Electric People: Slavisa Pajkic -The Human Battery

Ok one more Electric man post for August, and Starting next month i  will be posting mostly Monster and Cryptid stuff until Halloween or shortly after.. Hope you all enjoy! :)

                       ..Slavisa Pajkic the human battery also referred to as the  Electric Man..

Electricity is all around us, our daily lives would not be the same without it, but did you know

every year roughly 100,000 people in the United States alone are treated for electrocution; most of them with serious burns.

It is also estimated that up to 60 people will die from electric shock every year on average
.
However Slavisa Pajkic, seem’s to be the exception he is also known as “the battery man for a reason.

He can withstand incredible levels of  high voltage current without so much as a burn on his skin.
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It is almost hard to believe that Slavisa Pajkic had a normal every day childhood, having been born and raised in Serbia’s Pozarevac County.

His childhood may have been unremarkable and normal but his adult life would be anything but.
He discovered his unusually amazing ability at the age of 17 and has had a remarkable relationship with electricity ever since.

Those who have seen him in action will attest to the fact that he seems to become one with electricity.
This is evidenced by the fact that he can withstand voltage as high as 20,000 when all it would take to seriously injure a human is 50 volts.

His ability has set him two Guinness records; in 1983 and in 2003.

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His ability has seen him set two world records. His first record was set in 1983 when he was able to take 20,000 volts of electricity without sustaining any injuries to his person.

His second world record came in 2003. This time he was able to conduct electricity for long enough to heat a cup of water to about 97 degrees Celsius (206.6 F). It took just over 1 minute and 37 seconds to do this.

He claims to be a conductor, an insulator, a heater or an accumulator of electricity depending on what he wants to do or what is expected of him.

What is even more strange is the fact that scientist seem to be unable to figure out exactly what it is that enables him do all of these things.

This is after numerous rounds of laboratory tests and exames.

He can also store electricity in his body and release it at will as evidenced by the many times he has set an alcohol-soaked cloth on fier just be touching it.

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There are some scientists that claim he has a genetic disorder that may explain why he does what he does.

They explain that because he doesn’t have sweat or salivary glands, electricity is able to pass through his outer skin that acts as insulation. These claims however, remain unproven.

We don’t believe this is something that someone could “learn” to do. In fact it would be outright foolish to even try. With this in mind we are going to say his power is genetic.

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Slavisa Pajkic is no ordinary person; that much is evident.

There may be others like him in the world and if there are, it may be prudent for the scientific community to understand exactly how he is able to accomplish these dangerous feats with little injury.

His ability may even have some practical applications. But, it is the fact that he is different that makes him all the more special.

His courage in demonstrating his abilities can be an inspiration and motivation to other people who are different to also make themselves known.

It is never a good idea to try to do what he does, but he teaches us that it is advantageous to embrace your unique abilities even if they seem weird.

Electric People: The 40,000 volt man

                                             
                                                

                                                   ........  Electric Man in Australia.......   

        

Frank Clewer...  The Man who's Body charged with 40,000 volt's.


In 2005 an Australian man built up so much static electricity in his clothes as he walked that he burned carpets, melted plastic and sparked a mass evacuation.

Frank Clewer, of the western Victorian city of Warrnambool, was wearing a synthetic nylon jacket and a woollen shirt when he went for a job interview.

As he walked into the building, the carpet ignited from the 40,000 volts of static electricity that had built up.

"It sounded almost like a firecracker or something like that," he said.

"Within about five minutes, the carpet started to erupt," he told Australian radio.

Considerable current

Perplexed firemen evacuated the building and cut its electricity supply, thinking the burns could have been caused by a power surge.

"There were several scorch marks in the carpet, and we could hear a cracking noise - a bit like a whip - both inside and outside the building," said fire official Henry Barton.

Mr Clewer said that after leaving the building, he scorched a piece of plastic in his car.

His clothes were measured by firemen as carrying an electrical charge of 40,000 volts, the Reuters news agency quoted Mr Barton as saying.

The fire official added that the charge was close to being high enough to cause the items to spontaneously combust.

"I've been firefighting for over 35 years and I've never come across anything like this," he said.

History of Easter and it's Pagan roots..

                                 

                                                    A odd time of the year for this post lol but here ya go......

 Ostara,  is the Goddess of spring time and  Fertility her symbolizes are egg's and Hares, representing birth fertility and new life.

 Ostara otherwise known as Ēostre, is the Germanic  goddess of spring and dawn and fertility. On the old Germanic calendar, the equivalent month to April was called “Ōstarmānod” – or Easter-month.

