“The future belongs to those who give the next generation reason for hope.” ~Pierre Teilhard De Chardin

claude monet, «water lilies», 1908

Genji is not a perfect person, but there’s a purity to him, a beauty that’s clearly meant to be lauded, particularly in contrast to later chapters. He’s in love with love, a true romantic, and his sometimes unwise affairs are motivated by a true sense of love. He never abandons one of his lovers, which in this time is crucial. No matter the shame it brings to himself, he tries to find a way to honor the women he’s fallen for. He’s charming. No one can not love him, or ultimately forgive him his faults.

The age of Tale of Genji had strict rules of romance—of how flirtations worked (largely intermediaries and poetry), of how commitments worked, of how aloof vs. present it was appropriate to be (it’s good to commit but bad to hoard or become jealous). It was possible to love too much. Genji is accused of this, but he always remembers to care for the people he is responsible for—once he grows up that is.

Early in the text, he neglects his wife, and he also neglects “the Rokujo lady.” The Rokujo lady becomes so jealous and enraged that her spirit begins to sicken his wife. This ghost returns more than once over the course of the text. She has grown sick from obsession and neglect, and Genji pays the price for it. It’s part of what motivates him to always care for the women he romances for the rest of his life.

Later, in the “Uji” chapters, young Kaoru and prince Niou also love too much. Niou is impulsive like Genji but also flighty, and Kaoru is serious like Genji but also obsessive. Both men pursue the women at Uji with insistence that the text can’t quite forgive as it could for Genji. Both, somehow, go too far—perhaps in their attempts to hoard, or in their impatience.

The May Queen and other poems / Alfred Lord Tennyson ; designed, written out and illuminated by Alberto Sangorski. Rubricated and illuminated. Colophon: "This manuscript, selected poems of Alfred Lord Tennyson, The May Queen, The sea fairies, The beggar maid, Hero to Leander, and Dora was designed, written out, and illuminated by Alberto Sangorski for Messrs. R. Rivière & Son bookbinders & booksellers to H.M. King George V. London. This manuscript will not be duplicated. This manuscript was executed by me [signed] Alberto Sangorski London A.D. 1912."-- P. [63] Full blue morocco, inlaid and gilt in an over-all design with semi-precious stones and seed pearls, mounted on upper cover. Beige morocco doublures, inlaid with red, white and green morocco and gilt. Silk protective guards interleaved between some pages. All edges gilt. Stamp-signed on upper doublure: "Bound by Riviere & Son". In silk-lined green morocco folding case.

“The war will end. The leaders will shake hands. The old woman will keep waiting for her martyred son. That girl will wait for her beloved husband. And those children will wait for their heroic father. I don’t know who sold our homeland. But I saw who paid the price.”

— Mahmoud Darwish; Palestinian poet.

Love’s Messenger (details) by Marie Spartali Stillman (1844 - 1927)

Details: The Backwater, Charles William Wyllie

You’re never too old to learn something new. Never stop studying. 

The Artist and his Muse by Fred Appleyard (English, 1874–1963)

mia goth - a cure for wellness

the soul that you bring to the table

Whoever made this butterfly ear cuff you are going to heaven so fast. God has a special throne waiting for you

Untitled (Woman in Moonlight) by Hemendranath Mazumdar (Indian, 1894–1948)

my favourite poems that i read this year

God’s Year by Piotr Stachiewicz (Polish, 1858–1938)