... lacrimae sanguis animae sunt ...
18 April 2010
keeping writing
Well, here I am again. It's past 03:24 a.m. and, as usual, I'm still awake. This time I'm posting some poetry. As I've already explained posts ago, I always compose music pieces before thinking about lyrics. After having some sort of solid ideas on the musical parts, I try to find what is it that the music wants to say. I usually brainstorm images (which does not necessarily have something to do with myself) and then, little by little, words start coming out.
Of course that's not a method. Sometimes I start writing poems while notes are coming out from the guitar - everything happening at the same time -, and more rarely, I have some creative outbursts and eventually have poems before conceiving any music.
This was the case with the poem below. Weeks before writing it, I had watched quite a few documentaries about wars, especially World War II, and I felt like I had to write about it somehow. I started writing down a few words, and not much longer I had the whole piece ready.
The Veteran is basically about a kind of scar most veterans have: traumas. There is a number of different traumas, and in my poem I dealt basically with the idea of not being able to forget tragic moments of the battlefield, and not being able to get rid of the state of readiness which every soldier in combat is obliged to be in. Such condition can make veterans feel an endless fear, as if they were still at war.
I've already composed music for this poem, but I haven't had the chance to record it yet. As soon as I manage to do it, I'll post results here. For the moment, that's all.
Of course that's not a method. Sometimes I start writing poems while notes are coming out from the guitar - everything happening at the same time -, and more rarely, I have some creative outbursts and eventually have poems before conceiving any music.
This was the case with the poem below. Weeks before writing it, I had watched quite a few documentaries about wars, especially World War II, and I felt like I had to write about it somehow. I started writing down a few words, and not much longer I had the whole piece ready.
The Veteran is basically about a kind of scar most veterans have: traumas. There is a number of different traumas, and in my poem I dealt basically with the idea of not being able to forget tragic moments of the battlefield, and not being able to get rid of the state of readiness which every soldier in combat is obliged to be in. Such condition can make veterans feel an endless fear, as if they were still at war.
I've already composed music for this poem, but I haven't had the chance to record it yet. As soon as I manage to do it, I'll post results here. For the moment, that's all.
THE VETERAN Renan Ferreira (April 11, 2010)
The sun is coming down
The rain is pouring down
The wind blows from the north
Bringing memories of war
And he's sitting by door
Waiting for someone to knock
Memories take him away
To far beyond the rain
What is he doing here
Waiting for the end
War's already finished here
But he's still afraid
They've already gone away
But he's still in wait
'Cause while in his mind they still remain
He will keep in wait
16 April 2010
Unburdening...
Being catholic these days isn’t easy at all. People have given in to the superficiality of the earthily world, of materialism, and of pseudo-tolerance to diversity. For many, God has become but a conceit which doesn’t demand any more than believing or not.
Even those who say “I believe” don’t know what they actually believe in. Being religious has become a synonym to being uncool, old-fashioned, and intolerant. Christianity is corrupted by all those sects that make a product out of Jesus. They promise prosperity, freedom, wealth, and happiness, and they never get tired of ridiculing the Holy Church.
Every year, they change their beliefs and doctrines to seduce more people, and the Catholic Church, which has remained doctrinally coherent and solid for centuries, is ridiculed by everyone. Sacred values such as human body, nature, and life are often despised in favour of the mundane pleasures of this new era.
I could write a whole book only on the facts that annoy me, but today I’m here to express my deep sorrow for those who are doing all they can to destroy this so unique and sacred society which is the Catholic Church.
Media is convincing people that all of the priests and bishops are a group of evil people. It makes it look like all of them are paedophiles and perverts. For God's sake! There are as many as 400,000 priests all around the world. They are people who have chosen to dedicate their lives to serve us. They are committed with the mission of spreading love, compassion, and union. Even though they have such a holy mission, they’re still men, and as such, they’re still vulnerable, and they may end up making mistakes.
The biggest problem is actually that all of those men, who are all around the world working and serving the helpless, are now paying a hard price for the mistakes of few. People look down on them, think badly of their intentions, and we all know how cruel the crowd’s prejudice can be.
Catholic Church is not evil. For 2000 years it has spread all the good values which everyone agree to be the basis of the "ideal society". The Catholic Church is responsible for the world’s largest educational network and world’s most comprehensive health services network. It is present in 178 nations and one sixth of the world population is members in parishes and communities .
