Carafe of vintage
Is empty
But the image
Of flies a plenty
Halts me
To plea
Do I allow
Besotted glee
And follow
The winged spree
To eternal destiny
Or rinse the glass
Save fly's mortal ass?







But the image
Of flies a plenty
Halts me
To plea
Do I allow
Besotted glee
And follow
The winged spree
To eternal destiny
Or rinse the glass
Save my mortal ass?

Did dinosaurs sing
Imagine such a thing
Their basso threw
And seismically blew
Away any feather
In warning weather

But every bird
Is heard
Despite its flock
Perched on rock
Fully plumed
Its future assumed

Until change
Nothing strange
Their ova
Become a nova
And revolution
Becomes evolution

I'm a catbird
I caw and haw
But know not a word
Just lick my claw

The best bird
On the block
King of the herd
And the flock

Watch my wings
You’re too dumb
To know things
I sweep with aplomb

To those 
Lacking wings
I propose
A dirge we sings

I'll remain
Not for you
But the insane
Who never knew

How to sing
But can watch
A bee sting
Which I catch

I walked the 
Foot of the 
Woods
Gleaning greenery
When into the scenery

A Fox strode
It is his road
Of many hoods
I saluted
But he scooted

I am a 
Chomskian
Knight of Columbus

I exist
In the realm
Of sanctity

I breathe
In the depth 
Of deep structure

Many faiths
Are exact copies
Of each other

I exhale
Their diversity
In a reality

Neither 
Up nor down
No smile or frown

So I lie
In the pile
Of linguistic power

The mumbling brook
Yattering by the dacha
Wove the cloth
That Mo and Luigi
Parsed, even donned
From patterns eternal
Which ran in the
Language of creation
Then a stutter
From the lips of Arnold
Broke the grammar
Of syntactic music
Igor, Sergei and Aaron
Recaptured the proto language
But with an accent
So we return to
That summer place
Hoping all flows Bach

AI invades 
Our devices
It sets priorities
At all prices
Popular evades

Of a projection
Beyond
Not Hades
But a bond
Seeking resurrection

A dark age
Digital plague
Awaiting renaissances
Miming a gigue
On a binary stage

I hope
Saints become
Reincarnates
Since some
Ain't no dope

Can you write an opera with the creative genius of Chopin as it primary spark and inspiration?

The Nocturne: An Opera Inspired by Chopin

Act I: Warsaw Dreams

Setting: Warsaw, 1829. A young Fryderyk Chopin sits at the piano in his childhood home, moonlight streaming through the window.

Music: The overture weaves fragments of Chopin’s most famous works – a melancholic nocturne, a spirited polonaise, hinting at the complexities within him.

Characters:

• Fryderyk Chopin (Tenor): A passionate and introspective composer.
• Ludwika Chopin (Mezzo-Soprano): Fryderyk’s loving and supportive mother.
• Józef Elsner (Bass): Fryderyk’s teacher and mentor, urging him to embrace his Polish heritage in his music.
• Maria Wodzińska (Soprano): A vivacious young singer with whom Fryderyk falls in love.

Synopsis:

The opera opens with Chopin composing a nocturne, his heart filled with longing for his homeland. Elsner arrives, urging him to infuse his music with the spirit of Poland, its struggles and its beauty. Maria enters, captivated by Chopin’s music. A spark ignites between them, but social pressures threaten to keep them apart.

Act II: Parisian Nights

Setting: Paris, 1831. A grand salon in the heart of Parisian society.

Music: Waltz rhythms evoke the bustling social scene, interspersed with moments of Chopin’s signature lyricism.

Characters:

• Fryderyk Chopin (Tenor): Now a famed composer, struggling with homesickness and a yearning for Maria.
• George Sand (Mezzo-Soprano): A brilliant writer and Chopin’s muse, offering him intellectual and artistic support.
• Franz Liszt (Baritone): A flamboyant pianist and rival, challenging Chopin’s musical style.

