summer haiku d’été – blessèd field rat = rat des champs bení

summer haiku d'été – blessèd field rat = rat des champs bení





blessèd field rat 
garlanded in field flowers
you breathe your last

rat bení des champs 
couronné de fleurs des champs
tu rends ton âme

Richard Vallance

© by/ par Richard Vallance 2020

photo © by/ par Kéo Douang 2020

*********************

suite à son bel haïku

Petit rat des champs
Couronné de fleurs de printemps
Monte au ciel en paix

according to his lovely haiku

the wee field rat
crowned in field flowers
ascends to heaven in peace

© by/ par Kéo Douang 2020




 

Advertisement

senryu – do you know? = le sais-tu? = si angeli

senryu – do you know? = le sais-tu?   = si angeli 





consolation in the coronavirus pandemic

do you know? you see
angels live on earth with us 
where they adore us all

la consolation durant la pandémie du coronavirus

le sais-tu? vois-tu ?
des anges vivent parmi nous et
ils nous adorent tous

consolazione durante la pandemia del coronavirus

sì angeli
vivono con noi e
ci adorano

Richard Vallance

© by/ par Richard Vallance 2020
photo public domain/ domaine public Pixabay

Sonnet I am the Resurrection and the Life Vulgate Version

Sonnet I am the Resurrection and the Life Vulgate Version



Am I the Life?

As Jesus moved her to these words, I say,
as Martha said, “I know he’ll rise again
in the last hour of the very last day.”
And Jesus asked, “Am I the light, if slain? 
Do you believe in me?.. resurrected
as am I? Nor have I died! Believe and live...
Do you believe?” ... “Lord, I do, elected
as you are, Messiah to all who give
themselves to you alone, the Son of God,
come to this world!” And saying this, she left
an sought her sister Mary, who was so awed
she turned to her and said, “Be not bereft
as God is ours and we are his alone...
I know we’ll live beside him by his throne.”

Richard Vallance

This sonnet is based on John 11:24-27, here in English

24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;
26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

ad here in the Vulgate Latin: 

24 Dicit ei Martha: Scio quia resurget in resurrectione in novissimo die.
25 Dixit ei Jesus: Ego sum resurrectio et vita: qui credit in me, etiam si mortuus fuerit, vivet:
26 et omnis qui vivit et credit in me, non morietur in æternum. Credis hoc?
27 Ait illi: Utique Domine, ego credidi quia tu es Christus, Filius Dei vivi, qui in hunc mundum venisti.

summer haiku d’été – the cool breeze = la brise fraîche

summer haiku d’été – the cool breeze = la brise fraîche

the cool breeze
wafts to heaven
the pine trees’ sighs



la brise fraîche
envoie au ciel
les soupirs des pins

Richard Vallance

Easter haiku de paques – a young lad = le jeune garçon

Easter haiku de paques – a young lad = le jeune garçon 

a young lad,
lilies in his hand –
seraphim of peace



le jeune garçon,
des lis dans ses mains – 
l’ange de la paix

Richard Vallance

photo by/ par Wilhelm von Gloeden (1856-1931)

summer haiku d’été – lotus Buddha = Bouddha lotus

summer haiku d’été – lotus Buddha = Bouddha lotus

lotus Buddha,
cat sound asleep in his lap –
eternal bliss



Bouddha lotus,
chat endormi sur ses genoux –
extase éternelle

Richard Vallance

eternal spring haiku du printemps éternel – the queen of heaven = la reine du ciel

eternal spring haiku du printemps éternel – the queen of heaven = la reine du ciel

eternal spring!
she is the queen of heaven,
all kitties’ heaven



printemps éternel !
elle est la reine du ciel,
paradis des chats

Richard Vallance

Since cats, like all animals, do not sin, they all end up in their own little heavens! For those who do not know, for us humans, the Queen of Heaven is the Virgin Mary. For cats, the queen of heaven is Argentée.

Puisque les chats, comme tous les animaux, n’ont pas de péchés, ils parviennent tous à leurs petits paradis ! Pour tous ceux qui ne le savent pas, la Reine du Paradis pour nous, les humains, c’est la Vierge Marie. Pour les chats, la reine du paradis, c’est Argentée.

eternal summer haiku de l’été éternel – sweet cat passed away = chère chatte trépassée

eternal summer haiku de l’été éternel – sweet cat passed away = chère chatte trépassée

sweet cat passed away,
you dash through heaven’s forests –
my wee free spirit



chère chatte trépassée
dans les forêts du ciel –
pet’t esprit libre

Richard Vallance

in memory of my beloved Maine Coon chat, Argentée
à la mémoire de ma Maine Coon chérie, Argentée 

Full Measure, a Sonnet

Full Measure, a Sonnet



for a dear friend

The measure of our love is fully gained
again, and once again we have ensured
our love can never never be restrained, 
though decades pass. And so it has endured.

If you and I had never fallen out
we never would have rediscovered bliss;
now since it’s certain we are both devout
our God ordains our love is not remiss.

