Poems - Santiago Del Dardano Turan

The Poems
of
Santiago del Dardano Turan

THE DEATH OF ANTINOUS

October, 130 AD

Santiago del Dardano Turann
San Francisco, CA

STROPHE

The flowering myrtles and oranges when
New orchids awaken from dreams of chill rain
In springtime are clouds dissipated by wind,
Mere shadows compared to his beauty and spirit.

ANTISTROPHE

This world was too banal a place for his life
That blossomed for only one season alone
And passed like a cutting of wild meadow flowers
Before they are dried in time?s hard molten sun.

EPODE

The Nile ?s nymphs clung to the shore
All dressed in slime, bejeweled by sand
Like broken reeds trembling before
The mourning winds that chill the land.

?Alas! Alas! Young sweet Antinous
He fell into the hoary Nile !
Alas! Alas! He?s taken from us
By Hades? withered crocodile!?

STROPHE

An emperor whose word could move armies and nations
And carried the burdens of power in his hands
Searched all through his empire to find an ideal
To hold in his arms and to rest in his beauty.

ANTISTROPHE

In Greek-speaking Bithynia he found Antinous:
A ruddy youth dusky from kisses of sunshine.
The zephyrs would struggle to play with his raven
Soft curls that would tease his profound and dark eyes.

EPODE

The scattered heads of pure white aster
Float on the waves, swirl in the eddies,
Drift past red lotus by the river
Like foot steps of swift-running Hermes.

Alas! Alas! The shy Antinous!
We?ll no more see his blushing smile!
Alas! Alas! He?s taken from us
For he has drown in the dark Nile !

STROPHE

The sign of the Scorpion arose with its string
Of discord and storms that rage up from the south-west,
The birthplace of Mars and fires of war
The heat of the summer and cold death of winter,

ANTISTROPHE

It struck down the gentle young life of Antinous
In envy that starlight should breathe on the earth
Submerged in the grossness of matter and yet
Still shinning with charm and the grace of his form.

EPODE

The emperor Hadrian was a warrior,
A victor in both war and politics,
But he received the news in horror
His will was snapped like old dry sticks.

Alas! Alas! Beloved Antinous!
He left the emperor choked in bile!
Alas! Alas! He?s taken from us
His life was smothered by the Nile !

STROPHE

So Zeus who is armed with the dread lightning aegis
Decreed that his death would come quickly preserving
Him from impure stain of hard sickness and age
Translating his soul to the sphere of the stars;

ANTISTROPHE

A star near the edge of the Milky Way?s bank
Whose light is a guide on the immortal river
Directing the seekers on beauty?s bright way
Towards the Empyrean?s spiritual fires.

EPODE

The winter sunset brings the icy
Egyptian winds from off the desert
Over where they found his body
Laying in red lotus and dirt.

Divine Antinous hear our prayer
That rises high with sacrifice
Of incense up into the air
As pure as shinny crystal ice.

5th December, 2008

A HYMN TO ANTINOUS

Santiago del Dardano Turann
San Francisco, CA

Sacred Antino?s your silver pure light
Naked and wrapped in the velvet of night
Shines down upon us, eternal deep fire,
Ever alive with the joys of desire.
Dance to the calling of Rhea?s brass drum
Tapping the beat of the stars? solemn rhythm.
Graces surround you, the mothers of mirth;
Sources of elegance here on the earth.
Moving in circles with you in the center
Veils of white flow round your body of silver
As the three Graces together sweet sing
Praises for you and your golden broad wings.
Columns of marble in mystical forests
Deep in the cavern of ancient Night?s breast
From where the clouds and the winds all arise
Is where you dwell in the dome of the skies.

Guide us to find the calm joys of true love
From where you dwell in the heavens above.
Pour out your fire that can purify hearts
Molding the soul much like bronze in the arts,
Melted and cast into beautiful sculpture
Fit for the temple one builds with a lover.
Hear us, Antino?s, bright star, by encircling
Wide Oceanus and grant us your blessing.