Ēostre is attested solely by Bede  in his 8th-century work The Reckoning of Time, where Bede states that during Ēosturmōnaþ (the equivalent of April), the pagan feasts in Ēostre's honor, but that this tradition had died out by his time, replaced by the Christian Paschal Month  a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus.

 Historic linguists  have traced the name to a Proto-Indo-European goddess of the dawn   Ausṓs from which descends the Common Germanic divinity from whom Ēostre and Ostara are held to descend. Additionally, scholars have linked the goddess's name to a variety of Germanic personal names, a series of location names in England, and, discovered in 1958, over 150 inscriptions from the 2nd century CE referring to the matrona Austriahenae.


Theories connecting Ēostre with records of Germanic Easter customs  including hares and Egg's, have been proposed. Particularly prior to the discovery of the matronae Austriahenae and further developments in Indo European studies, there have been several debates  among some scholars about whether or not the goddess was an invention of Bede. Ēostre and Ostara are sometimes referenced in modern popular culture and are venerated in some forms of Germanic neopaganism

Did you know roughly 61 million dozen eggs will be dyed  in the US each year, ? 

Did you ever wonder why the egg is the official food of Easter? I mean, sure, we know that Easter eggs originate and Why are they brightly colored? And where did this magic rabbit come from anyway?
 

The historical symbolism of the egg; i.e. the fact that baby animals hatch out of them. "Eggs are an ancient symbol of new life and springtime," she explains. "The early Zoroastrians used eggs as a symbol of the Vernal Equinox." FYI, Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday following the first Full Moon after the equinox. Of course, most of the people painting eggs this year don't identify themselves as Zoroastrians, so what gives? Says O'Connell, "Eggs have become a metaphor for Jesus' rebirth, but originated as a Pagan symbol of spring and fertility." And of course, like many other Christian festivals, Easter was appropriated from earlier Pagan cultures.


 Easter eggs came to the United States with the Germans settlers in the early 18th century. They brought us a lot of the Christmas and Easter traditions we have today. They also brought us the Easter egg and the Easter bunny. The Easter bunny is a symbol of spring and fertility."

Likewise, the tradition of decorating Easter eggs isn't a modern development either, people have been decorating them in central Europe since at least the 13th Century. That's where the tradition of ornately decorated eggs, à la Fabergé, came from.

So, in case you were wondering whether the Easter egg was invented for purely commercial purposes, the answer is no. It was hijacked for purely commercial purposes (I'm kidding, sort of). The week leading up to Easter does just happen to be the biggest week of the year in terms of egg sales, though. Though i'm guessing the Easter Bunny is behind that.

 

 

The Naiad; Water Nymph

                                                                      Naiad


The Greek word is Ναϊάς  Naiás, pronounced na͜a.i.ás, plural Ναϊάδες  Naiades,  (na͜a.i.ád.es) It derives from νάειν (náein), "to flow", or νᾶμα (nãma), "running water". "Naiad" has several English pronunciations.. ˈneɪæd neɪəd,  naɪæd, naɪəd.

In Greek mythology, the Naiads (Ancient Greek: Ναϊάδες) were a type of water nymph (female spirit) who presided over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water.  They are distinct from river gods, who embodied rivers, and the very ancient spirits that inhabited the still waters of marshes, ponds and lagoon-lakes, such as pre-Mycenaean Lerna in the Argolid.

Naiads were associated with fresh water, as the (Oceanids) were with saltwater and the Nereids specifically with the Mediterranean, but because the Greeks thought of the world's waters as all one system, which percolated in from the sea in deep cavernous spaces within the earth, there was some overlap. Arethusa, the nymph of a spring, could make her way through subterranean flows from the Peloponnesus, to surface on the island of Sicily.

                                               It is considered a bad omen to capture a naiad

They were often the object of archaic local cults, worshiped as essential to humans. Boys and girls at coming-of-age ceremonies dedicated their childish locks to the local naiad of the spring. In places like Lerna their waters' ritual cleansing were credited with magical medical properties. Animals were ritually drowned there. Oracles might be situated by ancient springs.

Naiads could also be dangerous,  Hylas of the Argo's crew was lost when he was taken by naiads fascinated by his beauty...