Since God ordains our love from Heaven’s gate,
we may rest assured He loves us dearly,
and know no time for love can come too late
since in sharing grace we love sincerely.

And though we die, we never die in death
but share the breath of Heaven’s hallowed breath.


© by Richard Vallance Janke

Sept. 14 2018; revised Feb. 22 2019 

Haiku in Minoan Linear A: wine from an embossed cup, the healing bread of heaven

Haiku in Minoan Linear A: wine from an embossed cup, the healing bread of heaven:

 

Mandala and Mycenaean haiku: the sea, the circle of heaven, the sun

Mandala and Mycenaean haiku: the sea, the circle of heaven, the sun:

I found this astonishingly beautiful mandala on the Twitter account of my friend, Marie Marshall, who is an accomplished poet. I decided to write my own haiku in Mycenaean Greek, archaic Greek, English and French to complement it. For those of you who cannot read Greek, this is how the Greek sounds, thalassa/kuklos ouranoyo/heilios. Beautiful eh? I am sure Marie will love it! … and so will you! I Know I do.

 

Linear A fragment from Phaistos with a fish remarkably resembling the ancient Christian-like iconography of the fish

Linear A fragment from Phaistos with a fish remarkably resembling the ancient Christian-like iconography of the fish:

This Linear A fragment from Phaistos, which was found in the same cache as PH 7, is remarkable insofar as we find on it the sole occurrence of the ideogram for “fish” on any Linear A tablet anywhere, regardless of provenance.

This symbol is remarkable for two reasons. First, it is clearly a reflection of the inscription on Phaistos fragment PH 7, which reads as follows, “(illumined by) the firebrand of the goddess of healing, the bread of healing with water from a cup”. If this is not reminiscent of the Christian communion, I do not know what is. But we can go even further. The resemblance between the fish ideogram on this Linear A fragment from Phaistos to the fragment bearing an anchor, fish and Greek chi ro symbols from the Catacombs of Saint Sebastian

is so striking that one is left wondering how this can possibly be. However, there may be less of a mystery here than we might otherwise imagine. It is a well known historical phenomenon in ancient religions that a later religion frequently borrows its iconography from a former.

Additional critical  highly relevant commentary by Daniel Rocha:

It is true that later religions borrow from older religions, but it seems that these symbols kind of run in parallel to Judaism, as far as I know. In any case, the symbols you are mentioning are linked to the worship of Atargatis. This deity used to be the wife of God in the very primitive versions of Judaism. If what you are pointing is true, it seems that the worship of Mary is justified, since she would be the wife of God. But, as far as I know, this cult among Jews did not exist in the 1st century CE.

But look here: “It has also been proposed that the element -gatis may relate to the Greek gados “fish”.[14] (For example, the Greek name for “sea monster” or “whale” is the cognate term ketos. So Atar-Gatis may simply mean “the fish-goddess Atar”.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthys

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atargatis



But it could be like gados mana, fish food or something along these lines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manna#Origin

Plus an additional comment by Richard Vallance Janke:

The Linear A word keta/kete, which very much appears to be the same word, first in the accusative of aspect (keta) and secondly in the instrumental sing. (kete, meaning “with fish”), of which the masculilne singular in Linear A would have been keto, and which is the equivalent of ancient Greek gados. If this is the case, then the fish ideogram on this fragment from Phaistos echoes even more closely the text of Phaistos PH 7, which as we have already seen is a religious ceremony involving a libation of water along with the bread of healing. If all of this rings true, then the relationship between these two fragments is so striking it simply cannot be ignored. Moreover, the Hebrew, manna (grains, bread), interpreted in Christianity as the bread of Heaven, also appears in Linear A as mana, another astonishing co-incidence.

Richard

If quantum… a sonnet on quantum mechanics & computing and the mind

If quantum... a sonnet on quantum mechanics & computing and the mind



If quantum

“God does not play dice with the universe.” 
- Albert Einstein, The Born-Einstein Letters, 1916-55 
... or does He?


If quantum is the boson of the mind,
if D-Wave is the wave the future rides,
if we are ready not to be purblind,
if we can take in bounds prodigious strides,
if God is in our molecules (or not),
if we are God Himself... or He is we,
with what is heaven’s promise fraught?
... or what’s unseen beyond we’ve yet to see?
If we’ve overshot the rim of space and time,
where were we likely sooner to arrive?
... and is the universe still as sublime
as ever? ... or are we now in overdrive?
     If you are reading this and feel confused,
     Well, join the club. I also am bemused.


Richard Vallance,


January 18, 2017

Sonnet of mine based on the 2 previous black haiku… Who the hell?

Who the hell?



Matthew 16:23
Get behind me, Satan! 


As madness burrows through the psyche’s realm,
it means to chew her up and spit her out.
I ask you, who the hell was at the helm?
And who was God to prove, “What’s that all about?” 

It rankles me too few will dare to ask
why some of us are sane and others not,
why some are not, while some are called to task,
while others see their faith is come to naught.

If faith in God were not enough, then what  
in hell would satisfy our lust for love,
and what in Heaven’s name has madness wrought
to place us altogether on the spot?

