Vapid book

Under an umbrella my eyes rest on an insignificant puddle. Raindrops create little zero-shaped ripples ending in nowhere. I trust my life will amount to more than this but then I think not. It seems I'm a vapid book on a dusty shelf.

Scheherazade

Nonplussed faces cannot fathom the morose tales told by Scheherazade. As she juggles words to lengthen her days, the utopian king derives pleasure from his new wife.

Lake Virtue, ON

Here are some recent photos of a vacation I had with a good friend this past weekend.

Dangerous passage

A magistrate scans the pale faces of the immigrants newly landed on Elllis island. Not wanting to foment fear in the crowd, he smiles softly and nods 'hello' to them. A rat scrambles to find something to eat on the cool-wooded floor. A gypsy woman plays a sensuous tune on her violin, telling of the dangerous passage to safety. His shift is just ending.

Flightless angel

I am a blind angel who's shedding feathers. I can't fly away. I let the vampire drink my blood, drain my life, over and over again. In this cold and gloomy shell of a world, only half-wishes bring delight. I can't fly away.

Wading in the Shallows

The Sophist laughs with feigned confidence and forges inferior alliances with others who propagandize about days of yore. No amount of swashbuckling could have defended those who marched purposefully towards Nottingham from the bent and dull arrows of the things he insinuates while reclining by the shallow moat.

Goth Haiku - Example 1

Mysterious heart
Gliding over the coffin
Agony coming.

Goth Haiku

Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry. It is usually about nature,
or in this case the supernatural.
You write them like this:
Line 1:5 syllables
Line 2:7 syllables
Line 3:5 syllables

LINE 1

Strange/Mysterious/Dark/Gloomy/Murky/Bleak/Twisted
Lonely/Lost/Quiet/SilentPurple/Black/Red/Melancholic/Morose/
Forbidden/Cursed/Holy/Devout/Pious/Angelic/Hideous/Gruesome
Grotesque/Tormented/ Fearful/Ghostly/Eerie/Creepy

Vampire/Dracula/Temptress/Siren/Lord/Lady/Lovers/Master/
Mistress/Graveyard/Cemetery/Tomb/Grave/Bat/Wolf/Crucifix/
Church/Statue/Coffin/Demon/Angel/Blood/Vein/Heart


LINE 2

Floating/Gliding/Flying/Biting/Consuming/ Drinking/Sucking/Dancing/Praying/Urging/Cursing/Condemning/
Resting/Reposing/Sleeping/Standing/Waiting/Remaining
Walking/WanderingDying/Departing/Perishing

Over/Against/Upon/Behind/With/On/Under/Next to/Across/In between

The church/The rain/snow/storm/The tomb/grave/The moon/stars
The graveyard/cemeteryThe wind/storm/tempest/The road/hill
The coffin/The mist/fog/The body/corpse

LINE 3

Spring/Winter/Summer/Autumn/The night/Evening/Sunrise/Sunset
Dawn/Dusk/Horror/ Fear/Torment/Agony/Torture
Death/Sleep/Destruction/Wake/Life/Existence/Beginning

Is beginning./Is over/dead.
Time./Perfume./Coming.
Breeze/Storm/Torrents.Dream/Nightmare/Vision/ Hallucination.

The balloon rests

The tributary spreads into the great sea. A hot air balloon hovers over the smooth water. A suspicious wind chases the cowardly clouds. Like a cat, it rests snuggly near the sun.

The Pelican

The infant pelican rests under it's mother's wing. Unlike other cowardly vermin, the pelican when faced with starvation, will draw blood from it's breast to feed it's young. What a truly celestial practice.

Korean children

June 001
Originally uploaded by cattivissima.

These are photos of the children I taught in Korea from 09/2003 - 09/2004. I think they are the cutest, mostly because they are loved.
You can check out my Flickr Photostream by clicking on the photo.
Please do & enjoy!

The apostle weeps

An apostle weeps bitterly at Heaven's cloudy bastion. The stench of sin like a festering wound needs to be expelled. With hands clasped together tightly, he anticipates a cure.

Modern conveniences

A nubile Hindu woman from times of yore, timidly steps into the modern city to use the public telephone. An elder rails her for being unattended and for using such modern conveniences. A chivalrous young man steps forward to defend her. Such an arduous task just to order a pizza! she thinks.

Sunflower

A sunflower grows between the cracked limestone in a Shanghai fortress. The altars remind one of Stonehedge. Perhaps this too is a place of sacrifice. A neurotic woman in an olive-coloured dress traps the flower in her hands. One by one, the petals fall.

Go to sleep Dracula

Dracula walks past the graveyard fence and weasels his way through the tombstones, glowering at each cross. The constellations barely shine through the fading darkness, summoning the vampire back to his sleep. And like Orpheus watching Eurydice slip into the lower worlds, he feels his soul depart with the rising Sun.

