By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo

 

I NORMALLY prefer the silence of the morning to inspire myself to write. Debussy competes with the silence at times, but not often. This morning I spontaneously played Debussy’s Clair de Lune, one of my favorites among his compositions. It is probably an impulse, or an urge brought by the union of the moon, Venus and Jupiter, whose celestial dance was visible to me last Wednesday, February 22, as I walked out of Filinvest II to attend Robert Langenegger’s birthday celebration, and his mother Daisy’s celebration of her motherhood. That celestial dance was a stunning prelude to these celebrations and expressions of gratitude for life, and affirmation of family bonds and friendships.

Clair de Lune was itself inspired by a poem by Paul Verlaine “in his collection entitled Fêtes Galantes, themselves inspired by the paintings of Jean-Antoine Watteau .… “. Inspirations from previous artistic work are common, as in the case of Vincent van Gogh’s Prisoners’ Round (after Gustave Doré), also known as The Prisoners’ Round, or Prisoners Exercising, or Penitentiary. I, too, got inspirations from these artists, whose works inspired me to create and write, without fully comprehending the real source of the creative stimulus.

The other composition of Debussy that often invades my consciousness is La Mer, where I could float in the songs of the water as the full moon descends on the sea, and  I can be in silent conversation with the mermaids and sometimes, become a fish.

And then, there’s Rêverie, a persistent melody that hibernates in my memory, resurrecting itself as a person, singing with the crickets and the night owls among pine trees, on top of a mountain, pointing at the lights of Poro Point as flickers of lives, eventually dimming, with the passage of time.

“Our love is a dream, but in my reverie
I can see that this love was meant for me
Only a poor fool never schooled in the whirlpool
Of romance could be so cruel as you are to me
My dreams are as worthless as tin to me
Without you life will never begin to be
So love me as I love you in my reverie
Make my dream a reality
Let’s dispense with formality
Come to me in my reverie” – Debussy, 1890

Debussy calls out to my mind, and penetrates the deepest reaches of my heart. His music dances in my experiences of love and life, in the beauty of my sadness, and in the tears of my ecstasy. It is a delicate, subtle and calm whisper of passion that flows with the moon and the water. It is alive, it makes me breathe. It creates lyricism in those who can hear.

The fish with two nipples

I can see you, descending from the moon
to the water, where I am the only fish
with two nipples, protruding
the seagrasses dance, in abandon
detaching from the seabed, oblivious
of death, bewitched, touched
in a sea of colors
under a conniving purple sky

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