Tag: english

• Notice: & with a favorite poem, or three

  

  (morningtime feat. photo, my cat Peeko 🐱 who helps me at times to complete one thing at a time—here, he’s a teatime supervisor ☕️ (he’s just had his breakfast and his daily brushing), a poetry book 📙, and a music box 🎶; you’ll see.) Last night, around midnight Something feels wrong now without a subject, […]

  08/18/2022 9:01 am

  arabic, beauty, benevolence, english, farsi, food, love, lovingkindness, medieval era, memoir, morningtime, music, my photography, night, peeko, persian, philosophy, poetic, poetry, poetry books, poets, rumi, spirituality, translations, wellness

• From the Prose Poetry of Miss May Ziadeh, Chapter “Intimate Pages”

  I have an idea for the blog to share my own little lines of literary critique of May’s writings (besides my book review of her poetry book, Fleurs de Reve Flowers of a Dream, 1911), the kind of attentiveness she valued in her own reviews and critiques, ’tho would’ve rarely in her time and place […]

  07/25/2022 8:00 pm

  20th century, arab renaissance, catholic, english, english literature, france, french, fun, garden, gratitude, lebanon, letters, may ziadeh, meditate, meditation, moon, morningtime, my photography, nature, philosophy, poetic, poetry, poetry books, poets, prose poetry, romantic era, sky, spirituality, sun, writings by may ziadeh

• Eyes by May Ziadeh

  

  (complete July 5, 2022) I came across this poem in Italian I’d originally found in Spanish as an excerpt. The poem “Eyes” (or “Occhi”) was written by May Ziadeh (in Italian or Spanish) most likely in the 1900s before 1941 (author b. 1886). May also wrote and published in French, Arabic, English, and German, and […]

  07/05/2022 9:15 am

  20th century, anaphora, beauty, dreams, english, italian, literary salon we keep, lovingkindness, may ziadeh, nature, ocean, philosophy, poetry, poets, secrets, sky, spanish, translations, writings by may ziadeh

• Stepping Into a Novel Set in 1000 AD Like I’m In It Already

  

  June 13, 2022 A beautifully unfolding novel I find myself at ease in the place and am amused to find myself sharing so many interests with the characters in this historical novel (set in Scotland about 1000 years earlier than our current time): Queen Hereafter by Susan Fraser King. I share with the characters interests […]

  06/12/2022 6:45 pm

  21st century, angelic, art, australia, beauty, benevolence, books, catholic, classical, classical music, ed sheeran, england, english, english literature, fiction, full moon, garden, inspiration, inspiring, library, love, lovingkindness, medieval era, meditation, missouri, moon, morningtime, music, nature, novels, philosophy, poetic, poetry, poets, reading, scotland, secrets, spirituality, susan fraser king, tea, uplifting, virtue, wellness

• Peeko’s Fiction Pick and Photo Shoot

  

  photos Jun 11, ’22 evening I am reading at a slow, meditative pace the novel, Queen Hereafter by Susan Fraser King set in Scotland in 1000 AD. I hadn’t seen many historical fiction novels set at this time or place. My cat Peeko (shown above) does no tricks; he poses his own way in these. […]

  06/12/2022 9:17 am

  21st century, beauty, books, catholic, classical music, creative process, english, english literature, fun, home, interior design, library, love, lovingkindness, medieval era, meditation, meditative, memoir, memoir stories, mindfulness, moon, morningtime, music, my photography, narrative, nature, night, novels, peeko, philosophy, poetic, scotland, soulmates, spirituality, susan fraser king, taize, uplifting

• With My Hands: Flowers Found, Pressed, and Preserved, and A Little Ink Design from My Pen

  

  Update: See it complete (Aug. 19th ‘22.) That is my reflection appearing in glass and this art is now up to date, just complete Jun, 2022, photo today. Little changes made by clarifying the text in black ink, clear glue, background white, card pasted onto it with the little gathered pressed flowers, this way to […]

  06/11/2022 12:00 pm

  20th century, 21st century, angelic, art, artists, beauty, benevolence, boston, catholic, english, flowers, french, garden, gratitude, handmade, handwritten, home, interior design, lebanon, library, love, lovingkindness, may ziadeh, meditative, memoir, memoir stories, morning, morningtime, my mystical experiences, my photography, nature, nazareth, philosophy, poetic, poetry books, poets, soulmates, sun, translations, uplifting, virtue

