5 best poems and poets - Wednesday Facts

Today is Wednesday. It's no Friday but it's not Monday, either.

To honor the fact that we are in the middle of week, I will tell you five facts of life, about me or someone else, faith, world and existence in general.

And what I want from you, my readers?

I want to know about you! 

Leave me your facts, so I can enjoy reading them!

They can also be about you, your life or anything you find fascinating in this world or in the world beyond.

There have been poets and poems with inmense effect on me.

I have always loved poetry, both reading it and writing it myself.

These are five poets, and an example of their poems, that has made the biggest impact on me.

I honestly believe that we are shaped by what we read, because it is a seed for our thoughts.

And are thoughts are made actions and by them we make our choices.

And who we are, is what we choose to do and think.

If you wish to know more about the poet or read more of their poems, just click on their name.

 5. Charles Baudelaire

Lethe

Come on my heart, cruel and insensible soul,
My darling tiger, beast with indolent airs;
I want to plunge for hours my trembling fingers
In your thick and heavy mane;

In your petticoats filled with your perfume
To bury my aching head,
And breathe, like a faded flower,
The sweet taste of my dead love.

I want to sleep, to sleep and not to live,
In a sleep as soft as death,
I shall cover with remorseless kisses
Your body beautifully polished as copper.

To swallow my appeased sobbing
I need only the abyss of your bed;
A powerful oblivion lives on your lips,
And all Lethe flows in your kisses.

I shall obey, as though predestined,
My destiny, that is now my delight;
Submissive martyr, innocent damned one,
My ardor inflames my torture,

And I shall suck, to drown my bitterness
The nepenthe and the good hemlock,
On the lovely tips of those jutting breasts
Which have never imprisoned love.

— Geoffrey Wagner, Selected Poems of Charles Baudelaire (NY: Grove Press, 1974)

4. Pedro Neruda

“Take bread away from me, if you wish,
take air away, but
do not take from me your laughter.

Do not take away the rose,
the lance flower that you pluck,
the water that suddenly
bursts forth in joy,
the sudden wave
of silver born in you.

My struggle is harsh and I come back
with eyes tired
at times from having seen
the unchanging earth,
but when your laughter enters
it rises to the sky seeking me
and it opens for me all
the doors of life.

My love, in the darkest
hour your laughter
opens, and if suddenly
you see my blood staining
the stones of the street,
laugh, because your laughter
will be for my hands
like a fresh sword.

Next to the sea in the autumn,
your laughter must raise
its foamy cascade,
and in the spring, love,
I want your laughter like
the flower I was waiting for,
the blue flower, the rose
of my echoing country.

Laugh at the night,
at the day, at the moon,
laugh at the twisted
streets of the island,
laugh at this clumsy
fool who loves you,
but when I open
my eyes and close them,
when my steps go,
when my steps return,
deny me bread, air,
light, spring,
but never your laughter. ”
― Pablo Neruda

3. Katri Vala

Flowering earth

The earth’s spilling out purple lilac clusters,
a rime of white rowan flowers,
constellations of red catch fly.
Crazy seas of blue, yellow and white flowers
ripple across the meadows.
And the smell!
More seductive than sacred incense!
The heathen smell of the earth’s skin –
hot and quivering, making you mad drunk!

To live, to live, to live!
Living the high moment of life with a rage,
petals wide open,
blossoming beautifully,
raving at your scent, at the sun –
living tipsily, the whole way!

So what if death’s coming!
or this wondrous multicolour’s
withering down to the earth?
Once at least there’s been a blossoming!
The sun – sky’s
mighty and burning love – has shone
straight into the flower heart,
down to the tremulous ovule of being!

2. Federico Garcia Lorca

“The Little Mute Boy

The little boy was looking for his voice.
(The king of the crickets had it.)
In a drop of water
the little boy was looking for his voice.
I do not want it for speaking with;
I will make a ring of it
so that he may wear my silence
on his little finger

In a drop of water
the little boy was looking for his voice.

(The captive voice, far away,
put on a cricket's clothes.)


Translated by William S. Merwin”
― Federico García Lorca

1. Edith Sodergran

The day cools

I

The day cools towards evening…

Drink the warmth out of my hand,
my hand has the same blood as the springtime.
Take my hand, take my white arm,
take the longing of my narrow shoulders …
It would be strange to feel,
one single night, a night like this,
your heavy head against my breast.

II

You threw the red rose of your love
into my white lap -
I hold fast in my hot hands
your love’s red rose that quickly fades …
0 conqueror with cold eyes,
I take the crown you reach to me,
it bows my head down to my heart. . .

