haiku universe: halloween haiku acceptance

Published today at haiku universe - 


The fading ghost 

By the window 

Dribbling pumpkin soup 

Take it or leave. They took it! Thank you haiku universe. 

 I enjoy this haiku because it can be appreciated in two ways, one being comic and the other gloomy, and yet both fitting well to the subject.

The halloween haiku contest is limited to a period of 24 hours and one haiku is published by haiku universe every hour. There's a link in my sidebar.

The above haiku is in the unfolding list of 25 at number 4.

Here's an haiku I've composed for the Addams Family:


                                            "Something creepy's in the air,  dad."

"Be quiet, son. 

                  And eat  your ghoul ash."

Make merry and enjoy the day! 

Crossing the Bridge

I have nothing to say at the moment. 

- William Carlos Williams
The Great American Novel

In questo momento non ho niente da dire.

- William Carlos Williams

 Il grande romanzo americano

Jan Fabre's Glass Skull and Bone Woodpecker

Jan Fabre is internationally renowned for his wonderful bone and glass sculptures. 

I was ruined for choice when I found myself in the Jan Fabre Bone and Glass exhibition in Venezia. The exhibits were all magnifico. 

From several dozen examples, I selected Fabre's Skull and Woodpecker sculpture for  my 'takeaway' photograph. 

I think perhaps the woodpecker is looking inside the skull for the world's last remaining insect. The idea is not so far fetched as you might think.   A recent study showing that Germany's insect population has fallen by 75% is now yesterday's news. 

News gone and forgotten by the glass skull population, those who happened to notice the relevant paragraph at the foot of page 13 or 22 or some such number over their breakfast or coffee. 

If the Germans have sprayed a certain controversial pesticide over 45% of their land, as was mentioned on the radio the other day, that might explain it.*



The fallout from the Harvey Weinstein scandal will be on the front pages again and again. Hollywood deserves more newsprint than naked woodpeckers looking for non-existent insects inside brainless glass skulls. 



Michaelangelo Pistoletto's exhibition on the Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore is titled One and One makes Three. 

From Pistoletto's small leaflet here is part of a quote that could be applied to the woodpecker and skull:

". . La combinazione di due unita da vita a una terza unita distinta e inedita . . "

". . The combination of two units gives life to a third unit distinct and original . . "

one bony woodpecker 

one skull in glass

 life to a third 

*A few years ago in connection with the well-known plight of the bees the Minister for the Environment was asked to reveal how many tons of the most controversial insecticide had been sprayed in Austria in a particular year. His reply: "I can't say because it's a state secret."  There are now reports of traces of the same insecticide which is suspected of being carcinogenic being found in beer!!! Aren't politicians wonderful?

There's currently a photo I took of Pistoletto's Venus with Rags at Poet-in-Residence (28.10.2017). Link in links column >>>

UFO in Venice. Alien Reveals Secrets of Free Energy. Stock Market Falls. Religious Leaders Pray for Peace.

These AMAZING pictures are from a UFO Researcher

ALIEN IN PROTECTIVE CUSTODY 

GOLDEN BEAM NEAR CHURCH. MANY PEOPLE IN TRANCE

  . . . BREAKING NEWS: SECOND VISITOR BEAMS DOWN.
SEEN WALKING IN GARDEN. MAKES GOOD ESCAPE. . .
. . . BILLIONAIRE OILMAN OFFERS: '$10 BILLION FOR
ALIEN DEAD OR ALIVE  - - - THEY'RE NOT LIKE US'. . .  

A taste of Damien Hirst at Punta Della Dogana

The Damien Hirst exhibition here and at palazzo grassi (until 3rd December 2017) is called Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable.  I can honestly say I was overwhelmed.

The Shield of Achilles (Gold, silver) (114 x 112.5 x 7 cm)

I was almost overwhelmed at the Punta Della Dogana when I saw the 7 meters 13 centimeters tall bronze The Warrior and the Bear but later when I visited palazzo grassi and stood in wonderment before the monumental painted resin creation of the headless 18 meters 22 centimeters tall Demon with Bowl (a monster which overpowered even the high and airy atrium) I have to confess that  I was more than overwhelmed.

I realized then how the ancient peoples must have  felt during their uncertain times (war, famine, pestilence, flood, earthquake, mass population movement, confusion of languages and so on) when their over-dimensional monuments to their various gods and deities failed them.

Luckily before entering palazzo grassi, where my camera hand was to be soon gripped by a kind of psychological paralysis, I had taken some photos at the Punta Della Dogana.

palazzo grassi - Head of a Demon (Bronze)

All the following are to be seen at Punta Della Dogana -

Skull of a Unicorn (Gold, silver) 

Golden Monkey (Black granite) 

Sphinx (Bronze) 

Hydra and Kali (Bronze) (5m39 x 6m12 x 2m44)

The Warrior and the Bear (detail) (Bronze)

The Warrior and the Bear
(7m13 x 2m60 x2m03)

Aten
(Red marble, grey agate, gold leaf)

Guess who? 

Exhibition Entrance 

Other exhibits include: 

Metamorphosis, Calendar Stone, Proteus, Skull of a Cyclops, Bacchus, Giant Nautilus Shell, Hermaphrodite, Andromeda and the Sea Monster, the Severed Head of Medusa, a scale model of the vessel 'Unbelievable' . . . 

The Tempest / La Tempesta

Full fathom five thy father lies; 

Of his bones are coral made;

Those are pearls that were his eyes:

Nothing of him that doth fade,

But doth suffer a sea-change 

Into something rich and strange.

Giu cinque braccia giace tuo padre. 

Le sue ossa ormai son corallo,

e perle gli occhi son gia.

Di lui quanto mai puo perire

un mutamento marino subisce

in ricca cosa, in cosa strana. 

REXIT NEWS: William Shakespeare Cloned! BREXIT NEWS: Camil

Postcards from Venezia

Hanging out in Venice

6 of the best! (The original)

The naval ship Amerigo Vespucci

Biennale Pavilion (USA)

Biennale Pavilion (GERMANY)

Biennale Pavilion (KOREA)

Il grande romanzo americano

Venice, just the other day.

 I'm attempting to read The Great American Novel by William Carlos Williams (1883-1963) in two languages. In Italian it's called Il grande romanzo americano. 

Chapter 1 is 'The Fog' - 'Nebbia'.

 There was plenty of fog in Venice. Four days running I was roused from my slumbers by deep throated foghorns.  

Here's a picture of the fog on the Grand Canal - Canal Grande.  

William Carlos Williams peers into the fog and notes that history is blurred. 

On television (Rai 1) this morning it was said that Italian is 4th most popular language currently being studied in the world. I find that I'm not surprised to learn this.

Italian is a magical and charming language which conjures up images of romantic places like Firenze, Venezia and Napoli, and happy Italian people.

L'italiano e una lingua romanza basto sul dialetto toscana principalmente quello fiorentino. 

Postcard from the Past

Daniel in the Den of Lions (12th cent. Romanesque frieze - Lincoln Cathedral)

Today I rediscovered an old postcard - a souvenir of my visit to Lincoln Cathedral many years ago. These are the words I wrote on it:


DON'T HURRY

DON'T WORRY 

AT THE CENTRE 

OF OUR BEING 

IS THE ANSWER

LOVE IS THE ANSWER, 

I LOVE YOU. 

The Pallid Sun - My Poem for Autumn

The pallid sun

Works through the mist

Reveals the work

Of many hands

The delicate strands

Of ghostly dew

Hold fragile pearls

For you to view

The willow weeps

The pond reflects

The dead leaves fall

And all's correct.