Tea Time 2022

HELEN OF TROY

by Hannah Larrabee

Across time we observe

a beautiful woman.

She shields her face against

sunlight

with her hand,

1,000 ships approaching

on the horizon. It is a story

old as the ages and still

we are telling it,

our ship no longer

made of wood

but gold; the gods

might hold their breath

at the sight of it

miraculous

instrument

and what about beauty

that mortal power,

gravity bending at the knees

at the sight of her?

She was always called

Helen of Troy

and hated the name.

At night, she shunned suitors

and looked at the stars,

unbeknownst to anyone.

Now we have built her

the most extraordinary vessel.

We have spared her wrist

the weight of gold,

sent it into the darkest night

instead. It is time we all

are reminded of this calling.

Toss back the sheets.

Rise from bed.

The farthest reaches of it all

feel like kisses

on your bare shoulder; in

infrared we can seethe hurt at the center of things

gods that eat at themselves

pulling everything together

pushing everything apart

and faint is the light

that escapes them.

Wasn’t it you

on the terrace straining your eyes

for something you felt?

Wasn’t it you

shouldering this instrument,

sending it outside

the reaches of Earth,

wanting something more

for it, wanting something more

than love that feels like

love, leaves you

lonelier than you’ve ever been,

the images pulled in

as through a dragonfly lens,

and when we see them

when we can make sense of them

the splendor

will have only begun; a woman

returning to bed

satisfied for the first time.

Cocoon

by John Mark Green

She wears the night

like a mantle of mystery,

its colors stolen from

crow feathers and obsidian.

In sweet solitude of mind,

she listens to wind secrets

and echoes of distant star songs.

Drinking deeply of moonlight magic

and the rich golden hum

from the heart of the universe,

she finds wings and draws strength

in the cocoon of velvet darkness.

“THE FOUR HEAVENLY FOUNTAINS

Laugh, I tell you
And you will turn back
The hands of time.

Smile, I tell you
And you will reflect
The face of the divine.

Sing, I tell you
And all the angels will sing with you!

Cry, I tell you
And the reflections found in your pool of tears –
Will remind you of the lessons of today and yesterday
To guide you through the fears of tomorrow.”

― Suzy Kassem

Ladies …

Drottningholm Palace

The Drottningholm palace and the park. ABBA made several photo sessions in the park and even filmed some episodes for “ABBA The Movie” and the “National” commercial. Agnetha was filmed in the park in 1999 for the ABBA documentary.

You’re There – Lied von Agnetha Fältskog

I tried not to see you

‘Cause I couldn’t take the heartache again

The past was behind me

Wouldn’t compromise, it’s never the same

But when we met lost in the candlelight

And you smiled at me

Knew I had to be with you

And suddenly, closer to me

(You’re there, you’re there)

You’re there in the morning

And the hurt is slippin’ away (slippin’ away)

And though I laugh through teardrops

I can’t face another day

I don’t know how to tell you

There’s so much that I wanted to say (wanted to say)

Do you know that I love you forever?

I want you to stay

We shouldn’t be lonely

But a broken dream shatters away

We’re lost in our troubles

When a dream is gone, somebody pays

I never tried, counting the memories

Leave them all behind

But I can’t live without you

Stay with me, please let me find

(You’re there, you’re there)

You’re there in the morning

And the hurt is slippin’ away (slippin’ away)

And though I laugh through teardrops

I can’t face another day

I don’t know how to tell you

There’s so much that I wanted to say (wanted to say)

Do you know that I love you forever?

I want you to stay

You’re there in the morning

And the hurt is slippin’ away (slippin’ away)

And though I laugh through teardrops

I can’t face another day

I don’t know how to tell you

There’s so much that I wanted to say (wanted to say)

Do you know that I love you forever?

I want you to stay

You’re there in the morning

And the hurt is slippin’ away…

Drottningholm Palace is Sweden’s best-preserved royal palace constructed in the seventeenth century, the permanent residence of the royal family, and one of Stockholm’s three World Heritage Sites.

The palace was constructed according to a French prototype by the architect Nicodemus Tessin the Elder, by the commission of Queen Hedvig Eleonora. The palace features magnificent salons from the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries, a beautiful park, a unique palace theater, and a Chinese Pavilion.

Drottningholms Slottsteater (the Drottningholm Palace Theater) is the best-preserved eighteenth-century theater in Europe and the only one in the world that still uses the original stage machinery on a regular basis. The theater has guided tours and performances during the summer.

The palace has been the permanent residence of the present royal family since 1981. The rooms in the southern part of the palace are reserved for members of the royal family. In 1991 Drottningholm was the first Swedish attraction put on UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites.

“We fear death, we shudder at life’s instability, we grieve to see the flowers wilt again and again, and the leaves fall, and in our hearts we know that we, too, are transitory and will soon disappear. When artists create pictures and thinkers search for laws and formulate thoughts, it is in order to salvage something from the great dance of death, to make something last longer than we do.”
― Hermann Hesse, Narcissus and Goldmund

I love to sit in silence

Beneath the shady trees

And listen to the song of birds

And to the buzz of bees.

I love to sit in silence

And watch the clouds roll by,

Then read a book or sing a song

And hear the wild bird cry.

I love to sit in silence

When the day is almost done

And see behind the distant hill

The paint glow of the sun.

I love to sit in silence

In the evening twighlight

And listen to the whippoorwill

Singing with all its might.

I love to sit in silence

Beneath the starry sky

And pray to all in earnest

To live in silence all the while.

~Anonymous~

The World of Banksy – The Immersive Experience – Prague

WHO IS BANKSY?

Banksy, the British graffiti artist, is considered one of the main representatives of contemporary street art. His works, often satirical, address universal issues such as politics, culture or ethics.
He is one of the most famous “unknown people” whose thought-provoking works have appeared in some of the most controversial places around the world. While he transformed streets from London to New York, from Berlin to Timbuktu, from Gaza to Tokyo into a giant canvas, he was also hung on the walls of major art institutions such as the British Museum, Tate Modern and the Louvre Museum.

Banksy is a mysterious artist with a secret identity but globally recognized works.

Text: The World of Banksy – The Immersive Experience – Prague

“Nothing is black and white, and there is no purity and there is no such thing has justice.”

― Banksy

“A wall is a very big weapon. It’s one of the nastiest things you can hit someone with.”

– Banksy

“I like to think I have the guts to stand up anonymously in a western democracy and call for things no-one else believes in – like peace and justice and freedom.”

– Banksy