Внутри горы бездействует кумир… (Deep in the mountain the idol rests) by Osip Mandelstam

Deep in the mountain the idol rests
in sweet repose, infinite and blest,
the fat of necklaces dripping from his neck
protects his dreams of flood tide and of slack.
 
As a boy, he buddied with a peacock,
they gave him rainbow of India to eat
and milk in a pink clay dish,
and didn't stint the cochineal.

Bone put to bed, locked in a knot,
shoulders, arms and knees made flesh,
he smiles with his own dead-silent lips,
thinks with his bone, feels with his brow,
and struggles to recall his human countenance...


by Осип Эмильевич Мандельштам (Osip Emilyevich Mandelshtam.)
His surname is commonly latinised as Mandelstam)
from the first of the Voronezh Notebooks
(10-26 December 1936)
translated by Andrew Davis 

Interesting information: The poem recounts certain Buddhist imagery, such as the peacock, from accounts of the life of Siddhartha Gautama a.k.a. Gautama Buddha.The female of the cochineal insect species is crushed to make red pigment for food colouring amongst other uses.

Beneath is the original Russian Cyrillic verison of the poem. I couldn’t find a recital of it on Youtube but feel free to add one in the comments please if you know of one:

Внутри горы бездействует кумир…  

Внутри горы бездействует кумир 
В покоях бережных, безбрежных и счастливых, 
А с шеи каплет ожерелий жир, 
Оберегая сна приливы и отливы. 

Когда он мальчик был и с ним играл павлин, 
Его индийской радугой кормили, 
Давали молока из розоватых глин 
И не жалели кошенили. 

Кость усыпленная завязана узлом, 
Очеловечены колени, руки, плечи, 
Он улыбается своим тишайшим ртом, 
Он мыслит костию и чувствует челом 
И вспомнить силится свой облик человечий.  

Advertisement

Among Shoals of Stars by Mike Jenkins

Each night the sea

tires of its slopping and slapping

and ascends the limestone staircase

of cactus-sharp stone.

 

It lies down

where sky has been,

waving away the blue

and only hooded clouds

show its occasional restlessness.

 

Bright fish with mouths

that globe, look down on me

and the breezy whish-whish

of sea-weed is the needled

branches of every pine.

 

I see the lights

of planes as they are out

trawling for dreams.

The moon spills milk

which I drink in,

before I too lie down

to sleep among shoals of stars.

 

by Mike Jenkins

from Invisible Times

Birth by Gillian Clarke

On the hottest, stillest day of the summer

A calf was born in a field

At Pant-y-Cetris; two buzzards

Measured the volume of the sky;

The hills brimmed with incoming

Night. In the long grass we could see

The cow, her sides heaving, a focus

Of restlessness in the complete calm,

Her calling at odds with silence.

 

The light flowed out leaving stars

And clarity. Hot and slippery, the scalding

Baby came, and the cow stood up, her cool

Flanks like white flowers in the dark.

We waited while the calf struggled

To stand, moved as though this

Were the first time. I could feel the soft sucking

Of the new-born, the tugging pleasure

Of bruised reordering, the signal

Of milk’s incoming tide, and satisfaction

Fall like a clean sheet around us.

 

by Gillian Clarke

from The Sundial (Gwasg Gomer, 1978)

Wonderfarm Young Coconut Water with Coconut Pulps

Young Coconut Water

Eau de Coco Chair – de Jeune Noix de Coco

Kokosnussatt Mit Fruchtfleisch

11.1FL. OZ. (330ml)

Purchased from Tesco for £0.50.

In a sentence it tastes like gone off water. There are little bits of pulp floating in the liquid. It is post vomit phlegm.

The look of it when poured in a glass is as you would expect. A slightly misty looking clear fluid with white chunks floating lazily throughout and gradually rising to the surface. It reminds me of the phlegm you have after a severe bout of vomiting.

