Rob Angeli
Bio
sunt lacrimae rerum et mentem mortalia tangunt
There are tears of things, and mortal objects touch the mind.
-Virgil Aeneid I.462
Stories (161/0)
A Flower Song. Top Story - May 2024. Content Warning.
Apparently the Aztecs, Toltecs, Chichimecs and other Mexica were crazy about poetry. Despite the book-burning, slaughter, and epidemics that characterized the early stages of the Spanish conquest of the empires of Mexico, some hundreds of poems from the height of their tradition come down to us in Classical Nahuatl, preserved by Nahua and Spanish scholars of the 16th century. One of the most famous poets, Nezahualcoyotl, was a sage-king who opposed the cult of human sacrifice associated with Tezcatlipoca, God of the Smoking Mirror, and favored Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent. Flowers and feathers were the favorite offering of the Plumed Serpent. Moreover, flowers and feathers are a metaphor for poetry. Individual words, scattered petals, the down of tropical birds. The temples of blood sacrifice could be transformed into temples of flower and song. A sublimated offering to the Heart of Earth and the Heart of Sky encapsulated in the Classical Nahuatl kenning for poetry: in xōchitl in cuīcatl, meaning, "the flower and the song." The following poem is part of a longer work, and is in a state of flux, so take the waters as they flow:
By Rob Angeli2 months ago in Poets
By Means Of Which, It Goes On All Fours. Top Story - October 2023. Content Warning.
THE COVEN Yee naaldlooshii! Yee naaldlooshii! Yee naaldlooshii! Yee naaldlooshii! "My children, by means of it, it goes on all fours. That is the mystery of the spell, hidden just under the skin. Yet your bodies will not know this mystery until initiated. It is the incantation itself, true; but yee naaldlooshii is the pattern of the ancient hunter's way of life, walking a state of transformation: the path to power. That is yee naaldlooshii!"
By Rob Angeli8 months ago in Horror
Fettuccine Alfredo a.k.a. Pasta al Burro
THE STORY This creamy white-sauced pasta-pile should be familiar to you, a warm little nest of noodles to lose yourself in. Familial even. Have you ever eaten Fettuccine Alfredo out at a restaurant, or from home made by your mother using a roux sauce with over a cup of flour in it? How authentic!
By Rob Angeli9 months ago in Feast
The Wolves Are Howling
For Chloe Rose Violet's Writing Prompts for October: https://vocal.media/writers/writing-prompts-for-october *** "Gripping Beast" motif on the Osberg ship (Viking): beasts locked in a chain of struggle. Can be wolves, griffons, dragons, eagles etc.
By Rob Angeli9 months ago in Poets
Campaign for the Reality of Birds. Top Story - October 2023.
They say that a bird in the hand is greater than (or equal to) two in the bush; so who am I to argue with proverbial maxims? Nobody should argue with proverbial maxims, because they are all completely true.
By Rob Angeli9 months ago in Motivation
HeyA! Back to that Astronaut?
[I introduce you to the Shadow brothers: Red, Chris, and Blake. They had a rough life as shadow kids, having been raised in a lab solely for militaristic purposes. They are said to be the imaginary friends or literary creations of a certain Chloe Fitzwater, young Vocal member and mastermind of tales and free verse. Red is the leader, the Tallest: the critical voice, voice of power and victory. Chris is the nerd who knows everything and will never hesitate to rattle off his string of facts and figures. Blake, well...Blake is all over the place but finds his inner center in Pizza. At least that's how they introduced themselves to me, begging me to showcase the writing of their Imaginary Creator: Astronaut Girl. Let's see what the Shadow Bros have to say.]
By Rob Angeli9 months ago in Interview
Generic[?] Haiku II
fall transmuting burnt- out green of summer soon into red gold -R. Angeli *** Make the universe your companion, always bearing in mind the true nature of things--mountains and rivers, trees and grasses, and humanity--and enjoy the falling blossoms and scattering leaves. One should know that a hokku is made by combining things. The secret of poetry lies in treading the middle path between the reality and the vacuity of the the world. One must first of all concentrate one's thoughts on an object. Once one's mind achieves a state of concentration and the space between oneself and the object has disappeared, the essential nature of the object can be perceived. When you are composing a verse, let there not be a hair's breadth separating your mind from what you write. Quickly say what is on your mind; never hesitate a moment. Composition must occur in an instant, like a woodcutter felling a huge tree, or a swordsman leaping at his enemy. It is also like cutting a ripe watermelon with a sharp knife or like taking a large bite into a pear. Is there any good in saying everything? -Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) From his treatise on poetry, LEARN FROM THE PINE
By Rob Angeli9 months ago in Poets
Will You Be My Guinea Pig?. Top Story - September 2023.
Now it's time to talk about guinea-pigs, because why not? Who among you would be foolhardy enough to claim guinea pigs an unworthy subject for literature? There's more to all this than meets the eye, so get ready for a tale of worlds colliding, oceans crossed by these fuzzy squeakers, which are according to some, always a satisfaction for the stomach. Prepare yourselves to hear marvels!
By Rob Angeli10 months ago in Education
Subscribe to my stories
Show your support and receive all my stories in your feed.
Send me a tip
Show your support with a small one-off tip.