Petersburg, 1913
~ Anna Akhmatova, translated from Russian by D.M. Thomas

In Petersburg we’ll gather again,
Around the grave where we buried the sun. ~ Mandelstam

Petersburg, 1913. Lyrical interlude: last recollection in Tsarskoye Selo. A wind, reminiscent or prophetic, mutters:

Bonfires cooked the geese of Christmas,
Carriages toppled from bridges,
The whole funereal city swam
On a blind assignation
Down the Neva or against it
—Only away, away from its graves.
All its arches were throbbing black molars
The Summer Garden’s vane was crowing
Thinly, a bright moon turned a colder
Silver over the silver age.
Since, along all roads and
Towards all thresholds, slowly
A shadow advanced, the wind
Was ripping posters off the
Walls, smoke whirled in cossack
Dances on the roofs,
Lilac breathed a graveyard smell, and,
The city, demented and dostoyevsky,
Wrapped itself in its fog.
Peter, old genius, old assassin,
Stared again out of blankness,
Beat an execution drum . . .
And always, something not thunder,
Under the profligate frost, a rumble
Of war before it began.
But then it was heard so faintly
It scarcely touched the ear, as flakes to
The Neva’s drifts it drowned.
As though, in Night’s terrible mirror
Man, raving, denied his image
And tried to disappear,—
While along the embankment of history,
Not the calendar—the existing
Twentieth century drew near.

And now, to go home, swiftly,
Through the Cameron gallery,
To the icy mysterious park,
Where the waterfalls are silent
Where I must make all nine glad
As once I was dear to you.
Beyond the park, beyond the island,
Can it be that our eyes won’t
Meet with their clear former gaze?
Won’t you really ever whisper
To me again that word which

kills

death

And is my life’s one clue?

The Giants’ Tarot, Raven Kaldera

Draw for September 26, 2016:

Active Influence: Thrym/King of Swords
Rune: Ior/Jormundgand, The World Serpent
Hidden Influence: Garm/Nine of Swords and Hela/Death (These two pulled out of the deck together. Let us take a moment to appreciate the fact that Garm is the hound who guards Hela’s realm from intruders.)

Today calls for calm, focused intellectual activity as the guiding energy. No drama, no trauma. You need to be calm, clear, and rational when considering options and making decisions. Set firm boundaries, and respect others’ boundaries. What you need to bring into the light of rational thought could be quite messy and shapeless, so you need to be firmly in control of your thought processes as you move through the day. A sacrifice is required and cannot be delayed or avoided. Make the choice calmly and with intention.

Hope Chest
~ Elaine Aqui

It is shaped
like a dunce cap.
It is a bottle of perfume
at the foot of a cross.
It is a photograph
that hums.
It is early.
It is day.
It is a bed
no one has ever slept in.
It is just a dream.
It is a rosary of lentils.
It is the part you always forget.
It is a woman with an infinite number
of pages.
It is strictly off limits
except when it isn’t
that being the hour when you
finally arrive
completely unexpected and gorgeous
as usual.

The Giants’ Tarot, Raven Kaldera

Draw for September 23, 2016:
Active Influence; Fjolvar/Seven of Coins
Rune: Sol/Sun; Uruz/Strength
Hidden Influence: Hrimthurs/Three of Coins

Try something new. Even if you don’t like it, you’ll learn something. If nothing else, you’ll learn you don’t like it. However, even if it doesn’t turn out the way you expected, now is a good time to experiment. Be bold, be different, surprise those around you. You have a lot of energy available today, so do something with it! Whatever you do, focus, focus, focus. Don’t lose the opportunities just waiting for you to do something with them.

Spleen
~ Paul Verlaine (translated from French by Martin Sorrel)

The roses were bright red
The ivy deepest black.

My love, your slightest movement
Rekindles my despair.

Too blue, the sky, too soft,
The sea too green, too sweet the air.

And still I fear you’ll vanish—
Such torture, waiting!

I’m tired of waxy-leaf holly,
Of gleaming box-tree,

I’m tired of endless countryside,
Of all, in fact, save you.