The Lovers’ Chronicle 18 May – only one – photography by Gertrude Käsebier

18 May 2023 By Rhett 0 In Love, Quotes, Random

Dear Zazie, Today’s Lovers’ Chronicle from Mac Tag to his muse. Follow us on twitter at @cowboycoleridge. Hope your day is goin’ the way you would have it. Not sure Mac Tag is right. It works for me, but I am not sure it would work for everyone. What do you think? Rhett

The Lover’s Chronicle

Dear Muse,

we come to the verse
here in our favorite place
your head restin’ on my chest

this is how it was dreamed
it would happen only it is better
a daily demonstrative devotional
made possible by two who came
to discover together what could
only be found here in our arms

oh discovery
yes my old friend
but said differently,
sans

not gonna talk about that one
nope, sick and worn out of that
as certainly y’all must be by now

just gonna go on, as compelled,
to say, fine here with this vision
followin’ these words wherever
they lead and welcome back

oh, discovery

this comes close to why

wilde said;

“How can a woman

be expected to be happy

with a man who insists

on treating her

as if she were a perfectly

normal human being.”

whether you feel it,

i believe it

and so you have

the daily demonstrative

devotion i feel

for this, anyhow

here is how
it works

start with you
then cast a multitude
of words at the page
then start cullin’
most of ’em out
till left with nothin’
but what is as close
as possible
at that moment
to the essence
of how it felt
with you
by my side

not sure
what is worth writin’
and what is not

take it
where you find it
but do not
hold on too long

so much to give
to so many

love ’em all
let the verse
sort ’em out

leavin’ behind a wide swath
of broken-hearted-debris

is it all because
the one was never found
the one that could
quell the need
the one that could
complete the search

a dance
when done well
possesses so

but when time
and choices
conspire
to rob
of chances

well, one learns
the ways of without

Sometimes I think Rhett has it figured out. He takes love where he finds it and never makes a commitment. He has loved some beautiful women and he always made it clear to them that he was not interested in any sort of commitment. Interestin’ how his twin Jett is the total opposite when it comes to love. Jett falls in love and wants to marry every lovely woman that crosses his path. He is always lookin’ for a future ex-wife. He too has loved some gorgeous women but he has left a wide swath of broken-hearted-debris behind him. So, I think his way is not the way. I believe that neither one of them have met the one yet. The one that would make Rhett want to give up his wanderin’ ways. The one that would make Jett stop lookin’ for whatever he is lookin’ for. I know I found the one in you, muse. The question I have asked and will ask again; Is the one the only one?

They came to the clearin’
just above the falls
and he helped her down
For a moment she stood
restin’ her head on his chest
Then she looked round
and he heard her whisper;
“Beautiful, so beautiful”
Still holdin’ her…
This is how
I have dreamed
it would happen
Only it is better
than my dreams
I have meant we should see
our first sundown here…
and our first sunrise

Gertrude Käsebier
Portrait of the Photographer, manipulated self-portrait

Today is the birthday of Gertrude Käsebier (Des Moines 18 May 1852 – 12 October 1934 New York City); in my opinion, one of the most influential American photographers of the early 20th century. She is known for her evocative images of motherhood, her powerful portraits of Native Americans and her promotion of photography as a career for women.

On her twenty-second birthday, in 1874, she married twenty-eight-year-old Eduard Käsebier, a financially comfortable and socially well-placed businessman in Brooklyn. In 1884, they moved to a farm in New Durham, New Jersey, for a healthier environment in which to raise their children.

Käsebier later wrote that she was miserable throughout most of her marriage. She said, “If my husband has gone to Heaven, I want to go to Hell. He was terrible… Nothing was ever good enough for him.” At that time, divorce was considered scandalous, and the two remained married while living separate lives after 1880. This unhappy situation later served as an inspiration for one of her most strikingly titled photographs – two constrained oxen, titled Yoked and Muzzled – Marriage (c. 1915).

In spite of their differences, her husband supported her financially when she began to attend art school at the age of 37, a time when most women of her day were well-settled in their social positions. Käsebier never indicated what motivated her to study art, but she devoted herself to it wholeheartedly. Over the objections of her husband, in 1889, she moved the family back to Brooklyn to attend the newly established Pratt Institute of Art and Design full-time. Eduard Käsebier died in 1910, finally leaving his wife free to pursue her interests as she saw fit.

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