Since your concern was just an empty show, 
Don’t ask me why. You know I’ll never know.

Richard Vallance,


January 10, 2017

A Lovely Ode to the Archangel Michael in Mycenaean Linear B: Click to ENLARGE

A Lovely Ode to the Archangel Michael in Mycenaean Linear B: Click to ENLARGE



NOTE that the English & French translations of my Ode to the Archangel Michael appear in the next post. Have you ever wondered what Mycenaean Linear B poetry would have sounded like? I know I have, many times over. I invite you to simply read aloud the Latinized version of the Ode in Mycenaean Linear B, even if you do not understand it. The point is to enjoy the music of the poetry, not to worry about your pronunciation or your accent. Nobody really knows how any ancient Greek dialect sounded anyway.

Here a few hints on how to bring out the music in the Mycenaean Greek.

1. Whenever you see the ending, oyo (genitive singular), pronounce it like “oiyo”, but in a single breath. It will sing that way.
2. If you put a little stress on the second-last syllable (penultimate) of words such as “peDIra ”“euZOno” “doSOmo” & “paraDEso”, this will also assist the melody of the poem.
3. Be sure to pronounce all “u”s & “eu”s (euzono) as you would “u” in French, if you can.
4. The disposition of the phrase “para paradeso para meso”  is very peculiar for Greek poetry... “meso ” should be on the same line as the previous words. But I did this deliberately, again for melodic reason. If you read this phrase like this, “PAra paraDEso PAra MEso”, it should sound very nice.
5. The word “mana” (“manna” in English) is obviously not Mycenaean, and not even Greek. It is Hebrew. But I could take liberties introducing this word into a Christian poem. So I did.
6. Recite “pamako atanatoyo” (medicine of the immortal...) like this “PAmako aTAnaTOyo”...

So long as you are consistent and satisfied with how it sounds to you, that is all you need. Yes, and do read it aloud. Otherwise, you will not benefit from hearing the music and the harmony of the Mycenaean Greek, which is after all the earliest of the ancient East Greek dialects, the great-great-grandfather of dialects such as the Ionic & Attic. Besides, you can always allow yourself the pleasure of admiring the pretty Linear B script, however weird it may look to you at first. Just give it a chance.

Being a poet of sorts myself, I decided to write this lyric ode, somewhat along the lines of Sappho (although I cannot even remotely claim a foothold on her astonishing lyrical powers!) It is by no means inconceivable that poetry may very well have been composed in the Mycenaean era, ca. 1450 – 1200 BCE. Simply because we do not have any evidence at all of such activity does not mean that the Minoan/Mycenaean scribes never wrote any poetry at all. The problem lies not with the non-survival of any Mycenaean poetry, but with the impossibility of conserving anything written on papyrus in a humid environment, such as that of Minoan Crete and of Mycenae.

It is indeed fortunate, fortuitous and a great asset to us today that so many Egyptian papyri have been preserved intact since a distant period equal to that of the Mycenaean civilization at its apogee. Call it what you like, the extremely arid sand of Egypt was far far more favourable to the survival of ancient papyrus than the moist climate of Mycenaean Crete and the Mycenaean mainland. That is the real reason why we have no extant literature from their great civilization. But given the astonishing levels their civilization reached in so many areas, in art, architecture, fresco painting, the textile industry, crafts of all kinds, international commerce and even science, it strikes me as passingly strange that no literature of any kind survives, apart from the thousands of Linear B inventory, accounting and ritual tablets, which can hardly be called literature in any sense of the word.

There are those who contend that in fact the Catalogue of Ships in Book II of the Iliad was derived from an earlier Mycenaean epic poem, no doubt in a much simpler and more earthy guise, stripped of much of the telling Homeric metaphorical language which is his hallmark even in the Catalogue of Ships. You can count me among these. For this reason, it strikes me as a distinct possibility that, if the Mycenaeans were able to tackle even a mini-epic poem, even if it were a much shorter, stripped down version of its descendant (if ever there was) of the Catalogue of Ships in the Iliad, they surely would have been up to the task of composing considerably shorter poems along the lines of this one you see posted here. Of course, they would never have written about angels and archangels. But that is beside the point. Simply by successfully composing this lyric poem, I believe I have demonstrated that such poetry was, at least conceivably, within the grasp of soi-disant Mycenaean bards. We shall never know, but it is well worth the speculation.

A comment on the phrase epi pedira euzona. As a preposition, epi should take the dative. But here I have used the accusative plural. My reason is this: in archaic Greek, prepositions were less common than adverbs, and in many cases, what we would recognize as a preposition in classical, say, Attic Greek, could very well have been an adverb in Mycenaean Greek. This is how it should be read in this context... pedira euzona is thus to be seen as accusative of aspect or aspectual accusative, reading literally something like this:

with his feet on them...    

I welcome comments on any aspect, as suggested above or otherwise, of my stab at composing a lyric poem in Mycenaean Linear B, Christian though it be.

English and French versions to follow in the next post.


Richard