Thursday, December 28, 2017

Postcards, Pavane, and the Young Unknown

I marvel at everything as if it were new.
~Anna Akhmatova


Happy New Year!


I have an enormous pack of literary and nature postcards that I am planning on sending out in 2018 with bits of poems, quotes, what I did that day, I don't know. If you'd like to receive one (or more?) of said postcards, email me (if I don't have your mailing address) or leave a comment (if I do).

Some poems for the new year...I am certainly praying for the world to be built anew:

from PAVANE FOR THE NEW YEAR (from Dec 1948)
by Elder Olson

And now the stones arise again
Till all the world is built anew
And now in one accord like rhyme,
And we who wound the midnight clock
Hear the clock of morning chime.

read the rest here

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

from A NEW YEAR'S EVE IN WAR TIME
By Thomas Hardy

The twelfth hour nears
Hand-hid, as in shame;
I undo the lock,
And listen, and wait
For the Young Unknown.

read the rest here

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

Talking about pavanes (which are "a stately court dance" or the music for such a dance) always makes me think of Gabriel Fauré's. This performance by a Polish youth orchestra is lovely:



My Juicy Little Universe has the Poetry Friday round-up. Thanks, Heidi!

15 comments:

BJ Lee said...

Love the pavane, Tabatha and love the word pavane in general. Also, have long loved Faure's Pavane. Thanks for reminding me of it here.

BJ Lee said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Diane Mayr said...

Thanks for sharing these, Tabatha. Up until a few years ago, I never even knew Thomas Hardy wrote poetry. The poems I've come across I like very much. I would love to receive a postcard! Happy New Year!

Jane @ www.raincitylibrarian.ca said...

What a lovely idea! Should you ever want to send a postcard up to Canada, my mailbox would always be honoured. :)

Linda Mitchell said...

whoah....that New Year in War Time hit me in the gut....students in my school are studying WWI right now. I shared Shooting at the Stars by John Hendrix with them. I am going to add this poem to that study. Thank you.....and Happy New Year to you!

mbhmaine said...

New Year in War Time packs quite a punch. It's hard to maintain optimism in the face of our history--and those spectral pines have seen it all. I'd love to receive a postcard and will e-mail you with my address.

Christie Wyman said...

Oh my. New Year in War Time. And I've only just finished wiping away my (nearly frozen) tears at finishing a novel of letters exchanged during the Great War. You might "enjoy" the brilliant Last Christmas in Paris: A Novel of World War I, co-written by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb. Wishing you a poetic New Year, Tabatha. P.S. I'd love a postcard and will email you!

Kay said...

Yes, I second the idea of the world may new again. I do have hope that we will come through this last year and be able to build anew--and even better from learning from our past. Thank you for sharing the orchestra. It is lovely. I would love a postcard. My email is kaymcgriff (at) gmail (dot) com.

Brenda at FriendlyFairyTales said...

The New makes moan
as tiredly the pines intone.

I found a poem to share my resonance with your feelings about the year.

I would love a postcard, especially as I was too intent on my new ms to sign up for the swap. My email is friendlyfairytales (at) gmail (dot) com.

I wish you much joy in 2018.

Violet N. said...

Thanks for these thoughtful poems about the passage of time, and the Pavane. (Seeing these dew-fresh musicians perform this heartbreakingly beautiful piece is an interesting juxtaposition.) I would love one of your postcards, Tabatha. I think you have my address (from the swap)?

Linda B said...

Thanks, Tabatha, you enrich me every post. The poems are uplifting as we all hope for a good 2018, and the pavane is lovely as you say. I would love a postcard! Thanks for sharing!

Margaret Simon said...

Thanks for keeping me in tune to such amazing music and poetry. Happy New Year! I'd love a postcard. I'll send an email with my address.

Michelle Kogan said...

These lines stood out to me from "Pavane for the New Year"
"And souls and bodies tread in time
Till all the trembling towers fall down."
I think there are a lot of souls still out there with us–maybe they're going to help knock some of these towers down.

Heavy melancholic poems, for our burdened times.

Thanks for the soulful music, and I would love a postcard if one is still unclaimed. Happy New Year Tabatha, thanks for all your posts and poems this year!

Heidi Mordhorst said...

Here's to a happy New Year, my friend, with a stately, measured pace and a serious tone, yet with all "in one accord like rhyme," speaking not the same words, laying the same stones, but ones that chime and build in concert.

And of course I would appreciate a postcard:
6302 Marywood Road
Bethesda 20817

Mary Lee said...

You're inspiring me to DO something with my huge stack of postcards (mine are random). Yes, let's remake the world anew (let's not wait for someone else to do it)!