The Lovers’ Chronicle 24 May – la llorona – art by Pontormo & Alexei Savrasov – death of Jane Hyde

Dear Z, Today’s Lovers’ Chronicle from Mac Tag to his Muse.  Rhett

The Lovers’ Chronicle

Dear Muse,

have not seen her, nor heard any weepin’
there are a myriad of songs that would work
“Right, some days we have to search, not today”
i think we should go with perhaps the most
beautifully hauntin’ song ever, by one of our faves;
”I was alright
For awhile
I could smile for awhile
But I saw you last night
You held my hand so tight
As you stopped to say, “Hello”
Oh you wished me well
You couldn’t tell
That I’ve been”
”Oh, Roy Orbison, wow, an amazing voice”
one of the greatest and he co-wrote that song
”Another we could rewrite the lyrics to”
anyone can tell
that we have not been 

© copyright 2023.2024 mac tag/cowboy coleridge all rights reserved

she has not returned, nor have the tears; we have no need of ‘em and i do not write for ‘em, never believed in art that tries to manipulate you into ‘em; write what you feel, show your vulnerability; it moves the reader or not, but that is secondary, gittin’ it out is paramount, weepin’ has been a rare event for me, but go back and read some of the old poems, you will see the tear stains, as for la llorona, i hope she found what she was lookin’ for, i did

© copyright 2022.2024 mac tag/cowboy coleridge all rights reserved

she has not been back
nor has there been any weepin’-
most of the time have managed
to steer clear of stereotypes,
includin’ the one that men
should not shed tears-
the death of a niece almost exactly 
twenty-one years ago brought them
but that was the last occasion 
in the darkest hours since
might have tried but what for,
would not have helped, then,
started comin’ here and spreadin’
my tears throughout the verse
but now with you, we have no
need of tear stained pages

© copyright 2021.2024 mac tag/cowboy coleridge all rights reserved

Pale Love, Pale Rider

the final time
She came to me
i was asleep in bed

i felt her
lift me up,
with one hand
on my groin
and the other
at my throat

i was aroused,
afraid, i tried
to ask who She was
but i could not speak

when She was through
with me, She left me
in a cold sweat
wantin’ more

© copyright 2020 mac tag/cowboy coleridge all rights reserved

the second time
She came to me
i was asleep in bed

i felt her lay
on top of me,
then Her hands
on my back
pushin’ me
into the mattress

i was aroused,
afraid, i tried
to ask who She was
but i could not speak

when She was through
with me, She left me
in a cold sweat
wantin’ more

© copyright 2019 mac tag/cowboy coleridge all rights reserved

the first time
She came to me
i was asleep
in my bed

i felt Her lay
next to me
i felt Her hands
runnin’ up and down
my body

i was instantly
aroused
as never before

when She was through
with me, She left me
in a cold sweat
wantin’ more

***

“Non, je ne regrette rien…”

hear it
git ready
for the kick

© copyright 2018 mac tag/cowboy coleridge all rights reserved

on the border of the Llano,
down by the river,
late at night
you can still hear Her
a moan, a sigh, a cry
some say it is the wind
or coyotes
but i believe
in the weepin’,
in La Llorona

i believe grief
is strong enough
to make the livin’
and the not,
do things
that cannot
be explained

and i know this,
from a lifetime
of intimate dances,
you cannot outrun it

© copyright 2017 mac tag/cowboy Coleridge all rights reserved

In Mexican folklore, La Llorona (American Spanish: [la ʝoˈɾona]; “The Weeping Woman” or “The Wailer”) is a vengeful ghost who roams waterfront areas mourning her children whom she drowned.

The legend has a wide variety of details and versions. In a typical version of the legend, a beautiful woman named María marries a rich ranchero / conquistador to whom she bears two children. One day, María sees her husband with another woman and in a fit of blind rage, she drowns their children in a river, which she immediately regrets. Unable to save them and consumed by guilt, she drowns herself as well but is unable to enter the afterlife, forced to be in purgatory and roam this earth until she finds her children.  In another version of the story, her children are illegitimate, and she drowns them so that their father cannot take them away to be raised by his new wife.  Recurring themes in variations on the La Llorona myth include a white, wet dress, nocturnal wailing, and an association with water.

The mother archetype of La Llorona has been tied to patriarchal expectations of women in Mexican culture by several authors, historians, and social critics. Social critics often consider Mexican (and Mexican-American) culture to force patriarchal standards onto women, such as being defined by their roles as mothers. La Llorona’s falling into the trope of an “evil” or “failed” mother, having either committed infanticide or having failed to save them from drowning, can be considered a reflection of this.

Pontormo

Today is the birthday of Jacopo Carucci (Pontorme, near Empoli, Republic of Florence May 24, 1494 – January 2, 1557 Florence), usually known as Jacopo da Pontormo, Jacopo Pontormo or simply Pontormo; Italian Mannerist painter and portraitist from the Florentine School.  His work represents a profound stylistic shift from the art of the Florentine Renaissance.  He is famous for his use of twining poses, coupled with ambiguous perspective; his figures often seem to float in an uncertain environment.

Gallery

Visitation, 1514-16; Fresco; 392 x 337 cm; SS. Annunziata, Florence

Joseph in Egypt, 1515-18; Oil on wood; 96 x 109 cm; National Gallery, London.

Deposition from the Cross, 1525-1528

 Annunciation, fresco

Christ and Creation of Eve

Study for Deluge

Dead in Last Judgment

Portrait of a Halberdier, 1528-1530; Oil on canvas, 92 x 72 cm; J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

On this day in 1725, Jane Leveson-Gower Hyde passed away. She served as a Lady of the Bedchamber at the court of Queen Anne. She was known as a famous beauty celebrated by her contemporaries.  The author Jonathan Swift referred to her as “my principal goddess.”   Others called her “majestically fair.”  Hmmm, reminds me of someone……  Every woman should know what it is like to be someone’s goddess.  You are mine.

Alexei Savrasov

Today is the birthday of Alexei Savrasov (Alexei Kondratyevich Savrasov; Moscow; May 24, 1830 – October 8, 1897 Moscow); Russian landscape painter and creator of the lyrical landscape style.

In 1857, he married Sophia Karlovna Hertz, sister of the art historian Karl Hertz (1820-1883). In their home they entertained artistic people and collectors.

In the late 1870s, he gradually became an alcoholic. The process may have begun with the death of his daughter in 1871, which led to a crisis in his art and, possibly, dissatisfaction with his artistic career. In 1882, he was dismissed from his position at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. All attempts of his relatives and friends to help him were in vain.

His work suffered dramatically and the last years of his life were spent in poverty. He was usually drunk and often dressed in rags. Finally, he found himself wandering from shelter to shelter. Only the doorkeeper of the MSPSA and Pavel Tretyakov, founder of the Tretyakov Gallery, were present at his funeral in 1897.

Gallery

To living a life you believe in with your perfect counterpart,

thanks for stoppin’ by y’all

Mac Tag

O céu nos deu duas coisas para equilibrar as múltiplas misérias da vida: a esperança e o sono.  (Heaven gave us two things to balance the multiple miseries of life: hope and sleep.)  – Voltaire

It is as if he is the perfect male counterpart to my own self: each of us giving the other an extension of the life we believe in living.  – Sylvia Plath

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