 The naiads were also known to exhibit jealous tendencies. Theocritus' story of naiad jealousy was that of a shepherd, Daphnis, who was the lover of Nomia or Echenais; Daphnis had on several occasions been unfaithful to Nomia and as revenge she permanently blinded him. Salmacis forced the youth Hermaphroditus into a carnal embrace and, when he sought to get away, fused with him.  The water nymph associated with particular springs was known all through Europe in places with no direct connection with Greece, surviving in the Celtic wells of northwest Europe that have been rededicated to Saints, and in the medieval Melusine.

Walter Burkert points out, "When in the Iliad  Zeus calls the gods into assembly on Mount Olympus, it is not only the well-known Olympians who come along, but also all the nymphs and all the rivers; Okeanos alone remains at his station  hearers recognized this impossibility as the poet's hyperbole, which proclaimed the universal power of Zeus over the ancient natural world: "the worship of these deities," Burkert confirms, "is limited only by the fact that they are inseparably identified with a specific locality.


In another legend a mythic king is credited with marrying a naiad and founding a city: it was the newly arrived Hellenes justifying their presence. The loves and rapes of Zeus, according to Graves' readings, record the supplanting of ancient local cults by Olympian ones (Graves 1955, passim). Fountain of the Naiads, Piazza della Repubblica, Rome, Italy  So, in the back-story of the myth of Aristaeus, Hypseus, a king of the Lapiths, married Chlidanope, a naiad, who bore him Cyrene.

 Aristaeus had more than ordinary mortal experience with the naiads: when his bees died in Thessaly, he went to consult them. His aunt Arethusa invited him below the water's surface, where he was washed with water from a perpetual spring and given advice.   

St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans was formerly known as Nyades Street, and is parallel to Dryades Street.       

                                              Gioacchino Pagliei The Naiads 1881




Types of Naiad
 
Crinaeae (fountains)   
Eleionomae (marshes)   
Limnades or Limnatides (lakes)   
Pegaeae (springs)   
Potameides (rivers) 

Diferent kinds of Nymph         
Alseid   
Auloniad   
Aurai   
Crinaeae   
Dryads   
Eleionomae   
Hamadryads   
Hesperides   
Limnades   
Lampads   
Meliae.   
Naiads   
Napaeae   
Nereids   
Oceanids   
Oreads   
Pegaeae   
Pegasides   
Pleiades   
Potamides  
  

Other Water Types  
   
Camenae   
The Lady of the Lake   
Melusine   
Mermaid   
Nix   
Ondine   
Rusalka   
Siren      

Korea, Japan and China: Dragon's of East Asia..

                                             East Asian Dragon's, or The Oriental Dragon...

Dragon myth's can be found in all corners of the world East Asia Korean Japan and China have their  own unique dragon legends too, however the East Asian dragon is often seen as a more benevolent being as apposed to it's European counterpart...


When you hear the word Dragon what comes to mind, for most of us it's a massive winged beast of fire and destruction terrorizing some poor medieval village. or in more recent times Viking flying their fire breathing friends (How To Train Your Dragon)..

Or maybe from your next adventure driven campaign of DnD (Dungeons and Dragons) it would seem that dragons real or imagined hold a special place in our hearts and mind's from  classic literature, too modern entertainment dragons can be found in some form or another in every corner of the world.

However Dragons differ in appearance slightly from culture to culture, where most European dragons are usually large winged fire breathing creatures of  destruction, East Asian dragons are often seen as lean flying creatures often  associated with the elements Earth, Fire, Water and Air...

In Korean mythology dragons are mostly seen as benevolent beings related to water and agriculture,
treated with reverence and respect, these dragons are considered bringers of good fortune, rain and clouds.

Many Korean dragons are said to make their homes in rivers, lakes, deep mountain ponds and even the ocean.

Korean culture is full of dragon's both in ancient art and mythology.

Intelligent sentient  dragons, capable of understanding speech and complex emotions are mentioned in ancient myth's these beings often show very human emotions
such as devotion, kindness, and gratitude.


One of the more popular and well known legends is that of The great King Munmu, who on his deathbed wished to become a Dragon of the East Sea in order to protect Korea forever.

The Korean dragon  differs slightly in appearance  when compered to other East Asian dragons like the Japanese and  Chinese.


The Korean dragon was said to have certain specific traits: for example it could fly but it dose not have  wings  in addition to a slightly longer  beard.

East Asian dragons share a common mythology and as far as physical appearance the  Korean dragon look's a lot like the Japanese or Chinese dragon's.

In some depictions this  dragon may be shown carrying a dragon orb known as the Yeo-ui-ju (여의주) in one or more of its claws.

