by phillipw | Apr 15, 2020 | AE, BE, ES, Uncategorized
Ancient Art “the ancients had not that conception of beauty separated from goodness which forms the basis and aim of aesthetics in our time” ~ Leo Tolstoy A moral pillar rises from the base Of ancient poetry and art. The stone Is hard and white. It helps...
by phillipw | Mar 17, 2020 | AE, BE, PO
An Absolute Poem “Its evocation will not be toward decoration or amusement, but rather toward a state of consciousness, an ‘innocence’ (Blake) or absolute beauty.” ~ Hart Crane, “Aims and Purposes” We dream of promenading streets of gold, A gold so perfect...
by phillipw | Dec 30, 2019 | AE, BE, TR
Why Poems are Doomed to Fail Exactly why are poems doomed to fail? What guarantees the stillbirth of their hopes? Because the ones with breasts in them are pale As holograms beside those truthful slopes, The beauty that an ogee would capture, If only it could? Might...
by phillipw | Dec 2, 2019 | AE, BE, ES, UG
Grimm Truth in the British Library Rare Books and Music Reading Room Lots of us are just not beautiful. Yeah? Perhaps not ugly, no, but pretty plain. (Forgive the big-nosed paradox.) Not BLEH, But not so gorgeous that it causes pain. The lip as thin as primness or...
by phillipw | Dec 2, 2019 | AE, ES, PR
A Hoodie in the Rare Books and Music Reading Room? A cruel face. Who’d think a blond moustache Could looks so fierce? A snub or pug nose that Would look cute somewhere else cuts a gash There, sticking out like the snout of a bat Surrealistically hung, suspended...
by phillipw | Nov 15, 2019 | AE, AE, BE
Dark Curly Hair Blue He wears the heavenly blue of Mary’s cloak Across the bicep on his left-hand side. That muscle is not very male. The stroke Of folded blue placed there helps him to hide That fact. Another crucial part is veiled By Mary Queen of...
by phillipw | Oct 6, 2019 | AE, BE, ES, MA
The Right Register: Ecclesiastes and the Sub-continental Indian Christian at Choral Evensong, St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and...
by phillipw | Sep 26, 2019 | AE, BE, CO, ES, PR
The Presentation in the Temple by Giovanni Bellini, Fondazione Querini Stampalia The Presentation in the Temple, Giovanni Bellini, Wikipedia Formality presents itself in lines, And shapes and curves, in balance, dark and light, In glowing surfaces while...
by phillipw | Sep 22, 2019 | AE, BE, PO
…Plural Perfect Planets The ancient poets are like planets far Away in distant heaven, but for some These poets loom so near they almost jar Against our sentiments. These poets come Up over us like moons, they are so near In what they have to say. Our world is...
by phillipw | Sep 16, 2019 | AE, AR, ES, JE, OI, PA
Wonky Shoulder Christ Perhaps the reason why the painting makes Christ’s shoulder look deformed is not because The artist, Rubens, wants to show God aches For human suffering he’s caused with flaws In his creation. Why this wonky joint Was perpetrated on...
by phillipw | Sep 3, 2019 | AE, AN, BE, ES, GE, GR
Up Close and Pulchritude Hercules Musei Capitolini, Wikipedia The way we view ourselves as humans lies In how we see our past. Imagine then An ancient statue of a man. His eyes Are white, white,...
by phillipw | Aug 19, 2019 | AE, AN, BE, DI, ES, GR
Contemplation and Adoration He seems contemplative, his shadowed face So meditative that his beauty turns Away from us. He seems to fill more space Than marble ever could. His presence burns Through thousands of male years. The darkness all Around him is defeated. ...
by phillipw | Aug 14, 2019 | AE, BE, ES, GR
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord Beauty The ancient Greeks loved beauty, all its forms. Men prized the patterns that enquiring minds Discovered, loving it because it warms The brain and body, loving curved behinds Marble statue of the Three Graces Metropolitan Museum of Art,...
by phillipw | Aug 2, 2018 | AE, ES
An Aesthetic Rule for Life A wasp just landed on my hand. It moved About a while and flew away. A breeze So tiny I could barely feel it proved The threat was gone. My feeling of unease Was just as short as those antennae. It Was perfect as a killing thing. That...