Bodies afloat. Chaos, a vision of eternity. 1919. Frontispiece, detail.

‏لا تسألوا عن قلبي
‏فالأسئلة البسيطة قذيفة
‏والأسئلة المُعقَّدة إنتحار.

‏–رياض الصالح الحسين

كَمَنْ لَمْ يجِدْ في الأرْضِ بَيتًا يَضُمُّهُ
وَلا حِضْنَ أُمٍّ إذْ يَنَامُ يًَشُمُّهُ
وَلا امْرأةً كَالرِّيحِ وَهْوَ أمامَهَا
تُبَعْثِرُهُ يَومًا
وَيَومًا تَلُمُّهُ..!!
ولا وَطَنًا يأوي على ظِلِّ نخلِهِ
وَيشكو إلى نهريهِ هَمًّا يهمُّهُ..!!
وَحيدٌ فَلا الظِّلُّ الَّذِي منْهُ ظِلُّهُ
وَلا جِسمُهُ وَهْوَ المحطَّمُ جِسمُهُ
غَريبٌ أمامَ الدَّربِ
وَالدَّربُ مُوحِشٌ
وَلَيسَ لَهُ لَولا المنى مَا يَؤمُّهُ
مُعبَّأةٌ عَينَاهُ خَوفًا مُغَيَّبٌ
وَراءَ الخرافاتِ القَصِيَّةِ نجمُهُ
تحاصِرُهُ أنفاسُهُ حَدَّ لَحمُهُ
يَجِفُّ..
وَيغدو كَالمسَامِيرِ عَظمُهُ
وَتَعكِسُهُ مِرآتُهُ وَجْهَ غَيرِهِ
فَيَكسِرُها
وَهْوَ الَّذِي هُوَ خَصمُهُ..
أرى كُلَّ شَيءٍ لا أراهُ
يُحيطُ بِي وَيخنُقُني الوَهمُ
الَّذي كَيفَ فِهمُهُ..؟
تُحدِّقُ بِي عَينٌ
وَتُمسِكُ بِي يَدٌ
وَيُحدِقُ بِي
ما لستُ أعرِفُ ما اسمُهُ!!
حُروفٌ بِلا مَعنى
تَلَجْلَجْنَ في دَمِي
فَإنْ نَدَّ عَنِّي صَوتُها لا أتِمُّهُ..!!
كَأنَّ فَمًا يَصيحُ بِي: (مَتَى..؟)
وَيَدًا تكمُّهُ!!

- محمد البغدادي, شاعر ومترجم عراقي

I still remember the feeling that this scene invoked in me. The angel's cry of anguish and despair made me want to weep so hard.

Tartini's dream: the Devil plays 'The Devil's Sonata'
By James Marshall (1868)

the Devil's Trill Sonata, is a work for solo violin by the Italian composer Giuseppe Tartini. It is the composer's most controversial and best-known composition.

The story behind this piece is that one night in 1713, while Giuseppe Tartini was sleeping, he dreamt that he made a deal with the devil in exchange for his soul. In the dream, the devil was his servant and would grant him all his wishes. So then Tartini decided to give him his violin to see if he can play it. The devil played the violin and Tartini was stunned when he heard the sonata that he could only describe as beautiful and perform to perfection, with so much art that he could never have imagined in his wildest fantasies.

His emotions were so high that he lost his breath and woke up immediately, so he tried to grab his violin and try to remember at least a small part of what he heard. He then wrote down the sonata called 'The Devil's Trill' and recognised it as his best work. But to him it was so much more inferior compared to what he heard in his dream that he thought about breaking his violin and giving up music forever.

“Your endless suffering is an art.”

Thor's Fight with the Giants
By Mårten Eskil Winge (1872)

The subject of this painting is drawn from Norse mythology. It depicts the Norse god Thor in a battle against the Giants (Jötnar). Thor rides his chariot pulled by the goats Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr ("teeth-barrer and teeth-grinder"), wears his belt Megingjörð and swings his hammer Mjölnir. The original audience of the 1870s interpreted the painting as a depiction of good battling evil.