Upon the Wings of Song

Auf Flügeln des Gesanges,

Herzliebchen, trag ich dich fort,
Fort nach den Fluren des Ganges,
Dort weiß ich den schönsten Ort;

Dort liegt ein rotblühender Garten
Im stillen Mondenschein,
Die Lotosblumen erwarten
Ihr trautes Schwesterlein.

Die Veilchen kichern und kosen,
Und schaun nach den Sternen empor,
Heimlich erzählen die Rosen
Sich duftende Märchen ins Ohr.

Es hüpfen herbei und lauschen
Die frommen, klugen Gazelln,
Und in der Ferne rauschen
Des [heiligen]2 Stromes Well'n.

Dort wollen wir niedersinken
Unter dem Palmenbaum,
Und Liebe und Ruhe trinken,
Und träumen seligen Traum.

On wings of song,
my love, I'll carry you away
to the fields of the Ganges
Where I know the most beautiful place.

There lies a red-flowering garden,
in the serene moonlight,
the lotus-flowers await
Their beloved sister.

The violets giggle and cherish,
and look up at the stars,
The roses tell each other secretly
Their fragant fairy-tales.

The gentle, bright gazelles,
pass and listen;
and in the distance murmurs
The waves of the holy stream.

There we will lay down,
under the palm-tree,
and drink of love and peacefulnes
And dream our blessed dream.
~Auf Flügeln des Gesanges (On Wings of Song), Heinrich Heine (1797-1856)
I particularly like the line about the violets giggling.  

Easily torn, not easily mended

"Every secret of the body was rendered up-- bone risen through flesh, sacrilegious glimpses of an intestine or an optic nerve.  From this new and intimate perspective, she learned a simple, obvious thing she had always known, and everyone knew: that a person is, among all else, a material thing, easily torn, not easily mended."

~Ian McEwan, Atonement

May Queen

Years ago, when I was a lass of 16 or so, a boy crowned me May Queen.  For whatever reason, that idea sat well with my soul, and ever since, I have celebrated May 1st as the day of my crowning.  Silly, I know, but indulge me, won't you?  Amazingly, there are always people who do cater to my silly fantasies, like sweet Grant and Beth who gave me a crown one year, and my own dear mother who commemorates it each year with flowers.  In 2005, my then boyfriend set about collecting letters from many of my friends and assembled them into a book.  It was incredibly thoughtful and sweet and more than a girl could ask for.  It remains one of my most cherished possessions to this day.  All of the illustrations are credited to Stephen Halker.  The letters are those from whom I shall always love.


Happy May Day to you.  I hope that your life is as richly blessed as my own has been.  I hope that you have friends who care for you and indulge you in the silliest of ideas.  I hope that when you see flowers that they perk up your heart, because if Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?