Raziya always loved to gaze at the star lit sky from the deck. Once I told her that we are looking at the light omitted from them many light years back. “How unromantic!” she said. Reaction as usual.

But I always wondered how the stars affect and control our lives. I’m talking out of our own experiences. As I understand it, everything in this universe is connected and sometimes it goes beyond our understanding. I remember writing a post about Indian astrology and the concept of Navagrahas in Sailorsdiary.

This time it’s about Cancer and Pisces, right after hearing Raziya reading out the daily horoscope from a website. As a matter of fact I’m a Cancerian and Raziya, a Piscean woman. Look how we are connected to water!

Cancer is ruled by the moon and yes, I’ve the mood swings in times like the moon. My element is water. As the news paper said, and it’s true, the strength lies in the ability to nurture others, in being compassionate, caring and fiercely loyal. Like a Crab- hard outside, soft inside. And we are clannish towards my family and group (read Mariners). Cancerians are good with memory, emotional impressions to be precise, we even recollect dreams. We easily come up innovative solutions, have wonderful imagination and makes decisions based on logic (I love this website).

And then, we could be jealous (who is not!), sometimes feels insecure (of course not when Raziya is around) and lazy (always when Raziya is around) and becomes unorganized and hate discipline (not when I’m Captain Brown). Cancerians are the most compatible with Pisces and Taurus.

Pisces… Raziya is reading about her sign now. The compatibility first…
“Pisces and Cancer will have an instant rapport with each other that will run deep. Both have a compassionate attitude towards others in distress and will be ready to help. Both are blessed with artistic talent and they will share a love for admiring beauty. While Pisces tends to be an imaginative dreamer, Cancer is an imaginative worker. They may have minor quarrels but these will end amicably in bed. Their extraordinary sexual chemistry will send up sparks. They will enjoy the sensual pleasures of sex especially in a luxurious, romantic setting, – flowers, candles, silk cushions – the works.”

“They can almost read each other’s minds and just one glance is enough to communicate a lot. Both will be extremely affectionate and express their affections quite openly. Both suffer from mood swings and are extremely creative. They live in a world of their own, a world that packs in a great deal more emotion than the average sign. Their sex life will sizzle as they try experiments in bed. Their chemistry will be intense and exciting.”

Pisces, again, is a water sign. They are gentle, soft and accept their surroundings and easily adopts. They rarely get angry. Religion and mysticism attract them. They are great dreamers and sometimes have trouble distinguishing dreams from reality (Wow!).

“They are incurable foodies and love to indulge in a wide range of cuisine from all over the globe. Their dreamy nature makes them fond of things like poetry, sunsets, waterfalls, candles and other romantic things. They love to travel to exotic places and immerse themselves in new, exciting experiences.”

“Fine arts like music, literature, painting or designing are ideal career choices for Pisceans as it helps them explore their creative and dreamy side. Pisceans make good architects, lawyers and caterers.” (I’m blown out!)They are remarkably receptive to new ideas and environment which is an advantage in these careers and can gain them fame and money. (Oh… Raziya…)

Pisces Celebrities: Rupert Murdoch, Mikail Gorbachev, Michaelangelo, Sidney Poiter and Raziya Fredrick Brown…

Courtesy- www.zodiacs4u.com

The river was flowing to meet the sea, the winds were blowing to meet the mountains and I was with my beloved Raziya. She was with me holding my hands gazing towards the west where the sun is setting down. She was bit disturbed with the hair that’s falling on her face driven by the west wind.

She was looking as beautiful as when I saw her the first day. Even I live for a thousand years I could not describe how much I love her. I feel the time is slipping from my hand and soon we will grow old. The time is flying like a winged chariot and it is chasing us to grow us old.

This reminded me only of these few lines.

Time’s winged chariot hurrying near;
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity.
Thy beauty shall no more be found,
Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound

I can only describe it through these few lines by Andrew Marvell through his poem To his Coy Mistress. The poem contains many striking images, is very intense and uses many strong metaphors.

He is a marvelous metaphysical poet in the 17th Century. Marvell’s poetry is often witty and full of elaborate conceits in the elegant style of the metaphysical poets. Many of his poems were inspired by events of the time, public or personal.

To His Coy Mistress is a witty metaphysical form of poetry. The poem is often considered an argument for the concept of ‘carpe diem.

The yellow colored light was flickering on Raziya’s face, the light from the camp fire.

Evening. Chilling breeze. Starlit sky.  Raziya.

She is beside me, but she is away.  Raziya is contemplating.

She has bound herself in a chiffon shawl. I can barely see her eyes.

I waited for her to break the silence. And she does.   She softly raises her voice and says a few lines. A poem this time.

Here, where men sit and hear each other groan
Where Palsy shakes a few, sad, last grey hairs
Where youth grows pale, spectre thin and dies,
Where but to think is to be full of sorrow,
And leaden-eyed despair
Where Beauty cannot keep her lustrous eye
Or new Love pine at them beyond tomorrow.

Yes I can recollect it; it is from the Ode to the Nightingale by John Keats.
I asked Raziya why did she whispered these few lines.

She slowly raised her voice and said- “Yesterday when I was sitting on the bank of river. I heard a nightingale singing and this reminded me the great ode by Keats. My thoughts went wild and I started thinking about life and death”.

Raziya’s words turned me speechless.  Nothing is immortal and everything has a painful end.

Ode is a lyrical verse. ‘Ode to the Nightingale’ revolves around the concepts of immortality, the problems of being human and Keats desire to join the nightingale. The nightingale represents perfection, everlasting beauty and its immortality is a stark contrast to the temporary nature of a human life. In this Ode he suggests two ways to immortalize the blissful moments. First, he wishes for an ‘easeful death’ at the blissful moment to eternalize the bliss. Secondly, he wants to take the help of ‘the viewless wings of Poes’, that is, poetry, to perpetuate happiness.

Keat’s odes are fine examples of a perfect paradox. The idea of joy in immortal beauty and acceptance of transience form the basis of Keats had mastered the technique synthesizing the two. Thus, the theme that recurs in all the odes is transience versus permanence. Keats is one of the romantic poets apart from William Blake. Ode to the nightingale is based on the nightingale who had built its nest near his home in the spring of 1819.

The poem was the second of the five great odes of 1819. In his odes Keats is emotionally concerned with the fleeting nature of beauty, joy and love. He is always pre-occupied with finding a way of perpetuating the ephemeral.

Death is accepted as something inherent in the cycle and ripeness implies dissolution. The problem of transience and permanence, thus, vanishes. Keats finds an earthly, human, natural paradise which ‘whoever seeks abroad may find’.

Now, yet again, Raziya is silent. I’m waiting…