"Perhaps hope was never a feathered thing
and that the summer gale was never sweet,
perhaps the raven could no longer sing
and was left to bleed, buried in defeat.
Perhaps the dove could not perch in my soul
or that the storm swiftly cast her away,
perhaps her melody was never whole—
or within my voice, it could never stay.
Perhaps the sparrow could no longer live
yet her sacrifice was hastened in vain,
perhaps her heart they could never forgive—
and thus, I will never forget her pain.
But I rise as a fowl with fiery eyes
and wayward foes will not silence my cries."
(Sonnet by Christine Calandris)
Favorite Quotes
“The human soul has still greater need of the ideal than of the real. It is by the real that we exist, it is by the ideal that we live.”—Victor Hugo
“Something of the hermit's temper is an essential element in many forms of excellence, since it enables men to resist the lure of popularity, to pursue important work in spite of general indifference or hostility, and arrive at opinions which are opposed to prevalent errors.”—Bertrand Russell
“Blessed are the legend-makers with their rhyme of things not found within recorded time.”—J.R.R. Tolkien
“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”—C.S. Lewis
“I will seize fate by the throat; it shall certainly never wholly overcome me.”—Ludwig Van Beethoven
“Rules direct us to average behaviors. If we’re aiming to create works that are exceptional, most rules don’t apply. Average is nothing to aspire to. The goal is not to fit in. If anything, it’s to amplify the differences, what doesn’t fit, the special characteristics unique to how you see the world.”—Rick Rubin
“There is such a place as fairyland - but only children can find the way to it. And they do not know that it is fairyland until they have grown so old that they forget the way. One bitter day, when they seek it and cannot find it, they realize what they have lost; and that is the tragedy of life. On that day the gates of Eden are shut behind them and the age of gold is over. Henceforth they must dwell in the common light of common day. Only a few, who remain children at heart, can ever find that fair, lost path again; and blessed are they above mortals. They, and only they, can bring us tidings from that dear country where we once sojourned and from which we must evermore be exiles. The world calls them its singers and poets and artists and story-tellers; but they are just people who have never forgotten the way to fairyland.”—L.M. Montgomery
Note: These compositions are still under my old pen name (artist name). I will be changing it soon after I redesign the cover art.