When it first enters you mouth it is cool on the tongue but quickly the taste emerges in a steadily increasing body temperature way. The texture of the fluid seems to change within your mouth as if it goes from a fluid to that of a viscous, gravy like, texture. The chunks of coconut flesh only further enforce my sense that what I am drinking, in the way you ‘drink’ a thick broth soup, is in fact someone’s phlegm. There is a taste there but I couldn’t identify it. If you have coconut in other forms then this is a far less sweet taste and much more… I will say earthy but it would be more accurate to reiterate that it tastes like saliva mixed with digestive juices.

The coconut pulp rather than adding to the experience is like regurgitated pieces of vegetables which you end up chewing or spitting out. A foul experience only taken up to the next level by its inclusion.
I drank this once and will never drink it again. Do not drink this. If you want coconut water/milk go buy an actual coconut and drill it.

…and now all the information on the can…

Applied in E.U & Australia
Nutritional Information
Typical values per 100ml
Energy 38Kcal / 159 Kj
Protein 0.1g
Carbohyrate 9g
Fat 0.1g
Of which saturates 0g
Fibre 0g
Sodium 25mg
Preservative (Sulphur Dioxide)

Applied in Canada
Valeur nutritive / Nutrition Facts
Par 330ml / Per 330ml
Valeur % Valuer Quotidienne / Amuont % Daily Value
Calories / Calories 126
Lipides / Fat 0.3g 0.5%
Trans / Trans 0g 0%
Sodium / Sodium 81mg 3%
Glucides / Carb. 30g 10%
Sucre / Sugars 15g
Proteines / Protein 0.3g
Vitamine C / Vitamin C 6%
Calcium / Calcium 7%
Fer / Iron 7%
Magnesium / Magnesium 22%
Phosphor / phosphorus 5%

Applied in USA
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 Can
Amount per Serving
Calories 126
Calories from Fat 3
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 0.3g 0.5%
Trans Fat 0g 0%
Sodium 81mg 3%
Total Carb. 30g 10%
Sugars 15g
Protein 0.3g
Vitamin C 6%
Calcium 7%
Iron 7%
Magnesium 22%
Phosphorus 5%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calories diet.

Ingredients: Young Coconut Water, Young Coconut Pulp, Sugar, Potassium Meta Bisulphide 0.003%.
Ingredients: Eau de Coco, Chair de Jeune Noix de Coco, Sucre, Potassium Meta Bisuphide 0.003%.
Zutaten: Kokosnussatt, Kokosnussfleisch, Zucker, Potassium Meta Bisulphide 0.003%.
Ingredienten: Kokosnootsap, Kokosnootvruchtvlees, Suiker, Potassium meta Bisulphide 0.003%.

There is a recycling ying yang arrows like logo.

Refund at collection depots where sold in S.A. (Apparently for recycling the can you can get 10 cents in America.)

Under License Of: TRADE OCEAN HOLDINGS SDN. BHD. Malaysia.

Manufactured by / Manufacture Par: INTERFOOD SHAREHOLDING COMPANY Lot 13, Tam Phuoc Iduatrial Zone, Long Thanh Dist., Dong Nal Province, Vietnam

http://www.wonderfarmonline.com

There is also the logo to denote this drink is in accordance with Halal according to the Islamic Community of HCMC VN (it was quite small so this may be inaccurate).

On the bottom of the can is some ‘best before’ information. Packaged: 22 08 2014. Ends: 21 02 2017. So I am now aware I drank something canned nearly a year ago. It is probably the same case with other canned goods but you are never made aware of this…

---

There are a few misspellings on the packaging which is concerning. When it was on the shelf it was just by itself amongst the other ‘foreign market’ items including snacks and cooking ingredients so I guess they don’t have much confidence in it. I don’t get the impression it is something that keeps fresh for very long. It was quite gross but now you know what it is like if you were ever curious.

I wonder what the next review will be…