People can’t understand all that the Catholic Church is about. It’s much more than temples, priests and nuns. It’s much more than memorised prayers and an old man in white.Even those who say “I believe” don’t know what they actually believe in. Being religious has become a synonym to being uncool, old-fashioned, and intolerant. Christianity is corrupted by all those sects that make a product out of Jesus. They promise prosperity, freedom, wealth, and happiness, and they never get tired of ridiculing the Holy Church.
Every year, they change their beliefs and doctrines to seduce more people, and the Catholic Church, which has remained doctrinally coherent and solid for centuries, is ridiculed by everyone. Sacred values such as human body, nature, and life are often despised in favour of the mundane pleasures of this new era.
I could write a whole book only on the facts that annoy me, but today I’m here to express my deep sorrow for those who are doing all they can to destroy this so unique and sacred society which is the Catholic Church.
Media is convincing people that all of the priests and bishops are a group of evil people. It makes it look like all of them are paedophiles and perverts. For God's sake! There are as many as 400,000 priests all around the world. They are people who have chosen to dedicate their lives to serve us. They are committed with the mission of spreading love, compassion, and union. Even though they have such a holy mission, they’re still men, and as such, they’re still vulnerable, and they may end up making mistakes.
The biggest problem is actually that all of those men, who are all around the world working and serving the helpless, are now paying a hard price for the mistakes of few. People look down on them, think badly of their intentions, and we all know how cruel the crowd’s prejudice can be.
Catholic Church is not evil. For 2000 years it has spread all the good values which everyone agree to be the basis of the "ideal society". The Catholic Church is responsible for the world’s largest educational network and world’s most comprehensive health services network. It is present in 178 nations and one sixth of the world population is members in parishes and communities .
Today I’m sad because people prefer to believe in the biased reports from the media rather than having the truth. Even so, I have faith, and I know that all this bad times will be overcome, and little by little, God will touch people’s heart and make them understand the real meaning and value of the Catholic Church.
PER EVNDEM IESVM CHRISTVM FILIVM TVVM,
QUI TECVM VIVIT ET REGNAT IN UNITATE SPIRITO SANCTO,
PER OMNIA SAECVLA SAECVLORVM. AMEN.
QUI TECVM VIVIT ET REGNAT IN UNITATE SPIRITO SANCTO,
PER OMNIA SAECVLA SAECVLORVM. AMEN.
11 April 2010
A little bit of real poetry
I've been studying British and American literature for roughly 3 years in university. At first, I was very reluctant to let me get involved by it, because literature has never been one of my favourite subjects at all. But as time goes by, we inevitably get more sensitive to all the richness a good literary text can give us.
I'm quite far from being an ideal reader. I still find ways to avoid having to read most of the stuff I am told to. Even though, two writers have attracted me in a way I cannot explain. The American short-story writer Edgar Allan Poe has captivated me probably because of his gothic way of writing, and William Shakespeare has caught my attention simply for being Shakespeare.
Shakespeare lived quite long ago, when English language was still becoming what today we know as English language. So reading his works are always a nice challenge. You gain not only a very good and pleasurable reading, but also a wide vocabulary, lots of cultural information, not to mention the range of feelings his words can make you feel.
Today, I decided to post one of his sonnets. The eighteenth one is probably the best known of all his 154 sonnets. This one is basically about love (or a beloved one). And in order to make this post even more fun, I've added a musical version of this poem, so you can read and listen to it. This version was composed and recorded by David Gilmour (Pink Floyd's guitarrist and vocalist, and my favourite musician ever). I hope you enjoy it. :)
I'm quite far from being an ideal reader. I still find ways to avoid having to read most of the stuff I am told to. Even though, two writers have attracted me in a way I cannot explain. The American short-story writer Edgar Allan Poe has captivated me probably because of his gothic way of writing, and William Shakespeare has caught my attention simply for being Shakespeare.
Shakespeare lived quite long ago, when English language was still becoming what today we know as English language. So reading his works are always a nice challenge. You gain not only a very good and pleasurable reading, but also a wide vocabulary, lots of cultural information, not to mention the range of feelings his words can make you feel.
Today, I decided to post one of his sonnets. The eighteenth one is probably the best known of all his 154 sonnets. This one is basically about love (or a beloved one). And in order to make this post even more fun, I've added a musical version of this poem, so you can read and listen to it. This version was composed and recorded by David Gilmour (Pink Floyd's guitarrist and vocalist, and my favourite musician ever). I hope you enjoy it. :)
SONNET XVIII
William Shakespeare
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