• Capricious by May Ziadeh

  A poem written by May Ziadeh under her pen-name I. Copia from her first book of poetry, Flowers of a Dream, Fleurs de Reve (1911), translated by me from the French into English. When I’d come upon this book of poetry of hers online by surprise last May, I’d decided to read just one poem before bed and […]

  06/09/2022 8:47 am

  catholic, egypt, english, french, lebanon, may ziadeh, meditate, nature, poetry, poetry by may ziadeh, poets, sadness, writings by may ziadeh

• “Love Exists” by Amy Lee (Guy Sigsworth Remix) Began with Italian Lyrics

  Since I’d first heard Amy Lee (well-known as the lead singer of Evanescence), I always hoped she would someday do a solo album because I’d loved her voice and enjoyed it much more than the band’s music personally at the time, and then many years later I‘d found she had done a solo album with […]

  06/03/2022 8:42 am

  21st century, amy lee, art, artists, beauty, dreams, english, garden, italian, longing, love, lovingkindness, meditate, meditation, music, philosophy, poetic, pop, pop music, soulmates, spirituality, translations, unity, virtue

• Books and Art: Sifting Through for the Best of Rumi, Kahlil Gibran Scare, and My Creative Plan for the Day

  

  I do this too…(I liked finding this illustrated at The Boston Fine Arts Museum, my own photo of this artwork I saw there)…with my silver aluminum water canteen and poetry book, and a rock to sit on. Friday, May 27th, 2022 Sifting Through for the Best of Rumi I think I’d really confused and worked […]

  05/28/2022 7:24 am

  17th century, 19th century, 20th century, 21st century, abstract expressionism, arab renaissance, art, art museum, artists, azima melita kolin, beach, books, boston, bruce degen, childrens books, classics, creative process, egypt, english, english literature, french, garden, home, Kahlil gibran, lebanon, library, longing, love, may ziadeh, medieval era, memoir, memoir stories, morningtime, music, my photography, narrative, nature, new york city, novels, ocean, philosophy, poems of may ziadeh, poetic, poetry, poetry books, poets, psychology, reading, rumi, sketch, soulmates, spirituality, tea, wellness, yoga

• It’s Monday and the Right Rumi Has Arrived

  

  May 23rd and continues a few days It’s Monday and the right Rumi has arrived. I’d sorted through editions, I found this pocket-like book containing that same 800 yrs ago poetry, but this time presented by various translators, the main editor’s aim to preserve Rumi’s original rhythm and conciseness. I could see that coming true […]

  05/23/2022 10:55 am

  arabic, beauty, book reflection, books, classics, england, english, english literature, fairies, farsi, gratitude, literary salon we keep, longing, love, love poetry, medieval era, memoir, memoir stories, morningtime, my photography, peeko, poetic, poetry, poetry books, poets, reading, rumi, spirituality, translations, turkey, william shakespeare

• Shakespeare Gets a Bath

  

  (kind of) I have enjoyed the spa-like activity of lounging my legs and feet in the bathtub with warm water and soaps, not as a relaxation goal but it makes the skin softer and fragrant. In the meantime, I thought I’d bring Shakespeare’s play I got from the library, called Cymbeline, in to read with […]

  05/23/2022 10:29 am

  art, beauty, boston, classics, creative, english, english literature, gratitude, home, inspiring, interior design, library, medieval era, meditation, meditative, memoir, memoir stories, morningtime, my photography, narrative, plays, poetic, reading, wellness, william shakespeare

• A Song for the Day and Night: Perfect by Ed Sheeran feat. Andrea Bocelli

  

  the moon at dawn Beginning the day with song, attuned to love, listening, maybe a little singing… 💕💖🌴🎼✨💃💗🎼🌴💖💕 I love all the lyrics as well, especially how the song gradually winds into full Italian singing, as if on a little gondola gliding over the water with the mandolin sounds and all the music… * Yesterday’s […]

  05/19/2022 12:04 pm

  andrea bocelli, angels, australia, beauty, catholic, classical, classical music, dance, england, english, gratitude, italian, italy, love, lovingkindness, meditation, memoir stories, moon, morningtime, music, my photography, nature, poetic, poetry, poets, pop, pop music, sky, spirituality, wellness

