The Lovers’ Chronicle 20 November – without you – art by Paulus Potter – Beethoven’s Fidelio – photography by David Seymour

Dear Zazie,  Here is today’s Lovers’ Chronicle from Mac Tag dedicated to his muse.  Are you without the one you do not want to be without?  Rhett

The Lovers’ Chronicle

Dear Muse,

numerous songs to choose from
but i gotta go with one you do not know
never fear though, i have inside knowledge,
this topic will return, more than once
“Ha, ok where did you go”
Van Halen baby
“That would have been a top three guess”
the lyrics include these appropriate lines,
“Hey fool, wise up, better late than never
Yeah you, you know that nothing lasts forever”
“I see why that resonates with you”
yes, not sure about wisin’ up but
better late than never came true

© copyright 2023 mac tag/cowboy coleridge all rights reserved

doin’, or bein’ without, learned early in life, trainin’ as it turns out for later life, some wondered how years could be spent that way, we rise to our raisin’ i suppose, but that is in the rear view now, still inclined to be there if i have to ask, but with you is the best i have been

© copyright 2022.2023 mac tag/cowboy coleridge all rights reserved

from a different angle, perhaps
that was part of why with showed up
embracin’ without, sayin’, ok fine
what the hell, i will be ok without
cuz i sure woulda bet the ranch
that was where i would be

who knows what forces at play, if any
certainly not gonna question why

just gotta leave it and say,
some bets are worth losin’

© copyright 2021.2023 mac tag/cowboy coleridge all rights reserved

Pale Love, Pale Rider

these feelin’s persist
that which has come

that stir with you

these thoughts of you
have become necessary

so i will continue
through these nights,
missin’ you,
to wait, to write
to let my words
loose on the page
to bring us closer
till we are held again

© copyright 2020 mac tag/cowboy coleridge all rights reserved

without fail

you

inspiration
these words,
this vision,
this desire

come with me
cling to this

for without
we will want

nothin’s lost
that cannot be caught

in this dream
not thrown away

convince you,
now, with me

tell me we can find,
all the while attendin’

© copyright 2019 mac tag/cowboy coleridge all rights reserved

“Sleep with me?”
absolutely…

meet me
in that old
hotel lobby

i will bring the vodka
and the caviar
and we will savor it

we will talk
of the places we have been
and the places we should go

and we will never say
i love you,
but we will

© copyright 2018 mac tag/cowboy coleridge all rights reserved

these feelin’s persist…
that which once was

the feelin’s
that stir about you
burn but more clearly

this is how
without feels
this is how
without
makes me feel
this is what
moves me so

these thoughts of you
have never been more
beautiful and necessary
than they are right now
after all i have been through

so i will continue
through these
cold, empty nights
to wait
to write, to dream
to let these thoughts
provide just enough
warmth and maybe,
ever once in awhile,
to hope

© copyright 2017 mac tag/cowboy Coleridge all rights reserved

“How do you like your coffee?”
I like my coffee,
like I like my women.
“Dark and bitter?”
Touché, old friend.

There will be
no locks and bolts
Except those in your
mercenary heart

© copyright 2015 mac tag/cowboy Coleridge all rights reserved

J’oublie que je suis responsable, mais je le suis, après tout, tout est beau, après tout, les choses sont comme elles sont.

She said,
Maybe you should leave.
Well, never had to be told
maybe twice.
So I packed my gear,
checked the binds
and left.