October 15, 2009

A HYMN TO EROS

Santiago del Dardano Turann
San Francisco, CA

Eros the god in whose hand is the bow
Giving us joy or lead pain with your arrow
You were the first of the gods in creation
Born from the egg of dark Night?s first gestation.
Hatching you stirred stagnant Chaos with song
Driving the elements? atoms along.
Gods and mankind hold your power in awe:
Crystalline ice and the fire of primeval thaw.
You are the strength to whom Spartans ere battle
Sacrificed stoking their iron bloods? rattle,
Eleutherios opening doors
Tamed you?re the key to transforming the lower
Metals of man while still master of play
Honored within ancient palaestrae.
Golden skin radiant wings of pure ivory
Flowing mercurial essence of Beauty
You live in each subtle touch of the higher
Light that ignites a man?s soul with your fire;
Circles of neon that weaving in colors
Rise and or sink as the will?s fickle actors.
Beautiful youth whom I kissed in my lines
Sculpted in meter and painted in rhymes
Come to the savor here raised in my poem
Incense caressing the edge of mysterium.

Hearing my hymn he was swift to arrive
Rainbows and morning dew clouds that alive
Burst into vision and ripping the air
Mingled in chaos both joy and stark fear.
Butterflies wove through the edges of mist
Milky white veils breathing colors surrealists.
Stepping in sunlight that licked his thin figure,
Greedy devouring his shine with its hunger,
Eros led me up the hill to the shadow
Cast by an oak grove where summer winds blow.
Leaning my head on his chest and reclining
I heard his heartbeat in echoes unfolding:
Axis of time and space heart of reality
Nexus of spirit and matter in unity.
Shielding me with his wing here on the hill
Eros then whispered to me sweet and trill
Lilting tones laying together here on the Presidio,
?I am the current within all life?s flow.
Flesh is as clouds that are shaped by the breeze
Driven by force?s invisible mysteries,
Wind mixed with mist thin as hummingbird?s wings
Tremble with echoes of sounds? empty rings.
Poets alone have the privilege of knowing
Deep in themselves the archaic life flowing.?
Vanishing then over trees and the ridge
I was left gazing at the Golden Gate Bridge.

October 19, 2009

REFLECTIONS ON A BUST OF ANTINOUS

Santiago del Dardano Turann
San Francisco, CA

The face before me?s just a cold, white copy,
A fossil of a Greek youth?s long dead flesh
And makes a shadow of the living beauty
That time in ages past reduced to ash

What was the moment that the sculptor sealed
And chiseled into immortality;
That blushing glance his iron so revealed
Which still is flirting with us silently.

But since his mortal dross was purged away
We?re left not with a boy, but an ideal
That breathes its passion deeply in a way
Antino?s? lips would in desire conceal.

Cool marble tames that snorting, stamping horse,
The hot black stallion on the soul?s wheeled car,
But fuels the white one?s curving upward course
Beyond distorting mist towards his star.