• A Note Found and a Bookmark and A Great First Art Show

  

  I found this bookmark in a library book I’d taken out and read yesterday, a slim blue copy of literary insight with a little biography of poet Edna St. Vincent Millay. From that book, these lines of a poem by Edna I’d not heard of spoke to me most poignantly: The stone the angel rolled […]

  05/17/2022 7:57 pm

  19th century, 20th century, 21st century, angels, art, art shows, artists, books, boston, catholic, charlotte bronte, classics, creative process, creative writing prompt, edna st. vincent millay, english, english literature, fairies, fiction, fruit, gratitude, home, inspiring, interior design, library, literary salon we keep, may ziadeh, memoir, memoir stories, my photography, narrative, nonfiction books, novels, peeko, poetic, poetry, poets, psychology, reading, spirituality, t.s. eliot, writing prompt

• The raindrop whispered…by Tagore

  (237) The raindrop whispered to the jasmine, “Keep me in your heart for ever.”             The jasmine sighed, “Alas,” and dropped to the ground. —Rabindranath Tagore (1916)

  05/14/2022 10:38 pm

  20th century, art, dreams, england, english, garden, gratitude, india, nature, philosophy, poetic, poetry, poets, romantic era, spirituality, tagore

• A Flowing Poem, Picked from an Anthology: “Upon Julia’s Clothes” by Robert Herrick

  A poem to enjoy from the second anthology I’d been reading through, The Norton Book of Light Verse edited by Russell Baker. UPON JULIA’S CLOTHES Whereas in silks my Julia goes, Then, then, me thinks, how sweetly flows The liquefaction of her clothes! Next, when I cast mine eyes and see The brave vibration each […]

  05/14/2022 6:47 am

  17th century, anthologies, england, english, english literature, gratitude, library, meditate, meditative, morningtime, philosophy, poetry, poets, reading, Robert herrick

• From Love Sonnets of Proteus, poem by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt

  I am reading through poetry in a pair of anthologies I’d found at the library…here’s one, the first in the book. * From Love Sonnets of Proteus by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt I see you, Juliet, still, with your straw hat Loaded with vines, and with your dear pale face, On which those thirty years so […]

  05/13/2022 2:06 pm

  20th century, anthologies, creativity, english, english literature, garden, inspiring, library, mythology, nature, nonfiction books, philosophy, poetry, poetry books, poets, reading, sonnets, spirituality, traditional form, traditional forms

• A New Pansy Flower, Creative Days, and a Pair of Literary Salon Tuesdays

  

  This purple and yellow pansy flower on my balcony was born just today, and I kissed it gently this morning when I woke and saw it there…😘 and again this afternoon. Welcome to the world. 😊💕🍃 And this ‘Birds’ print chair made me smile when I saw it at the furniture store last week! I […]

  04/27/2022 7:15 pm

  20th century, 21st century, ameen rihani, art, books, boston, catholic, creative, creative process, edna st. vincent millay, egypt, english, english literature, garden, gratitude, Kahlil gibran, kate chopin, literary salon we keep, maine, may ziadeh, memoir, memoir stories, morningtime, my photography, narrative, nature, nonfiction books, novels, peeko, poetic, poets, reading, spirituality, writing process

• My Poem in Lothlorien Journal

  A poem I wrote has been published in Lothlorien Journal, this one I wrote as a creative response to a poem by author Jason Preu. Read my poem in Lothlorien.

  04/25/2022 9:18 am

  20th century, 21st century, boston, catholic, english, english literature, free verse, gratitude, j.r.r. tolkien, literary journals, my poetry, nature, philosophy, poetic, poetry, poets, spirituality

• Many a Thing…(A Trip to the Antiques Shop)

  

  Tues. Apr. 12, 2022 photo from Tues., Apr. 5th—“Pants by Peeko 🐱,” a perfectly good hemming this time, Peeko helping on his own when I got the pants ready (just ‘loungewear’, shown in previous post.) He was proud of both the task and his own joke: sitting like this holding the pants in place and […]