If I could ride
To your rescue
I would. But then
I would perhaps
Fall in love with
You, so maybe
It is better
That I cannot

© copyright 2014 mac tag/cowboy Coleridge all rights reserved

Today original lyrics and a song.  The Dark Muse fought and won again as she usually does these days.  This topic is one of my favorites.  I have visited it before and probably will again, so if you do not like the song of the day just stay tuned.  There are many good songs on this topic and we might get to your favorite.  The Poem of the Day:

Without You

Without you…

These feelins persist,
These persistent feelins

That which was once gained
That which was soon lost
Others sing while I sigh
Others laugh while I weep
I am robbed of rest
Pain lulls me asleep

Without you…

These moods prevail,
These prevailin’ moods

The voice; hear and obey
Sister to despair
Monarch of the lost
Come down; my bluster
Swells no more
The stormy rage blows

Without you…

This gloom pervades,
This pervadin’ gloom

To the depths below
Down I must go
The Dark Muse speaks
Her words; must record
All is forsaken

Without you…

This despair lingers,
This lingerin’ despair

Eternal Darkness
Eternal chains bind
To infinite pain
Let ’em come, Let ’em
Eternal Shadows
This is what awaits

Without you…

This hope fadin’,
This fadin’ hope

There must be some way
Some kinda way
To work this out
Cause I just can’t
Be much longer
Without you, without you

© copyright 2012 mac tag/Cowboy Coleridge all rights reserved

The Song of the Day is “Without You” by Van Halen. We do not own the rights to this song

Today is the baptismal day of Paulus Potter (Enkhuizen, Netherlands 20 November 1625 – 17 January 1654 (buried) Amsterdam); painter who specialized in animals within landscapes, usually with a low vantage point.

Potter became a member of the Guild of Saint Luke in Delft, but by 1649, he moved to The Hague, next to Jan van Goyen. In July 1650, Potter married Adriana van Balckeneynde (1627-1690). His father-in-law was a leading building contractor in the Hague and introduced him to the Dutch elite.  Amalia of Solms-Braunfels, a member of the stadholder’s family and an art-lover, bought one of Potter’s paintings, The Farmyard, but some court ladies seemed to have advised against it. In May 1652, he returned to Amsterdam on invitation of Nicolaes Tulp, who owned a number of his paintings. Tulp was impressed by his civilized behavior and politeness and had Potter paint his son, Dirck Tulp, as a noble equestrian.  Potter composed a will in January of 1653 and died a year later of tuberculosis, two months after his 28th birthday.

Gallery

On this day in 1805, Fidelio (originally titled Leonore, oder Der Triumph der ehelichen Liebe; English: Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love), Op. 72, Ludwig van Beethoven’s only opera premiered at Vienna’s Theater an der Wien. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly. The following year, Stephan von Breuning (de) helped shorten the work from three acts to two. After further work on the libretto by Georg Friedrich Treitschke, a final version was performed at the Kärntnertortheater on 23 May 1814. By convention, both of the first two versions are referred to as Leonore.

The libretto, with some spoken dialogue, tells how Leonore, disguised as a prison guard named “Fidelio”, rescues her husband Florestan from death in a political prison. Bouilly’s scenario fits Beethoven’s aesthetic and political outlook: a story of personal sacrifice, heroism, and eventual triumph. With its underlying struggle for liberty and justice mirroring contemporary political movements in Europe. Notable moments in the opera include the “Prisoners’ Chorus” (O welche Lust—”O what a joy”), an ode to freedom sung by a chorus of political prisoners, Florestan’s vision of Leonore come as an angel to rescue him, and the scene in which the rescue finally takes place. The finale celebrates Leonore’s bravery with alternating contributions of soloists and chorus.

And today is the birthday of David Seymour (born Dawid Szymin; Warsaw; November 20, 1911 – November 10, 1956 Egypt), or Chim (pronounced shim, an abbreviation of the surname “Szymin”); photographer and photojournalist.

Chim was known for his images from the Spanish Civil War, for co-founding Magnum Photos with Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa and George Rodger, and for his project “Children of War” with UNICEF that captured the plight of children in the aftermath of World War II.

He became president of Magnum after Capa’s death in 1954 and held this post until his own death in 1956 by Egyptian machine gun fire in the aftermath of the Suez crisis.

Gallery

Mac Tag

thanks for stoppin’ by y’all

Because of that great nobleness of hers
The fire that stirs about her, when she stirs,
Burns but more clearly
– W. B. Yeats