III

I saw my lord for the first time today,
trembling, I recognized him at once.
Now I already feel his heavy hand on my light arm…
Where is my ringing maiden’s laughter,
my woman’s freedom with high lifted head?
Now I already feel his tight grip around my shaking body,
now I hear reality’s hard note
against my brittle, brittle dreams.

IV

You looked for a flower
and found a fruit.
You looked for a well
and found a sea.
You looked for a woman
and found a soul –
you are disappointed.

What are your favorite poets and poems?

Your word is lamp unto my feet - (Not so) Wordless Wenesday

Teach us to number our days, 

that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Relent, Lord! How long will it be?

Have compassion on your servants.

Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,

that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,

for as many years as we have seen trouble.

May your deeds be shown to your servants,

your splendor to their children.

May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;

establish the work of our hands for us--

yes, establish the work of our hands.

Psalm 90:12-17 NIV

Psalm 119:105
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Are we in trouble? And if we are, what kind of trouble is it?

We are not in trouble because of something we have done.

Or something someone else did.

Or something we will do.

We are in trouble because we think we can live without God.

Imagine it like this.

God is the man standing on top of the tall building, trying to tell us that if we continue walking on there will be certain death for us.

He came down; He told it to us in person.

 And now He expects us to believe it.

We're not in trouble with Him.

He loves us; He's trying to warn us, He wants to save us.

We're in trouble because we don't want to listen to Him.

We are in trouble because of our pride.

We are in trouble because we think we can do better if we don't listen to God.

We are in trouble because we consider ourselves better than God. 

 The good thing is that there is an answer to this trouble.

The question is: Can you let go of your pride? 


Did you like the post?

Would you like to learn more?

Maybe you would like to more about know who God, Mighty Creator is? 

Or what the world was like In the beginning?

Would you like to know more about God, the Creator?

He is called God Allmighty. 

To learn more about his nature, read Who is God?

 Would you like to learn more about what is believing. Read I believe in God.

Do you agree, that God is more than we can ever understand?

Mashed green plantain bananas - Majado de verde

Mashed green plantain bananas or majado de verde, how it is called in Ecuador, is a dish made by boiling green plantains, mashing them and then mixing them with onions, garlic and achiote or annatto.

This is one of my favorite dishes in Ecuador and it is very simple to make.

I can promise that with very little preparation you will have an absolutely yummylicious dish ready.

And depending on the sides, it can be completely vegan or not.

Majado de verde is a very popular breakfast and brunch dish; though I love it for lunch or even dinner.

Cooking the green plantain.

It is more common to find this majado or green plantain mash in the coastal areas of Ecuador; but it is also popular in the Highlands or Sierra and Ecuador’s Amazonic area.

While majado is usually made with green plantains, it can also be made with green bananas.

Majado de verde is usually served with a fried egg and a slice of queso fresco.

I also like to add some diced avocado or avocado slices, as well as some freshly made aji criollo or hot sauce.

Preparing the condiments, or el refrito.

As a breakfast dish, black coffee and fresh fruit juice are also a must.

Since this majado was made for lunch, I served it with a pollo al jugo, or chicken stew and a glass of homemade lemonade.

In the coastal area you can get the most delicious majado with fish stew.

If you are ever in Ecuador, I recommend you try it.

This is a dish that every Ecuadorian loves.

This is how you mash the plantain in Ecuador.

They might eat it with eggs, with cheese, with fish, with shrimps, or just with the hot sauce, but they will eat it.

And when they are not in Ecuador, they will talk about eating it in their favorite way.

There are heated discussions on which is the ultimately correct way to make majado, or how it should be called.

But one thing is for sure, you have not really been in Ecuador if you haven’t tried majado yet.

The quantities in this recipe are for 4 people.

Majado de verde or mashed green plantains

Ingredients

• 3-4 green plantains, peeled and cut in rounds (each plantain can be cut into 3-4 pieces)
• 1-2 tbs butter or oil, I use canola oil myself
• 1 white onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• Fresh coriander leaves
• ½ tsp achiote powder or ground annatto
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Boil the plantains for 30 minutes or until soft.
2. Mash the plantains using a fork or potato masher. The consistency should have some small chunks, if it’s too smooth it will stick together.
3. Prepare the condiments by heating the butter or oil over medium low heat, add the diced onion, crushed garlic, fresh coriander leaves, achiote or annatto, salt and pepper. Cook until the onions are soft and translucent, about 7-10 minutes.
4. Add the mashed plantains to the refrito and cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and add additional salt/pepper if needed.
5. Serve immediately with your preference on the side.