Ballade

Music by Agni Agnellius - Ballade for piano.
Illustration:
Albrecht Durer
1 - 'Study of the left hand of an apostle' for The Heller Altar (circa 1508)
2 - Iris (detail)
Photo Collage by Agni Agnellius.
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THE LILY. William Blake

The modest Rose puts forth a thorn,
The humble Sheep a threat''ning horn;
While the Lily white shall in love delight,
Nor a thorn, nor a threat, stain her beauty bright.
1794

John Keats

To one who has been long in city pent,
'Tis very sweet to look into the fair
And open face of heaven,- to breathe a prayer
Full in the smile of the blue firmament.
Who is more happy, when, with heart's content,
Fatigued he sinks into some pleasant lair
Of wavy grass, and reads a debonair
And gentle tale of love and languishment?
Returning home at evening, with an ear
Catching the notes of Philomel, — an eye
Watching the sailing cloudlet’s bright career,
He mourns that day so soon has glided by:
E'en like the passage of an angel's tear
That falls through the clear ether silently.

1816
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