Vigil

How tight and dry I feel, like limestone craving water in a forbidden alley deep in Shanghai - however, I wait for my maniacal sister like a vigil that guards the sacred Rosetta Stone.
-by Catherine

Up my skirt

Oh that ying yang that keeps me balanced as I fight the powerful clamour of a neurotic society that pushes against me like a strong wind to make me fall in order to examine my soul and inquire where they should not go.
-by Catherine

Forgiving Sadness

No longer shall we sneer at the unwanted statue but forgive those who wail as they share their sadness with talent to seize such a mixture of feelings from those who only watch.
-by Catherine

A Deadly Approach

From his room at the inn, a cerebral centurion gazed towards the crimson sunset that radiated on the forbidden castle where a quiet and deadly mercenary prepared for his final approach.
- by Catherine

The Moon & Venus

Seeking salvation, Neil Armstrong had a queer thought of flying to the moon on a cloud, only to find how much he loathed traveling to a place so unlike Xanadu and merely discovering a Venus Flytrap.
- by Catherine

The wanting wench

Our hero, the wench, wants more than just a circus life, of garish make-up and cheap costumes. If only I can practice the sacred mysteries. She seeks and finds a teacher worthy of fortifying her longings. Slowly Dracula turns his mistress into a creature of the night.

An empty tomb

In my nightmare, a cold vampire dressed in yellow slouches over an empty grave. He cries with a cavernous voice, effecting a megaphone. I zero in on the nameless tombstone. Who is meant to be buried there is still a mystery.

The Assumption of Mary

This evening our parish of St. Mary's of the Assumption had their annual procession in honour of the Feast of the Assumption. You can read more about our parish and diocese here.

The lion's den

A nubile visitor surrounds her host like mountains surrounding a valley. An observant wife spots the danger and edges closer. A clamour of wine glasses tinkle and starry, efferscent bubbles reach the guest's brims. She lunges forward, holds his arm and walks him through the lion's den.

Jupiter and Thetis

An orchestra of clouds surrounds the splendor of Jupiter's throne. Maidens march to and fro displaying their talents for their lord. Thetis wins his eye. But never can the soon-to be mother of Achilles live in the cloistered halls of Olympus. A son can never supersede the father.

Consecrated

Since the Fall of man, the world has been left with the rancid odour of sin. A symphony of boastfulness sang of man's punitive expulsion from Eden. And then one day, one Man consecrated His death for our redemption.

The lonely bartender

A lonely bartender with a wrecked life serves a drink to the town Mayor. She can hardly retrieve any day-to-day memories here in this dark and cloistered barroom. The tick of the clock chimes with her heartbeat. She pierces a cherry with a sword. Time for the next round.

A New Jerusalem

A fleet of notes trembles and falls as the chorus rises in Beethoven's 9th symphony. Abandon your fears and vices! They sing. Embrace brotherhood and freedom! A new Jerusalem awaits us! Already the audience is there through the power of music.

Proof of Life

The constable searches earth and water for clues, never stopping for rest. He finds death and destruction everywhere, all committed at the hands of the dictator Genghis Khan. Left untouched is a solitary spider web. At last! The evidence he needs to prove that goodness still exists.

Pavlov serenades Dora

What is in the mind of Freud as he sits in his office in Vienna? We are left with but a vestige, a fog-enshrouded remnant, like a confused phantom at Stonehenge left to rail in futile expectancy at the cryptic moon. Could it be that we are all jumping through hoops to avoid tripping on our own baggage, as if life were not actually a stage, but instead, a circus?

Ezekiel's vision

There in the clouds, I see a horsless carriage descending. Four seraphim are carrying the fortified machine. Like a neurotic anticipating a cure, I kiss the burning ember the angel presents me. I am purified. I leave my African captivity to a better place.

Van Gogh's Mandrakes

He can't evade the question any longer - Yes, I van Gogh consume mandrakes. Like a man on fire, he runs a dangerous path. I am a machine! I am Jupiter! I control the planets! And then, like a machine, he winds down.

Memories of Xanadu

The ardour of Beethoven's sixth symphony can retrieve memories of Xanadu. Kubla Khan sits on the wrinkled banks of the river Alph. A leviathan achievement - his dome - glitters in the sun. A family of cranes flies overhead. I can retrieve memories of Xanadu.

The Potato Eaters

Our hero - a poor, potato farmer in Arles. The rank smell of fall ripeness does not deter his quick and steady pace. In the distance, a candle flickers in his kitchen window, summoning him like a lighthouse. He knows it's meal time and makes his way home. An uninvited yet welcome guest will dine with them tonight. A curious van Gogh places the scene on canvas.