  04/15/2022 8:56 am

  19th century, 20th century, ameen rihani, antique shop, antiques shop, art, art history, beach, book reflection, book review, books, boston, childhood, dance, dreams, egypt, england, english, english literature, free writing, fruit, fruits, garden, gratitude, herbs, home, interior design, j.r.r. tolkien, Kahlil gibran, kansas, lebanon, literary salon we keep, literary theory, longfellow, may ziadeh, meditate, memoir, memoir stories, missouri, morningtime, my mystical experiences, my photography, narrative, nature, new york city, novels, peeko, poetic, poetry, poetry books, poets, prose poetry, psychology, reading, tea, wellness, writing process, writing theory

• “A Villanelle for the Times”

  

  You might remember when I was writing a villanelle poem, wanting to try another traditional form, as I’d written my first ghazal at the time and a sonnet, but I didn’t like the draft or that particular form for the idea. I transformed that villanelle into a ghazal, and I was happy with that latest […]

  04/05/2022 3:04 pm

  21st century, boston, english, english literature, fairies, fairytale, french, fruit, garden, ghazal, gratitude, inspiring, kansas, literary salon we keep, magic realism, my photography, my poetry, mythology, narrative, narrative poem, nature, philosophy, poetic, poetic forms, poetry, poets, sky, villanelle, writing process

• I Turned My Villanelle into a Ghazal Today

  

  wrote by hand first, revised on laptop, typed paper is the original villanelle in transformation… I have turned my villanelle poem that was really giving me trouble into a ghazal today! I resisted doing that at first feeling I was maybe betraying the villanelle form and maybe also trying the complex, known-to-be-challenging ghazal form again […]

  03/18/2022 8:23 pm

  21st century, english, english literature, form poetry, ghazal, handwritten, inspiring, memoir, memoir stories, my photography, poetry, poets, traditional forms, villanelle, writing process, writing theory

• My Vacation with a Book, a Cup, and Plum Village

  

  I am on vacation at home. After cleaning and vacuuming and hanging up the new laundry out of the dryer, I continued mindfulness practices on the Plum Village app this afternoon, a community I’d found years ago whose meditations and teachings I’ve found so clear and beautifully expressed and a very enjoyable app. Some of […]

  01/21/2022 6:01 pm

  20th century, 21st century, angels, books, boston, childhood, edna st. vincent millay, english, english literature, fairies, fruit, gratitude, herbs, home, library, medieval era, meditation, memoir, memoir stories, my photography, novels, philosophy, poetic, poetry, poets, reading, rumi, self portraits, spirituality, tea, walt whitman

• Considering Love Made Seen

  

  January 6, 2022 photos at sunrise for May Ziadeh My smile is because you delight me and more; I smile to delight you more. May anyone around me enjoy my smile too, feel the warmth you’d set within me, it could spread. I have been talking too much, my sacred treasures sometimes beyond the language […]

  01/06/2022 10:31 am

  20th century, 21st century, books, boston, catholic, dance, english, french, gratitude, home, inspiration, inspiring, lebanon, love, may ziadeh, meditation, memoir, moon, morningtime, my photography, nature, philosophy, poetic, poetry, poetry books, poets, prose poetry, self portraits, sky, spirituality, sun, translations, wellness, writings by may ziadeh, yoga

• Got On A Boat In A Book I Found, Made Me Laugh Aloud

  

  Let’s just do words, no pictures today. 😊 The new book I began is incredibly good, by the author Ameen Rihani I’d discovered listed as one of the very few of May Ziadeh’s literary colleagues (or of people she knew in general) who had helped get her out of the horrific mental asylum in Lebanon […]

  11/01/2021 11:34 am

  20th century, ameen rihani, arabic, book reflection, books, catholic, egypt, english, english literature, fiction, french, italian, Kahlil gibran, lebanon, may ziadeh, memoir, memoir stories, new york city, novels, philosophy, poets, psychology, reading, spirituality, writing process

• I Tapped Closed Flowers of a Dream, My Heart Within It

  

  June 8, 2021 Dear May, This is so beautiful, thank you. It makes me think I might paint some of your skies onto my canvas with gratitude towards you, and extend this happiness. Last night, I finished collecting all of the poems of Flowers of a Dream by May Ziadeh in English and then I […]

  06/08/2021 10:39 am

  20th century, arabic, art, english, french, may ziadeh, memoir stories, moon, morning, my mystical experiences, my photography, peeko, philosophy, poetry books, poets, sky, translations