It starts at a high point and trails around midpoints on the scale. It ends abruptly at the lowest point. Like going up and down stairs.

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I like the illusion in the steps. Could be a wall with steps leading up. Who doesn’t like Electric Cello an LBD and Legs! When the music stopped I got other offerings in the video window as YouTube is want to do.

You call one of the shots “Ascent” and one of the video choices was a time of ascension, “Best Hippie Songs Of All Time”. Well there weren’t enough songs in it but enough to remind this child of the back end of the 60’s approaching 60, that I aint old, the music of today does suck and the attitudes suck even more.

I wonder how many of the darlings of today think that, “Who’ll Stop The Rain” is about ceasing precipitation.

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Thanks for your comment, Gary. The steps were scary because of the cold greyness. I felt like I was standing in an alien temple. Also as for scantily clad pick musicians, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I mean, people would go to the concerts anyway right? I mostly listen to their music. I don’t look at the pictures and stuff. ♪(´ε｀ )

I am aware of the YouTube next video suggestion plug. I hope it wasn’t too much of an inconvenience. I plan on taking the video down in a little bit just in case it causes too much disruption.

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You’re funny. I’d probably send a DIY kit. See if you can resist the temptation to try one and another one… Oh, and the not Yeats poem is finished. It’s on for Friday. I couldn’t modernise it because the references were too good as is. So, I just played with them. We’ll see. xoxo

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I’ll be waiting for the new verse.
I actually checked out a couple of kids / young teens adaptations of Gilgamesh, basically skimming over them a la Cliffs’ Notes. It must have been a real BEAR to write around or expunge the references to prostitution, ( sacred sex, wink, wink, nudge, nudge ) possible homosexuality – Gilgamesh & Enkidu were REALLY close – possible bestiality, since Enkidu was a man of the wilderness & hung out with animals. I would be ** STUMPED ** as to how to do it & keep it ” interesting “.

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It’s good that young people are reading classical literature. When I was growing up, it was considered very uncool to do that. It’s interesting how a lot of classical style works have entered the mainstream. I hope it continues. x

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Tim would put his partner in it, which is predictable. I think a sci-fi twist would work. Or, maybe we could throw them all together and make the film about these three directors making the film.

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Similar to how many monkeys with typewriters / word processors / computers can you put in a room before they produce a Shakespearean sonnet. It would be interesting.

Too bad Timothy Leary & Freud can’t contribute ! Freud could add phallic imagery in every other paragraph, & Timothy could make it trippy. 🙂

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Very stark. I like that look as it has its own provocative way.

Nah it wasn’t inconvenient it was great. Little golden nuggets to discover as you splash in the river.

Had a jewel of a photo album greet me this morning. I go through the shots and some of the commentary and it is provocative.

It was an album from Woodstock.

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A vinyl LP ? That sounds like a treasure. Lock it somewhere where it can’t be damaged, broken, melted or pilfered.
To quote a famous archaeologist, ” It belongs in a museum ! “.
I had a vinyl of Santana’s ” Abraxas ” album. Considering that it had a rather statuesque, regal – looking nude African lady sitting on a stone throne on the cover, I never thought my parents would let me buy it at 13 or 14. I was surprised ! No idea where it got to. Sigh…..

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Thank you so much, Crystal. I enjoyed the challenge of putting this installation together. I thought about posting the photo on its own, but I believe it needs context to shine out, especially because it presented itself on the same day I wrote the poem. x

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I caught my typo after posting. No editing ? Argh ! Passages from this Yeats selection have been quoted & analyzed more than the Zapruder JFK footage ( Maybe not, but I’m spitballing ). I thought about doing a version of Gilgamesh for kids / teens, but I think it’s been done. It was pretty juicy / racy, so I’d imagine it was missing large chunks.

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Playing to all senses! I lingered for awhile on the amazing photographs the first one so strong and beautiful. Great images, words and music aligned perfectly. What was the source of inspiration for it all especially the music. (If you don’t mind sharing)

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Thank you so much, Jennifer. The first photo makes me melt, it’s so cool how the sun just did that. I am sure you recognise this as the post we spoke about earlier.

Inspiration: Primarily, I wanted to write a poem in Latin and I immediately thought of the Requiem Mass . But I realised that only a few of my readers would appreciate the aesthetic of the language so I decided to write it in English.

Looking at the translation, the idea of “the throne” stood out. The music happened by chance earlier that morning when I was trying to see what other music of Escala’s I could enjoy (aside from Palladio). It was just a jumble of coincidence but when I ended up in that glass pyramid, I thought, “castle of glass and steel.” I tried to capture the photos in such a way as to complement the poetry and then I remembered the music. Later, I polished the poem with the photos in mind. And edited/selected the photos with the music in mind. Basically, everything worked in tandem.

Thank you again for your support.

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Thank you for listening. I chose the music because it’s short and is from the soundtrack for a popular film. It’s quite out there and the subject matter is opposite the tranquil mood of the music.

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Thanks for listening, Daniel. I am fortunate to have found a presentation that was fitting and ran under two minutes. A lot of things happened the same time with this poem. It was a collision of opportunity, which seems fitting when engaging in a power grab. Xmas carols, I start singing around August just to annoy everyone because I cannot deal with them at year end. x

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If I ventured there, I’d need therapy from PTSD. There’s a hamburger restaurant in my city with Xmas decor, some huge Santas and happy Xmas music blaring at full volume all year round. I was already dizzy after an hour in there (press interview, no avoiding it). Now, I do not drive past it. Just knowing it’s there gives me the creeps. x

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There are a few places that have Christmas displays all year ’round. There was a Thomas Kincade gallery ( ” Painter of Light ” look him up ) that had a LOT of Christmas – themed pieces, but at least they kept the music limited to the actual season rather than bombarding the staff & customers all year.

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Thomas Kincade’s art dealt with an almost ” Rockwellian ” view of America, & he did the holidays a lot, just not to saturation point ( The point where mind & senses revolt & either shut down or scream ” ENOUGH ! “. 🙂

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My saturation point varies, depending on the subject matter. I am sure it is the same with most people. I’ll look into Kincaide and pay attention to the points you’ve just highlighted. x

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I believe he wanted the ” best ” of both worlds, 1920’s – 1950’s American values ( Relative ) combined w / late 20th Early 21st century tech, etc. ” Rockwellian ” / Saturday Evening Post America with Dish / Cable TV, internet, cell phones, etc.

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Thank you, Jacinto. I’m so glad you like them. The stairs were surreal, really. I have several photos of them and agonised over which one to select. They all just seemed so mysterious and magical. They were under that glass wall in the second photo. x

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Love this. Love the interlocking wordplay on tower, ascent, Escala.
I’m curious about your allusion to Perpetua. There are always layers in what you write. Will you share your thinking?

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Thank you for asking. There was a lot of thinking. Perpetua was a noblewoman who died in the 3rd century and is canonised as a Christian martyr. I imagined the characters praying to her for guidance to continue on in a royal tradition. I love listening to the Requiem Mass (Verdi) and the phrase “Domine, et lux perpetua” is in the first stanzas of Requiem et Kyrie. It seemed fitting to play on “eternity” by personifying the idea with an actual saint, who was also a noblewoman and therefore patron of the cause of ascension to a throne. x

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