Legend has it that  whoever could wield the Yeo-ui-ju was blessed with the abilities of omnipotence and creation at will, and that only four-toed dragons (those with  thumbs to hold the orbs) were both wise and powerful enough to wield these orbs (as opposed to the lesser, three-toed dragons


As with China, the number nine is significant in Korea, and dragons were said to have 81 (9×9) scales on their backs, representing yang essence.

Korea also has legends of the cockatrice (Chicken like reptile), a type of chimera in European mythology that is capable of breathing fire and turning it's victims to stone just by looking at
them,  similar to a basilisk a large serpent like reptile that also turns it's victims to stone, but where the cockatrice can breath fire the basilisk is venomous so much so that even
it's breath is toxic

The Korean cockatrice is known as a gye-lyong they do not appear in myth's as often as actual dragons.

Cockatrice are sometimes seen as  chariot-pulling beasts for important figures or for the parents of mythological heroes.



Dragons and Naga's

Though very similar in appearance the East Asian Dragon should not be confused with another massive serpent of myth the Naga.


Dragon's, Imugi and Naga..

In Korean mythology it is said that most dragons were originally Imugis (이무기), or lesser dragons, these creature resemble a gigantic serpents.

There are a few different versions of the Imugi myth differing slightly be regions, these myths describe both what imugis are and how they wish to become full dragons.

According to legend's an Imugi can become a  true dragon, or yong or mireu, if it was able to catch a Yeouiju that had fallen from heaven.

Another myth says that they are hornless creatures closely resembling dragons that  had  been cursed and were unable to become real dragons.

In either case they are said to be large, benevolent,  python-like creatures that live in water or caves, and their sighting is often associated with good luck.

In Hindu mythology the Naga is often described as being  somewhat human in appearance, a Half Serpent Half Human creature whereas a more traditional Naga is said to be more serpentine in appearance.. as seen below.

On the left is the Hindu Goddess..Naga Kanya The  Guardian of the three Realms, and on the right is a classic Serpent style Naga.

Korea also has a large variety of festivals and events ranging from cultural heritage or just fun and game's with great food. Feel free too join in on if your in the area :)


                                            Muju Firefly Festival..

 Kick of the beginning of fall season with the ( Link too site  Muju Firefly Festival ) which takes place from August 31st  to September 8^th.

This  fall Korean festival celebrates the beauty of nature and fireflies, it also offers guests the opportunity to participate in nighttime activities that involve  observing fireflies in their natural habitat.

There are also plenty of outdoor activities during the daytime for festival attendees.
  

Address ... 326-17 Hanpungnu-ro, Muju-eup, Muju, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea

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                                        7080 Chungjang Recollection Festival
 
Also if your a fan of retro 70's -80's then check out the Chungjang Recollection Festival in October

                                       
                                            The 7080 Chungjang Recollection Festival

7080 Chungjang Recollection Festival is a popular  Gwangsan-gu festival  that is centered around reviving the culture of the ‘70’s and the ‘80’s that thrived on Chungjang-ro Street. Food drink's and a family friendly parade and events October 7th - 11th

 These are just two of the many many festivals to visit this time of year :)

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Chinese Dragons and History..

 In ancient times the dragon was the symbol of the Emperor of China.

 In the Zhou Dynasty, the 5-clawed dragon was assigned to the Son of Heaven, the 4-clawed dragon to the nobles (zhuhou, seigneur), and the 3-clawed dragon to the ministers (daifu).

In the Qin Dynasty, the 5-clawed dragon was assigned to represent the Emperor while the 4-clawed and 3-clawed dragons were assigned to the commoners. The dragon in the Qing Dynasty appeared on national flags.

The Statue of the goddess Xihe charioteering the sun, being pulled by a dragon, in Hangzhou The dragon is sometimes used in the West as a national emblem of China. However, this usage within both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China on Taiwan as the symbol of nation is not common. Instead, it is generally used as the symbol of culture.

In Hong Kong, the dragon is part of the Hong Kong Brand a symbol of Kong, a symbol used to promote the city  as an international brand name of sorts. 

 
Sometimes Chinese people use the term Descendants of the Dragon as a sign of ethnic identity, as part of a trend started in the 1970s when different Asian nationalities were looking for animal symbols for representations. The wolf was used among the Mongols, the monkey among Tibetans.

In Chinese culture today, the dragon is mostly used for decorative purposes. It is a taboo to disfigure a depiction of a dragon.