November 26, 2009



	The Poems of Santiago del Dardano Turan THE DEATH OF ANTINOUS October, 130 AD Santiago del Dardano Turann San Francisco, CA STROPHE The flowering myrtles and oranges when New orchids awaken from dreams of chill rain In springtime are clouds dissipated by wind, Mere shadows compared to his beauty and spirit. ANTISTROPHE This world was too banal a place for his life That blossomed for only one season alone And passed like a cutting of wild meadow flowers Before they are dried in time?s hard molten sun. EPODE The Nile ?s nymphs clung to the shore All dressed in slime, bejeweled by sand Like broken reeds trembling before The mourning winds that chill the land. ?Alas! Alas! Young sweet Antinous He fell into the hoary Nile ! Alas! Alas! He?s taken from us By Hades? withered crocodile!? STROPHE An emperor whose word could move armies and nations And carried the burdens of power in his hands Searched all through his empire to find an ideal To hold in his arms and to rest in his beauty. ANTISTROPHE In Greek-speaking Bithynia he found Antinous: A ruddy youth dusky from kisses of sunshine. The zephyrs would struggle to play with his raven Soft curls that would tease his profound and dark eyes. EPODE The scattered heads of pure white aster Float on the waves, swirl in the eddies, Drift past red lotus by the river Like foot steps of swift-running Hermes. Alas! Alas! The shy Antinous! We?ll no more see his blushing smile! Alas! Alas! He?s taken from us For he has drown in the dark Nile ! STROPHE The sign of the Scorpion arose with its string Of discord and storms that rage up from the south-west, The birthplace of Mars and fires of war The heat of the summer and cold death of winter, ANTISTROPHE It struck down the gentle young life of Antinous In envy that starlight should breathe on the earth Submerged in the grossness of matter and yet Still shinning with charm and the grace of his form. EPODE The emperor Hadrian was a warrior, A victor in both war and politics, But he received the news in horror His will was snapped like old dry sticks. Alas! Alas! Beloved Antinous! He left the emperor choked in bile! Alas! Alas! He?s taken from us His life was smothered by the Nile ! STROPHE So Zeus who is armed with the dread lightning aegis Decreed that his death would come quickly preserving Him from impure stain of hard sickness and age Translating his soul to the sphere of the stars; ANTISTROPHE A star near the edge of the Milky Way?s bank Whose light is a guide on the immortal river Directing the seekers on beauty?s bright way Towards the Empyrean?s spiritual fires. EPODE The winter sunset brings the icy Egyptian winds from off the desert Over where they found his body Laying in red lotus and dirt. Divine Antinous hear our prayer That rises high with sacrifice Of incense up into the air As pure as shinny crystal ice. 5th December, 2008 A HYMN TO ANTINOUS Santiago del Dardano Turann San Francisco, CA Sacred Antino?s your silver pure light Naked and wrapped in the velvet of night Shines down upon us, eternal deep fire, Ever alive with the joys of desire. Dance to the calling of Rhea?s brass drum Tapping the beat of the stars? solemn rhythm. Graces surround you, the mothers of mirth; Sources of elegance here on the earth. Moving in circles with you in the center Veils of white flow round your body of silver As the three Graces together sweet sing Praises for you and your golden broad wings. Columns of marble in mystical forests Deep in the cavern of ancient Night?s breast From where the clouds and the winds all arise Is where you dwell in the dome of the skies. Guide us to find the calm joys of true love From where you dwell in the heavens above. Pour out your fire that can purify hearts Molding the soul much like bronze in the arts, Melted and cast into beautiful sculpture Fit for the temple one builds with a lover. Hear us, Antino?s, bright star, by encircling Wide Oceanus and grant us your blessing. October 15, 2009 A HYMN TO EROS Santiago del Dardano Turann San Francisco, CA Eros the god in whose hand is the bow Giving us joy or lead pain with your arrow You were the first of the gods in creation Born from the egg of dark Night?s first gestation. Hatching you stirred stagnant Chaos with song Driving the elements? atoms along. Gods and mankind hold your power in awe: Crystalline ice and the fire of primeval thaw. You are the strength to whom Spartans ere battle Sacrificed stoking their iron bloods? rattle, Eleutherios opening doors Tamed you?re the key to transforming the lower Metals of man while still master of play Honored within ancient palaestrae. Golden skin radiant wings of pure ivory Flowing mercurial essence of Beauty You live in each subtle touch of the higher Light that ignites a man?s soul with your fire; Circles of neon that weaving in colors Rise and or sink as the will?s fickle actors. Beautiful youth whom I kissed in my lines Sculpted in meter and painted in rhymes Come to the savor here raised in my poem Incense caressing the edge of mysterium. Hearing my hymn he was swift to arrive Rainbows and morning dew clouds that alive Burst into vision and ripping the air Mingled in chaos both joy and stark fear. Butterflies wove through the edges of mist Milky white veils breathing colors surrealists. Stepping in sunlight that licked his thin figure, Greedy devouring his shine with its hunger, Eros led me up the hill to the shadow Cast by an oak grove where summer winds blow. Leaning my head on his chest and reclining I heard his heartbeat in echoes unfolding: Axis of time and space heart of reality Nexus of spirit and matter in unity. Shielding me with his wing here on the hill Eros then whispered to me sweet and trill Lilting tones laying together here on the Presidio, ?I am the current within all life?s flow. Flesh is as clouds that are shaped by the breeze Driven by force?s invisible mysteries, Wind mixed with mist thin as hummingbird?s wings Tremble with echoes of sounds? empty rings. Poets alone have the privilege of knowing Deep in themselves the archaic life flowing.? Vanishing then over trees and the ridge I was left gazing at the Golden Gate Bridge. October 19, 2009 REFLECTIONS ON A BUST OF ANTINOUS Santiago del Dardano Turann San Francisco, CA The face before me?s just a cold, white copy, A fossil of a Greek youth?s long dead flesh And makes a shadow of the living beauty That time in ages past reduced to ash What was the moment that the sculptor sealed And chiseled into immortality; That blushing glance his iron so revealed Which still is flirting with us silently. But since his mortal dross was purged away We?re left not with a boy, but an ideal That breathes its passion deeply in a way Antino?s? lips would in desire conceal. Cool marble tames that snorting, stamping horse, The hot black stallion on the soul?s wheeled car, But fuels the white one?s curving upward course Beyond distorting mist towards his star. November 26, 2009