ACCUSTOMED, CERMONIOUS
I also came across this rendition and could not help wondering why it is attributed to Corita Kent — when we know the words are by Joan Baez? Well, it’s because Corita Kent was the amazing artist / nun who made the silk screen of the Joan Baez lyrics . . .
but never had the poster:
"And the sun poured in like butterscotch
and stuck to all my senses
Oh, won't you stay
We'll put on the day
And we'll talk in present tenses . . . "
jewel of Nature in my own front yard!
I can never think of jewels, precious jewels, without recalling this soulful old hymn that my grandmother used to sing. It seemed like a children's song to me at the time, and I can still hear it, ever so faintly as a lullaby:
Precious Jewels
Sung by Alison Krauss
When He cometh, when He cometh
To take up his jewels
All his jewels, precious jewels
His Loved and His own.
Like the stars of the morning
His bright crown adorning
hey will shine in their beauty
Bright gems for his crown.
He will gather, He will gather
The gems for His kingdom
All the pure ones, all the bright ones
His loved and His own.
Like the stars of the morning
His bright crown adorning
They will shine in their beauty
Bright gems for his crown.
Little children, little children
O love their Redeemer
All the jewels, precious jewels
His loved and His own.
Like the stars of the morning
His bright crown adorning
They will shine in their beauty
Bright gems for his crown
Words by William O. Cushing (1823–1902)
Music by George F. Root (1820–1895)
And, in closing, this beautiful verse:
My Love
Although I conquer all the earth
Yet for me there is only one city.
In that city there is for me only one house;
And in that house, one room only;
And in that room a bed.
And one woman sleeps there,
The shining joy and jewel of all my kingdom.*
from Subhashitavali p.21
compiled Vallabhadeva 10th C
translated from Sanskrit by John Brough
above: Asian Art Museum in San Francisco
below: International Art Museum of America, SF
sending this connection back in 1987:
Of the Kingdom
by John Ciardi
If you will let people be wrong,
most of whatever lov is
may begin. Justice will hang
all of us yet. Waft mercies
the guilty may walk on whn
trugh grows absolut. The trees
from which we shall dangle then
are everywhere. And since
not all trees can be cut,
all men ma hang. But once
let love in, mercy out, ah, then
a bird song may defend us,
a mote -- can you dream it? -- heal!
Next Fortnightly Post ~ More jewels to come!
Sunday, May 28th
Between now and then, read
THE QUOTIDIAN KIT
my shorter, almost daily blog posts
www.dailykitticarriker.blogspot.com
Looking for a good book? Try
KITTI'S LIST
my running list of recent reading
www.kittislist.blogsppot.com
Note to self: see highschool poetry book
ReplyDelete_Some Haystacks Don't Even Have Any Needle_
poem by John Ciardi on page 104
"In Place of a Curse"
[and poem from Eve]