 The C-shaped jade totem of Hongshan culture (Pig Dragon)  was carved dragon  ornament from the Warring States period (403 BC-221 BC). Gilded-bronze handle in the shape of a dragon's head and neck, made during the Eastern Han period (25–220 AD)

The origin of the Chinese dragon is not certain. The presence of dragons within the Chinese culture dates back  thousands of years  one archeological dig  discovered  a dragon statue dating back to at least  the fifth millennium BC from the Yangshao culture in Henan in 1987, there where also several  jade badges of different rank in coiled form excavated from the Hongshan culture dating to roughly  4700-2900 BC.
 
The coiled snake or dragon form played an important role in early Chinese culture. The character for "dragon" in the earliest Chinese writing has a similar coiled form, as do later jade dragon amulets from the Shang period.

                   Hongshan Coiled Snake or Pig Dragon Jade carving

A pig dragon or zhūlóng is a type of jade artifact from the Hongshan culture of neolithic China as discribed above. Pig dragons are zoomorphic forms with a pig-like head and elongated limbless body coiled around to the head

Ancient Chinese referred to unearthed dinosaur bones as dragon bones and documented them as such. For example in 300 BC Chang Qu documented the discovery of Dragon Bones in Sichuan and the modern word for dinosaur is konglong meaning Terrible Dragon.

A Chinese Dragons and their relation to the water and the weather....

During the Ming Dynasty Chinese dragons were strongly associated with water in many Chinese myths. they are believed to be the rulers of moving bodies of water, such as waterfalls, rivers, or seas.

They can show themselves as water spouts (tornado or twister over water). In this capacity as the rulers of water and weather, the dragon is more anthropomorphic in form, often depicted as a humanoid, dressed in a king's costume, but with a dragon head wearing a king's headdress.

There are four major Dragon Kings, representing each of the four seas: the East Sea (corresponding to the East China Sea), the South Sea (corresponding to the South China Sea), the West Sea (sometimes seen as the Indian Ocean and beyond), and the North Sea (sometimes seen as Lake Baikal).

Because of this association, they are seen as "in charge" of water-related weather phenomenon.

In the past, many Chinese villages (especially those close to rivers and seas) had temples dedicated to their local "dragon king". In times of drought or flooding, it was customary for the local gentry and government officials to lead the community in offering sacrifices and conducting other religious rites to appease the dragon, either to ask for rain or a cessation thereof.

The King of Wu-Yue in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period was often known as the "Dragon King" or the "Sea Dragon King" because of his extensive hydro-engineering

No matter were you are or were you go there are dragon  legends  in every corner of the globe.

 I  will be going more post's on Dragons and other Mythological creatures soon, thank you for reading.

And She Was Gone: By Ginger Foutley

                    And She Was Gone. By Ginger Foutley.



 She chose to walk alone
 
Though others wondered why
 
Refused to look before her
 
Eyes cast upwards, towards the sky
 
She didn't have companions
 
No need for earthly things
 
She only wanted freedom
 
From what she felt were puppet strings
 
She longed to be a bird
 
That she might fly away
 
She pitied every blade of grass
 
For planted they would stay
 
She longed to be a flame
 
That brightly danced alone
 
Felt jealous of the steam
 
That made the air its only home
 
Some say she wished too hard
 
Some say she wished too long
 
But we awoke one autumn day
 
To find that she was gone
 
The trees, they say, stood witness
 
The sky refused to tell
 
But someone who had seen it
 
Said the story played out well
 
She spread her arms out wide
 
Breathed in the break of dawn
 
She just let go of all she held
 
And she was gone

The Sleeper: by Edgar Allan Poe

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sleeper by 

Edgar Allan Poe.

 

At midnight, in the month of June,

I stand beneath the mystic moon.

An opiate vapor, dewy, dim,

Exhales from out her golden rim,

And softly dripping, drop by drop,

Upon the quiet mountain top,

Steals drowsily and musically

Into the universal valley.

The rosemary nods upon the grave;

The lily lolls upon the wave;

Wrapping the fog about its breast,

The ruin moulders into rest;

Looking like Lethe, see! the lake

A conscious slumber seems to take,

And would not, for the world, awake.

All Beauty sleeps!—and lo! where lies

Irene, with her Destinies!

Oh, lady bright! can it be right—

This window open to the night?

