Friday, May 13, 2005

Correction re: Black Marigigolds

I quoted incorrectly from the poem Black Marigolds
in my previous post.

" My poor divorced lips have written excellent stanzas
of kisses, and will write no more."

I read that the poem isn't even originally called
Black Marigolds, it's called "The Chauraspanchasika"
by a poet named Bilhana, or Chauras. It's Sanskrit, and the story goes that the
poet Bilhana was imprisoned for having an affair with the kings daughter
Vidya ( this was in the 11th century). He was sentenced to death
by beheading. While in prison he wrote a bunch of verses celebrating his love.
What I am now just finding out is that he wrote different outcomes
to the poem. I only knew of the sad outcome ( death). Apparently there's a happy
version out there that I've never read.
It was E. Powys Mathers that renamed it Black Marigolds.

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