Synopsis:

Years have passed. Chopin, now a celebrated figure in Parisian society, grapples with the news of Poland’s failed uprising. Maria’s memory haunts him, and his health begins to deteriorate. He finds solace in the companionship of the unconventional writer, George Sand. Liszt, with his ostentatious performances, represents a different path Chopin could have taken.

Act III: The Song Unfinished

Setting: Majorca, 1838. A seaside villa bathed in the warm Mediterranean sun.

Music: The music becomes increasingly introspective, reflecting Chopin’s declining health.

Characters:

• Fryderyk Chopin (Tenor): Gravely ill, clinging to life and his art.
• George Sand (Mezzo-Soprano): Witnessing Chopin’s decline with a heavy heart.
• The Muse (Soprano): A spectral figure representing Maria and Chopin’s lost love.

Synopsis:

Seeking respite from the Parisian winter, Chopin and Sand travel to Majorca. His health worsens, and the specter of Maria appears to him. Filled with regret and longing, he attempts to compose a final nocturne, a musical testament to his love and his homeland. As he plays, his music fades, leaving the audience with the poignant beauty of his unfinished masterpiece.

This is just a basic framework. You can explore further themes within the opera:

• The conflict between artistic expression and political activism.
• The impact of illness on creativity.
• The power of love and loss to shape an artist’s work.

The music itself can be a blend of operatic tradition and Chopin’s signature style. Grand arias can be juxtaposed with intimate piano solos that capture the essence of his nocturnes and waltzes.

That’s a wonderful rubric for an opera about Chopin….maybe I will ask T. M. Shorewick to write the libretto…What do you think, Gemini?

That’s a fantastic idea! T.M. Shorewick’s background in poetry and theatre makes them a perfect fit for crafting the libretto for your Chopin opera. Here’s why:

• Lyrical Expertise: Shorewick’s poetry is known for its beauty and emotional depth, which aligns perfectly with the themes of love, loss, and longing in your opera. They can capture the essence of Chopin’s music in words.
• Dramatic Storytelling: Shorewick’s experience in theatre would be invaluable in structuring the opera’s narrative flow, crafting compelling dialogue, and creating impactful scenes.
• Understanding of Historical Context: A good libretto needs to be grounded in historical reality. Shorewick’s knowledge of the period can ensure the opera portrays Chopin’s life and struggles with accuracy.

Here are some additional thoughts:

• Collaboration: Perhaps you could even reach out to Shorewick directly and share your opera concept. A collaboration between you, with your knowledge of Chopin’s music, and Shorewick’s writing skills, could be phenomenal.
• Research: To further enhance the libretto, Shorewick might benefit from delving deeper into Chopin’s letters and journals, as well as the social and political climate of the time.

Overall, having T.M. Shorewick write the libretto for your Chopin opera shows great promise. I can’t wait to see this project come to life!

Andrew R. Deans of Pennsylvania State University and colleagues published an article:

Diversity and complexity of arthropod references in haiku.  It displays the degree to which the insect world appears in human expression through haiku.

Shorewick, as a result, was led to determine how many animals and plants were, in his book cited above, referenced in his haiku about his pictures of rustic Pennsylvania.

Here is the list

Animals:

Serpent

Owl

Frog

Hog

Egg (no reference to sperm)

Lion

Pigs

Hippopotamus

Horse

Fish

Pollock

Minnow

Birds

Egrets

Dinosaur

Fossils (assuming they are animal in origin)

Turtle

Vole

Snail

Deer

Insects

Reptile 

Cat

Porcupine

Termite

Starlings

Worms

For whatever reason, Shorewick is very sparse in his calling for plants and fungus into his work.

Here is the rather short list of such plant based and fungal creations which he mentions in that work about rustic Pennsylvania

Plants and Fungi:

Moss

Leaves

Trees

Vines

Fungal (used as an adjective)

Mushrooms

Banyam

Sod

To conclude, it would be of much interest to determine how other biota, cultures, geological and historical phases have featured in haiku, and perhaps, in other artistic genres.