The wanton airs, from the tree-top,

Laughingly through the lattice drop—

The bodiless airs, a wizard rout,

Flit through thy chamber in and out,

And wave the curtain canopy

So fitfully—so fearfully—

Above the closed and fringéd lid

’Neath which thy slumb’ring soul lies hid,

That, o’er the floor and down the wall,

Like ghosts the shadows rise and fall!

Oh, lady dear, hast thou no fear?

Why and what art thou dreaming here?

Sure thou art come o’er far-off seas,

A wonder to these garden trees!

Strange is thy pallor! strange thy dress!

Strange, above all, thy length of tress,

And this all solemn silentness!

The lady sleeps! Oh, may her sleep,

Which is enduring, so be deep!

Heaven have her in its sacred keep!

This chamber changed for one more holy,

This bed for one more melancholy,

I pray to God that she may lie

Forever with unopened eye,

While the pale sheeted ghosts go by!

My love, she sleeps! Oh, may her sleep,

As it is lasting, so be deep!

Soft may the worms about her creep!

Far in the forest, dim and old,

For her may some tall vault unfold—

Some vault that oft hath flung its black

And wingéd pannels fluttering back,

Triumphant, o’er the crested palls

Of her grand family funerals—

Some sepulchre, remote, alone,

Against whose portals she hath thrown,

In childhood, many an idle stone—

Some tomb from out whose sounding door

She ne’er shall force an echo more,

Thrilling to think, poor child of sin!

It was the dead who groaned within.

Annabel Lee: by Edgar Allan Poe

Annabel Lee

by Edgar Allan Poe 

 

It was many and many a year ago,

   In a kingdom by the sea,

That a maiden there lived whom you may know

   By the name of Annabel Lee;

And this maiden she lived with no other thought

   Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,

   In this kingdom by the sea,

But we loved with a love that was more than love—

   I and my Annabel Lee—

With a love that the wingèd seraphs of Heaven

   Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,

   In this kingdom by the sea,

A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling

   My beautiful Annabel Lee;

So that her highborn kinsmen came

   And bore her away from me,

To shut her up in a sepulchre

   In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,

   Went envying her and me—

Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know,

   In this kingdom by the sea)

That the wind came out of the cloud by night,

   Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love

   Of those who were older than we—

   Of many far wiser than we—

And neither the angels in Heaven above

   Nor the demons down under the sea

Can ever dissever my soul from the soul

   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams

   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes

   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side

   Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,

   In her sepulchre there by the sea—

   In her tomb by the sounding sea.

Alone --- by Edger Allan Poe

Alone...
Edger Allan Poe..

From childhood’s hour I have not been

As others were—I have not seen

As others saw—I could not bring

My passions from a common spring—

From the same source I have not taken

My sorrow—I could not awaken

My heart to joy at the same tone—

And all I lov’d—I lov’d alone—

Then—in my childhood—in the dawn

Of a most stormy life—was drawn

From ev’ry depth of good and ill

The mystery which binds me still—

From the torrent, or the fountain—

From the red cliff of the mountain—

From the sun that ’round me roll’d

In its autumn tint of gold—

From the lightning in the sky

As it pass’d me flying by—

From the thunder, and the storm—

And the cloud that took the form

(When the rest of Heaven was blue)

Of a demon in my view

The Raven, By Edger Allan Poe

The Raven

Today's post is The Raven by Edger Allan Poe,

This is one of my favorites :)

..........

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door
Only this, and nothing more."

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore
Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,
"'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door;
This it is, and nothing more."

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you" - here I opened wide the door;
Darkness there, and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore!"
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore!"
Merely this, and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
"Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window lattice:
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;
'Tis the wind and nothing more."

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore;
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore.
"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning - little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blest with seeing bird above his chamber door
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as "Nevermore."

But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered - not a feather then he fluttered
Till I scarcely more than muttered, "other friends have flown before
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before."
Then the bird said, "Nevermore."

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
"Doubtless," said I, "what it utters is its only stock and store,
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore
Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore
Of 'Never - nevermore'."

But the Raven still beguiling all my fancy into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door;
Then upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking "Nevermore."

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamplight gloated o'er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamplight gloating o'er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then methought the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose footfalls tinkled on the tufted floor.
"Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee - by these angels he hath sent thee
Respite - respite and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore!
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil! prophet still, if bird or devil!
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted
On this home by horror haunted - tell me truly, I implore
Is there - is there balm in Gilead? - tell me - tell me, I implore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil - prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore."
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Be that word our sign in parting, bird or fiend," I shrieked, upstarting
"Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken! quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamplight o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted - nevermore!